Aspies among the Muppets?

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Has anyone else watched the new Muppets show, and if so, have you noticed a sprinkling of Aspie-like dialog.

The receptionist monster: "I only take messages. I don't do tone!"

Skooter: "I've worked with Kermit so long that all he has to do is give me a look, and I know that I need to over and ask him what that look meant."

Chip-the-IT-guy. "I've learned that when people are looking right at me and talking that it probably means that they are talking to me."

Thoughts?

Uhh ... dude?

It's called comedy.

Besides, if you started talking to everyone through a painted sock on your hand, being labeled "autistic" would be the least of your worries ...

Thanks for the info. I thought it was a documentary.

That explains all the autistic representation I saw in MASH, and Friends.....

Dude.

It's called sarcasm.

First, this is a great show.

Yeah, for sure, you are right. I noticed the Skooter and Chip lines on my own, but didn't catch the one from the receptionish, though I suspect the intent is less trying to paint these guys as Aspie and more Chip is the typical socially clueless IT guy and in Skooter's case I didn't think it was anything like him being an Aspie and just a 'hey, we've worked together for so long and I still don't get him" sort of thing.

Not sure why anyone would think that it being comedy precludes there from being autistic characters in a show..

Those certainly sound like autistic characters to me.

Agreed. I get the impression that they slip them in as "diversity bombs." It's not trying to be a "very special episode" and it's not trying to make fun. It's just a fun gag about the miscommunications that can arise in a diverse group. When you think about it, mixing aspergers and NT's is a situation full of opportunities for comedic miscommunication.

In a broader sense, I think I'm seeing more and more spectromish characters slipping into television, and especially kid's TV since as a parent that's almost all I get to see anymore. Some are overt, like on Arthur and Sesame Street. Some are just slipped in silently:
Doctor Who did a little nod to social story cards
Maud Pie screams ASD. Metaphorically, of course, because she has a flat aspect, monotone voice and an all-consuming special interest in geology. No word yet on her sister Marble, as she's too nonverbal to get a reading.
There was another show, but now I've forgotten. Damn. Anyway, this seems like a change.

Growing up I watched way too much TV, yet I can't really remember that many characters that I could relate to for those kinds of characteristics. If there were, they were extreme, like Mr. Spock, and Data, and had clear explanations for why they were different. The nerds on TV were almost always obviously written by non-nerds and only there as comedic vehicles rather than characters.

The optimist in me keeps hoping this trend means that society is waking up to the fact that we exist, and that it's possible for us to be a neighbor or a coworker.