Pigs In Space
Why an old Muppet Show recurring sketch was more accurate than we thought
Anyone who knows what Jim Henson’s Muppets are will likely remember The Muppet Show, which originally ran from 1976. It featured a variety of furry characters from the perpetually optimistic Kermit the Frog through the good-natured but brainless Fozzy Bear to clear parodies like Sam the American Eagle (who today would fail to be ultra-right and populist enough to be convincing) and Miss Piggie who although clearly an empowered female was also the embodiment of every over-privileged self-centered doyenne that’s ever existed.
These characters interacted with each other and with each week’s guest star, and they had recurring sketches. One of these recurring sketches was a parody of the sci-fi shows of the era (Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.), featuring a bunch of witless pigs and of course Miss Piggy. In each appearance the pigs would encounter some minor celestial inconvenience which they’d totally fail to cope with because they were hopelessly dim-witted.
Real life turns out to be a lot like Pigs In Space, except we rarely see a Miss Piggy in the mix who can take charge and at least provide a sense of direction (albeit usually the wrong direction).
One of the inevitable consequences of qualification-free representative…