The Muppets were made for TV. It just took TV 20 or so years to get ready for The Muppets. They’d been local favorites, staples of the talk- and variety-show circuits, and some of the earliest stars of American public television. But until Jim Henson convinced British producer Lew Grade—who’d previously made a transatlantic smash out of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Supermarionation series—to take a flier on his furry, funny, and frantic creations, the Muppets had never had a show to call their own. When the curtain went up on The Muppet Show in the fall of 1976, it represented a new pinnacle for the unique blend of state-of-the-art puppetry, practical special effects, anarchic humor, song-and-dance numbers, and underlying sincerity that Henson had forged across countless projects alongside indispensable collaborators like Frank Oz, Jerry Juhl, and Don Sahlin.
The amount of time that passed between the beginning of Henson’s original, Washington, D.C.-area series, Sam And Friends, and The Muppet Show’s premiere is roughly equal to how long it’s been since The Muppet Show could be regularly seen on TV. Multiple Muppet shows and Muppet movies have been made during this period, and individual segments have been circulated, remixed, and meme’d online, but the series that made it all possible has largely been unavailable. That’s one reason why it was such a big deal when Disney+ announced that it would be adding The Muppet Show to its library of Muppet projects on February 19. Another reason: It’s a towering, timeless television achievement, and if for some reason you disagree, we recommend spending two minutes with “The Leprechaun Brothers.”
Keeping all that in mind, it’d be understandable if you needed a refresher course on the variety show that launched Kermit The Frog, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, The Great Gonzo, and friends into the pop cultural firmament (and sometimes into the literal firmament). For that, The A.V. Club has put together this list of five essential episodes to watch when The Muppet Show crash-lands on Disney+. These write-ups reflect the episodes as they appear in their broadcast and/or home-video edits; while some of the musical segments discussed might not be streaming, the majority of The Muppet Show’s 120 episodes will be coming to Disney+ uncut.
“Rita Moreno” (season 1, episode 5)
You’ve got to hand it to a Muppet Show guest who can bust up the joint as well as the Muppets can. Rita Moreno bookends her EGOT-clinching episode with two such segments: a slapstick rendition of a Parisian Apache dance where she absolutely wrecks her partner (played alternately by a costumed hoofer and a man-sized rag doll), and a closing number where a pair of hidden crash cymbals are the only things keeping Animal from bringing the simmer of “Fever” to a full percussive boil. (“I love silly humor, and that was about as silly as you can get,” Moreno told The New Yorker in 2018.) The repertory cast does its damnedest to keep up with her demolition act, with The Swedish Chef bringing ballistics to the breakfast table and Frank Oz introducing the tuneful sadism of “the beloved” Marvin Suggs And His Muppaphone. There’s no upstaging a dynamo like Rita Moreno—though, if you’re the lovable ogre Sweetums, you can always try your hand at carrying Rita Moreno upstage. [Erik Adams]
“Steve Martin” (season 2, episode 8)
The Muppet Show and Steve Martin’s approach to stand-up were cut from the same cloth: exuberantly silly send-ups of showbiz cheese that also embrace and elevate that cheese. Or dance with it, as Gonzo does amid a steady stream of not-ready-for-primetime auditions that Kermit mistakenly scheduled on the same night as Martin’s episode. The novel setup becomes a showcase for the creative versatility of the cast and crew, the big production numbers and high-concept sketches temporarily relieved by rapid-fire blackout gags, some throwbacks to the more abstract routines that were Henson’s calling card in the ’60s, and selections from Martin’s act circa Let’s Get Small. It’s The Muppet Show turned inside out: The cast are in the audience, devoted hecklers Statler and Waldorf are onstage, and the insecurities prodded by characters gunning for Kermit’s, Fozzie’s, and Piggy’s jobs are matched by the guest star in his “excuuuuuuuuuuse meeeeee”-spouting, parody-of-a-smarmy-entertainer-that’s-genuinely-entertaining prime. [Erik Adams]
“Alice Cooper” (season 3, episode 7)
