I think it is fair to say that, ever since their purchase of Jim Henson’s Muppets back in 2004, Walt Disney has struggled to quite work out what to do with them. Their various efforts at relaunching the characters have varied from the good (The Electric Mayhem) to the disappointing (the 2011 The Muppets film) to the actively risible (2015’s The Muppets TV series). This week marks the latest attempt to capture the audience, and it is honestly the safest bet Disney has made to date.

Streaming from this Wednesday on Disney+ is The Muppet Show, returning to the world-famous Muppet Theatre for an all-new collection of musical numbers and comedy sketches. It is in pretty much in all respects episode 121 of the series that ran from 1976 to 1981, and which first introduced a global audience to Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, the Great Gonzo, and a range of other characters (Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog both predate The Muppet Show by some years, trivia fans). This new episode, which features pop star Sabrina Carpenter as its main guest, aims to both celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series as well as act as a proof-of-concept for a potential revival going forwards.

There will be no spoiling of jokes or song choices here, as much of the enjoyment in this kind of special is finding out what’s in it as it goes along. Suffice to say that Carpenter is an inspired choice – both hugely popular and hugely game to play alongside Muppets – and that the episode broadly hits the tone and style of the series that I grew up with as a young child. In places it almost feels uncanny. A few new touches feel a little odd – like humans among the Muppet Theatre audience – but not so egregiously that they damage the episode.

If the purpose of this special is to celebrate and duplicate the original series, then it is easy to judge it a success. If, on the other hand, the purpose is to relaunch The Muppet Show as an ongoing concern, then some work does need to be done.

Here is my key problem: the original Muppets were so brilliantly effective not because of the characters but because of the performers. The thing that unites scenes of Kermit and Piggy, for example, or Kermit and Fozzie, or Rowlf and Fozzie, or indeed the Swedish Chef and the errant hands of the Swedish Chef, is that those scenes were all performed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, who shared incredible chemistry, talent, and comedic timing. The same is true of all the original Muppet Show puppeteers, including the late Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt, Steve Whitmire, and Dave Goelz. Goelz is now the ‘last man standing’, as it were, and while it is pleasing to see and hear his work once again as Gonzo the Great, the fact remains that the modern Muppets are younger puppeteers playing copies of old characters. There may be a nostalgia hit in seeing childhood favourites, but if the future of the Muppets is entertaining art and not simply brand extension, the new performers need space to find and create new characters.

This special episode is a lot of fun, and a nostalgic success. It is the future where I’m looking. The best potential requires a little more work to realise.

The Muppet Show premieres tomorrow on Disney+, as well as ABC in the USA.