The Muppet Show



The Muppet Show was a syndicated half-hour variety show focused on the attempts of Kermit the Frog and his friends to put on a weekly musical/comedy revue. Unfortunately for them, things never went quite according to plan, resulting in the wise-cracking commentary on the proceedings by two old curmudgeons named Statler and Waldorf.

While Kermit had been featured extensively in other programs in the past, this show marked the introduction of such now-famous characters as Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, The Great Gonzo, Animal, Sgt. Floyd Pepper, The Swedish Chef, and Bunsen and Beaker, among many others.

Setting and Characters
The Muppet Show took place at the Muppet Theater, where Kermit was the host. Kermit was also the director and general overseer of the performances, assisted by Scooter, the gofer who only got his job because his uncle, J.P. Grosse, owned the theater. A variety of different musical acts were featured on the show, from the orchestra, conducted by Nigel, to solo musicians such as Rowlf the Dog, to the show's main rock and roll band, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

Because it was a puppet show, The Muppet Show had the advantage of being able to include an endless array of characters with only a small number of performers. Aside from the aforementioned characters, recurring figures included Sam the Eagle, who tried to make the show more cultural; Camilla the Chicken, Gonzo's girlfriend; Robin the Frog, Kermit's nephew; and Link Hogthrob, the captain of The Swinetrek, among others.

Certain characters from the early years of the show, like Hilda and George the Janitor, fell by the wayside, while newer characters were introduced, such as Beauregard and the boomerang fish-throwing Lew Zealand. One of the few minor characters who became a major player after the series ended was Rizzo the Rat. In addition, the generic Whatnots and a wide array of animals, vegetables, and minerals filled out the chorus.

Most of the Muppets appeared in both backstage scenes and onstage sketches and songs. For example, while Beaker was primarily Bunsen's assistant, he also frequently helped Beauregard with his backstage duties. Although Janice was The Electric Mayhem's guitar player, she also appeared as a nurse in Veterinarian's Hospital. Many characters with backstage jobs also appeared on-stage quite frequently, in group numbers, At the Dance, and the goodnights. However, some characters were pigeonholed into their own sketches, such as The Newsman of Muppet News Flash and Lewis Kazagger of Muppet Sports.

The Muppet Show featured a mix of established Muppets and new characters. Some major characters from previous productions (Kermit, Rowlf) remained prominent, while others (Nigel, Thog) were relegated to background or supporting status. Some minor characters from previous productions (Gonzo, Miss Piggy) became stars.

The action in each episode was balanced between the on-stage acts and the frantic activity backstage. The concept was reminiscent of old-time radio shows like The Jack Benny Program, and later TV programs, such as Disney's House of Mouse and The Larry Sanders Show, would follow a similar conceit.

Sketches and Set Pieces
Some of the more popular famous comedic bits from the show include:


 * At the Dance - A group of Muppets (some regulars, some not) dance to ballroom music while cracking puns and one-liners.


 * Muppet Labs - Dr. Bunsen Honeydew pushed the cutting edge of science with his bizarre inventions, which somehow inevitably caused horrible things to happen to his assistant, Beaker.


 * Muppet News - The Newsman would report breaking news happening in the Muppet Theater or elsewhere in the Muppet universe. Unfortunately for him, he would often find the story invading right into the Muppet newsroom, usually to his own personal pain. (For example, a report on the stock market indicating that "beef fell rapidly" causes a cow to fall from out of nowhere onto the Newsman's head.)


 * Pigs in Space - An ostensible space opera along the lines of Star Trek, the skits followed a hapless porcine crew attempting to successfully interact with alien life, or sometimes just keep the ship running. They would usually fail at both.


 * Veterinarian's Hospital - Dr. Bob (actually Rowlf) operated on a variety of strange patients while cracking corny jokes with Nurse Piggy and Nurse Janice.

Guest Stars
In keeping with the TV variety show format, each episode showcased a celebrity guest star or duo, who were the only humans to appear on the show. From the second season onward, the guest was invariably introduced in the cold open, and announced by Kermit at the start of the theme song. During the first season, their involvement was limited primarily to the on-stage performances, showcases for the guest's comedic or musical skills. They also regularly participated in comedic blackouts, talk spots, and panel discussions. As the series wore on, the guests became more crucial, becoming involved in the backstage plots, expressing dissatisfaction with the show, or as featured performers in elaborate "theme" stories. One of the more extreme examples came in the final season, with episode 507, as guest star Glenda Jackson reveals herself to be a ruthless pirate and commandeers the theater. The guest roster included a range of performers, from familar film and television personalities and stage theater veterans to ballet dancers, country singers, rock stars, experimental pantomime artists, and even a ventriloquist or two.

