Joe the Legal Weasel (sometimes referred to as „Joe from Legal”) was introduced in early commercials for the Disney + Muppets Now series. The first press release in the series, released on August 23, 2019, was a signed letter from Kermit the Frog with adaptations of Joe; including some sections blackened with black felt pens and a stamp that read „Restricted Until I Say So.” Joe made his first physical appearance in the Muppets Now teaser video, which aired during the Disney+ panel at D23 Expo 2019 on August 23. Joe listens attentively to Kermit announce the new series and constantly prevents her from revealing certain details of the series. Joe speaks in a low, monotonous voice and laughs at his own jokes. Yes, that`s right: in his youth, Joe was a shameless criminal. I do not know how we can justify listening to his legal advice when we do. Ian Goodwillie is a freelance writer from Saskatoon, SK, Canada. He holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Saskatchewan and completed the Vancouver Film School writing program. More importantly, Ian is also a wrestling fan, comic book reader, video player, and photographer. He loves to write and writes about what he likes. Ian is also an unrepentant and uncompromising fan of Cougar Town, a series he will defend until his death.
Follow him on Twitter at @ThePrairieGeek. Standing out as a member of the ever-growing Muppets team is no easy task, especially on a show like Muppets Now. The 24-minute running time combined with a six-part first season meant there were few opportunities to break through on screen. One Muppet who made the most of these opportunities was Joe de Legal, aka Joe the Legal Weasel. He may not have had much screen time, but what he did with it was certainly funny. In the series itself, Joe appeared alongside Kermit to provide safety warnings before each „Muppet Labs Field Test” segment. He participated in the segment of the episode „Socialized” and tried to deter them from dangerous chemical experiments. He also made a brief appearance in the first scene of „Getting Testy”. Later, prairie dogs would appear prominently in the season four episode „Crystal Gayle”, where they would be the centerpiece of the episode`s plot. Here they run around stealing everything from the theater to Kermit`s necklace, which I didn`t know was removable before this point. There were many more Muppet productions during this period, but Joe`s team wasn`t there for most of them.
Oddly enough, though, they went back to ground squirrels, especially in your favorite Muppet movie, Billy Bunny`s Animal Songs. You remember that movie, don`t you? Billy is looking for a new song to sing, and he stumbles upon Gopherville and learns from the Gophers that animals can sometimes look alike but have different personalities. For example, the animals sometimes look identical, but are prairie dogs, ground squirrels, marmots and weasels. Sometimes these animals are kleptomaniacs and sometimes they are defenders. Joe is recycled by one of the prairie dogs featured on The Muppet Show and other productions. My friends, meet EUGENE, an oft-recycled weasel from the Muppet Classic Theater and the Muppets Tonight who lived in the studio`s control panel and never did anything remarkable. Here, he briefly emerges from a hole to explain how marmots can predict the weather. Let me spoiler you: it says they can`t. In the first season of Muppets Now, Joe was featured primarily alongside Kermit in the warnings that led to Muppets Lab field test segments with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker.
As such, Kermit was the main muppet, tormented by Joe`s sense of humor. But in the final episode of season 1, Joe showed up with honeydew and a cup to conduct science experiments. He was visibly stressed and trying to dissuade the dynamic research and development duo Muppet from doing something dangerous. Joe, a brand new member of the Muppets family, made his first appearance in a Muppets Now teaser video released on D23 in August 2019. At this point, the legal weasel has only been around for just over a year. Fortunately, the premise of the character is quite easy to understand. Joe is the Muppets` legal counsel and works primarily to protect everyone and not be sued. He`s lucky Gonzo isn`t on the show anymore. Where is Joe from? Why do the Muppets trust this man, who is clearly not a weasel? Well, even though Joe looks like a new character, he`s actually been with the Muppets since the days of The Muppet Show.
The legal weasel of the Muppets is an interesting and unique character who is fantastic in small doses administered at the right time. Joe is funny and a nice addition to the current Muppets roster. But producers, writers and creators who work behind the scenes at Muppets Now should resist the urge to increase the frequency with which Joe appears on the show in Season 2. Less is more in some cases, and Joe from Legal is a prime example. Sure, he has brown fur and a long (puppet-shaped) body, but he lacks that pointed, pointed nose that all weasels have. Look at this chart that we created at the ToughPigs Research Institute and you will see what I mean. This is controversial, as a gopher would not always write a look sought after exhaustively if Muppet performers used this brown doll. RELATED: Earth to Ned is basically Farscape meets Sesame Street But of course, if you`re like me, you`re always asking yourself a question: Why repurpose this doll? Weasels are whiskers, not rodents like the other animals Joe was. Was there ever a strange background that the Muppets could recycle as a legal weasel? You can also see the Gophers in the most famous Bohemian Rhapsody video.
Since they sing together, I thought of calling them the Prairie Dog Glee Club. However, they are not explicitly identified and ground squirrels sing too, so I will also call them ground squirrels. READ MORE: Earth to Ned CLOD stars in new series Muppets Joe and his cohort first appeared in season 3 of The Muppet Show, where they were identified as The Prairie Dog Glee Club. In the episode Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, they sing „Blue Skies”, a hilarious musical moment where each prairie dog sings a word from the catchy song. You will find that Eugene has the right nose to be a weasel. Why not recycle Eugene? It appears as a happy meeting place at Muppet`s haunted mansion and on Holey Moley as part of a series of Muppet characters auditioning for the series. The Muppet Show wasn`t even over when Joe and his gang changed their name to Gophers. Ground squirrels look like prairie dogs, but they are not the same animal! In Joan Baez`s episode, they explain that ground squirrels are smarter than humans in every way. Joe the Legal Weasel was a great addition to Muppets Now, but it doesn`t need more screen time to thrive. Here it is: Joe the legal weasel is not a weasel. Fans fell in love with Joe and his annoying but infectious laugh.
During Season 1, Joe`s presence increased slightly, although he is still a secondary character at best. With Muppets Now Season 2 already lit up in green, it wouldn`t be surprising if Joe gets a lot more screen time in the future. But a bigger boost wouldn`t turn out to be the best thing for the character or the show.