Muppet Central Fan-Fiction Article #5

Hey, hey! Welcome to another Muppet Mindset day! It's Sunday again, so that means it's once again time for Kelly Masters (aka RedPiggy) to present us an article discussing Muppet Central Forum's fan-fiction. This is the fifth and last installment of Kelly's series.

Can You Tell Me How to Get

Kelly Masters (RedPiggy on Muppet Central Forums) - I’d like to start by being honest on this topic. When I asked the question:  What is your favorite Sesame Street fan-fic, I didn’t know what kind of responses I’d get.  I had seen plenty of “scripts” of brief number gags and such, but I had never really read a full story based on these characters.  I got at least two votes for two of the mentioned responses, so I have decided to review The Search for Bert by redBoobergurl and Street Smarts by theprawncracker.

The Search for Bert

After a helpful brief synopsis (and I find it amusing that it advertises itself as “pre-Elmo”, as if it hopes to get more readers that way), the first paragraph gives us an overview of the major characters and what their typical thing was on the show, and then settles down with Ernie and Bert, two popular (and heavily parodied) characters from the show, who share an apartment deep within 123 Sesame Street.

This is just a formatting nitpick, but the first chapter doesn’t separate dialogue from different characters.  Another poster on the forums quickly points this out, and it becomes less of a problem.

Oscar the Grouch instigates an argument between Bert and Ernie.  Ernie is well characterized, as he continues to both let himself get talked into things and also talks himself into other ideas.  Bert, meanwhile, flies off the handle yet becomes pensive when he realizes he may have hurt Ernie’s feelings.  He also has moments with his pigeons as he tries to decide how to make things better.

As Bert goes missing, having joined the circus, and I mean this in the nicest way, you get a sense of how naïve a lot of the characters are on the show.  Joining the circus is a typical child fantasy and an adult would’ve asked about W-4’s and health insurance and contracts and stuff.  Bert, having done none of these things, just goes with it as if he has no other option.  It kind of makes you wonder how old Ernie and Bert are supposed to be, as they can rent their own apartment, and yet rarely act like practical adults (employed practical adults).  Oh well.  Like I said, it’s not a bad thing, and it’s consistent with the show’s characterizations, it’s just something I can’t help muse on while I read.

Another thing that I just can’t help thinking about:  why is it, when a children’s story discusses running away, the runaway always ends up with a less-than-legitimate business or group of people?  I realize that if a runaway found someone nice and helpful, it’d be teaching kids that running away may not be that bad, but is it really necessary to terrify children with statistically less-likely scenarios?  Again, this isn’t a complaint about the story, just a thought, a musing I was considering as I read.

Actually, the author ends up saying that Bert did sign a contract, though it was never mentioned previously.  All that was described was a handshake.  This is one of those things that should have been brought up earlier.  It makes the scene seem tacked on to fix a plot hole.

Big Bird is a child, and I mean that in a good way.  He just enjoys life and has a very short attention span.  Maria gets paired up with Oscar again (as the movie Follow That Bird was a big inspiration).  They nag each other and I still can’t help thinking that Oscar may have had or has a thing for Maria, as they’ve been “friends” since she showed up on the show (as far as I’m aware – I’m not that old).

Eventually, we discover at least one other interesting circus tale before Bert and the others decide to save themselves.  From one perspective, its heartening to see everyone pull together.  From another, well, if they’re all that unhappy – why not just knock the guy off a cliff or empty the brake fluid or something?  You can’t tell me a bunch of athletic unhappy people can’t take care of some greedy good-for-nothing.  On the other hand, this is a Sesame Street story, not a hardcore crime drama, so I guess it can be forgiven.  However, it does bug me when “child friendly” equates to “adults acting stupid”.  I wonder if Follow That Bird could even be made today:  just one Amber alert and people would just swarm over Big Bird.  There’d be cellphone pics all over the internet.  Sigh.  I’ll shut up now….

I think the best part of this story is that the rescuee soon becomes the rescuer.  That’s a twist that gives it much needed originality (not that it was just a carbon copy of the afore-mentioned movie anyway, but it did follow a formula).  It really made me excited.  It would have been hard for Follow That Bird to have such a twist, since Big Bird is only six – but as Bert is at least a young adult, that affords a greater opportunity to make such a twist sound realistic.

