The Muppet Show



"''"It's time to play the music, It's time to light the lights, It's time to meet the Muppets On the Muppet Show tonight!"''"

The immense popularity of The Muppets they created for Sesame Street gave Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl and Frank Oz the impetus to create a variety show for family viewing, but with social and political satire. ABC aired a pair of Pilot specials, The Muppets Valentine Show (1974) and The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (1975), but when all the U.S. networks rejected their (frankly awesome) pitch for a weekly series, they instead finagled a distribution deal with Britain's ITC, under the auspices of Lord Lew Grade.

The Muppet Show was produced for worldwide weekly syndication from 1976 to 1981. It was videotaped at the London studios of ITC's parent company ATV. The choreography for the human guests was created by Gillian Lynne, who later went on to design all of the ballet sequences in Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage version of The Phantom of the Opera.

The show became so popular that in at least one U.S. market, two stations broadcast different episodes of The Muppet Show in back-to-back time slots! The show was never actually cancelled; instead, Henson and company decided to end it so that they could work on films, The Muppet Movie in particular.

"It's time to put on makeup, It's time to dress up right, It's time to raise the curtain On the Muppet Show tonight!"

Cheerful, cool-headed Kermit the Frog was the emcee-slash-production manager-slash-eye of the storm for this truly 'far out' all-puppet Variety Show. The setting was a tiny rundown downtown theatre and the tone was deliberately reminiscent of old-style vaudeville, where anything could happen and usually did. Other major members of the troupe included diva Miss Piggy, comedian Fozzie Bear, piano-playing Rowlf the Dog, daredevil performance artist Gonzo the Great, and Scooter the eager "go-fer".

"To introduce our guest star That's what I'm here to do (or, what it's time to do); So it really makes me happy To introduce to you:"

A different human entertainer was featured as the show's guest performer in each episode, and the show's cachet quickly became such that they were frequently A-list--often uniquely so (ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev, anyone?). Each week, technical flubs, talent crises, rampaging egos and financial issues (when the pigs weren't rebelling, or angry clones weren't on the loose, or the Star Wars cast wasn't rampaging through in search of Chewbacca) would bring the show teetering to the brink of disaster; each week, the show somehow managed to go on.

Recurring sketches included Veterinarian's Hospital, starring Rowlf ("the continuing stoooooooory of a quack who's gone to the dogs"); Pigs in Space (yep, pretty much); Muppet Labs, with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his perpetually terrified assistant Beaker ("Now your family can be protected from the heartbreak of gorilla invasion!"); cooking segments with the game-but-goofy Swedish Chef; and the disaster-prone 'Muppet News Flash'. Piano-playing Doctor Teeth and his Electric Mayhem -- laid-back bassist and singer Floyd Pepper, groovy guitarist Janice, silent saxophonist Zoot and drummer Animal -- were the house band. And sitting high above it all in the balcony, in prime position to volley insults, were codger hecklers Statler and Waldorf:

"Why do we always come here? I guess we'll never know It's like a kind of torture To have to watch this show!"

Ostensibly a family show, The Muppet Show in practice played freely with the dark side of Henson's vision, more familiar from his later work. Notable guest stars included Alice Cooper, Vincent Price, Jonathan Winters, Peter Sellers, Christopher Reeve and Steve Martin. Songs from adult shows like Chicago and Cabaret were worked into the mix (to say nothing of Elton John singing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", or Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare"...) Casual violence abounded, seemingly gentle skits often took a weirdly surreal turn. Typically, in the Robin Hood episode, lovely Lynn "Maid Marian" Redgrave tricks Gonzo as the Sheriff into stretching out on his own torture rack -- and he appears to enjoy the experience.

And it's likely that few viewers knew of the ultimate origin of "Mah Na Mah Na", the song used in the iconic sketch of the same name -- the soundtrack of a 1968 Italian soft-core Mondo documentary, Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell), where it was used as background music for a sauna scene that is remarkably tame by today's standards. Here's the track itself. (Henson also did an earlier version back in Sesame Street's younger days).

"Our show tonight will feature Some stuff that goes like this!"

The concept was brought back and updated in 1989, with the "Muppet Television" segments of The Jim Henson Hour, which moved the show from a theatre to a TV station. A second short-lived revival in 1996, Muppets Tonight, used a similar setting, this time a single studio instead of an entire network.

Currently revived in the form of a Comic Book Adaptation, The Muppet Show Comic Book, and a Youtube channel.

"But now, let's get things started! (Audience: Why don't you get things started?) It's time to get things started On the most sensational, Inspirational Celebrational Muppetational This is what we call the Muppet Show!! (Gonzo plays something on his trumpet. Hilarity Ensues, usually)"

See The Muppets for various other Muppet productions, and Muppet Cameo when they show up in other shows.

