August 18, 2005
Episode Breakdown of Season One of the Muppet Show
Well, I just finished watching all twenty-four episodes of the first season of the Muppet Show. Some of the shows, in fact most of the shows, I have watched twice and some even more than that. I got the DVD set on Friday so I’ve been somewhat busy watching them. I decided to write down what happens in the show and also which parts to skip. Immodest apparel means fast-forwarding or skipping. Unfortunately on this disc hitting the skip button will send you to the next show. Now this list was compiled primarily while watching the Muppet show, with the behind the scenes captions on, and while browsing the internet playing games so I cannot guarantee comprehension or perfect grammar. And some things I refer to have to do with what was going on in the episode when I wrote it. So here it is. And I haven’t checked or edited this list recently so it might be in worse condition than if I did so but I have another post to write.
Muppet Show Episode Break Down
Disc One
Episode 1: Juliet Prowse
First song really funny, MahnaMahna. Fast Forward through the dance number with the guest star. Stand in front of monitor though. You and I and George is quite funny. Western Sketch. So an alright show if fast forward is used during the dance number.
Episode 2: Connie Stevens
Not quite as good. Swedish Chef Sequence funny. Okay, after a bit of singing and so forth we get to the saxophone number which is quite funny! So are Bert an Ernie however the song might be good to fast forward through. The end outfit that the guest star wears is not good though. So the final line of Waldorf and company is… Well, do you think this show was educational? Yes, it will drive people to read books.
Episode 3: Joel Grey
If time is pressing first song could be fast forwarded through. Fozzie bear tries to tell a joke on any subject. SHERLOCK HOLME’s SKETCH!!! Razzle Dazzle is also a trifle boring. So a good one when time is pressing.
Episode 4: Ruth Buzzi
Opening song electric mayhem speed up. There is the Mechanical Wind Up TV Show Host that is just like Kermit which causes mayhem, to some extent. Pretty funny misc skits, including a great Wayne and Wanda one. News flash is great too. Song with guest is funny to some extent but might be fastforwarded. Onion song with Rawlf is great! So lots of funny stuff on this episode. There is more funny stuff than I mentioned.
Episode 5: Rita Moreno
I don’t like the costumes that the guest star chose to wear, however if you fast forward or skip her there are quite a few other funny things on this show, including a song about To Morrow and a running gag involving a telephone. Oh the Muppetphone! Thats funny! Pitty the guest is immodest because otherwise this is a pretty funny show.
Episode 6: Jim Nabors
The guest star was better known as Gomer Pile. Scooter is officially introduced in this episode. There are quite a few bits of humor in this episode. There is a great song with Rowlfth the dog on the piano and another dog singing. Quite a good episode.
Disc Two
Episode 7: Florence Henderson
Gonzo actually gets to ring the gong in this episode. There are Pig acrobatics in this. Miss Piggy becomes quite emotional towards Kermit. There is a rather long and relatively boring song in this episode sung by the guest star. However Rowlf sings out quite an excellent song to make up for it:) I’m very fond of the Whinnie the Pooh books and that is where the song Rowlf sings comes from. Some Shakespear though not much here. Possibly the highlight of the show is the Koozbanian sketch.
Episode 8: Paul Williams
The guest star being a song writer there are many songs. Muppet Labs produces a great and very useful product. In a Really funny sketch Rowlf the dog writes and read a great poem with appropriate background distractions. Somebody unfortunately gets picked on a bit. There is a great song about a frog. There is also a travel agency sketch. So all in all, a great show.
Episode 9: Charles Azneavour
The first song is really funny! Do you feel pretty? Gonzo gets a manager in this episode. Doctor Bob loses a patient in this episode. Want to meet some French Bread? A grand song by the hillbillies in this episode, “Does your Chewing Gum Lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?”. French is indeed a delightful language. I once tried learning it. The song about the Inchworm shows that background music can be quite diverse. A very Enjoyable episode.
Episode 10: Harvey Korman
The show starts out with an explosive opening number by the Electric Mayhem about lighting dynamite. Circus act with the guest star follows after a ketch or two. Then the intellectual level of the show is raised though that might be debatable. The guest star seems to have some temperament issues. He’s not quite as polite as most of the other guest stars. Jam session. Veterinarian hospital sketch is quite funny. Kermit helps Fozzie during his comedic sketch. Hear! Hear! There is a long song on and about a stair which perhaps could be fast-forwarded.
Episode 11: Lena Horne
THE RAGMOPS!!! This is one funny song! Miss Horn shows up during this episode. Long song that is not very funny at the opening. Saxaphone number follows the dance episode. So this is probably a show to watch when time is pressing as much that is somewhat long and boring and fastforwardable. Somewhat immodest outfit worn by the guest star during her talk with Kermit but the talk is not so funny that it can’t be fast-forwarded through without loss. The spaghetti act following it however is a different story. And yet another long song! I suppose that’s what happens when you have a famous singer as a guest star. How many songs can they shove into this show?
Episode 12: Peter Unstinov
Evening at the pops is quite funny. So is Peter Unstinov who is quite talented as is seen in the sketch at Myppet labs. Kermit is rather jealous. There is a very enjoyable discussion of Post Dickensian Economics. Miss Piggy gets her own solo in this episode. A somewhat strange song entitled “You do something to me” has many things happen in it. The cure for the common cold is discovered in this episode. The panel discusses psychiatry. Kermit sings a song about being green.
