The Muppet Show
"It's time to raise the curtain on The Muppet Show!"
Go behind the curtains as Kermit the Frog and his muppet friends struggle to put on a weekly variety show.
Actor: Eren Ozker, Karen Prell, Louise Gold
Creator: Jack Burns
Country: United Kingdom, United States of America
Type: tv
Season: 1
Episode: 1
Duration: 26m
Release: 1976
Rating: 8.0
Season 1 - The Muppet Show
16 Oct 1976
"Fozzie takes on a new act - jokes on any subject - which drives everybody crazy. When he takes the stage, he asks for any word. Naturally, Statler & Waldorf call his bluff by yelling out \"Amoeba!\""
15 Jan 1977
"When he's unable to get a spot on the show, Gonzo asks Scooter to be his manager. Scooter thinks Gonzo should do a rock act by banging a large rock with a mallet. Later, Gonzo tries female ..."
12 Feb 1977
"Aging wardrobe woman Hilda tries to make herself look younger by putting on a wig, some makeup and even some \"very tight foundation garments.\""
1977-04-23
"The Muppet Show's first (and the debut season's only) theme show. The spookiness and Muppet Monster motif will be reprised in season three's episode starring goth rocker Alice Cooper.\n\nThis episode largely features some refurbished versions of several puppets...a more polished and deep blue version of Sam Eagle appears along with a more detailed design of Boppity and a more refined Janice.\n\nDismembered body parts are a running gag throughout the episode. In addition to the \"let me give you a hand\" gag being done twice within five minutes, a lone hand can be seen walking off Kermit's desk earlier in the show and a monster also helps another one \"get a head\".\n\nThudge McGerk scares Statler out of the balcony in one of the earlier balcony scenes only to be replaced by Statler again throughout the rest of the episode up until the closing scene. Perhaps the first Thudge scene had been initially intended to appear later in the show but got bumped up because it had to follow an onstage piece with Vincent.\n\nOut of the four Talking Houses, this is the only episode to focus on the two on the right.\n\nFor the first time, we see the Muppet Newsflash happening on another character's television screen. Even though this in itself is a significant departure from the norm, more noteworthy is the fact that at the end of the sketch, the Newsman's desk starts to attack him. Up until now, the humor in the News Flashes either derived from the oddness of the stories he was reading (which most likely flew completely over the children in the audiences' heads) or from a chromo-keyed interview the reporter would perform with the guest star playing a character. Beginning in the second season, the News Flashes would typically feature physical comedy with the Newsman often becoming victim of his own story.\n\nThe Newsman refers to Sheriff David Goelz (performer of Gonzo and Zoot) in his broadcast.\n\nVincent Price would have a reunion with Uncle Deadley and the rest of the Muppets when he appears as one of Kermit's guests during his guest-host stint on \"The Tonight Show\" in 1979."
Season 2 - The Muppet Show
23 Jan 1978
"When Sam the Eagle finally recognizes the guest star, Rudolf Nureyev, he is horrified at the silliness the ballet dancer is eager to perform with the gang."
04 Feb 1978
"Elton John performs four of his biggest hit songs of the '70's like, \"Crocodile Rock\", \"Bennie and the Jets\", \"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road\", and, \"Don't Go Breaking My Heart\", with Miss Piggy filling in for Kiki Dee."
1978-03-12
"Sketches\/Songs: \"Tweedle Dee Dee\", \"Swedish Chef\", \"At the Dance\", \"English Country Garden\", \"Talk Spot\", \"Pigs In Space\", \"Muppet Newsflash\", \"An Editorial by Sam The Eagle\", \"That Old Black Magic\""
Season 3 - The Muppet Show
28 Oct 1978
"When not performing, Alice Cooper is doing some devilry backstage looking for souls to purchase."
1978-12-29
"Sketches\/Songs: \"\"True Love\"\", \"\"South Rampart Street Parade\"\", \"\"Pigs In Space\"\", \"\"There's a New Sound\"\", \"\"I Enjoy Being a Girl\"\", Gonzo's Act, \"\"Sunshine on my Shoulder\"\""
16 Sep 1978
"The Muppet Theater's incompetent new janitor and craftsman, Beauregard, is causing chaos both on and backstage."
Season 4 - The Muppet Show
29 Sep 1979
"Inspired by the American pantomime duo Shields and Yarnell, Fozzie Bear works on a mime act, including \"Bear walking against the wind\". Kermit suggests that Fozzie find a more original act,..."
23 Feb 1980
"While the Star Wars characters search for Chewbacca around the theatre, Luke's cousin, Mark Hamill, offers to perform over the objections of the Gershwin gargling guest star, Angus McGonagle."
24 May 1980
"Dr. Honeydew's Hyde potion keeps being left out and causes various people who drink it to become rampaging monsters."
22 Mar 1980
"Miss Piggy asks Andy Williams to sing \"Love Story\" for her and Kermit, who have just become engaged. Unfortunately, Kermit hasn't heard about the engagement yet. The rumor slips out, and ..."
17 May 1980
"Statler and Waldorf rate the show like Olympic judges. First, they give Kermit a two. Then, they give the opening a three, but the audience demands they bring it down to a zero. All of the ..."
Season 5 - The Muppet Show
18 Oct 1980
"With the Muppets performing only Paul Simon's songs for this show, Gonzo is inspired to emulate the musician's musical ways."
29 Nov 1980
"Statler and Waldorf accept the dare from Kermit to run the Muppet Show themselves and find it a chaotic challenge."
31 Jan 1981
"With the intended guest star declining to appear, a messenger boy, Chris Langham, is hastily recruited to substitute."
16 May 1981
"Thanks to Gonzo, the Muppet Theater's electrical system is damaged, throwing the show into continual power failures."
