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| The Jim Henson Hour | |
 | |
| Air Date | May 5, 1989 |
| Director | Jim Henson |
JHH promo 104
Plot Outline
Jim Henson's Intro
Jim Henson announces that they've made a movie inspired by C. M. Coolidge's series of paintings, Dogs Playing Poker, and shows a trailer for the special narrated by Jerry Nelson.
MuppeTelevision
While Digit has prepared a number of selections on the monitors to show on the episode, Kermit says they won't be needing them, as it is "Muppet Night at the Movies," and they plan on showcasing a film from the All Dog Network (ADN), Dog City. However, due to technical difficulties, the film is delayed. While the technical problems are being worked on, Bean Bunny presents previews of two of his upcoming films, Bean Bunny and the Cuteness Thief (starring the Wolf as Evil McBad) and Beanbo. Also, ADN airs some behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Dog City narrated by Rover Cleveland, featuring Lyle as the news anchor (and a cameo voice-over by Jim Henson as the director).
Eventually, Vicki finds the film (it was in the film library, under D), and the film is finally shown.
Dog City
Rowlf hosts a film noir parody set in a town entirely populated by dogs. Ace Yu travels to Dog City to investigate the murder of his uncle, who was killed by canine mob boss Bugsy Them.
Closing
Jim Henson closes the show performing on-camera with his character, Bugsy Them, who didn't like the ending of the movie.
Notes
Kermit records a promotional film for The Jim Henson Hour on the set of Dog City (after Colleen is dognapped). Ace Yu is a "funny dog."
- Jim Henson won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program for this episode
- This was the only Jim Henson Hour episode directed by Jim Henson, although he also directed the Storyteller episodes The Heartless Giant and The Soldier and Death.
- When the special was released on DVD by the Jim Henson Company as Dog City: The Movie, the ten minutes of MuppeTelevision footage was omitted from the DVD. The footage of Rowlf within the special itself was kept intact, even though the character is owned by Disney. The sale of the Muppets to The Walt Disney Company included the rights to the MuppeTelevision portion of this episode but not to the Dog City special.
- The complete episode was released on laserdisc in Japan by KSS Films, with all audio dubbed into Japanese (in mono) and brief Japanese subtitles during "Bean Bunny and the Cuteness Thief."
- This is not a traditional Jim Henson Hour episode split into two distinct halves. The MuppeTelevision portion of this episode lasts less than ten minutes and is really an introduction to the Dog City film, making this more of a complete hourlong special, with or without that introduction.
- Kermit and Ace Yu (Jim Henson and Kevin Clash) recorded a promo for The Jim Henson Hour on the set of Dog City. In the scene where Colleen is dognapped, the shot continues as Kermit talks about what networks can expect from this new series. Various clips are shown, mostly from the "Food" episode. Ace Yu annoys Kermit at the end, saying "I'm a funny dog."
Credits
Muppet Performers
- Jim Henson - Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Bugsy Them, Off-screen director
- Camille Bonora - Miss Belle
- Rickey Boyd - Laughing Boy
- Fran Brill - Vicki, Colleen Barker
- Kevin Clash - Ace Yu
- Dave Goelz - Digit, Stunt Cat
- Rob Mills - Quackers, Rover Cleveland
- Jerry Nelson - Bubba the Bartender, Spot, Trailer Narration, Evil McBad
- Dan Redican - Dog House Patron
- Gord Robertson - Scruffy
- Steve Whitmire - Bean Bunny, Mad Dog
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