Watch Tinseltown Online
If you missed the Jim Henson Company's new adult comedy series Tinseltown when it debuted as part of the Logo Network's Alien Boot Camp anthology series on Friday (or if you want to watch it again), the entire pilot is now online at AlienBootCamp.com! So be sure to surf on over and catch the entire pilot (for free). We would like to point out that Tinseltown is a part of the Henson Alternative brand and is probably not suitable for the younger viewers out there. You can jump directly to the episode by clicking here, and for more information on the cast, crew and production of Tinseltown check out our in-depth report right here. Once you watch the pilot be sure to let us know what you think in our new monthly poll (located in the right-hand column of this page) or by posting your comments here.
8 comments:
I really loved it! I can't wait for more this show should be on nbc!
It's really a terrific show, well-written, well-acted, and lots of fun. The characters could've been dull stereotypes but instead are just great to watch. I've show the show to tons of people -- gay, straight, young, old -- and they all seem to love it and want to see more.
I saw the pilot, and it was terrible. The story went nowhere, and it relied on stereotypical "edgy" humor. We've seen that a million times. Nothing fresh and new about this show.
Also, they're trying to sell this to a gay audience, and one of the characters is once again, stereotypical and FLAMING. It's the puppet equivalent Will and Grace, character wise (Will and Grace is actaully FUNNY, however)
The puppetry was amazing and the acting was well done, but you're nothing without a story. With shows like this and Puppet Up, it seems as if the Henson Company will never get it right.
It makes me sad that one of the "jokes" from the pilot was a pig saying "Nipples!" Why is that funny? Oh, wait, it's NOT.
A message to the people at Henson: Just do good work. Stop trying to shock us because it ain't workin'.
I wouldn't go to the extremes in saying the show was either terrible or excellent. It's challenging to set a scene, introduce the charaters, create a tone and make it perfectly funny. It's a ten minute pilot. I admit to being disappointed with the writing. It was C-level comedy, but I'll wait a few episodes and give the show a chance to hit its stride. The production deserves better material, lets see if they have any.
Also, I like Puppet Up! Just like both regional versions of "Who's Line is it Anyway?" the comedy is hit or miss. That's the nature of live improv. It takes gut to do that.
Anonymous: First off, I'm not sure what the complaint is about one of the characters being flamingly gay. The show's set in Hollywood and he's an outspoken colorful character — is being "too gay" a problem now?
As to the "nipples!" line: to me, this was funny (and charming) because it was completely unexplained; Bobby and Samson have been together for 15 years, so they'd have silly in-jokes between them that make them both laugh, like any couple does. To me, and other people who I watched the pilot with, it came off as smart AND funny... Unlike the dreck that is "Will & Grace".
Another thought on Tinseltown. Yeah, it was only a pilot, but if they want the show to get picked up, they should make sure that the pilot is fantastic. So many pilots get brushed off because of their mediocrity (or in Tinseltown's case, pure blandness.)
Also, a large majority of Muppet fans are gay, so they've always been around. Miss Piggy can be seen as a gay icon, in many ways. The thing is, the characters are gay. Ok, that's great, but it seems like nothing more than a joke. Can't they just "happen" to be gay without making a stereotypical fuss over it? Howard is even on the slightly offensive side, in my opinion. Logo makes some pretty horrendous gay programming. It's almost all like Tinseltown, and none of my gay friends watch it because so much of it is pure crap (Big Gay Sketch Show, for example, is one of the worst shows on tv in my opinion...flat out unfunny.) Logo tries too hard to be gay. Most homosexual people are not like this, and they're targeting the programming to a specific niche inside another niche market.
My thinking is this: The Muppets/Henson have been making really bad shows and films for the past ten years or so. If this is the way they're going to keep going, no, I DON'T want to see any more new Muppet things. Look at what a tradgedy Swamp Years and Oz were! I want to remember the Muppets I love from the 70's and 80's. If the characters are going to be treated this way, I'd rather not see anything new and sit back and watch old Muppet Show DVD's.
Sorry for going off on a tanget, just kind of upset about the trash being made lately.
First, who is Howard? Do you mean Bobby?
I think the characters in "Tinseltown" are great. I just wish the pilot had more of a plot and some more action/conflict/development to it. But it did a good job of setting up the characters and the relationships. I think Bobby is one of the best new characters Henson has introduced in a long time - besides maybe Piddles... I love that dog :)
"Swamp Years" had some faults, sure - but I enjoyed really it (it's 100 times more tolerable then "Rocky Mt. Holiday" or any of those "Play Along Videos" and many other productions from the 70s and 80s that Jim Henson himself made). "Wizard of Oz" was decent - and if you could get rid of Ashanti it would be pretty good. "Very Merry Muppet Christmas" was outstanding - it is one of my top 5 Muppet productions of all time! And I think "Puppet Up!" is wonderful too. Henson and The Muppets have been making some great things recently. For a 10-minute pilot this was good - not great. But a great start. I want to see more! I hope to see more!
But if you just don't want to see anything new then shut up, go enjoy your DVDs and stop raining on everyone else parade. I don't think Henson or the Muppets are pumping out trash now. I think Tinseltown is a decent show with lots of potential.
I have to agree with anyonymous. it was pretty awful. the problem i have with a lot of the new stuff is that there's no need for puppets in any of it. a big rule in puppetry is "if humans can tell the story, there's no need for puppets to do it." and it applies to both tinseltown and puppet up.the improv they're doing isn't any different than what troupes like second city and the groundlings do. it's almost as if puppetry is being treated as a novelty. ie, "it's puppets cursing! that's so funny! because it's a puppet!"
also, why tell anonymous to "shut up?" people are allowed to have their own opinions.
just my two cents.
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