The “No More Mr. Nice Guy” singer made a perfect complement to The Muppet Show’s own monsters. Cooper worried at first that he was too edgy for the show, then quickly changed his mind when he learned that Vincent Price had already guest-starred. “I never had so much fun in my life,” he said later, recalling that he soon started treating the Muppets like actual people: “Kermit and I got along very well. We were fast friends.” The production went all out for three inspired Cooper musical numbers: “Welcome To My Nightmare,” featuring Cooper in vampire mode and Muppets weaving in and out as ghostly apparitions disappearing from the screen; a sweet rendition of “You And Me” with an enchanted duet partner; and a rebellious “School’s Out” dance line of menacing full-bodied Muppets. But even the non-guest-star sketches hold up, like Professor Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker debuting a quickly terrifying “germ enlarger,” or Kermit’s nephew Robin performing “Over The Rainbow,” counteracting all of Cooper’s demonic energy. At one point, Kermit just turns to the camera and says, “Weird show”—but it’s weird in the best possible way. [Gwen Ihnat]
“Diana Ross” (season 4, episode 24)
No corner of the Muppet Theatre is off-limits for story- or joke-telling. Dressing-room tiffs spill out onto the stage, and a Fozzie Bear comedy spot isn’t complete without feedback from Statler and Waldorf. The old cranks in the box seats lead a minor rebellion in this episode, with an ad hoc scoring system that rallies boisterous jeers for any act that isn’t Motown singing sensation Diana Ross. Ross looks to be having the time of her life telling bad jokes and dancing to “Love Hangover” with the tallest Muppets ever built, but it’s what’s offscreen that really makes this episode. The objections are so hilariously boisterous and instant that Fozzie barely gets through his “Hi ya, hi ya, hi ya” before he’s back in the wings; the booing renders Beaker’s nonsensical rendition of “Feelings” into (appropriately) an emotional roller coaster that only Animal has the strength to slow. That’s the magic of The Muppet Show at work: It could even make fake audience noises feel alive and electrifying. [Erik Adams]
“Carol Burnett” (season 5, episode 15)
The Muppet Show won its final Emmy (for writing) for this exemplary effort with comedy legend Carol Burnett, proving that even as it neared its end, the show was bound to go out on top. No stranger to variety shows, Burnett gamely plays herself, but against type, as an attention-grabbing diva who just wants to perform her “Lonely Asparagus” sketch (the costume alone is to die for). But her guest appearance is nearly overtaken by an overwhelming Muppet dance marathon that takes place not only on the stage (making its way into “Pigs In Space”), but also backstage and even into the balcony thanks to Statler and Waldorf. Burnett’s scenery-chewing histrionics are delightful, as she’s bequeathed Animal as a dance partner (watch out for that dip) and eventually schemes to end the marathon by weaponizing the Leif Garrett hit “I Was Made For Dancin.’” Steered by a leading lady who knows how to stand out in a hectic, overpacked crowd, the chaos of the marathon only serves to highlight The Muppet Show’s one-of-a-kind brand of comic mania. [Gwen Ihnat]
174 Comments
Come on. Where in this selection do you get to see muppets karate chopped, exploded, shot and kicked away by Roger Moore ?
Roger Moore obviously had a great sense of humor. There’s an episode of “The Persuaders” where he plays various members of his extended family, uncles and aunts included.
It’s not proof of a great sense of humor but he’s as good in Cannonball Run as you can be (in Cannonball Run.)
He was definitely not above self-parody. And he clearly enjoyed his work, no matter what he was doing.
He’s by far the actor who relished being Bond the most. That alone made him the most fan-friendly compared to the others
And all while openly considering james bond to be a “fascist”. Relishing the role, yet not without self-distancing and irony. Moore was a light-hearted and fun person without being a naive one.
The Roger Moore airport story will get you right in the heart, however one feels about his version of Bond. He had a sense of humor, a sense of fun, did not take himself too seriously, and seems to have been just a really cool guy.
I consider him, and his brand of (gleeful, gentle, childish, self-depreciating) humor, a perfect match for muppets. It’s on the par with all the ridiculous pranks he was famous for on films sets. Moore is really one artist whose self-biographies I consider very important reads for morale and general world outlooks. He incarnates a perfect mindset (that could be said to be facilitated by his privileges, but such privileges have also induced the very opposite mindset in different people).
Even in his later years he could still send himself up brilliantly. He was great in one episode of Brian Pern: A Life in Rock. In a parody of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, Pern gets Moore to be the narrator in his musical version of Day of the Triffids. But for the show, Moore is double booked and happens to be in a New Zealand hotel room on satellite link, but when they start the show he’s fallen asleep sat up on his bed.