Street Smarts

This story starts off with a funny Super Grover bit and a run through the theme song as if it were obligatory.  Mayor Twiddlebug is revealed to have a deed to Sesame Street.  This character kind of reminds me of Stan the Bunch Beetle from Dinosaurs.  He has the same dry wit and flirtatiousness.  It’s amazing to be reading this story just after writing about an evil businessman owning Sesame Street (sigh … I’m sorry … I really am trying to avoid self-plugs … just consider mine a subplot and not the main one – I’ll shut up now).

Anyway, the story behind the deed just makes your jaw drop.  I don’t want to say more than that as I will give too much away.

One of the early high points is Grover and Kermit’s relationship.  Grover acts like a big kid, but occasionally lets a little grown-up humor blurt out.  It’s the kind of Street characterization I can get into.  Kermit is a really amazing character … as a kind of everyman, he can be portrayed the same over and over and over and over again, and yet it never really seems that stale.  He is the responsible manager, the glue that holds others together.  This is such a part of his character, that the only real thing the official Muppet folks could think of when Kermit wishes he had never been born in It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. Driving his friends apart and making them all depressed.  Kermit is never boring.  He is steadfast.  He is never stale.  He is reliable.  Even if someone is a horrible writer, you’d have to really work to make Kermit “wrong”.

At one point, Miles notes he’s been on Sesame Street nearly twenty years.  I’m thirty-one.  I can’t gripe as bad as my mother, who was in high school when the show started, but still – that makes me feel ancient!

Another high point is Ernie and Bert.  It’s positively lovely when their chemistry is matched in a story, and that is definitely present here.  Ernie knows Bert so well:  how to make him laugh, what buttons to push, and how to finish sentences.

Prawnie (theprawncracker’s nickname) really works hard to include just about every sketch or concept from the entire show, from the theme song to naming obscure characters (or, actually, retired ones) to Prairie Dawn sketches.  If you’ve rarely or never seen the show, this story does a pretty good job of summarizing the main points.  Prairie Dawn’s play is quite amusing, almost to the point you could actually imagine it being a real sketch.

I had to giggle when Miles and Gabriella end up in the Don’t Drop Inn, a grouch motel.

I’ve had vacations like that….

Not surprisingly, it will take the traditional Muppet teamwork to save the day.

Maybe you don’t like Sesame Street.  Maybe, you think characters who can have casual conversations about letters and numbers are too weird to read about.

You are missing out, my friend.

Special thanks to Kelly Masters for all of her fantastic fan-fiction articles! Thank you for reading, and thank you for reading Muppet Central Fan-Fiction!

Muppet Central Fan-Fiction Article #4

RedPiggy returns with her fantastic fan-fiction reviews, this time with a Fraggle Rock story! (Written by yours truly!) Enjoy!

Down at Fraggle Rock

Kelly Masters (RedPiggy on Muppet Central Forums) - When asked what their favorite Fraggle fanfic was, the Muppet Central Forum members had only a few suggestions, some even admitting they rarely read them.  As theprawncracker’s Perfect Harmony got two votes, this is the story I’ll be reviewing.  The title of the story is taken from a Fraggle song, when Marjory the Trash Heap created a radish famine to bring Doozers (tiny green construction workers), Gorgs (humongous hairy gardeners), and Fraggles (Muppet-sized creatures who play and swim a lot) together.

We start off with an amusing argumentative banter between Gobo and Red Fraggle, arguing over who won a sporting contest.  Okay, technically, following show protocol, we start in Doc’s Workshop, but I digress.  The characterization is spot on, though it does give off the impression that some dialogue is liberally borrowed from similar scenes from the show.  The story even mocks its own reliance on tradition by joking about a song that was repeated often even in the series.  Cantus is also introduced, and his zen-like ambiguity is well portrayed.

Soon we come to the Doozers and there seems to be a brief lapse in writing as a character is misnamed.  After that brief introduction it’s off to the Gorgs.  In my humble opinion, if you are a fan of sitcom families, no matter how old the series is, then the Gorgs are for you.  Ma and Pa and Junior always have a ready wit, and it really shines here.

