The Muppet Show goofs

The creators of The Muppet Show were skilled at creating the illusion that the puppets were living characters. Still, occasional goofs slipped through, and made it onto the screen.

Pilots

 * The Muppets Valentine Show
 * At the beginning of the show, Crazy Donald runs behind Brewster's chair and cackles. As the camera pulls away, he turns and runs behind the other side of the chair. The arm and head of Crazy Donald's performer can be seen coming from behind the chair as George the Janitor enters the frame.
 * During the closing song, the top of Jim Henson's head can be seen as Wally moves from behind the couch to next to George.


 * The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence
 * When Gluttony chases after Leafy Green Vegetables, an unknown performer is visible behind Sam the Eagle.

Season One

 * Episode 101: Juliet Prowse
 * Dave Goelz's face can been seen under the pair of chickens when Miss Piggy dives on Kermit at the end of the "Temptation" number.
 * The bartender in the "Cowboy Time" sketch delivers the line "You're confused Kid, you ain't got no guns...those are pickles." in a different voice than what he uses in the rest of the sketch. In addition, the line doesn't fit with what the puppet is saying. [NB: In the original edit of this episode, the sketch went on a bit longer but ended up being re-edited for the transmission version.  As a result, Richard Hunt dubbed this new line over the original "As a matter of fact Kid, you ain't got no guns! Those are pickles!"
 * Fozzie Bear asks Kermit why he wasn't doing an act in this particular show, even though he had just been in the Cowboy Time sketch a few minutes earlier.


 * Episode 102: Connie Stevens: During the Muppet News Flash segment, the very top of Jim Henson's head is seen as the news reporter goes to pick up the phone.


 * Episode 103: Joel Grey
 * Goelz's head can be seen under Zoot and Janice at the end of "Willkommen."
 * Another perfomer's head is seen between Gonzo and Jerry.


 * Episode 104: Ruth Buzzi:
 * Jim Henson's head can be seen bopping up and down performing Waldorf after the Talk Spot.
 * Jim Henson's "sleeve" that is attached to the bottom of the Kermit puppet can be seen a few times, in both the Talk Spot and the last backstage scene.


 * Episode 105: Rita Moreno:
 * Henson's hand can be seen performing Kermit after Rita Moreno shouts at him for reading the cue cards.
 * During the "Lady of Spain," Marvin Suggs hits a piece of the Muppaphone twice in a row and it speaks with a different voice the second time. Also, the black arm socks for the Muppaphone are occasionally visible (particulary at the very end, when one appears to float for a brief moment).


 * Episode 106: Jim Nabors: Richard Hunt's hair can be seen when George the Janitor is talking to Scooter.


 * Episode 107: Florence Henderson:
 * A performer becomes visible underneath one of the pigs during the Bouncing Borcellino Brothers sketch.
 * Henson's arm can be seen performing the Green Frackle during "Happy Together."


 * Episode 108: Paul Williams: In "An Old Fashioned Love Song", when The Gogolala Jubilee Jugband comes out of the radio, viewers can see the tip of Goelz's head under the blue, jug-blowing Whatnot, as well as John Lovelady's arm and head as he plays the trumpet player in the background.


 * Episode 109: Charles Aznavour: During the Talk Spot Segment, the top of Frank Oz's head can be seen briefly when Miss Piggy kisses Charles while he speaks French to her.


 * Episode 110: Harvey Korman:
 * As the end credits begin, Goelz's face can be briefly seen between T.R. and Miss Piggy.
 * At the end of the Veterinarian's Hospital sketch, Rowlf's hat falls in front of his eyes and throughout the rest of the sketch he can't get it to sit back on top of his head.


 * Episode 112: Peter Ustinov: At the end of the You Do Something to Me sketch, the performer's head becomes visible behind Svengali as he dances after he turns his assistant to resemble him.


 * Episode 114: Sandy Duncan: Before the end credits begins, Eren Ozker's head and face can be seen beneath Hilda.