The Mark Hamill/Star Wars episode will probably be the go-to nerd choice (and deservedly so, it’s terrific), but the Christopher Reeve episode is just as good. Really, I’m so excited for more people to see season 4 in general. I think it’s the best season the show ever did.
The Star Wars episode is the result of them filming at the same studios as Empire Strikes Back. It’s how Lucas and Henson met and also gave us Yoda (‘s voice, ILM made the puppet).
Yoda should have been made out of felt.
Just add large, pointy ears to Bunsen Honeydew (and replace the glasses with eyes) and you have Yoda.
Good god, I’ll never be able to unsee that.
And use the Grover voice! Oz didn’t really reach when creating Yoda’s voice.
This good enough for you?
Yes, for as popular as the Muppet Show was to American pop culture, it was actually filmed in the UK!
Roger Moore was also a hilarious one in the same vein of “Lets skewer our public personas with Muppets”. I still remember his “Talk to the Animals” song with explosions and gunfire and I haven’t seen it in decades.
Spies? Pies! I trod in one earlier.I think the episode may have been the beginning of my ongoing Bond fandom. That and Shirley Bassey singing Goldfinger, with Link Hogthrob in the title role.
Same here- I was around 8 when that aired, and just getting into James Bond (Moore was always “my” Bond). Seeing him kick the hell out of bad guy Muppets while singing was something I’ve always relished.
The Lynda Carter episode was a pleasant surprise. They threw everything at her, literally flinging Muppets in “flight”, and she pulled it off.
(It also inspired, in part, the classic Justice League episode “This Little Piggy”, so there’s that, too.)
I remember, as a little kid, losing my shit when Chewbacca suddenly roared on stage to fight Darth Gonzo!
I’m sorry, but there is no way Harry Belafonte’s episode doesn’t belong on here. He really had input into the writing of his episode (which was unusual – most of the guests just showed up and did their lines for the most part), and it was a fairly rare appearance for him. A lot of the skits are great – Pigs in Space is always a winner, and (even if it’s not as good as the one with Buddy Rich) Animal’s drum battle with Belafonte is great. The closing number might be the best the Muppets ever did. On the whole, it might be the single episode of the show I’d show people if they didn’t understand why it was so amazing.
https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_314:_Harry_Belafonte
Yeah, it’s such an amazing episode.My wife and I wrote about it for Muppet fansite Tough Pigs a few years ago, if you’re interested:
http://www.toughpigs.com/tms40-harry-belafonte/
I agree Belafonte’s episode should be included and that the final piece is the best the show ever did. This list, not wrongly, emphasizes the bedlam and insanity that made the Muppets so great. But it neglects those moments where the show used the medium to create something ethereal and unearthly. Qualities that received much greater attention in the Storyteller segment of the Jim Henson Hour. Also, “Turn The World Around” is just a banging tune.
“Turn the World Around” is Harry Belafonte’s best song period. It’s written in 5/4 time!Here’s an amazing (although Muppetless) performance of it:
Someday I’ll be able to watch the performance of that song that Belafonte did at Jim Henson’s memorial service without crying like a baby. Today is not that day. But someday.
I don’t know which one I’d bump, but I was just about to mention this same episode.
I think a bit that no one ever brings up from that one is the Muppet Sports blindfold race, which is such a silly and wonderfully executed premise.
Lewis Kazagger, the host of Muppet Sports, was so tied to Howard Cosell as a reference that no one gets the references any more. Sadly.
Coming here to say exactly this. That last number is gorgeous and moving.
Not just for Turn the World Around, either. Frank Oz is in peak form with Fozzie during Day-O. It’s hilarious watching Belafonte struggle to keep it together.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo9y3s
Or the John Cleese episode that he himself guest-wrote.
Came here for that. Plus the final song of that episode “Turn the World Around” was a literal showstopper. They just rolled the credits along the final chorus. Its a song and presentation which encapsulates the universal appeal of the Muppets. Probably the most “Jim Henson” moment of the entire show.
I imprinted on “Turn the World Around” from the moment I saw it. Only now as an adult do I understand why this spoke to me so much as a kid.
The Muppet Show was often great; “Turn the World Around” showed that it could also be transcendent.
I do have to say, though, the masks terrified me as a wee lad.
