Time (magazine)

Big Bird graces the Nov. 23, 1970 issue

Kermit the Frog on the front cover of the Dec. 25, 1978 issue

TIME is a weekly news magazine which has been published since 1923. Covering events in American politics, world news, and entertainment, the Muppets have been featured in several articles over the years. During the run of The Muppet Show, the magazine's "People" section often had brief blurbs on the show's guest stars and their relationship with the Muppets, and resident critic Richard Corliss reviewed most of the films, including a comment that The Dark Crystal was Jim Henson's bleak "foray into the art, dammit, of puppetry."

Notable Appearances

• Sep. 14, 1970: "Bath Time for Ernie." Article on the unexpected success of Columbia Records' single recording of "Rubber Duckie," selling 700,000 copies.

• November 23, 1970: "Who's Afraid of Big Bad TV?" (cover story). A profile of Sesame Street, praising the show as TV's best children's series. The in-depth article includes sections on its development, Muppet characters, human cast, possible influence on children's television in general, and competition.

• August 28, 1978: "The Muppets Make the Big Move," a behind the scenes look at the upcoming The Muppet Movie.

• December 25, 1978: Two articles, the in-depth "Those Marvelous Muppets" and the slightly shorter "The Man Behind the Frog". The former is a close analysis of The Muppet Show, the character dynamics, relationships, and popularity. The latter is a profile of Jim Henson. The cover was to have featured this photo but instead featured news of Jimmy Carter's diplomatic breakthrough with China.

• December 30, 1985: "People"- Brief piece on Miss Piggy to promote The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, and including a quote by Piggy regarding her age: "By no stretch of the imagination am I anywhere near the age of 30," she snorts. "I fell in love with a much older frog. I consider the matter closed."

• June 8, 1998: "The TV Creator," an in-depth tribute to Jim Henson, selected as part of the special Time 100 issue and acclaimed as the "Most Influential TV Creator."

• June 20, 2011: "Comeback Kids: A visit to the set of the new Muppets film" by Joel Stein

Piggy parodies the cover of Time

Betty Lou imagines herself on the cover of "Times Now"

Constantine with his altered Time cover

References

• In the The Miss Piggy Cover Girl Fantasy Calendar, Miss Piggy spoofs the magazine with a cover titled "Bringing Home the Bacon".

• In the Sesame Street storybook I Want to Be President, Betty Lou imagines herself on the cover of "Times Now."

• A copy of TIME can be see in the Newsman's makeshift newsroom, a news stand at a railroad station, in episode 308 of The Muppet Show.

• In March 2014, Constantine "infiltrated" the Facebook offices in order to promote his Badfrog website, during which he held up a Time magazine cover of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with an added mole, and the caption: "With mole on his face, don’t I look exactly like Mark Zuckerberg? Maybe next time I take his place! #BadFrog"

See also

• TIME for Kids