It looks like the Muppets will be back again for Christmas. The NBC television special will star Whoopi Goldberg, "The Sopranos" alums Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa, "Harry Potter" regular Richard Griffiths and Madison Pettis as well as your favorite cast of colorful characters created by Jim Henson.

I'm a huge fan of the Muppets, but the passing of Jim Henson did somehow lessen the franchise. The stuff they've produced since has been hit-and-miss. I liked Muppets Tonight and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, but most of the other stuff (especially the theatrical films) have fallen flat.

I do hope that Jason Segal and Nicholas Stoller will be able to breathe new life into the franchise. I did enjoy Forgetting Sarah Marshall (particularly the puppet musical), but I'm not sure how well that translates to the Muppets. My fingers are crossed.

How dare Jim Henson leave us all like this! I'm sorry. I still haven't gotten over it.