It was my first exposure to Calypso music as a child, and it was also nice that Belafonte explained the context of his famous song “Day-O”.
I wonder if it might be time to try another Muppets reboot now that D+ is a thing. A subscription streaming service feels like a better platform for this kind of program than a cable channel.
I think it’s pretty clear that Disney doesn’t really know what to do with the Muppets. Hopefully watching all five seasons of the show will put them back on the right track.
Can they sick their massive resources on reserving all the rights (most of which they probably own now) to bringing Muppet Babies to Disney+?
I thought Earth to Ned captured a lot of the absurdity of the original show (combined with Space Ghostian Dadaism.)
Agree. People sort of overlook that the Muppet Show was generally geared toward adults, not kids. There is a LOT of very adult humor throughout.
They did a new Muppet series on Disney+ this past summer. It was called Muppets Now and it wasn’t very good.https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Muppets_Now
Gotta disagree. The only problem with Muppets Now was that it was so damned short. The Pepe segments were good, Muppet masters were fun. The piggy stuff was a little much, and the Swedish chef was uneven but mostly good . They produced a lot of it from their homes. It was a good start but obviously stunted due to covid. The interviews were pretty good too. Especially Fozie with Seth Rogen.
See my problem with Now thusfar has been all the individual skits go on a little too long. They can be funny but there’s a feeling that they have to fill X amount of time when it could be faster and punchier.
they tried to hard and tried to make it to modern. it was sad.
Not enough or any singing
Thing is… and the reason why Muppets reboots don’t work that well… The Muppet show was good because it was under the radar. At the time it was this cool little show that started to attract A-List stars to it and kinda spread by word of mouth. Nowadays the Muppets and a new Muppet show are required to be trumpeted as a big deal and hyped up and it undercuts the needed subversive nature of a puppet show that is funny to all age groups.
the muppets are weird and that weirdness was what made it so great. i don’t think they can get away with that kind of unhinged weirdness these days.
Well, there’s that and also the shameful absence of “Pigs in Space”
I’m not sure I agree: Henson was no international superstar, but he was fairly well known before the Muppet Show took off.I’d identify two problems: 1. Trying to be current/update the Muppets. On the one hand, sure, Henson was always pushing the envelope. But the Muppet Show aired in the 70s and was grounded in vaudeville, which died out by the 1930s. And that’s probably where it needs to stay, though I can see why the attempt to repurpose via YouTube streamers with Now was made. Vaudeville has good bones and doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it still works.2. Missing the tone and heart of the program. The recent TV attempt had its moments, like the karaoke episode, that worked because they tapped into what made the original show great: while individual characters might be neurotically concerned about how their acts would be received or needy or whatever, the show overall needs to embrace Gonzo’s ethic of doing things that are sometimes stupid and often mad with enthusiasm and a total lack of self-consciousness. Center Piggy’s or Fozzie’s personal neuroses and the show dies, because in the end it’s about Muppets going on-stage and making something that ought not to be funny hilarious. The characters may lack confidence, but if the showrunners or writers do, it stops being the Muppets and it becomes something else.Sam the Eagle singing “Tit Willow” from the Mikado, for example, ought to barely qualify as entertainment. Done unselfconsciously, it’s brilliant, right down to Rowlf’s apologetic disclaimers (“ ‘Is it weakness of intellect, birdie, I cried’… uh, not meaning you, Sam.” “What is obdurate?” “I dunno, Sam.”), because it’s clear the characters hadn’t thought this through when they started and are trying to make the best of things as they go.
I was there for the original when it was on. Trust me – it was something that got mentioned on the playground and you saw a few ads for it on TV but it wasn’t being hyped up like TV shows are now. It slid in without people really noticing it and they found themselves watching it before it was advertised to death.
One of the best bits of The Muppets was when they did Nirvana as a barber shop quartet. That’s the Muppets. That’s where you need to go.
Also this. Verse 2 is Muppets in their purest form.
I think the actual reason is that Jim Henson is dead. Brian Henson did…okay with the movies he made. I think the new stuff is just trying too hard and clearly missing the creative spark Jim had.
True… Just like we can’t have a new Laurel and Hardy movie (I will mention… the biopic that came out a couple years ago was great but I am talking about a straight L&H movie) or a new Three Stooges (As hard as they may try), we really can’t recreate the Muppets without Henson. Brian Henson came close but even he just isn’t at the same level as Jim Henson.