Now, when it comes to Fraggle fics, the Rock is typically under threat of outright destruction.  I’m guilty of it too.  So, it’s no real surprise that the Rock is in danger.  Still, it is entertaining to discover how an author will spin this particular ol’ standby plot.

Cantus tells Gobo he’s responsible for saving the Rock.  Here’s the thing:  I’m not trying to knock this story, really.  If you’re looking for comfort and familiarity, this is a great piece of work.  I’m just more of an obscure person, myself:  I like elevating the lowly extra.  Gobo was the hero at the finale of the series, most likely due to his everyman status.  It enables the audience to follow someone who isn’t hardcore obsessed or manic or depressed or whatever.  I just like to see a bit more creativity.  That’s all.

One thing that theprawncracker does really well is keep that sense of Fraggle naiveté.  The universe is so foreign to Fraggles, and this is portrayed with many conversations.  You start to feel a sense of dread because they don’t know what they’re up against.

One of the show’s strengths was its ability to create a lot of drama out of simple misdirection, miscommunication and misunderstanding.  This fic tends to keep the tradition, as several “dangers” don’t really seem like danger from other points of view.  However, to the inhabitants of the Rock, it’s all awful.

At any rate, the real issues get harder and harder to avoid, until the Rock really is in danger.  This story comes to a very satisfactory and Fraggley ending, so I would recommend it as a good Fraggle read.

Muppet Central Fan-Fiction Article #3

News and Such - Sunday, September 27, 2009

ToughPigs has two fantastic reviews of Muppet Peter Pan #1 and The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #3 posted on their site. Check 'em out!

Please be a part of the Postcards for Steve campaign! Let Steve Whitmire know how much you love him by spending a few bucks on a postcard to mail to him!

Don't forget, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa comes out on DVD this Tuesday, September 29th! Be sure to pick up your copy wherever DVDs or sold, or order here from Amazon.com! (Also, yesterday while at Target, I saw this advertisement for Letters to Santa. Looks like Disney [or at least Target] cares after all!)

Today, The Muppet Mindset once again visits the realm of Muppet Central Forum fan-fiction! In this installment, Kelly Masters introduces us to some new faces...

Old Friends, New Friends

Kelly Masters (RedPiggy on Muppet Central Forum) - Where would fan-fics be without original characters?  In this third installment of my fan-fic review series, we’ll first take a look at Muppet Central Forum’s favorite original fan-fic characters, those that aren’t present in any canon of official Muppet media.

The first up is Maggie, created by TogetherAgain.  She can be found in Swamp Call.   She shows up in the first chapter, adequately described (how hard is it to describe a frog?), and we already know she has a relationship to Kermit, complete with pet names for each other (She calls him “Mit”, he calls her “Mags”).  While it’s hard to describe frogs as attractive (sorry, Kermit), we get a sense that she must be a looker because of how a multitude of male Muppets act around her.  Maggie is a little spitfire who makes it a point to prove herself a part of the crowd, despite her over-protective brother Kermit.  Her favorite activity seems to be tweaking Miss Piggy just for the halibut (sorry, that was cheap, even for me).  Come to think of it, particularly when the drama in this story starts up, if Kermit were Gobo Fraggle, Maggie is most definitely Red.

The second character is Wanda the Cat, created by redBoobergurl.  She can found in a series called “Rowlf’s stories”.  This review will focus on the first of those, Where Your Heart Leads You.  We don’t meet her until chapter three, where she’s a singer at a restaurant.  After a tentative meeting, she and Rowlf go their separate ways so that Rowlf can learn about his past.  Naturally, the lines of destiny force them to meet once again.  Wanda is hesitant to bring up the past (like Simba – what is it with cats and bad pasts?).  However, she is really a touching character and a welcome addition to the insanity.