The majority of guest stars during the first season were either personal friends of the production team (for example, first season head writer Jack Burns' former comedy partner Avery Schreiber was a guest), or a client of Jim Henson's agent, Bernie Brillstein. By the second season, the show started to attract more celebrities, and eventually celebrities were asking to appear on the show. Whenever a star was booked to appear on the show, they would be asked if there were any characters who they wanted to work with. Most of them wanted to work with either Kermit or Miss Piggy.

Some of the more memorable guest star moments include: Rita Moreno's performance of "Fever", backed by Animal on drums; Rudolf Nureyev dancing with a pig ballerina; Harry Belafonte singing "Turn the World Around"; Alice Cooper singing "School's Out" with the monsters; John Cleese being forced into a closing number; Gene Kelly giving Kermit a dance lesson; and Raquel Welch performing a song-and-dance number with a giant spider. In addition to showcasing the guests' familiar skills or "shticks," stars occasionally performed against type, such as Nureyev tap dancing to "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" or screen tough guy James Coburn focusing on zen meditation and calmness.

Some episodes played on the guest's established "star texts" as specific characters, such as Christopher Reeve's Superman and Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman. Roger Moore's appearance played ironically off of his James Bond persona, as Moore preferred to do the whimsical "Talk to the Animals" over any spy heroics. Occasionally, the guest's alter-egos did appear directly, such as Peter Sellers as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, Gilda Radner as Emily Litella, or Carol Burnett's janitor character. The most elaborate example, however, came in episode 417, as the stars of Star Wars appeared as themselves, continuing their space opera dramatics, while Luke Skywalker's portrayer Mark Hamill also appeared briefly as himself, introduced as Luke's "cousin."

Guest star Rita Moreno won an Emmy Award for her appearance on the show.

Format
The Muppet Show had a number of short segments and musical acts, along with backstage scenes which usually made up the show's plots. While the plots often occurred backstage, with a random variety of sketches thrown in, there were also many themed shows, especially in the last season. Such themes included a horror-themed show (when horror star [[Vincent Price appeared on the show), an evening of Paul Simon songs (when Paul Simon guest starred), a salute to vaudeville (when Wally Boag guest starred), and even an all-puppet show (when Senor Wences was the guest). Most episodes featuring country music evoked a Western or rural theme. Beginning in the third season, four episodes departed from the norm and utilized a "book" format, as the cast presented a long-form play (Robin Hood, a murder mystery, [Episode 506: Brooke Shields|Alice in Wonderland]], and 1001 Arabian Nights).

Due to shorter commercial breaks in the United Kingdom, an extra two-minute sketch was also included in the UK broadcasts, normally shown after the middle commercial break and never featuring the guest stars. Regular elements during the first season included "At the Dance" and the Talk Spots. These two sketches were featured less often in subsequent seasons. Another common recurring sketch in the first season were Fozzie Bear's monologues, which were later replaced by more elaborate acts (ventriloquism, for example), or dropped entirely.

Series Evolution
Jack Burns was the head writer during the first season, and most of the humor during the first season was gag-based. Many recurring sketches, including At the Dance, Veterinarian's Hospital, The Talking Houses, Blackouts, and Fozzie's Monologues, focused heavily on jokes. After the first season, the talking houses and blackouts were dropped, while At the Dance and Fozzie's monologues were both featured less often, or tied to a specific gimmick or theme. Many of the backstage plots during the first season also revolved around running gags, such as episode 115, with Fozzie subjecting Kermit to an endless stream of puns.

After the first season, Jack Burns stepped down and Jerry Juhl took over as head writer. When Jerry Juhl became the head writer, the show became more character-based. Later episodes focused more on the backstage plots than the on-stage sketches. Some examples include epsidoe 502, where Kermit fired Miss Piggy, and episode 515, where Gonzo turned the show into a dance marathon. The "book" format episodes often collapsed stage antics and backstage plot.

Behind the Scenes
While Jim Henson had been pleased with the success of Sesame Street, that show had branded the Muppets as a "kids' act." Henson was interested in creating a show that would provide entertainment across all age groups.

Henson auditioned his characters and his concept for the show many times to the major television networks, even filming a pitch reel for CBS. By 1973, ABC had ordered two prospective pilots for a potential series: The Muppets Valentine Show and The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. ABC ultimately passed on producing a half-hour show.

Initially, Henson and company resisted producing the program in syndication, as they feared that the show would be underfunded. However, a British syndicator named Lord Lew Grade brought a proposal to the Henson company, with an assurance that the show would have the money for the production values it needed.

The show first hit the air waves in September of 1976. While it became a hit internationally almost immediately, the show struggled in the ratings its first year in America. In the second year of the show, with the format and the characters finding their groove, and such big-name stars as Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, John Cleese, Steve Martin, Elton John and others appearing, the show became a success in America as well.