I was expecting to absolutely hate the Three Stooges 2012 reboot by The Farrelly Brothers. I’ve never had any interest in the Three Stooges and barely in the Farrelly Brothers, but Chris Diamantopoulos, Will Sasso, and Sean Hayes are great. The cast is actually really good. I laughed quite a bit.
I didn’t hate it. They seemed to honestly like the stuff and approached it with some respect. Personally I never enjoyed the Three Stooges but I get that there was an artistry to their stuff… But you can’t just insert new people into the roles. Any time you do that it’s not gonna be that anymore, it just becomes an homage…About the only way to do something like that is how they did those 2 Brady Bunch movies – make them so self conscious that it is a parody rather than a continuation.
Same thing with the 1992 film “Brain Donors,” where they tried to redo the Marx Brothers, and despite the brilliance of John Turturro, it just didn’t take.
The all age groups part is basically exactly it. Henson did not really create The Muppets specifically with children in mind as the primary audience. Now that Disney owns them, the movies seem to be for kids, and the majority of the television projects seem to be seeking a more broad appeal. You need to give the Muppets to someone who understands them, but Disney really doesn’t seem to know who the audience for this actually is. I have tried on more than on occasion to get my kid into them. She never cared for them or Sesame Street and it really kinda broke my heart. Why would you want to watch Paw Patrol when you could watch the Muppets or Fraggle Rock?
Ahhh…. Fraggle Rock… THAT was a show that wasn’t afraid of presenting a complex ecosystem and assuming its target audience could understand it. Great show.
Exactly. It was to the 1970s and 1980s what Adam West’s Batman was to the 1960s and what classic Simpsons was to the 1990s — the show a celebrity knew they “made it” when they were asked to be a guest on it.
Just make The Muppet Show. Same show, season six lets go.
They did a try a new show this summer called Muppets Now, and it was set up as Scooter assembling all the various skits as the other muppets uploaded them, and it was ok. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker had a recurring segment, and Swedish Chef had a cook off against real chefs each week. I will again promote the D+ show Earth to Ned, which features a giant alien Muppet doing a talk show from his crashed spaceship and it is loads of fun, and much closer at capturing the zany energy of the Muppet Show.
We have been slowly enjoying Earth to Ned, with it’s slew of C-Listers and occasional A-Lister (Billy Dee Williams, probably contractually obligated re:Star Wars/Disney). Not a bad effort.I really thing Muppets NOW was held back by COVID. Pepe’s game show was off the hook and would have been perfect on the old show. Same with Okey Dookey Cookin. The Miss Piggy segments – there were just too many of them, we got the joke. My personal favorite was the Muppet Masters, especially with Uncle Deadly. Another set of sketches that would have fit perfectly with the old show. The interviews were literally just like the getting to know the guest ones they used to do in the early series. My only non-fave were the new Muppet Labs. eh. But overall a great effort at restarting the show.
One problem with Muppet reboots is that they keep trying to do it without musical numbers. Are they that dumb about including it, or has licensing become that much more of an issue?
“Five essential episodes” implies they aren’t all essential, which is patently absurd.
119 essential episodes, and also the one with Rich Little.
I can mostly give the Leslie Ann Warren episode a miss
That’s fair, certainly, although personally I really love all of the “Les, Lee, and Warren” business.
Yeah, Leslie Ann Warren just gets on my nerves, because her demeanor is so wide eyed and insipid.
I disagree, only for her costume in the “Last Dance” number. Yowza.
As a kid in the 70’s I thought that every show had to at least feature Rich Little once every season. That motherfucker was EVERYWHERE back then.
That’s the truth. Him, Tiny Tim, and Jim Nabors. The 70s loved variety shows and they worked that circuit hard.
Ooh, good call. Non-variety show but episode TV wise Leslie Nielsen (pre-Airplane) was everywhere as well.
And Charo
The modern day equivalent is that horrible goddamn ventriloquist with the (what is it, like 8 now?) shitty puppets that stopped being funny in 1991… So glad I can’t recall his name, but he keeps popping up in media throughout my life…
Shit, I can’t think who of you mean and now it’s going to bother me all day.
Not a fan of Spike Milligan’s schtick, I can skip that one.
