Puppeteer Dave Goelz as a Muppet. `Nuff said.

Via Tough Pigs.

Brian Lynch – screenwriter of the unproduced and literally-titled The Next Muppet Movie – has written a hilarious post on his blog alleging that the NBC comedy 30 Rock is a rip off of The Muppet Show. Although he’s writing with his tongue firmly in his cheek, the similarities are actually kind of striking. I mean, I knew there were some connections between the Muppets and 30 Rock, but after reading this I’ll never be able to look at Tracey Morgan with a straight face again.

Food Party is a new show on IFC that describes itself as a “mind-bending, non-reality cooking show” and is built around artist/food enthusiast Thu Tran and a cast of puppets who cook up all kinds of bizarre recipes together. Food Party grew out of an art installation and online series Thu created in her hometown of Cleveland and kind of defies explanation. It’s a little bit like what Martha Stewart might look like if it was filmed it on the set of Pee Wee’s Playhouse.

In an interview with Thu about the genesis of Food Party, Gothamist called Food Party “quite possibly the only cooking program you should be watching” and I’m inclined to agree. It’s independent, wacky, weird and exactly the kind of thing we need more of on TV.

Food Party debuts on IFC next Tuesday at 11:15 ET/PT. A bunch of Food Party videos are available on the IFC website, including a look behind the scenes.

The latest episode of the NBC comedy 30 Rock featured a fantasy sequence with a a cast of puppets. If you live in the U.S. you can check out the episode on Hulu (its title is Apollo, Apollo), otherwise you’ll have to make do with Alan Sepinwall’s review of the episode.

This is just an aside, but I really wish they’d hurry up and make it possible to watch Hulu in Canada. It’s blocked up here and if you live north of the 49th parallel and like online video like I do, Hulu is like the cute girl you’re madly in love with who won’t give you the time of day.

Links via Puppet U.

29/3/09 Update: For those located outside the U.S., here’s a link to the 30 Rock puppet scenes on YouTube (link via Puppeteers Unite).

This has been circulating around the web for awhile now (I shared it on Twitter earlier in the week)…outtakes from a shoot Ricky Gervais recently did for a guest appearance on Sesame Street. Gervais hits the ground running with Elmo, musing about being the only one on the Sesame set and pondering why Elmo wears pajamas at night but naked during the day. Off-screen you can briefly hear Sesame Street director Lisa Simon (at least I think it’s Lisa’s voice), who doesn’t even attempt to rein these two in because obviously the Muppet and the Englishman are in charge.

Komet Kameratene is a kid’s show that airs on NRK One in Norway. The series is shot in Norwegian and there doesn’t seem to be much English-language information available about it, but from what I can gather it’s about a group of aliens who come to Earth to study our planet.

There are a few Komet Kameratene clips on YouTube currently, but if you have the free open source Miro Player, NRK has a Komet Kameratene channel with free full length episodes (just download and install Miro, then do a search in the Miro Guide for “Komet Kameratene”).

Big and Small is a new Canadian/U.K. co-production for preschoolers featuring puppets by the Grogs (of Mr. Meaty and Nanalan’ fame) that debuted this week here in Canada. It’s a brilliantly simple concept built around two best friends who are, well, big and small. Small has to learn to cope with big stuff, and Big has to learn to be tolerant of a small creature who can’t sit still in one place very long. It’s a wonderfully simple metaphor and really charming series.

Big and Small airs on Treehouse TV in Canada and Cbeebies in the UK. Clips from the show are available to watch online here and here.

Sesame Street is coming to Scrubs.

A special episode of the ABC sitcom featuring guest appearances by Sesame Street’s Muppets airs tomorrow night, January 27th. According to ABC, the plot of the episode revolves around Scrubs’ J.D. “learning the hard way that not even Elmo and his friends from Sesame Street can teach the gift of compassion to those who don’t care to learn.”

The Muppet Newsflash has a set of promotional images of the Sesame Muppets on the Scrubs set. And if you’re a fan of Scrubs (or even just Sesame Street) , don’t miss Zach Braff goofing around with Elmo on YouTube.

Scrubs airs in most markets in Canada and the U.S. at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. Central Time); check your local listings.

If you haven’t seen the Team Smithereen Blog (see previous post) or haven’t check up on it recently, go have a look. It’s updated nearly everyday with photos and tidbits of behind-the-scenes info from the upcoming series from the Dan Clark Company.

Just a quick reminder that A Muppet Christmas: Letters To Santa (see previous post) airs tomorrow night on NBC in the U.S. The special is getting one final publicity push on daytime TV Wednesday with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy guesting on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet and Pepe the Prawn appearing as a featured guest on The Bonnie Hunt Show (check your local listings for show times and channels).

Via The Muppet Newsflash.