The Fleshtones sang “If I lose my head along the way, it’s one less step I’ll have to take.” Something about that line always reminds me of a Muppet song. Don’t know why, but there is an essence of the surreal that would do the great Dadaist Hugo Ball proud. The Muppets go all the way back to the formative years of public television. Enjoy that particular gift while you can because the next time both houses of Congress and the White House are occupied by Republicans, public TV will cease to exist. Imagine if public television never had existed…no Kermit and the gang at all. Everybody has their favorite Muppet and I have mine. Why should you care? Heck if I know, but here goes if you do.
5. Bobo the Bear
Fozzie may be a bear, but in Muppet form he could easily be confused with another animal. Big, life-sized Bobo is all bear. And quite a funny one, at that. Whereas Fozzie is hyperactively in your face, Bobo is laid back, droll and possessed of an intelligence that may surprise you. So far he has yet to have a real breakthrough performance, but you can catch on to just how funny Bobo is by watching Muppets from Space where he reveals a spectacular chemistry with Jeffrey Tambor.
4. Fozzie the Bear
What’s this? Two down in the countdown and already we’ve got two bears? Fozzie. Lovable Fozzie. Can’t have a list of the top Muppets without the bear with the sense of humor. Don’t care what Statler and Waldorf think: this ursine comedian is about a thousand times funnier than Leno. But then so are Statler and Waldorf. Come to think of it, even Scooter is funnier than Leno.
3. Pepe the King Prawn
Don’t call him a shrimp, he’s a prawn, okay? One of the newer editions to the Muppet family, Pepe the King Prawn treads the thin line between smarmy and charmy. He may think himself as Neptune’s gift to women, but that bluster is just a cover for his own insecurities at being so small. Lot of Freudian psychology going on in the psyche of Pepe. That accent just kills me! He may be the greatest Muppet of them all with an identifiable accent. In fact, he is. I just named Pepe the King Prawn as the greatest Muppet of them all with an identifiable accent. Now if we could just identify what at accent is.
2. Rizzo the Rat
A late edition to the Muppet party, this little rat came into his own in “A Muppet Christmas Carol.” Rizzo has a certain oblivious component to his Muppet makeup that might be irritating in an acquaintance, but is charming in a felt figure. Rizzo brings a gritty New York quality to the Muppet universe, but in a carefree, Cosmo Kramer kind of way.
1. Gonzo
Doesn’t matter what Gonzo actually is, he’s the greatest Muppet of them all. Gonzo has a bizarre sense of humor that matches his rather peculiar personality and sexual peccadilloes. A strong supporting character since “The Muppet Show,” Gonzo really came into his own as co-star of “A Muppet Christmas Carol.” Then, of course, his backstory was filled in via “Muppets from Space.”