 * Episode 117: Ben Vereen: John Lovelady's headset can be seen behind Statler's chair, as Crazy Harry pops up behind Statler and Waldorf. The second time during Kermit's introduction to "Mr. Cellophane", when Crazy Harry pops up again behind Statler and Waldorf, John Lovelady's blond hair is clearly visible.


 * Episode 120: Valerie Harper: When the Swedish Chef smashes the Japanese Cake, the hole where it was performed from can be seen. In addition, Richard Hunt's hair can be seen just to the right of the Chef.


 * Episode 122: Ethel Merman: Mary Louise and Miss Mousey switch seats during Fozzie's act. (Note: Just before we see Fozzie's Cousin, Mary Louise can be seen next to a whatnot with a yellow shirt and orange hair whose seen unperformed. After Waldorf says Fozzie's cousin is funnier than Fozzie, Miss Mousey is seen next to the whatnot. Mary Louise is seen behind the Green Frackle.)


 * Episode 123: Kaye Ballard:
 * Goelz's hair can be seen under Zoot during "One Note Samba."
 * The reflections of Frank Oz, Eren Ozker, and an unknown performer (when Zelda Rose and Janice walk by) can be seen in a reflection in the Vendaface sketch.
 * During the Talk Spot, while Animal is beating Kermit up, Animal's neck sleeve is shown.


 * Episode 124: Mummenschanz:
 * Wanda's performer's head can be seen underneath her during the library sketch.
 * At the end of the It's Only a Paper Moon song, Wanda speaks to Wayne, but nothing is heard.
 * Richard Hunt's forehead can be seen in the reflection in the Vendaface sketch.

Season Two

 * Episode 201: Don Knotts: Both Statler and Kermit refer to "The Windmills of Your Mind" as the opening number, even though it was actually the second number.


 * Episode 203: Milton Berle: Although the plot revolves around Fozzie being so nervous about Milton Berle being on the show that he must hide from him until just before the closing number, Fozzie does appear in Milton Berle's earlier number, "The Entertainer".


 * Episode 206: Nancy Walker: During the Night Train sketch, the head of the performer operating the whatnot soldier holding the torch is visible at the beginning of the sketch.


 * Episode 207: Edgar Bergen: For his act, Gonzo wrestles a brick blindfolded. During the act, the version of Gonzo that debuted in season two is used, but when he returns backstage, although he is in the same costume, the Gonzo puppet from season one is used.


 * Episode 212: Bernadette Peters:
 * When Kermit introduces the opening number, he is wearing a black tuxedo, but during the opening number, he wears a purple tuxedo.
 * The arm of the performer operating Uncle Deadly's right arm becomes visible during "Sheik of Araby" along with the head of the performer of Uncle Deady being briefly seen at the end of the sketch.
 * During "Just One Person", Richard Hunt's head is visible beneath Scooter.
 * Before the end credits begin, Goelz's head can be briefly seen behind Gonzo.


 * Episode 214: Elton John:
 * At the very end of "Crocodile Rock", a performer's head is visible behind one of the crocodiles.
 * In "Any Old Iron", one of the Whatnots is missing an eye. The staff was aware of this while taping, but it was the last piece of the day and they didn't have time to do a retake or an extensive search for the pupil.


 * Episode 219: Peter Sellers: During the closing number, one of the trumpet players trumpets falls off, and for the rest of the number the trumpet player doesn't play the trumpet (both trumpet players were most likely performed by the same performer at once, and therefore nobody was controlling the arms of the characters).


 * Episode 222: Teresa Brewer:
 * During "Wild Thing," the pedal on one of Animal's cymbals continues to depress even though his foot is no longer working it. Moments later, when the pigs are taking Animal away, Frank Oz's head becomes visible.
 * During Music Music Music, you can see a performer's head if you look at the couple in the top left hand corner.

Season Three

 * Episode 304: Gilda Radner: Before the Witch Doctor shows up, while Marvin Suggs is pounding the Muppaphone, his mustache flies off.


 * Episode 305: Pearl Bailey: During "In the Good Old Summertime" towards the end of the song, the tip of Jerry Nelson's head is seen performing Floyd.