You bite your tongue! The man was a comic genius! Listen to any episode of The Goon Show if you don’t believe me.
I love Spike but looking back at some of those sketches, I take the point. Steve Martin’s level of anarchy was a perfect match for the Muppets, but Spike’s was on the wrong wavelength.
Spike may not be the best, but that episode is priceless:
Kermit: We are now seen in 104 countries! YES!Stalter: Better get out your old Army uniform! With 104 angry countries, there’s bound to be trouble!
And Fozzie discovering just how dangerous it can be to confuse Yokohama and Oklahoma….
These are all great – I wanna add my vote for Paul Williams
Never mind the parody, I remain convinced that there are actual muppets performing on the actual recording of “Just An Old Fashioned Love Song”. That kazoo is just too perfect.
The one I go to is Dudley Moore – he was only a minor blip in terms of stardom but somehow he worked really well in terms of having muppets around him and bouncing off them.
Mainly because he was probably very drunk and thought they were real…
I could believe that.
Yeah, regarding Moore I’m hoping that if they can get the whole show up they can also include “The Muppets Go to the Movies” special, which was shot on the Muppet Theater sets as a tie in to “The Great Muppet Caper” (ironically the timing meant this was just before “Arthur” was released too) and plays as a sort of unofficial grand finale for the show. He and Lily Tomlin are the two human guests and they do great work in it. Also, it has one of the funniest Ingmar Bergman parodies ever.
“I FEEL THE EARTH! MOVE! UNDER MY FEET! I SEE THE SKY TUM-BEL-ING DOWN TUM-BEL-ING DOWN!” ~ Loretta Swit (of the “if you can’t sing good, sing loud school of music), The Muppet Show, Ep 502
Thank you, leaving off the Loretta Swit episode was unconscionable.
That’s the funny thing about variety shows from the 50s to 70s. It didn’t matter if the guest could sing or not, they’re going to sing dammit! I guess the same could be said about whether they could do comedy too.
My daughter didn’t believe me that there were boys who did ballet (she was 4), and my rebuttal was showing her a clip of Rudolf Nureyev dancing with a giant pig. Sadly, she’s currently not that into the muppets, in spite of a concerted effort on my part (I’ll get her hooked eventually).
On a side note, Rudolf Nureyev was on the show as a favor for ITC Producer Sir Lew Grade. In the first season they had to scramble to find hosts. Half the time, the inducement was an all expense paid trip to London.
Marty Feldman and Peter Sellers spring to mind, you silly goose.
“There used to be a me, but I had it surgically removed!”
The Sellers episode might have the best “15 seconds to curtain” gag ever (depending on your opinion of “Gonzo fiddles while George Burns!”), and I can’t wait to see the Marty Feldman episode again, with one of the best Statler and Waldorf sign offs (“How should we know the way to Sesame Street? We don’t even know the way out of this theater!”) among other things.
Sellers may have actually BEEN a Muppet. How else do you get away with doing a revival song for the finale?
This article would be more helpful if you waited until the show was actually streaming to post it. I certainly ain’t gonna bookmark this and come back in a month.
So just watch them all.
Wondering how this will be formatted? 4:3 Standard def?
Well… Arlo Guthrie singing and explaining “Come along little dogies” to muppet cows was pretty awesome.
I am looking forward to revisiting a lot of these in the coming months.
No mention of Spike Milligan! What, are you loony!
The “It’s a Small World” finale gets funnier every year…
Egh, I don’t like that one. Not into his…whatever his does, mumbling and growling his lines. I do crack up when it cuts away as his hands are grasping for Sam, though.
Shut up Eckles! (too obscure?)
The Famous Eccles doesn’t like the misspelling of his name (waits for applause…not a sausage).
Bluebottle hands Eccles cardboard sausage.
John Cleese being held hostage and Elton John being an actual Muppet in the same way Tim Curry is in Muppet Treasure Island are both must-sees for me.
“muppet treasure island” is a goddamn masterpiece.
I unironically prefer the Muppet Show versions of Elton John’s songs to the original studio versions. They’re bone-chillingly great.
On board for all of these except Cooper. He was deep in the “Budweiser meets Barry Manilow” stage of his career and his camaraderie looks forced.
So. The question is : can we expect a full episode per episode review on The AVClub ?
You can read Erik’s reviews of the first two seasons from this site’s TV Club Classic days: https://www.avclub.com/c/tv-review/the-muppet-show
Good news. Thanks.
