Lake Neuron

I am watching The Jim Henson Company’s Puppet Up Uncensored on TBS. I think it’s a one-shot special, although I’d be interested to see more.

It’s a puppet improv show — seriously. The performers perform on stage — the audience gets a full-body view of the puppeteers, but they are playing to cameras 6 or 7 feet off the ground, so that in the normal camera shots, you only see the puppets. (The director of the TV show occasionally cuts to a wider shot in which you see the puppeteers, which is kind of distracting.)

It’s not perfect, and the endings to some of the scenes seem kind of abrupt. I suspect that they didn’t overshoot as much as “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, which I’ve heard used to tape two hours of material and then cherry-pick the best bits to make a half-hour show. But it’s got a fun kind of energy, and it’s true improv.

By the way, it’s not for kids, despite being a Jim Henson Company production (Henson’s son Brian is one of the performers, as well as the executive producer).