Expectations are a funny thing: You can’t escape the fact that a familiar brand comes with certain baggage, whether positive or negative. Muppets Now, for example, premiered with a fairly freewheeling format and some goofy ideas that didn’t always feel like they were the right fit for the Muppets we already know and love. But another new puppet-centric program from Jim Henson Productions, Earth to Ned, in some ways feels like a close cousin to Muppets Now, yet feels easier to enjoy without the burden of expectations.
The premise involves an alien named Ned (veteran voice actor Paul Rugg) who was tasked with preparing for an invasion of Earth, but instead has become so infatuated with Earth’s creative arts and celebrities that he launched a talk show from his buried-below-the-planet’s-surface spacecraft. Assisted like any talk-show host by a sidekick, Cornelius, Ned beams on board famous guests to talk about topics such as comedy, horror and musical theater.
The guest-interview spots take up the majority of each episode, and like those on Muppets Now, feel largely improvised. It’s not necessarily that the segments are particularly funny, but every one of the guests embraces the premise—particularly Kristen Schaal, who somehow, on only the second episode, is already expressing what a huge fan she is of Ned’s show. Ned’s questions for his guests are about as superficial as possible, which is appropriate for a being just learning about the entire concept of a talk show, but it’s also worth it to have Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Rachel Bloom break into a song responding to Ned’s query about on-set pranks. Ned also occasionally subjects his guests to absurd game-show ideas—again, very similar to the anarchic game show hosted by Pepe the Prawn on Muppets Now, but it’s still a hoot watching Taye Diggs try to figure out the answers to “1930s Musical, or 1930s Breakfast Cereal.”
In between the guest spots are pre-recorded bits, which usually showcase Cornelius on some quest to learn more about the episode’s topic, including a visit to a stand-up comedy open-mic night where he improbably becomes a sensation with his catch-phrase “That’s the end of the joke.” There’s some solid material in those segments, though they also feel like a missed opportunity to more clearly define Cornelius’s personality beyond “kind of existing in Ned’s egotistical shadow.”
It’s perhaps inevitable in 2020 that Disney isn’t going to miss a few opportunities for “synergy,” which on Earth to Ned can involve anything from a brief visit with cast members from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series to an entire episode focused on Star Wars. Still, the overall vibe of the show is enjoyably experimental and unpredictable; you’re not going to find many family-friendly shows that build a gag around repeatedly saying the name of 1970s model/actress Rula Lenska. Sit back, smile, and go with the flow.
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Let’s Hear From You
Earth to Ned sort of came out of left field, but we liked it. How likely are you to give this new Disney+ show a chance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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