Benson

From the season 2 premiere "Thick as Thieves," Sesame Street Magazine is to the left of Benson, middle row

Benson is a sitcom starring Robert Guillaume which aired on ABC from 1979 to 1986. A spin-off of Soap, which had initially featured Guillaume's Benson as the sardonic but rational butler to the wacky Tates, the show moved Benson to the governor's mansion of a Tate relative, where he eventually rose from head of domestic affairs to lieutenant governor.

References

In The Muppets, Veronica says that she will show reruns of Benson instead of the Muppets' telethon if Kermit can't find a celebrity host for the show.

Muppet Mentions

• In the second season episode "Thick as Thieves" (1980), when Benson and cook Kraus are held hostage in a convenience store, Sesame Street Magazine appears on the magazine rack.

• In the fourth season episode "Kraus Sings the Blues" (1983):

Kraus: If I do these exercises faithfully, I'll have a face like Brooke Shields.

Benson: That'll be interesting. Brooke Shields' face on Big Bird's body.

• In the fifth season episode "Katie's Cookies" (1983):

Agent Monday: That was very brave of you, disarming a professional killer like that.

Benson: It wasn't brave at all. I thought I was disarming The Cookie Monster.

Notes

In 1972 (five years before he landed Soap), Robert Guillaume was one of three actors who tested for the final choice of Gordon on Sesame Street, replacing Hal Miller; the part ultimately went to Roscoe Orman.

Connections

• G. W. Bailey played Gus in "One Strike, You're Out" (1979) and a bartender in "Takin' It to the Streets" (1980)
• Roscoe Lee Browne played Howard Walker in "Just Friends" (1980)
• David L. Smyrl was a staff writer (1982)
• Tom Whedon was a writer and producer (1980-1981)