Do we like them?

Do we like Miss Piggy?

A character from The Muppet Show (1976)

Our score: 6 out of 10. Vain, volatile and quick with a karate chop, but fiercely loyal and endlessly watchable. We'd back her, from a safe distance and with our hands up.

Miss Piggy is one of the stars of the Muppets, a troupe of puppet performers who put on a chaotic variety show. She began as a minor character in The Muppet Show. The writers and puppeteers soon saw she could be more than a one-note joke, and she grew into one of the central characters.

She is a stardom-obsessed prima donna with a diva personality and a knack for karate. In public she presents herself as the soul of feminine charm. Insult her or get in her way, and the charm can turn into a violent rage in an instant. Her great love is Kermit the Frog, who is often more nervous than flattered.

That is why she scores a solid 6. She is demanding, vain and far too fond of the karate chop. But she has real ambition and nerve, and a softer side that shows up when it matters. Performers Frank Oz and later Eric Jacobson have each given her a different mix of toughness and tenderness, and that has kept her one of the most fully rounded Muppets.