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''Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony'' is a multi-award–winning webshow starring the Muppet characters Statler and Waldorf which ran biweekly on Movies.com from June 2005 until September 2006. The series spawned more than 35 episodes and featured many Muppet characters — both well-known classics and newly created characters. The two elderly curmudgeons would discuss upcoming films, watch the latest movie trailers and share the week's "balconism" from their theater box. Many of the webisodes featured a segment (or segments) featuring other Muppet characters — for example, Pepe the King Prawn often reviewed the recent DVD releases or gave remote reports; and fictional movie trailers or commercials starring other Muppet characters were also commonly seen. Many established Muppet characters appeared — including Rowlf the Dog, Johnny Fiama, the Swedish Chef, Bobo the Bear, Dr. Teeth, Animal, Sam Eagle, and Sweetums. Plus many new recurring and one-time gag characters would appear in segments, sketches and parodies. Several new characters that frequented the series include Larry and Oliver, Lester Possum, Ted Thomas, Stan and Louie, the Hollywood Pitchmen, the Blimp, Loni Dunne and a pair of musical performers. ==Production== From the Balcony was produced by Movies.com in association with Disney's The Muppets Studio and Hirsch Productions. A test pilot was briefly available online in February 2005. The pilot featured Statler and Waldorf in a movie theater watching, rating and commenting on the latest trailers for ''The Pacifier'' and ''Constantine'', additionally Pepe the Prawn appeared to give a rundown on the latest DVD releases. The pilot did not feature the classic balcony set seen in later episodes, a "Balconism" and other regular features the series would later include. The puppeteers on the pilot were Victor Yerrid (Waldorf) and Drew Massey (Statler and Pepe). The pilot was removed from Movies.com in the spring of 2005 and has not been officially released or reposted since. In early June 2005, Movies.com announced that ''From the Balcony'' would soon become a regular feature of the site. Biweekly episodes started appearing on Movies.com beginning on June 26. The first eight episodes featured regular Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire and Bill Barretta performing the cast of Muppets in each episode. However, starting with episode 9, and continuing until the end of the series, Victor Yerrid and Drew Massey returned to take over the main puppeteering duties on the project. Victor Yerrid commented on his and Drew Massey's role in the series in (a 2007 interview ) stating: The opening of each episode started with a quick first-person perspective traveling through the El Capitan Theatre. The song "Hey a Movie!" from ''The Great Muppet Caper'' was used as the theme song in early run of the series before being replaced with an original instrumental composition for later episodes (starting with episode 5). The show originally was produced in the traditional 4:3 (1.33:1) aspect ratio, but starting with episode 15, and continuing for the rest of the series' run, the picture switched to a 16:9 (1.78:1) widescreen format. Through the 15-month run of the series, the show spawned more than 34 episodes. Aside from the biweekly episodes, the series produced sets of promotional Halloween and Oscar clips that were released to television news syndicates for incorporation in news broadcasts to promote the series. Statler and Waldorf also appeared from the set of ''From the Balcony'' in a promotional tie-in to introduce the films for ESPN Classic's Reel Classics Extra beginning in October 2005.〔James, Greg. (Statler and Waldorf on ESPN ). The Muppet Newsflash. October 4, 2005〕 The characters and balcony set were also featured in a public service announcement for the Will Rogers Institute in late 2005.〔Will Rogers Institute. (Online "TV/Film PSA's" archive ). "''The Muppets/Teri Hatcher 'Teen Stress' - 60''"〕 In October 2006, after the 34th episode of the webshow debuted online, Movies.com set the following message via the "Balcony Bulletin" mailing list (an e-mail mailing list that would alert subscribers when a new episode was posted): Although the show was said to only be on a "hiatus", as of January 2014, no information on a possible return of the show or the production of new episodes has surfaced, nor have Statler and Waldorf appeared in any other parts of Movies.com. At a public appearance in June 2007, Dave Goelz mentioned that they were working on several projects - including new Muppet webisodes.〔Goelz, Dave. (''Muppets, Music & Magic'' Q&A ). June 2007〕 However it was unclear if he meant a return of ''From the Balcony'' or the creation of a new web series. Due to the acquisition of Movies.com by Comcast's Fandango, the series is no longer available at Movies.com. While there has been no word of upcoming ''From the Balcony'' episodes, The Muppet Newsflash: A Jim Henson News Blog announced on Sept. 17, 2009, that Statler and Waldorf will release a book titled ''From the Balcony'' in 2010. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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