‘Muppets Christmas— the best Muppets special in quite some time

“A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa” isn’t the year’s most original Christmas special — that distinction belongs to last month’s “A Colbert Christmas” — but it is the best Muppets special in quite some time.

The one-hour program (8 p.m. Wednesday, Chs. 8, 11) shows off better production values than last year’s more traditional “Elmo’s Christmas,” and, most important, it lets the Muppets be the Muppets, unlike 2005’s “Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” and other recent productions that forced them to play other roles.

Better yet, “A Muppets Christmas” finds room for most of the classic characters. They may not all get huge roles, but they appear. Balcony critics Statler and Waldorf, the Swedish Chef, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker are among the second-tier Muppets who appear alongside the lead players: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, Rizzo the Rat and Pepe the Prawn.

The songs, by frequent Muppets collaborator Andy Williams, are generic and forgettable. Same goes for the plot: Kermit and the gang attempt to mail letters, get caught up in a post office’s backroom machinery and find letters that haven’t made it to Santa. They embark on a journey to the North Pole to make sure no one’s Christmas wishes go unread.

It’s the journey and humor that make this program worthwhile. Written by new-to-the-Muppets writers Hugh Fink, Scott Ganz and Andrew Samson — all veterans of “The Showbiz Show With David Spade” — and directed by Muppets veteran Kirk Thatcher (“Muppets Treasure Island”), “A Muppets Christmas” features amusing situations that emerge naturally from the beloved Muppets characters.

When they come upon a lever in the post office that should not be pulled, you know Gonzo will pull it. When a potential plot turn requires a public-service announcement, fans know patriotic Sam the Eagle will deliver it with utmost authority (“Opening mail that does not belong to you is a federal offense!”).

“A Muppets Christmas” revisits a gag from last year’s “Elmo’s Christmas” as Rizzo and Pepe visit two wise guys (Steve Schirripa and Tony Sirico from “The Sopranos”). “Rule No. 1,” Sirico says, “Never trust a rat!”

A few celebrities make guest appearances, but they’re not showstoppers that distract from the Muppets. Whoopi Goldberg is a cabdriver, Uma Thurman is an airline ticket agent and Nathan Lane plays a security agent, who has some funny scenes with Bobo the Bear.

Unlike most TV Muppet shows, a few scenes in this special appear to have been filmed on location outdoors, giving the program more of a real-world vibe.

Between this Christmas special and their recent appearance on NBC’s “Today” — good for the Muppets, bad for NBC News’ credibility — the Muppets appear to be poised for a renaissance under the Muppets Studio’s Disney ownership (Why this show isn’t airing on Disney-owned ABC is a bit of a mystery to me, too).

If future Muppet endeavors can, like “A Muppets Christmas,” tap into the spirit of the characters as established by Jim Henson in the 1970s, perhaps the foam puppets will gain a new audience of young viewers and remind their parents — the original Muppets fans — of their continued relevance in the pop-culture continuum.