Milton Berle amd Fozie doing a heckle off with Waldorf and Stadtler was beautiful.
i prefer maya rudolph’s diana to the real thing. also, alice cooper is so cool. if you don’t have a sense of humor about yourself, you’re a drag, man.
The Muppet Show was for the entire family because of the guests. Shame that the reboot didn’t take off but updating them to a “Larry Sanders” premise was its undoing.
The writing of the ABC reboot was terrible. It was way too “off” for the main characters Kermit, Piggy and Fozzie. Some jokes were a little too adult, lacked the essential “heart” of the original show and movies, and the tone was schizophrenic. The last 2 episodes showed it got better, but it was way too late.
So what are the chances the Johnny Cash episode doesn’t get released. There is a confederate flag in almost every scene
I kind of wonder if they’ll digitally alter those scenes to remove the flag (the same way they covered up Darryl Hannah’s butt in Splash)
Why is there a curtain of hair in front of that flag?
They covered up Darryl Hannah’s butt in Splash?
Censorship sucks.
Just for the TV release, I think? Pretty sure the original VHS and DVD releases, at least, were uncensored.
Probably just the “offensive images” or whatever label they slap on Dumbo and Peter Pan for the bits with the crows and the Indians — erm, Native Americans. Wait, Native Never-Never Landers? Shit.
I hope so. Not that I’m a diehard confederate lover but I don’t want them to exclude that episode because I like Johnny Cash, even if he had bad taste in flags
I like “First Nations” as a general catch-all for native groups, it seems to capture the right gravitas.
And is generic enough that I can use it referring to a made-up place like Never-Never Land.I don’t know how J.M. Barrie depicted them, but Disney animators decided to make them reminiscent of some of the Great Plains tribes for some reason, judging by the feathered headdress.
I too have thought that. I think a disclaimer thing might be best; the material in the episode is too good to just not include it.
What I loved about the Muppets was that they could reference/parody stuff that kids probably had no idea of. Like the Muppephone was clearly an homage to the Monty Python “musical mice” sketch.
The Muppaphone is the greatest thing ever, and the platonic ideal of what the Muppet Show was about, mindless violence inflicted on puppets in a hilarious way.
I didn’t realize until now that obvious connection between the two skits, though I love them both; that goes to show how well Henson and company could take an homage and make it their own.
A lot of the show has a very British slant, including in its guest stars. There are a lot who, even in the 70s, left Americans wondering “Who?”
Well, it was made in England. At Ellestree studios, literally across the street from Empire Strikes Back. Henson and Co. spent a large chunk of years in the UK so they were exposed to a ton of British stuff that the Average American wouldn’t have been aware of (yet).
And it in turn was a reference to the (perhaps fortunately mythical) idea of the “Cat Organ” in which cats’ tails were pulled to make them yelp.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_organ
I wonder if either Monty Python or the Muppet Show heard this Stan Freberg Show sketch.
I wouldn’t be surprised. Monty Python sourced gags from all over. Some of them originated in shows the various members were on previously, like “At Last the 1948 Show” and “I’m Sorry I’ll Read that Again.” And for sure Henson was influenced by Beany and Cecil.
I was 11 when The Muppet Show debuted. My brother was 14. This was THE show in our single-TV household that we and our parents looked forward to watching each week. I even remember sometimes we’d have to miss an episode because we’d be away from home and were bummed out (no VCR!). I think it aired Saturdays at 7:30 in our market (Cleveland). I’ve not seen any episodes since they were on originally. Excited to watch these with Mrs. Funkhouser who was -1 when the series ended. She’s never seen a single episode but is familiar with the show through clips here and there on YouTube.
In Meridian, Mississippi the Muppet Show’s first season aired in All In the Family’s time slot because the local CBS affiliate, WTOK, didn’t like showing Archie Bunker to the children during primetime. AITF aired on Saturday nights at 10 pm from it’s premiere in 1971 until 1977, when complaints from local viewers and pressure from CBS forced WTOK to move the show to its original primetime slot. the tension between the station and the network continued until February 1980, when WTOK switched over to ABC.
Can we get some TV Club Classic coverage? The reviews y’all did in 2012 only go through Season 2.
It’s the perfect time to both recycle old content AND continue the series!