Finally in this original character review is Aunt Marge, created by theprawncracker.  She can be found in his Muppet trilogy, but again I shall go with the first of the stories, Men Are Pigs.  Apparently, adding to Kermit’s long line of relatives seems to be a very popular choice.  Even before we meet Marge, it’s clear the others think she’s a hassle.  In retrospect, and I realize I might lose a lot of readers with this comparison, but she reminds me of Endora from Bewtiched.  She’s comfortable with her life and expects her family to live that as well.  She despises everyone outside her realm.

Now, I’d like to switch gears and discuss the types of fan-fics that might bring in more readers.  While I like to write more obscure properties (sorry, I just simply couldn’t help plugging the fact I write fics … I made it to three articles before I broke down, though, right?), the downside is that it’s so hard finding readers for them.  So, out of sheer curiosity, I asked the people over at Muppet Central Forums this question:  If you had a choice (and, really, you do, right?), which property would you read about the most? Muppets (including the Muppet Show, Jim Henson Hour, Muppets Tonight), Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Storyteller, Dinosaurs, Farscape, Sid the Science Kid, Bear in the Big Blue House -- and whatever properties I may have missed.

Not surprisingly, the Muppets (from The Muppet Show, Muppets Tonight, or the movies) won hands down.  It’s a shame how the Hensons and Disney treated the Muppets for so long, as they are clearly the most loved of all the characters ever stuck under Jim Henson’s big umbrella.

However, some actually noted crossovers (stories that cover multiple franchises at once) as a good read.  The only problem with crossovers is that it’s rather difficult to convince fans of one property to bother with the characters from another.  If done well, however, all the featured properties can be enriched that much more.  I hereby beg your forgiveness, but the voices in my head won’t let me continue typing unless I mention my own story, The Comeback King Saga.  That covers just about every franchise listed in my question for this topic, except for the last two, as I never saw them at all.  I worked very hard to make it internally consistent and extrapolated from all relevant canons.  Sigh.  Okay, now that I got that out of my system, we can continue.

Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street got brief mentions.  You’d think the latter would be more popular, since it existed before The Muppet Show.  Oh well.  The first one, I can say from experience in writing and reading fics about them, is hard because the show was so well contained that it’s hard to break into their universe without totally dragging something out that never was brought up to begin with (Fraggle parenting comes to mind).  The latter, relying on a lot of self-contained skits, not to mention the overt educational “YOU WILL LEARN THIS NOW” tone of some episodes (if not many), I would think make it even harder to write well.  You pretty much have a choice between a straight-forward narrative and an educational skit, the former being difficult if only because I’ve read a lot of people try to write in the educational pushes and it can seem forced.  Thankfully, it’s usually played for laughs.

Next time, I’ll go deeper into fics regarding the above-mentioned properties.  I hope you’ll join me as we visit franchises you may have little experience with.

Muppet Central Fan-Fiction Article #2

TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY TO SUBMIT ANSWERS TO THE GREAT MUPPET SURVEY!! If you want your answers to be seen on The Muppet Mindset, don't forget to send them in!

The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #3 and Muppet Peter Pan #1 are released in comic book stores THIS Wednesday, Sept. 23rd.

Today on The Muppet Mindset, we feature RedPiggy's second fan-fiction article. The delay between articles 1 and 2 came due to lots of news from D23 unfortunately preempting it last weekend and our interview with Muppet Peter Pan artist Amy Mebersson the weekend before that.

Reading the Good Stuff

Kelly Masters (RedPiggy from Muppet Central Forums) - How do you separate the good fan-fictions from the nonsensical pieces of you-know-what? In this, the second article in my series of article discussing Muppet Central Forum's Fan-Fiction, we explore what it takes.  Naturally, spelling and grammar are paramount.  If the readers can’t even get through a sentence without wondering if they need a secret decoder ring to decipher the meaning, then it isn’t a good fan-fic.

I asked the members of Muppet Central Forums this question:  “What qualities do you look for in a "good" fan-fic? Originality? Characterization? Description? Faithfulness to characters or plot? Plot depth? Quick and easy reads? What fan-fics in your opinion exemplify those qualities?”

theprawncracker noted, “I, personally, look for characterization first and foremost. That's (sic) is the number one most important thing to me. If the character's ‘voices’ aren't there, the humor, heart-wrenching, or plot can't function as well. Nothing can. Faithfulness to characters is also extremely important to me. Even though some things may seem completely out of character for some (e.g., Rowlf marrying a cat, Piggy going primal after being lost in the Amazon, Gonzo quitting stunts), they all work, because the characters are written in a way it could work.”

