Pigs In Spaaaace III: Boldly Going Where No Pig Has Gone Before.
Written: Mar 26 '04
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Pros: Play features, design faithful to show, improved Miss Piggy
Cons: Growing accustomed to her face...
The Bottom Line: When you set your standards impossibly high, you're bound to fail. Somehow, Palisades pulled it off.
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| JediKermit's Full Review: Palisades_ Muppets Swine Trek Playset |
You know my life has been busy when a Muppet toy I got for CHRISTMAS is only getting an Epinions review in March. I had my last day of student teaching yesterday, and that was a great experience, even though being gone 90 hours per week was awful. We moved into our first house last weekend, and that’s been a stressful but wonderful experience. And we just found out that our New Baby, due in August, will be another boy, so Miles will have a little brother. So…I’ve been busy.
Too busy for Muppets? Almost. In the last week I’ve received seven new Muppet action figures from Palisades, so I’ve got some writing to do. But first things first, and that means I need to write my too-wordy and incomprehensibly fanatical review of the fourth Palisades Muppet playset, the Swine Trek. The first three playsets were Muppet Labs http://www.epinions.com/content_81755606660, the Electric Mayhem Stage http://www.epinions.com/content_98538262148, and the Swedish Kitchen http://www.epinions.com/content_98725432964 . Each playset has raised the bar for quality over their predecessors—and the Swedish Kitchen (with the Swedish Chef and over forty accessories) has raised it to a level that I fear may be impossible to reach. Palisades has made a worthy attempt with the Swine Trek.
The Swine Trek is the spaceship captained by Link Hogthrob http://www.epinions.com/content_105889107588, an egotistical blond fusion of Captain Kirk and Ted Baxter. The science officer is Dr. Julius Strangepork http://www.epinions.com/content_105892187780, an older pig with a heavy European accent. Together these two intrepid pigs travel the stars with an even bigger star. Bigger in every sense of the word. Because the first mate of the Swine Trek is none other than the sexiest pig in show business, Miss Piggy. Palisades’ playset is the bridge of the Swine Trek, and includes First Mate Miss Piggy in all her porcine glory. Almost.
Palisades had some choices to make. With previous playsets, most notably Muppet Labs, they deviated from what we saw on “The Muppet Show,” and that irritated some collectors. Early concepts for the “Swine Trek” included versions that were more like the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise than what we saw on our TV screens, and thankfully the version we got is faithful to The Muppet Show, but a bit better than what I remembered. The playset is huge. It’s big enough in its box on the shelf, but then when you take it out of the box, the two hinged side walls unfold into more of a wedge shape, so it’s the biggest playset Palisades has released thus far.
The set looks just like you remember from The Muppet Show, and although it’s predominantly varying shades of gray, the bridge is lightened up with red trim and many MANY colored buttons, working levers, lights, and viewscreens. The three crew chairs are behind a large console (big enough to hide the heads and bodies of puppeteers): for the record, Link sits in the middle, Julius on your left, Piggy on your right. The silver chairs swivel, but also pull back on tracks so it’s easier to seat the figures at their stations. All three figures “sit” well, which doesn’t sound that exciting, but if you’re displaying your toys there’s nothing worse than having a “shelf diver” that topples the rest of your collection like dominoes.
The set has features that make it less static than previous playsets: there are different oval cards that can be slid into the main viewscreen to change what the crew is looking at. Images include things like Gonzo shooting into space, Strangepork on a desert planet, various Muppets in spacesuits, a blank starfield, and Beaker floating through space (the one I usually have on my screen). The two side doors actually slide open with little switches atop the door frames, and they’re spring-loaded so they can swish shut again. This is a nice little touch, especially remembering the number of times those doors became key parts of the gags on “Pigs in Space.” For those bemoaning the lack of lights-and-sounds in the playset, there are notches behind the playset’s back wall where you can insert Christmas lights, to snazz the display up a notch. (“snazz?” yes.) There are five freestanding pieces of equipment that have pegs and holes so they can be arranged in various combinations—Strangepork was always inventing new gadgets, and these are a nice addition to the set even though those with no imagination will have a hard time with them.
The playset itself is flawless…and yet it didn’t live up to the “holy !@#$” level that the Swedish Kitchen established. Part of that may have to do with the figure that accompanies the set, First Mate Piggy.