 * Episode 307: Alice Cooper: When Piggy shouts at Alice Cooper, "I wouldn't sell ya my soul if ya paid me," viewers can see the tip of Oz's head in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.


 * Episode 314: Harry Belafonte: In his first introduction scene, Kermit is reading from a piece of paper. He leaves the screen for a second and returns with empty flippers; however, the piece of tape that was used to keep the paper in place is still stuck to his fingers.

Season Four

 * Episode 401: John Denver:
 * At the end of the opening number, Zeke can be seen waving a flag. His hand lets go of the flag yet the flag still moves.
 * Steve Whitmire's head can be seen in the good nights.


 * Episode 407: Dudley Moore: When the bug band comes off stage, one of the bugs is missing its hair.

Muppet Height Relations
One of the big errors people can nit-pick with the Muppet productions is continuity of the characters' heights. For example, Rizzo and Pepe normally appear around (or even above) waist height compared to their human co-stars. However, a full-body look at proportions of the character would suggest they would barely reach a human's knee. Kermit, Fozzie, and the other Muppets also appear in a flexible height range in order to interact comfortably with humans and sets. Steve Whitmire said in a 1998 interview that "If a character like Rizzo only appeared at his true height next to a human actor, you’d only see the human actor’s feet when you saw Rizzo. That’s an extreme example, but the idea is true for most of the characters. Even so, we do know the relative heights of the characters to each other and make an effort to keep that in mind." The suspended belief that the audience has when watching the Muppets allows this flexible reality to exist without major distractions. So even though Pepe's feet would be floating three feet off the ground, the audience still goes along, not questioning, and usually not even perceiving.

Canonical Holes
Many people argue that the Muppet films and TV shows are non-canonical; that each production is a world unto itself - that the Muppets are timeless personalities and characters that carry throughout productions, and these characters are presenting a show. People continue to argue and debate over what is Muppet truth and what is just acting and plain entertainment. Muppet Babies undermines the whole notion of The Muppet Movie. And Scooter's role as The Electric Mayhem's road manager in The Muppet Movie undermines his back-story set up in the early run of The Muppet Show as the theater owner's nephew hired by Kermit as a go-fer. There have been many contradictions in Muppet canon and back-stories throughout the 50+ years of the Muppets. However writers and performers will overlook or circumvent them in order to create new compelling stories, new characters or character traits, or just deliver a humorous joke.

In episode 210, Gonzo explains that his mother died before he was born and left a note to his father regarding Gonzo's name. This is contradicted in the Jason Alexander episode of Muppets Tonight, where Gonzo claims his mother liked his unique college interpretation of Death of a Salesman. However the whole notion of Gonzo remembering his parents is somewhat dispelled in the film Muppets from Space.

TV Overscan
A television image goes right to the very edges of the screen, however most TVs are not so precise as to fit the picture perfectly to its glass. As a result all televisions have what is called "overscan" - where portions of the actual picture area fall outside of the physical viewable area of a TV set, due to the picture being projected larger than the actual screen. About 5% of the picture area is missing from each edge, with some sets cutting off as much as 15% on one edge or another. Television creators are aware of the situation and are careful not to put anything critical too close to the edge of the picture, and will frame a shot accordingly. TV directors have what is called a "safe title zone", somewhat in from the edges, where it is considered safe to put text and titles. They also have a safe action zone within which it is considered safe to put the action you need to see. With the special effect illusions created by the Muppets, filming them sometimes results in a revealing mistake or puppeteer's head/arm. Since The Muppet Show was intended for television broadcast and viewing, sometimes "goofs" were allowed to stay in the edges of a shot assuming they were far enough at the bottom of a shot to be cut off by the viewer's TV (or were unnoticed on the film prints as they were cut off on the studio monitors themselves). Since that time the show has been transferred and released in digital – in the form of DVD. Playing such videos on screens without overscan (such as some computer monitors, digital screens, plasma monitors, etc.) will allow viewers to see things originally thought to be out of sight.