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The Muppet Show

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The Muppets were a revolution in my brain as a child. They were the funniest thing I could remember and when the music started up as I sat in front of the TV screen and saw them all walking and singing the opening theme songs I can still remember the excitement I felt:

“It’s time to make the music, it’s time to dress up right It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet show tonight!”

The format of the Muppet show was that of an old school vaudeville-style show, where you would join the Muppets backstage as they frenetically prepared to take their acts on stage to entertain an auditorium full of other Muppets (Who all looked CRAZY!)

The characters were so defined and funny. From Kermit the frog – the softly spoken manager under pressure. To Miss Piggy the self-involved and violent prima-donna pig! To the Swedish chef (an incomprehensible chef presenting programmes on cooking that no-one understood but usually involved a fire-arm!) there was “Fozzy Bear” the terrible punning joke-smith, Gonzo the stunt man who was…. Well no-one knew exactly what he was meant to be (It was usually interfered he was from space). There were more characters, the whole show was so rich in style and imagination.

Every week there would be a celebrity guest on the show who would usually fall foul of the Muppets, potentially getting eaten, or covered in goo, or dying in some way, or romanced by Ms Piggy. They would usually take part in a musical number as well. It was quite fashionable to be on the Muppet show and lots of notable people were on it. Guests included:

John Cleese, Rudolph Nureyev, Roger Moore, Elton John, Leo Sayer.

There were many repeating skits or sketches, and in some ways it was like a sketch show, with familiar roles and lines repeated each week – but unlike Little Britain the repetition would be slighty varied each time.

The show won numerous awards and EMMY’s and was such a good programme that it’s still brought back again and again and available on DVD. They also made Muppet movies sich as the Great Muppet Caper and put on fantastic Christmas specials.

If you haven’t seen it recently, look it up. It is still amazing!

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Do You Remember The Muppet Show?

Do You Remember The Muppet Show?

  • Anonymous user
    on
    'This is what we call THE MUPPET SHHHOOOWWWWW!' One of the best shows ever when I was a child, pure genuis! Sam the eagle and the blue saxophone player used to scare the poo out of me, but Miss Piggy was a legend.I remember copying her karate chop on boys that I didn't like with far less finesse and accuracy though! Who remembers the 'm'nah, m'nah' song?
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I remember watching this show and wanting to be Miss Piggy. I use to do that "Yay-ah," convincing myself that I was just like her.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I was 11 or so when the Muppet Show was first shown in the UK, and I foolishly decided that I was too old for such things and denounced it as silly. Ten years later, I happened to see it again, and became an instant devotee. Miss Piggy was madly in love with Kermit, who wasn't enthusiastic, but was too scared of her to do anything (Piggy knew karate, and those who crossed her would be attacked, with a cry of "Hi-yah!"). Gonzo was a strange looking creature, rather ghoulish, with a fetish for chickens. There was a lot of debate about just what kind of animal Gonzo was. I always said Aardvaark, but one of my current colleagues actually worked on the show, and knew Jim Henson quite well, and he tells me that even Henson was never really sure what Gonzo was. Anyway, Gonzo was definitely my favourite, and I loved the Alice Cooper episode, where Alice manages to weird-out Gonzo who looks to him as a role model. My other favourite was Animal - a wild drummer, with a limited vocabulary but extremely expressive eyebrows!
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Koukou, the blue eagle was called 'Sam...The American Eagle'. He was a bit of an old bore! I loved Ralf the piano playing dog! My brother had a Muppets album in the 70's! It had a brilliant rendition of 'Simon Smith & His Amazing Dancing Bear' on, sung by Scooter and Fozzie Bear! FFFUUUUNNNNNYYYYYY!!!!! It was fab! Kids shows today are rubbish in comparison!
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I loved The Muppet Show! I bought many volumes of The Best of The Muppet Show from Time Life. I recently bought The Mupppet Show Season 1 dvd set from the year 1976. All the classic episodes of the 1st season have been restored here. The 1st Season of The Muppet Show had great guest stars that kermit used to talk with in the talk spot sketches like Actresses Connie Stevens, Ruth Buzzi, Rita Moreno, and Dancer Julliet Prowse- may she always rest in peace in heaven.I remember the very beautiful english model/actress Twiggy guest starring on the muppet show's 1st season also back in 1976. The 1st muppet show pilot that was made before this one aired back in the year 1975. It had no human guest star, Kermit was nowhere to be seen as the host, it was a Mousey creature named Nigel, and sex and violence were taped.The regular Muppet Show that aired syndicated from 1976 to 1981 for 5 years was the most popular show in 100 countries. It made Muppet King Jim Henson a millionaire many times over- May he always rest in peace in heaven.The Muppet Show was different from Sesame Street in that it was a primetime family puppet variety show- it was meant for both kids and adults.In the 1st season of the show, there were a lot of adult jokes. Kermit used to flirt with all the female guest stars and Connie Stevens, Rita Moreno, and Ruth Buzzi all tickled him in the talk spot sketch! Jim Henson was a true genius! He was turned down by some opportunities to have a production studio to film The Muppet Show in The United States, so British Producer Sir Lew Lord Grade of ITC Associates- May he always rest in peace in heaven- gave Jim Henson and his Associates Studios in Elstree, a suburb of London, England to tape The Muppet Show.120 episodes of The Muppet Show with a human guest star in every one of them were taped in a matter of 5 seasons! Jim Henson ended The Muppet Show after 1980 because he and his Associates wanted to move on to new challenges! Jim Henson wanted more than just a 30 minute show format for The Muppets.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Fantastic - as was Sesame St. What a loss the late Jim Henson has been.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    PIGGGGGS INNNNN SPPPPPPAAAAAAAACEEEEEEEE!!!!! The best bit of this programme...pigs dressed in sci fi uniforms on a space ship getting lost and all the other antics you would expect from muppets....hysterical. I also like Beaker, Bunsens assistant. Poor old Beaker was always been blown up in mad experiments. Gonzo was always up to some mad cap idea..usually firing himself out of a cannon I seem to remember. What was the big blue eagle called?
  • Anonymous user
    on
    one of the best shows ever. i used to sit and watch with my mom, the theme song came on curtains closed popcorn in dark, every episode even in repeat. wow I could cry this is a memory of my childhood ill never forget. i loved kermit he taught me being diffrent is o.k, and the old guys, and beaker, and the scientist, swedish chef, my grandma and grandpa used to watch and laugh at them believe it ar enot, i had all the toys, dolls, animal was craxy and i loved the guest stars, one of my favorites, was alice copper at the halloween classic.

Do you remember these?