We all know that I’m obsessed with Miss Piggy. She’s hot, she’s beautiful, she’s sensitive, strong, violent, and…well, I’ll stop before I get banned. This is only the second Miss Piggy figure that Palisades has attempted, because the first was pretty much a train wreck. They tried to fix a few things with this figure, and I’m not sure if they succeeded or if I’m so used to the “old” Miss Piggy that the new one threw me for a loop.
The Pig looks much more like her Muppet Show years than that first figure did—it had a slimmer body shape, and this one is suitably chunky to be my Piggy. She’s wearing the Pigs in Space uniform, a pink, glittery sleeveless dress with a pig and lightning bolt across the chest. She’s got a silver collar, epaulets, gloves, belt and boots, and has pearly white tights (which I don’t remember from the show…but how often do you see Muppet legs anyway?). Something about her eyes seems off…not sure if it’s the eye focus or the slope of the eyelids…but her face is a better likeness than the previous Piggy. She’s also got the foamy “Muppet texture” on her face and arms, which does wonders for these figures.
The sculpt of her hair is wonderful. It’s a softer PVC plastic than the rest of the figure, so there’s some give when you turn her head…and it cascades in curls that are Very 70’s and yet timeless. Because it’s Piggy. Instead of the Crayola 8-Pack Yellow that Palisades gave the first Piggy figure, this is a much darker blonde—perhaps too dark for the character. Standing the two Piggys side by side, it’s hard to say which I like more…although this newer First Mate Piggy is undoubtedly more accurate.
I’ve said too much, but at least I didn’t mention panties.
A word about the set together with the two other Pigs in Space action figures: if you act soon, you may be able to pick all three up together at Target, Media Play, Suncoast, or Sam Goody. On clearance, even. The playset normally cost 34.99, and it’s worth every penny of that. At 17.00, it’s a no-brainer, and you can pick up Link and Strangepork to fill out the set for about 4.00 a piece.
If you or a friend are a fan of the Muppets (or Star Trek), this would make a great gift. The Palisades Muppet Line is going where no Pig has gone before…and it’s time you came along for the ride.
MORE MUPPETS!
Series One
Kermit the Frog http://www.epinions.com/content_81549233796
Miss Piggy http://www.epinions.com/content_81637707396
Dr. Teeth http://www.epinions.com/content_81569549956
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew http://www.epinions.com/content_81822191236
Series Two
Fozzie Bear http://www.epinions.com/content_85935820420
Crazy Harry http://www.epinions.com/content_98525613700
Floyd Pepper http://www.epinions.com/content_98514865796
Gonzo the Great http://www.epinions.com/content_98463813252
Series Three
Scooter http://www.epinions.com/content_91825081988
Lew Zealand http://www.epinions.com/content_91457293956
Zoot http://www.epinions.com/content_91549830788
Rowlf http://www.epinions.com/content_90764316292
Series Four
Link Hogthrob http://www.epinions.com/content_105889107588
Dr. Strangepork http://www.epinions.com/content_105892187780
Sam Eagle as Samuel Arrow http://www.epinions.com/content_105895988868
Rizzo the Rat http://www.epinions.com/content_105903591044
Series Five
Gonzo and Camilla http://www.epinions.com/content_115081186948
Janice http://www.epinions.com/content_117029899908
Pepe http://www.epinions.com/content_117043138180
Muppet Newsman http://www.epinions.com/content_117058145924
Series Six
Clifford http://www.epinions.com/content_120939515524
Bear on Patrol Fozzie http://www.epinions.com/content_120963501700
Statler http://www.epinions.com/content_120983948932
Waldorf http://www.epinions.com/content_120987487876
Playsets
Muppet Labs with Beaker http://www.epinions.com/content_81755606660
Electric Mayhem Stage with Animal http://www.epinions.com/content_98538262148
Swedish Kitchen with Swedish Chef http://www.epinions.com/content_98725432964
MINI Muppets
Wave 1 Set 1 http://www.epinions.com/content_119826517636
Wave 1 Set 2 http://www.epinions.com/content_119837462148
Wave 2 Set 1: Muppet Christmas Carol http://www.epinions.com/content_120237952644
Wave 2 Set 2: Muppet Christmas Carol http://www.epinions.com/content_120245292676
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 34.99
Type of Toy: Action Figure
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Epinions.com ID:
JediKermit
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Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Reviews written: 2122
Trusted by: 597 members
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Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
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