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The Muppet Show
Langham01
Guest Chris Langham
Production August 5-8, 1980
Premiere UK: March 1, 1981
NYC: January 31, 1981

(TRANSCRIPT)

A messenger brings a message from the scheduled guest star -- Benny Brillstein, the Yiddish yodeler. Benny refuses to be on the show, so Kermit asks Chris, the messenger boy, to be the guest. Chris knows a joke, so Kermit introduces him as a comedian.

Chris' bizarre acts include owl impersonation and odd magic tricks -- "Pick a sausage, any sausage." Finally, doing an escape act in his dressing room, Chris locks himself in a wardrobe and can't get out. He has to do his final number, "Hawaiian Cowboy," from within the wardrobe.

Backstage, a magnetic moose attracts various objects.

Songs/Sketches[]

Episode guide[]

Picture Description
TMS519.coldopen
Cold Open: Chris, a messenger, brings a telegram from tonight's guest star who has canceled at the last minute. Kermit immediately hands over the guest star duties to Chris.
Gonzo open 423
The Muppet Show Theme: Gonzo is blown away in an Autumn storm.
TMS519.opening
Kermit, not quite sure how to introduce Chris, brings him onstage to introduce the opening number.
Song.friendship

TMS519.opening-2
For the opening number, Kermit and Robin sing "Friendship" while fishing on the ocean. They dive into the water, where they meet a mother whale and her baby, who join in the song with them. They suddenly hear a bang. Above, a gang of pig whalers sail along, singing "We'll Meet Again". They notice Kermit and Robin sitting on what looks like a boulder, but is actually the mother whale.
TMS519.backstage1
After witnessing a fiasco involving Melissa and her Magnetic Moose, Kermit tells a wisecracking Floyd to be nice to Chris, since he's a newcomer.
TMS519.scotsman

TMS519.scotsman-1
Chris, dressed as a Scotsman, does some of his standard prop comedy schtick, which culminates in him getting rained on by peanuts.
TMS519.backstage2
An audience member comes backstage because he wants his watch back. Kermit learns, to his horror, that the magnetic moose is in the canteen. The moose runs away, with pots and pans stuck to it, chased by an angry Swedish Chef.
TMS519.newsflash
Muppet News Flash: Metallic stars fall on the Newsman.
Langham3
In the dressing room, Sam the Eagle witnesses Chris doing some "zen skiing". Chris does a card trick for Sam using sausages.
Song.londoner
UK Spot: A pack of dogs ride in a double decker bus and sing "Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner".
Langham-timeapparatus
Chris displays a time travel apparatus, which carries him backwards through his speech.
TMS.519.Gnu
A British chap sings about his encounter with "The Gnu" at the zoo.
Langham2
Backstage, Chris shows Kermit and Gonzo his imitation of an owl. Statler and Waldorf briefly ponder the brief pauses in the show.
TMS519.dressingroom
Gonzo enters Chris's dressing room to worship him. Chris shows him a trick involving a wardrobe closet and the magic word "Hoopla!" which goes awry with him becoming trapped inside. Regardless, Chris insists that the show must go on.
Song.hawaiiancowboy
Still stuck in the wardrobe closet, Chris somehow makes it onstage for the closing number, "Hawaiian Cowboy," with a cowboy hat on top of the wardrobe. He is able to be audible from it, aided by breaking a hole to speak clearly out of the structure. It suddenly occurs to Chris that he can turn around and escape the closet from the back, which has an opening for him to simply step through. At the end of the number, it rains peanuts on Chris once again.
TMS519.goodnights
At the closing, Chris demonstrates his new electronic larynx, which begins to malfunction.

Notes[]

  • Langham was the only British writer on The Muppet Show. He was hastily made the guest for this episode after the original guest, Richard Pryor, was unable to make the taping.
  • Sam Eagle is the only Muppet performed by Frank Oz in this episode.
  • This episode is one of two from The Muppet Show not included on Disney+.

Cast[]

Muppets:

Kermit the Frog, Scooter, Gonzo, Pops, Gnu, Whales, Pigs, Floyd Pepper, Melissa, Mickey Moose, The Newsman, Sam the Eagle, Wolfhound, Afghan Hound, Muppy, Mutt, Molly and Melville, Robin the Frog, Whatnots, Goldfish, The Swedish Chef

Background Muppets:

Beauregard, Rizzo the Rat, Deer, Shark, Billy the Bear, Raccoon, Fox, Penguins, Baskerville the Hound, Spaniel, Lyle the Dog, French Poodle, Dogs

Performers[]

Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Waldorf, the Newsman, and The Swedish Chef
Frank Oz as Sam the Eagle
Jerry Nelson as Pops, Robin, Floyd Pepper, Mickey Moose, the Wolfhound, and the Gnu
Richard Hunt as Scooter, Statler, Muppy, Pig and British Chap
Dave Goelz as Gonzo, Pig, and Whatnot
Louise Gold as Molly and the Mutt
Steve Whitmire as Tommy the Goldfish, Melville
Kathryn Mullen as Melissa and the Afghan Hound

Gallery[]

External links[]


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