I'm a Wikipedia Admin!

Though this might be old news to some, I've never actually mentioned it here on Starblind.com, and I feel that it's important for those who know me mainly for my acting or photography to know that I do quite a bit more than just that. Previously an editor of the Wikipedia encyclopedia, I've recently been made an administrator there after a week-long voting process. The final vote was 43 for and 10 against, with 4 voting neutral. I'd say that pretty much qualifies as a landslide victory!

I plan on writing a little something about my Wikipedia participation here each wednesday, either an expanded article, some bit of news, or whatever else seems interesting. As always, stay tuned!

Jim Henson's Muppets: Classic Swedish Chef action figure review by Andrew Lenahan

Figure: Classic Swedish Chef
Property: Jim Henson's Muppets
Series: 9
Keywords: Swedish Chef, Muppets, The Muppet Show, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Great Muppet Caper, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets From Space, Bork Bork Bork, Croonchy Stars
Company: Palisades Toys
Release year: 2005

Series Overview:
Originally released to coincide with The Muppet Show's 25th anniversary, Palisades Muppets series are among the most ambitious action figure lines of the modern era. With plenty of variants and exclusives to keep collectors happy, and generally awesome sculpts and accessories galore, this will likely be remembered as one of the truly great toy lines.

Character Overview:
Though he seldom interacted much with the guest stars or the rest of the Muppet cast, and hasn't really gone on to movie stardom, the Swedish Chef is one of the best-remembered and most beloved characters on The Muppet Show. His segments took the form of a cooking show, where he'd prepare some sort of recipe in a hilariously inept way, often with uncooperative ingredients, all while commentating in a strange mock-Swedish language all his own. Bork, Bork, Bork!

Action Figure Sculpt and Paint: 9
Though there have been several other Swedish Chef figures in the Palisades line so far, this is an attempt at a "Classic" Chef... looking as much as possible like he did originally on the Muppet Show in the 70s. The sculpt is essentially the same as previous versions (which were themselves excellent) with the exception of new hands so he can hold his new accessories... specifically, a "pointing" hand which can wield his fearsome blunderbuss gun. His painting is, of course, somewhat plainer than previous versions, with no complex plaids or food splatters. Even the pickiest fan would have trouble finding anything to complain about here.

Articulation: 9
Articulation is the same as previous chefs, which is a very good thing indeed. Classic Swedish Chef moves at the neck, shoulders (ball joints), upper arms, elbows, waist, and legs. Great job at making this portly gourmand as posable as possible.

Accessories: 8
Palisades Muppets will be remembered as one of the all-time great toy lines when it comes to accessories (the Chef's kitchen playset came with 40 or so!) and I'm sorry to say that Classic Chef is a slight letdown here. Presumably having exhausted all the obvious Chef accessories in previous releases, we get an odd bunch this time. There's a large basketball hoop (real string!) complete with backboard... which is intended to clip onto the aforementioned kitchen playset. There's also a muppet tomato and a muppet banana, which are very cute. The Chef's hat is removable, and works magnetically so there's no pegs or holes. Finally, there's a blunderbuss (an old-style rifle-type gun which Chef calls a "Boom Boom"). Oh, and a standard black round base, which isn't needed as the Chef can stand just fine. There's nothing actually wrong with the accessories, but the quantity and impressiveness isn't up to scratch with the rest of series 9, or most other Muppet retail figures.

Packaging: Above Average
After a series or two of standard cardboard & bubble packaging, the Palisades Muppets line graduated to a more McFarlane-esque plastic packaging with a paper insert. It's attractive and durable, so no complaints there.

Overall score: 8
Any line of Muppets toys needs a Swedish Chef. That's obvious. But did Palisades really need to make four of them? Five, actually, if you count the PVC one. Worse still, this Chef is simply not a good value at its full retail price, considering that when it came out it was still possible to find Chefs complete with the kitchen playset and loads of accessories for just a few dollars more on clearance at K.B. Toys stores. The Classic Swedish Chef is an unusual situation indeed... a very good figure that's difficult to wholeheartedly recommend.

Availability:
Though still a "current" figure as of this writing, the Chef is getting difficult to find in stores due to the limited retail support of Series 9. EB Games might be your best retail bet, but if you can't find it there, there's always eBay.

I'm Back!

First off, apologies for the lack of updates recently. The Lasik operation was a complete success, and a huge amount of stuff has happened in the past couple of months, most of it quite good. We also took a long trip down the coast to Myrtle Beach, which has occupied a lot of my time as well. However, I pledge to update more frequently from here on out. I've been getting lots of website hits even in my absence, so it's good to know you guys haven't given up. Keep watching, and I'll keep writing. I love you guys.