Moderator The Count said, “Well... I happen to enjoy/expect a certain faithfulness to the characterizations of Muppet characters when utilized in fan-fics, and I find this acceptable in most fics I've read. There are qualities of each classification mentioned above I could go into, but for brevity's sake, let's just say that I enjoy a broad range of fic topics... So long as they're thought out or have a plot to carry out and deliver on said expectancy.”

Meanwhile, minor_muppetz mentioned, “Originality, characterization, and faithfulness... and the more obscure characters the better!”

Finally, TogetherAgain stated, “First and foremost, faithfulness to the characters. If the characters don't ‘sound’ like themselves, I lose interest pretty quickly. Sometimes I'll read it anyway, if the plot is good enough.  What makes a good plot? Conflict, primarily, so long as it's within reason... relatively speaking. Muppets can get away with just about anything, as long as there's some vague explanation for it. I mean, think about The Muppet Show... they got taken over by pirates and turned the theater into a ship. If that isn't far-fetched, I don't know what is. So I suppose keeping the conflict ‘within reason’ isn't much of an issue... but there does need to be some sort of conflict, of some kind.  It doesn't have to be EXTREME conflict, either. Personally, I like to write stuff so heart-wrenching that my readers find themselves writhing on the floor in pain... but not everyone likes to read that, and sometimes it's not what I'm in the mood for, either. Something nice and hysterically funny is always good. (Unfortunately, I rarely think of those stories!)”

To wit, I’ve chosen a fan-fic by Super Scooter, based on the few recommendations I got.  It is titled, “The Super Goofs!”

The Super Goofs
The previous review relied heavily on the dramatic.  Fortunately, this one is funny from the start and its Superman parody.  Also, if a quick read is more your thing, this is blissfully short.

This fic relies heavily on a lot of one-liners (the amount of actual paragraphs is rather small).  However, although, to me, that usually spells laziness, this has such a light tone it works.  It is a joke-based fic and lots of meaningful description would just weigh it down.

Characterization is very important.  The identities are barely mentioned (as everyone is supposed to be in superhero mode, and you can’t use your real name in superhero mode), but just through dialogue you can tell who’s talking.  That is good characterization.

The basic plot revolves around finding an “evil” villain who stole their super-secret funding.  I guess those costumes don’t come cheap.  The author picks very stable and workable character pairs (Link and Fozzie or Gonzo and Rizzo).  These were already tried out in official Muppet media, and there’s no harm going with a sure thing.  There’s definitely chemistry.  Also, in fine Muppet tradition, there’s plentiful fourth-wall breaking.

The amusing thing is, while this is cast with adult Muppets, this would have made a great Muppet Babies episode.  All it would need is a few good catchy songs and it’d be perfect.

For links to these and more fan-fictions, visit The Fan-Fic Library Index on Muppet Central Forum!

Muppet Central Fan-Fiction Article #1

Today, the Mindset proudly welcomes Muppet Central Forum's RedPiggy. RedPiggy is here with her first article discussing the fan-fiction of the Muppet Central Forums. She started a fan-fiction survey on the forums that led her to her article topics. This is a great way for more readers to visit the great fan-fictions of the site, and also a great way for writers' names to get out there. So, without further ado, here's the first article:

The Principle Players

By Kelly Masters (RedPiggy from Muppet Central Forums) - Fan-created fiction, or fan-fiction/fan-fic for short, is a staple of fandom. Especially the fandom of Muppet Central Forum. They can be just derivative, poorly written scripts with minor tweaks to existing shows or movies – or they can be lovingly crafted works of literary art that deepen the characters in ways never really addressed in official media. This is the first of my reviews of some of those fanfics that manage to lean towards the latter.