Episode 13: Bruce Forsyth
The opening song on this show is wonderful! Performed by the very talented Smerfs. There are several funny things on this show and Fozzie bear actually gets to win against the hecklers. I’m not commenting on this show while watching it but commenting on it from memory. I want to get on to watching other shows:)
Disc Three
Episode 14: Sandy Duncan
The first song on this show should be skipped. Crazy Harry shows up in this episode. The famous(or infamous) Banana Sketch! Doughnuts by the Swedish chef. The dance number is funny as usually. There is a lovely walk in the park with an unexpected ending. Great Gonzo gets a solo in this episode, he sings Nobody. There is a really great song from a famous movie in this episode, “Never Smile at a Crocodile”. So just what is the Banana Sketch? Good News Flash. There is a song about September, which is nice because my birthday is in September. On the twenty-sixth in fact.
Episode 15: Candice Bergen
Miss Piggy opens the show with her song “What now my love?” this song is made funny by the chorus. Great running gag in this show. The next song on the show is a slightly unusual hillbilly song with the guest star. The hillbilly was rather incapable of figuring certain things out. “Does travel broaden the mind” is discussed by the learned panel. Rowlf the dog sings a great song here, in fact he sings it three times! The Sweedish Chef encounters Chili! There is some painting in this episode during a very funny song. Then the great gonzo once again appears in song though it’s not so funny it couldn’t be fastforwarded through.
Episode 16: Avery Schreiber
The Electric Mayhem plays, “Tenderly”, rather untenderly. An Epic Duel occurs in this episode between the guest star and Sweetums. Miss Piggy makes Kermit jealous in this episode. One of the most funny Muppet Labs is on here, the Gorilla Detector! Another really funny scene is the Portrait Gallery guard sketch with Fozzie Bear. Lassie(or actually her picture) has a song sung to her by three dogs and a cat. Where the cat came from I’m not really certain. A very funny Wayne and Wanda song as usual. A chicken is the patient in the Veterinarian’s hospital sketch. Fozzie gets some help with his act. Muppets News Flash, there is no news tonight! It’s rather intersting to have a song without words that have meaning.
Episode 17: Ben Vereen
Boogie beat song to begin with Rolf the dog at the piano. In case you can’t tell by the fact that I’ve spelled the dog’s name different times throughout this list, I don’t know how to spell it. Crazy Harry Continues to terrorize. “Mr. Cellophane” is the next song and dance number. Rowlfth the dog plays a song on the piano that I know how to play part of, Fur Elise. He plays it better than I do though. A superb Veterinarians hospital sketch. You get to see the lighting equipment in this show. There is a rather interesting song about imagination to close the show, more or less.
Episode 18: Phyllis Diller
The Hillbillies have a sung about Mississippi Mud to open the show. Great News Flash!!! Long song by the electric mayhem that has a lot of interesting camera work and transitions. I neglected to mention that Phylllis Diller is quite funny and rather a nut. There is an interesting sung with a purplish creature saying Hugga Wugga. Exploding hats anyone? Concert number with the guest star and the muppet orchestra.
Episode 19: Vincent Price
A very spooky show. Apparently the guest star was a horror movie star. The first song is rather funny in a very Muppet like way, “I’ve got you under my skin”. Be careful when rent summer cottages from adds in the Wampire Veekly:) The cultural discussion is about food. Beware of your furniture! Much strangeness in this episode. And now I’m almost done!!!
Disc Four
Episode 20: Valerie Harper
Opening song could be fastforwarded through. Sweedish Chef scene is really funny. One of the hecklers goes backstage. A song by Gilbert and Sullivan in this episode that is quite funny! There are the usual misc skits in this. A long muppet song. The backstage gets rather crowded. The song and dance with clodhoppers is probably fastforwardable through. This one I commented on while watching it:)
Episode 21: Twiggy
The guest star on this show was, or is, so famous I had actually heard of her before!!! Although I didn’t expect it to be so, this episode is just fine modesty wise! Somewhat strange muppet song to open this episode. THE PHANTOM OF THE MUPPET SHOW!!! That particular running gag is great! The first song with Twiggy is a little long but very pretty and has a photo montage of Twiggy. I really like the poem that Twiggy reads to the great Gonzo. Rowlf the dog plays another peice of classical music. An interesting machine shows up. Twiggy sings a sort of hillbilly song. A pretty enjoyable episode.
Episode 22: Ethel Merman
Pretty funny Muppet number to start this with strange creatures. A nice meddly of musical songs with the guest star. There is a song with the two hecklers in the background. Some shadows. There’s no business like show business is sung.
Episode 23: Kay Ballard
Pretty funny hillbilly song to open the show. The guest stars number is rather funny, she chose the appropriate dress to go with the muppet she sings with. Rather lazy hillbilly song. A face lift!
Episode 24: Mummenschanz
We start out with a sung with Skooter singing the solo about Mr. Baseman. The guest stars are indeed rather funny, in an odd way. The great Gonzo falls in love. Library sequence music. More weirdness from the guest stars. A fishy sort of song next. And some more various skits. A somewhat strange show but alright.