My life finally has meaning. And finally a reason to subscribe to Disney+ (though my TV has already been set up for it by a family member, so, free!).
James Coburn trying to teach Animal about zen.Buddy Rich vs Animal in a drum battle.Mark Hamill showing up in Pigs in Space
They weren’t exactly kind to the Mouse in that episode. But the intergalactic menace of Angus McGonigle, the gargling gargoyle (he gargles Gershwin) still is impossible not to laugh at.
First Donald Trump is no longer president, then I find out The Muppet Show is coming to a streaming service I have.
Good things keep happening! It’s weird and a little disturbing, frankly. I’m not used to it any more.
How can anyone else compare to Rita Moreno? Not that others didn’t try. James Coburn and Roger Moore, Julie Andrews and Vincent Price. Even Rachel Welch proves that she can both sing, and dance. (Not as good as Rita, but who is?)But for my money you can’t beat Linda Carter, who by the stars in her eyes you can tell is having the time of her life. Was she the best at anything? No. But her enthusiasm for working with Muppets radiated out of her like sunlight. Pure joy.
There’s that little moment where Rita is scolding Animal, he turns away, and she twists his face back to her. Such great chemistry with Oz’s puppet work.
MY KINDA WOMAN!
The Diana Ross episode is one of the all-time funniest running storylines the show did. “He’s never been better!”
Add the episode featuring James Coburn intimidating the fuck outta the whole cast for an even half-dozen installments of can’t miss Muppetry.
S2E7 if you want to cry. They did a touching version of Time in a Bottle with an old scientist
My all-time favorite is the Loretta Swit episode, where Kermit’s finally had enough and fires Miss Piggy. Kermit is always funniest when he’s mad, and the screaming is in rare form here. Just hearing Frank Oz awkwardly trying to go along with the scene, I get the feeling he didn’t know Jim Henson was going to yell like that.
Diana Ross’ performance of “Last Time I Saw Him” with Electric Mayhem is one of my fave Muppet musical performances. She’s clearly having so much fun.
The muppet Prince kills me ded.
Absolutely f’king awesome, but not The Muppet Show.
I’m getting RSI in my wrist from liking all these comments.
Elton John doing Crocodile RockSylvester Stallone and cast singing A Bird in a Gilded Cage while sobbingPeter Sellers doing his weird “I’m a frozen mannequin” shtick
Seriously, no mention of Elton John?
Or Madeline Kahn!
Can’t believe the Vincent Price episode didn’t get it’s own mention on this list. Possibly because his You’ve Got a Friend number was cut from the DVD and you never watched the original broadcasts?
If your essential list ain’t got no John Denver, then your list could use some fixin’!
Gene Kelly.
My son was obsessed with season 3, disc 1, especially Roy Clark and Leo Sayer. Roy Clark’s performance of Rocky Top, where he plays 5 different instruments, was a favorite. After listening to it on repeat, my son created elaborate backstories for his stuffed animals, saying they were all from Rocky Top. And when he turned 7, he got his first iPad and I gave him $10 to buy games but much to my surprise, he bought Leo Sayer’s album instead.
The Chris Langham episode was great, because he was a staff writer and well-known in the UK but unheard of in the US. So a lot of the jokes were, “Who is this guy?”Leo Sayer was pretty good, too. If you liked his two hits, they did great versions of them.And which ever episode had the “Time in a Bottle” performance was great. It always made my Dad tear up.
For me the Mark Hamill episode is still aces. “Who’s your tailor?” plus the apotheosis of Pigs In Space:
Not a bad list, though I would argue the Harry Belafonte episode needs to be on it. Don’t know which one I would replace it with, however.I agree they’re all essential. 🙂
1) Rita Moreno singing Fever and getting mad at Animal makes me swoon.2) Harpo87 already mentioned it, but I am seconding the Harry Belafonte episode. The last number is so, so good.3) I will also put the Liza Minnelli murder-mystery epsiode up there. I love her rendition of Copacabana.
“There is no me, I do not exist. I had it surgically removed.” — Peter Sellers.
I was in an existential nightmare for a month over that. Giggling, of course; one should always giggle during an existential crisis.
So many great episodes and guests, but this number has always stuck with me.
Can’t forget Milton Berle and Elton John…
Carol Burnett’s scream as Animal arrives sounds so sincere. They’re made for each other.