An alternative title to this post might be ‘Making A Post About a Muppet Almost No One Has Heard About and Her Performer Returning for The Muppets Sequel Constitutes a Clear Abuse of my Power As Managing Editor.’

But according to Tough Pigs sources, Annie Sue and even her Muppeteer Louise Gold will be returning for The Muppets… Again!, and that’s great, because I love the Muppets but they seriously have two female characters that anyone has ever heard of*. When you’re still disappointed, as an adult, that Big-Fat-Ugly-Bug-Face-Baby-Eating O’Brien didn’t at least become a running gag instead of a one-off joke, you get excited about these kind of things.

You might not recognize Jerry Nelson‘s name, but you’re probably more familiar with Sesame Street’s the Count, Amazing Mumford and Snuffalupagus, or Statler (half of the heckling duo of Statler and Waldorf), Floyd Pepper (the mustachioed guitar player in the Muppet Show house band), Lew Zealand (that guy who chucks fish), Gobo Fraggle, Robin the Frog, or maybe even Emmet Otter. Though he may never have had roles as iconic to the Muppets as some of his colleagues, his long, long history with the group touches almost everything they’ve ever done. He passed away yesterday after a long period of declining health, at the age of seventy-eight.

And that’s certainly a good enough reason to collect a few videos of his characters and share them below.

Flavorwire’s been on a kick lately of rounding up funny, weird, or just fourth wall breaking pictures from movies, and now, television. In most of the less effects heavy shows, this just means getting to see the cameras. But on the genre shows… man. It’s a whole ‘nother level. Any Muppets out there wishing to maintain belief in their autonomy may want to skip this post. And when you’re done, hit up Flavorwire for lots more pictures from Lost, Dexter, Game of Thrones and more.

Not a fresh and shiny and new video, but making the rounds today is what’s being called the original pitch to CBS for The Muppet Show. If anything, it’s a wonderful example of Muppet humor, not to mention a look into how Jim Henson wanted to sell his show. And wouldn’t you know it, just in time for the holidays, it get downright biblical!

(via Neatorama)

Previously in Muppets

Technically I already did the obligatory St. Patrick’s Day post earlier, and I didn’t want to go overboard, but I couldn’t pass this one up once I watched it. Danny Boy is actually a ballad written by Frederic Weatherly which has been set to the Irish tune of Londonderry Air for years. Watch the Swedish Chef, Animal, and Beaker attempt to sing it. Yes, I said attempt. You’ll see why.

No sooner did the hosting slot for the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony become unexpectedly empty, after the exodus of producer Brett Ratner and chosen host Eddie Murphy, then suggestions from all over the internet came pouring in. From John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, to Neil Patrick Harris, to Tina Fey, names were flying through the air like Waldo.

And speaking of Waldo C. Graphic, one of the most popular suggestions, so far as we can tell, is the Muppets. This makes sense, on a number of levels. The Muppets just delivered a spot-on ad campaign that’s put the characters pretty much everywhere you wouldn’t expect them, from WWE matches to surprisingly serious Canadian talk show interviews.

The Muppets themselves haven’t been so firmly in the public eye in more than a decade. At the same time, the Muppets’ primary purpose, as a… group? genre? work? is to comment on popular culture by pretending that these fictional characters are real live participants in it. The Muppet Show is a wonderful series of parodies, covers, and famous stars subverting their own popular images. The Muppet films run the gamut from riding-the-line-between-parody-of-and-tribute-to-classical-lit to loving pastiches of classic film genres like the Heist, the Road Trip, and Putting on a Show, and they all break the fourth wall to remind us that the movie’s characters are being “played” by the Muppets, who are “actors.” So to see the Muppets hobnob with actual stars isn’t just totally within the realms of possibility, it’s 100% what the Muppets are, and have always been, about.

But putting on an Oscars telecast? It might be more difficult than it appears.

In honor of Star Wars day, we present our personal favorite obscure supplementary material to the original Star Wars trilogy: The Star Wars episode of The Muppet Show, featuring Mark Hamil, Anthony Daniels, and presumably Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew. (Parts 2 and 3 below)