To avoid looking vain by plugging my own (painful as it is for me to do so), I posted a survey where other Muppet Central Forum members could offer suggestions on which fan-fics to review. The first question read as follows: "Which fic or fics in your opinion best reflect the characterizations of the major Muppet characters (please list the characters, such as Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Scooter, Rowlf, the Electric Mayhem)? Let's keep it to these characters for this question, shall we?"

Based on the responses, I have decided to review three stories authored by Muppet Central members: TogetherAgain’s Half of the Stairs Are Missing, TogetherAgain’s Summer in the Theater, and WhiteRabbit’s Coming of the Roads.

Half of the Stairs Are Missing
Amusingly, we begin with a fourth-wall-breaking prologue, as the author thinks of things to write about and faces elements of her other stories. It is like reading a story of a dying person visiting long-gone relatives on a trip through the afterlife. We begin with a bunch of dialogue, only some of which is attributed. I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but it’s just a small pet peeve of mine when I don’t know who is talking, even though the dramatically important conversations are attributed. However, such a beginning does contribute to a sense of chaos, which fits right in with Muppety goodness.

Oh, and if you aren’t quite used to forum-based fan-fics, be prepared to read reviews in between chapters. That can be helpful or extremely frustrating. However, it’s so common that it’s downright bizarre if you manage to read a fic that actually has chapters one right after another.

The end of the first chapter reveals that this will be somewhat dramatic. I, personally, like dramatic fan-fics better, since it’s a nice change of pace from silly fluff.

Right away, what is obvious is that no one acts out of character. Even if nothing like this ever happened (the closest being Kermit’s disappearance in The Muppets Take Manhattan and even the memorial special after the death of Jim Henson), everyone reacts to a stark event perfectly. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if that memorial special was part of the inspiration for this particular story.

Other than the tear-jerking Kermit and Robin and Fozzie, one of the characters I find most fascinating is Rowlf. On The Muppet Show, Rowlf played a wise-cracking veterinarian. Here, he seems to maintain an interest and ability in all things medical. However, he’s much more subdued since this isn’t a comedy. It almost makes one wonder if, in this fan-fic universe, Rowlf didn’t just play a doctor on TV, but actually had some real experience with the subject.

Another high point is Piggy. She isn’t the shallow pop diva in this story. She is the vulnerable, caring -- though persistent -- Miss Piggy. If anyone ever gets tired of Diva Piggy in some of her more modern appearances, this would be a good story to remember what she can be.

The power of this story is the attention to all the relevant details of a tragedy, from family relationships, friendship, grief, and hope. TogetherAgain smartly adds in a few quips and running gags (particularly physician names), but it only serves to break up the gloomy atmosphere. Fortunately, it doesn’t replace it. Also, by chapter nine, the point of the physician name running gag becomes clear … and it’s quite a clever joke. The irritating thing is that I didn’t really figure that to be the joke as I was originally thinking it was just foreshadowing. How can the geek in me not catch that? Argh!

Gonzo also gets his chance to shine after the ever-responsible Kermit succeeds in comforting Fozzie, who is whimpering with fear. The wonderful thing about being the outcast Whatever is that he can be warm and compassionate and then say something completely bizarre … and yet it still works.

And though it’s rather silly, the political news coming from the Muppet Newsman at one point is hilarious precisely because one can imagine certain stations having such a story….

While this story is, as of this writing, unfinished, it’s still a very good read, though some may want to bring along some extra tissues and security blankets.

Summer in the Theater
This story by TogetherAgain is also quite dramatic. However, this time around, the mood is a bit lighter, with more jokes and puns than in the previously reviewed piece. A dark figure has a mission to rip off the financially struggling Muppet Theater.

I’ll take this moment to stop and mention Scooter. He appeared in the last fic, but I’d like to mention him here. If you have ever seen The Devil Wears Prada (a movie I have a hard time sitting through), the character Andrea Sachs has to learn to be an ultra-efficient assistant to a strict business woman in the fashion magazine world. In the beginning of The Muppet Show, Scooter is a whiny suck-up employed only due to nepotism. However, he stops this and becomes a more valued employee. In these two stories, Scooter is almost too perfect. If I hadn’t seen that Prada movie, I would be tempted to call Scooter unrealistically helpful. However, I believe I’ve changed my mind and can appreciate him more.

