“The Muppets” Episode 1.2, “Hostile Makeover” Starring Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Matt Vogel; Guest Starring Josh Groban, Laurence Fishburne, Jay Leno, Lea Thompson, Reza Aslan. Written by Bill Prady, Paul Kushell; Directed by Randall Einhorn. (8 out of 10)

Last week’s premiere of “The Muppets” was good. But there were a few missteps in the tone. A few times where it felt like they were being edgy for the sake of being edgy, instead of telling the best joke. I mean, there were some not-kid-friendly jokes that worked, and were funny. But a few that misfired too. “Hostile Makeover,” this week’s episode, is funnier than last week’s, and more coherent as an episode of an ongoing series, instead of a series pilot. 

The episode starts with Miss Piggy on a rampage, because she’s needing a date for the People’s Choice Awards. Kermit happens to know how her needs work, so he hooks her up with Josh Groban. They may have met on the set of “Muppets Most Wanted,” where Groban was a gulag prisoner kept in a box. Josh and Miss Piggy fall for each other fast. On a piano. On the set of her talk show. That scene was a meisterwerk of puppeteering, by the way. In the first two episodes we’ve seen some examples of puppetry that I’ve never seen with the Muppets before–not just greenscreening, not CGI, but actual puppeteering. That’s awesome. Uh. Anyway. Groban and the Pig. He wants to class up her talk show, booking guests like biographer Reza Aslan instead of the more lowbrow (and popular) guests she usually gets. 

Another storyline follows Fozzie Bear as he visits his hero Jay Leno’s house (I know, right? Ugh.) and finds a…unique way to show his appreciation at being at Leno’s party. Basically he steals stuff. A candy dish. And while the kleptomania seems a bit out of character for Fozzie, his excitement at being loved enough to be invited is very much in character. This felt more authentic than Fozzie’s storyline last week, which had some angry flareups at his girlfriend’s father. It felt weird. This was still weird, but funnier. Beware of bears wearing hats. 

Also bears selling Girl Scout Cookies, because Bobo the Bear and the Muppet Newsman end up in a fierce competition to sell the most cookies for their daughters (no, I didn’t know they had daughters either, and that’s part of what makes this great). They try one-upping each other until they find an elegant solution that’s funny for the kids on one level, and the adults on another. Munchies, man. Munchies. 

It looks like one of the features of this quick cut, edited-together format is going to be a lot of plots, a lot of one-liners all put together. This affords us tiny glimpses and gags that we might not get in a different format. I love seeing Kermit huddled together with Uncle Deadly and Scooter under his desk — a pair of characters who were forgotten (Deadly) or voiceless (Scooter) for decades. Seeing the Muppet Newsman, and a full Electric Mayhem band, and Rizzo and Yolanda the rats — it’s good. The Muppets need a critical mass of characters to reach full chaos, and they’re getting it here. They could use more chickens, some singing food, a boomerang fish — but this is good. You need those minor characters to fill in the spaces between Kermit and Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear and Gonzo. Some of them may even develop their own storylines. Rizzo the Rat used to be a background character. Hell, Miss Piggy used to be a background character. It will be interesting to see if this series lasts long enough for those to emerge through writing and performances. 

Also, Lips – the trumpet player on the far right – had his third line ever on this episode. Muppet history, man. Muppet history. 

If you miss any episodes of “The Muppets” you can catch it streaming here: http://abc.go.com/shows/the-muppets …or on my DVR if you’re around. Call ahead first. Pretty far ahead. 

“The Muppets” Episode 1.1, “Pig Girls Don’t Cry” Starring Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Matt Vogel; Written by Bill Prady, Paul Kushell; Directed by Randall Einhorn.

Imagine the Swedish chef making a Muppet stew. He takes a bit of “The Muppet Show,” a dash of “Muppets Tonight,” and parts of the recent big screen Muppet movies, and he comes up with “The Muppets,” now airing on ABC.

And yes, the portions rely heavier on the newer, post-Jim Henson (and even Frank Oz) Muppets. Those looking for the sentimentality of “The Muppet Movie” may be disappointed, but the new show certainly embraces the zaniness of the original Muppet television series, where Kermit tried to maintain order at a theater while calming Miss Piggy, corralling guest stars, and dealing with wacky chickens, weirdos, and a bear that loves to tell jokes. Bad jokes. Now, instead of a theater, he works in a television studio, but there’s still plenty of drama behind the scenes. Even Statler and Waldorf have returned to ridicule and mock from the front row.

“The Muppets” has all the great Muppet characters we love. In addition to Miss Piggy, Kermit, Gonzo, and Fozzie, there’s Animal, the Swedish Chef, Pepe the Prawn, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band . . . the list goes on. And even if the pilot had nothing else to offer, it does have Muppets. Lots of them. And that’s just about enough for me to love it there.

But overall, how was the show? I really liked it. I’ll never get used to Eric Jacobson as Miss Piggy instead of Frank Oz, but that’s just my own personal issue. The plot of the first episode focuses on Miss Piggy and Kermit after an emotional break-up, but they still work together. This means Miss Piggy is more volatile than ever, and she takes out some of her anger on guest star Elizabeth Banks. A camera crew follows everyone around, and they follow Fozzie as he meets his girlfriend’s parents, who aren’t thrilled their daughter is dating a bear. I think we can expect to see more of the Muppets’ lives outside of the studio as the series progresses. 

Gonzo suggesting a “Dancing with the Tsars” segment after Kermit spoke to Tom Bergeron about being a guest star had me laughing out loud. Pepe and Rizzo popped up in Russian costumes, and it was the sort of silliness that took me right back to “The Muppet Show.”

I love the Muppets. I have loved them since before I could form sentences, so I’m thrilled to see them back on tv. I think I already like this new series better than “Muppets Tonight!” which was another attempt to bring these beloved characters back onto television in the 90’s. As far as first episodes go, the series looks promising, and I know I’ll tune in next week.

My one complaint is there wasn’t enough Swedish Chef. We saw him occasionally, but I would love for him to have his own cooking segment on Miss Piggy’s show each week. He could chase lobsters and cook chocolate mousse and do all the wonderful things he did on “The Muppet Show.”

Aside from that, I’m optimistic about the series and am thrilled to have the Muppets back on a weekly basis.

Remember that scene in “The Muppets Take Manhattan” when the minister said, “Because you share a love so big, I now pronounce you frog and pig?”

I do.

But it’s never been clear whether or not Miss Piggy and Kermit were really married, since Kermit thought it was all part of the show, but his porcine girlfriend brought in a real minister at the last moment.

However, will there be another Muppet wedding in “Muppets Most Wanted?” Production designer Eve Stewart worked on what’s been described as Miss Piggy’s wedding at the Tower of London for the upcoming film, and clothing designer Vivenne Westood designed a dress for Miss Piggy’s “big scene.”

Westood says, “The dress is one of my favorite styles. It’s called the Court dress and is inspired by 17th-century English royalty and the court of King Charles II. It has been designed especially for [Miss Piggy] in a white pearl sequin fabric made from recycled water bottles. It’s the perfect choice for a royal sow.”

This isn’t the first wedding dress Westwood has designed for a film’s leading lady. She designed the gown Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) wore in the big screen adaptation of “Sex at the City.” 

So will there be a “wedding, wedding, piggy froggy wedding?”

Find out when “Muppets Most Wanted” hits the big screen March 21.