The show was subsequently dubbed in several languages and broadcast all over the world, which eventually lead Time magazine to declare The Muppet Show "the most popular television entertainment on earth."

The show ran for five years and 120 episodes. It finally went off the air not due to a lack of popularity, but as a result of Henson's desire to move on to bigger projects, such as The Dark Crystal, that would require the full energy and resources of his company.

While the show never returned with new episodes, the Muppets from the program have appeared in numerous TV specials and movies, and The Muppet Show Live was presented for MuppetFest in 2001.

Popularity
The popularity of the series led to many Muppet specials, movies, albums, and merchandise, both during and after the shows run. The show was popular not only in North America and the United Kingdom, but all over the world, and there have been many Muppet products that were not available for sale in the U.S. and/ or U.K. During the shows run, there was a number of toys, including plush toys released by Fisher Price. There were many Muppet Show albums, featuring songs from the show (after the show ended production there have been a number of compilation albums featuring material from these albums).

During the show's run (as well as the first few years after production ended), a collection of Muppet Show annuals were released once a year in the UK. The Muppet Show also had it's own fan club, which included four newsletters per year. There were also a few games, as well as a book that illustrated and transcribed material from the show.

The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper were the first attempts to adapt the characters to cinema, released during the show's original run, and other movies and specials followed. In 2002, The Muppet Show celebrated its 25th anniversary, with action figures, collectible busts, a 25th anniversary album, a set of trading cards, and more.

Reruns
Reruns of The Muppet Show aired in syndication for many years, eventually moving to the TNT cable station from 1988 to 1992. From 1994 to 1995, reruns began airing on the Nickelodeon cable station instead. In 1999, the reruns moved to the partly Henson-owned Odyssey Channel.

Since Odyssey stopped airing the reruns, The Muppet Show has yet to return to American TV.

Reruns still sometimes air in countries outside of the United States, though, often packaged with the MuppetTelevision segments of The Jim Henson Hour (here re-dubbed The Jim Henson Show) and episodes of Muppets Tonight as well.

Video releases
In the '80s and '90s, compilation videos featuring the most memorable sketches and songs from The Muppet Show were released. In 1994, Jim Henson Video released two episodes on video for the first time in the release Monster Laughs with Vincent Price. Though this was the first commercially-available release of episodes outside of compilations, some scenes were cut from the episodes.

In 2000, Time Life began offering several of the most famous and popular episodes of The Muppet Show in their complete form on video (allowing American viewers to see an extra two minutes of footage that previously had only been available to UK audiences). The episodes were initially released on VHS, then on DVD due to the popularity of the sales (These same episodes were also eventually sold in stores under the Columbia Tristar Video label).

In August of 2005, Buena Vista Home Entertainment (a Disney imprint) released the entire run of Season 1 episodes of The Muppet Show on DVD. The episodes were complete, except in a few instances where music rights proved prohibitive, resulting in a few musical numbers being deleted from the show. The front of the DVD case features a felt-like surface emulating the texture of Kermit's Muppet torso.

Buena Vista originally planned a release of The Muppet Show Season 2 on DVD for February 2006, but it has been delayed until 2007.

Credits

 * Directors: Peter Harris, Philip Casson
 * Writers: Jerry Juhl, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jack Burns (season 1), Marc London (season 1), Joseph A. Bailey (season 2), David Odell (seasons 3-5), Chris Langham (seasons 3-5), Don Hinkley, Jim Thurman (select season 4 episodes)
 * Puppeteers: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, Eren Ozker (season 1), John Lovelady (season 1), Peter Friedman (episodes 111-115 and season 3), Louise Gold (seasons 2-5), Steve Whitmire (seasons 3-5), Kathy Mullen (seasons 4-5), Brian Muehl (season 5), Karen Prell (season 5), Bob Payne
 * Musical Director: Jack Parnell
 * Music Consultants: Larry Grossman (seasons 1-3), Ray Charles (seasons 4-5)
 * Musical Associates: Derek Scott, Conn Bernard
 * Dancers: Betsy Baytos, Graham Fletcher, John Bottoms, Michael Coleman, Julian Hosking
 * Choreographers: Gillian Lynne, Norman Maen
 * Producers: David Lazer (executive), Jim Henson, Lew Grade, Jack Burns (season 1)
 * Designers: Faz Fazakas, Don Sahlin, Calista Hendrickson (costumes), Robert McCormack (supervisor), Sara Paul (supervisor), Michael K. Frith (consultant), Amy van Gilder, Caroly Wilcox, Mari Kaestle, Jan Rosenthal, Robert Payne, Rollin Krewson, Barbara Davis, Tim Miller, Dave Goelz, Ed Christie, Leslie Asch, Nomi Frederick, Marianne Harms, Larry Jameson