I think I’ll take this time to mention Fozzie as well. He’s not nearly as shaken as he was in the previously reviewed story, but then again there’s no real reason for him to be. Fozzie is presented again as less the failed comic and more the insecure ever-giving best friend of Kermit the Frog. I suppose it’s just as well: I would guess it takes a great comic to write a bad one.

This story has obviously been influenced by It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. However, it isn’t too derivative. There is also a greater sense of hope here than in that TV special, as they aren’t beset by a rigid threat to their money. The thief definitely gets your mind working on its identity. I found myself guessing who it could be throughout the story. There’s also a feeling of familiarity with The Muppets Take Manhattan, specifically the Muppets trying to help Kermit out with money troubles. The idea of pulling together in a crisis may not be very original, but it is Muppets at its best.

Another high point is the Electric Mayhem band. When it comes time to wash cars to raise money, their “solution” is spot on.

Also brightening the mood in spots are some very clever cameos, human and Muppet alike. Cameos are always part and parcel of the entire Muppet experience, and they are very well done, even if they do start to become a running gag.

Since there’s been homage paid to just about every other property, I also began to smell some nods to The Great Muppet Caper – which really started my brain to lean towards a prospective identity for the dark figure. However, the whole thief plot, like a lot of Muppet plots, is really just an excuse for character development, which isn’t bad. The Muppets fail hardest when character takes a back seat to the plot.

Now, personally, a letter that Kermit gets feels as though it was written by yours truly. I have to wonder just how many fans of the Muppets actually feel that way, that the Muppets were the gold under the rainbow, the diamond in the rough, the cream in our coffee, the icing on our cake – the one lonely light in a massive sea of darkness. The Muppets are all that and more. Fan-fiction helps some of us try to give back, albeit unofficially, some of that love we felt we got from them.

The true identity of the thief wasn’t at all who I expected, but the rationale for the crimes was pure genius. This particular story is finished, and I definitely recommend it.

Coming of the Roads

For the final story in this review, we leave the usual Kermit stories and shine a spotlight directly on the Electric Mayhem and its members (Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot, Lips, and Animal). On The Muppet Show, the band was basically the band. While we sometimes saw them backstage, they rarely got plots of their very own. In this story, the band is taking a break from the theater to go off on a private gig. Right away there is a lot more description with character appearances than in the first two. One thing one has to get used to if new to fan-fiction is that many authors just assume you know who they are talking about. The problem with this is that it isn’t very helpful for those trying to come in to the fandom. While all three of these stories aren’t exactly good “newbie” stories, introducing the characters, this one does describe things a little clearer.

This story is a bit different in that Zoot and Lips seem, well, more than friends. I don’t recall it being canon, but it does add some depth to two of the most underused band members. It’s pretty much based on some role-playing done in the Muppet Central Forums, so many of the members are just used to it by now. However, this story is still tasteful and thoughtful, with nothing gratuitous. So, if you aren’t used to certain things, don’t get scared away the second someone holds hands. You’d only be cheating yourself out of a good story.

The mood gets considerably darker, though, as their gig ends up in a cesspool of a slum. The Electric Mayhem find a child carelessly thrown away and take her under their wing. The best part is that, even in the first chapter, everyone has moments that help you get a good grasp of how they act, feel, and think.

Dr. Teeth is a flashy urban keyboardist. He himself had to scrape up the financial ladder, starting from a troubled urban childhood.

Janice isn’t just some airhead blonde. She is thoughtful and compassionate. Her motherly instincts pop up fairly easily.

Floyd is easily the Kermit of the group, the mostly laid-back guy who just sort of goes with the flow. The only difference is that Floyd doesn’t let things weigh him down like Kermit does.

This story, as of this writing, isn’t finished. However, it’s very deep and thoughtful and a good protest against bigotry and a proclamation of just how much hope is needed in an environment filled with hopelessness.

Special thanks to RedPiggy, TogetherAgain, and WhiteRabbit for writing! Also, a huge amount of thanks to frogboy4 for contributing most of the pictures used in todays article! Check back again soon for more of RedPiggy's Fan-Fiction Articles!