"Fozzie: I don't know how to thank you guys! Kermit: I don't know why to thank you guys."
 * Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: Kermit usually wears nothing but his collar, and will cover himself up if it's taken off. When they do an underwater performance of The Beatles' "Octopus's Garden", he wears a bathing cap.
 * All Asians Wear Conical Straw Hats: Including the Muppets representing Japan in the Spike Milligan-hosted "Salute to All Nations" episode.
 * All Drummers Are Animals: Literally! According to legend, Animal was based upon Keith Moon.
 * Almost Famous Name:
 * Inverted in one episode where Kermit initially believes the guest star is an act called Lesley & Warren, and is pleasantly surprised to discover that it's actually the similarly named but more famous actor-singer-dancer Lesley Ann Warren.
 * In the episode devoted to a musical about Robin Hood, the "author of tonight's drama" is introduced in a backstage scene as William Shakespeare -- not the William Shakespeare, just a William Shakespeare.
 * Almost Kiss: Kermit and guest star Lynn Redgrave, in character as Robin Hood and Maid Marian, sing a beautiful love duet, and are about to kiss when Miss Piggy invents a blatant excuse to come on stage and interrupt.
 * Amazing Technicolor Population: Let's see, an orange stagehand, a lime-green Mad Scientist, a dark green keyboard player, a teal sax player, a pink Floyd...
 * Ascended Extra: Several, although Rizzo the Rat may be the best example (unless you count Miss Piggy, who was originally conceived as a much more minor character).
 * Ash Face: A recurring gag whenever explosions are involved. Which is often.
 * As Long as It Sounds Foreign: the Swedish Chef.
 * Attractive Bent Gender: In one Muppet Labs sketch, their latest experiment-gone-wrong leaves Beaker with long curly hair -- and Bunsen Honeydew suddenly finds him "hauntingly attractive".
 * Award Show: The Phyllis George episode has the show throwing an awards show for itself.
 * Bait and Switch: In the Roger Miller episode, a weird disease causes the cast to one-by-one transform into chickens. When Statler and Waldorf appear for the stinger at the end of the credits, will they also be transformed?
 * Banana Peel: In the James Coco episode, Coco attempts to liven up the Swedish Chef's act with a chorus line of dancers, which keep interrupting the Chef's attempts to prepare a banana split. The Chef retaliates by dropping a banana peel in their path, making them all fall down.
 * Barefoot Cartoon Animals: Animal (of course!) who usually only wore a front-open T-shirt and tattered pants. Other regular characters in this group (though not always seen as such on camera) include Dr. Bob (played by Rowlf) from Veterinarian's Hospital, Sweetums the ogre, Uncle Deadly (a blue reptilian-like creature that wore tattered Victorian-style morning dress with spats) and Beauregard the janitor. Kermit and Fozzie have also had a few stage costumes that applied this trope as well.
 * Brandishment Bluff: Subverted - in a cowboy sketch, Fozzie has "a loaded pickle". It goes off.
 * Bullet Dancing: In the Roy Rogers episode, Waldorf gets Statler bullet dancing, and Statler starts doing ballet. When they try it the other way around, all that happens is Waldorf gets a bullet in his foot.
 * Butt Monkey: Beaker was the king of this trope during the Bunsen Honeydew sketches from the second season on -- though on occasion, he managed to get revenge. Often overlapped with The Woobie because many fans couldn't help but laugh and feel sorry for him.
 * This Youtube sketch is probably the epitome of his Butt Monkey-dom.
 * Carnivore Confusion: A frequent problem encountered by the Swedish Chef, whose main courses tended to walk into his kitchen on their own four feet. Memorably lampshaded when he tried to cook Big Bird, and later when he tried to make frog's legs with Kermit's nephew Robin. In fact, sometimes it even gets into Herbivore Confusion!
 * The Cat Came Back: The trope-naming song was featured as a sketch in the Linda Ronstadt episode.
 * Cast of Snowflakes
 * Catch Phrase: Several:
 * Kermit: "Heigh-ho, everyone!", "YAAAAAAAY!" and "Will you get out of here?"
 * "Sheesh!"
 * Fozzie: "Wocka wocka!"
 * Scooter: "Fifteen seconds to curtain!"
 * Swedish Chef: "Bork Bork Bork!"
 * Miss Piggy's HI-YAAH!.
 * Beaker's meeping.
 * Sam the Eagle: "You are all weirdos!"
 * And Statler and Waldorf's heckle-laugh: "DOOOHOHOHOHOHO!"
 * Celebrity Paradox: Played for laughs in the 'stars of Star Wars' episode, as per Celebrity Star below. Luke Skywalker and his actor each made several appearances in the episode, but never appeared on screen together. The end of the episode, however, reveals that Mark Hamill and Luke Skywalker are in fact separate people.
 * Celebrity Star: Straight and subverted -- one episode featured a member of the production staff, writer Chris Langham, as the "guest". Langham, however, had to fill in for Richard Pryor.
 * Another spoof of sorts came when Peter Sellers was the guest star. Kermit says that backstage, Sellers is free to be himself and not a character, but Sellers says he cannot do so: "There used to be a me, but I had it surgically removed." Sellers helped the writers create this skit because he simply wasn't willing to be himself, and it became one of his most famous quotes. In the "15 seconds to curtain" opening bit, he appears in character as Inspector Clouseau. In Real Life, of course, this was Sellers' particular neurosis - making it Harsher in Hindsight.
 * The episode featuring "the stars of Star Wars" introduced Mark Hamill and his 'cousin' Luke Skywalker separately. The former had to admit that the latter upstaged him.
 * Initially a subversion, as the original "guest star" of the Hamill episode was a Muppet named Angus MacGonagle, the Argyle Gargoyle, whose talent was gargling Gershwin ("Gorgeously!"). Then the Star Wars cast bursts into his dressing room and Scooter decides they would be much better guest stars, so MacGonagle is tossed out. He later storms onto the stage, arguing his case with Kermit, who remains unimpressed. Later, though, MacGonagle sneaks back on stage to do his act -- with Mark Hamill joining in. Kermit finally has to resort to siccing Animal on the gargoyle.
 * There was also the time Señor Wences guest starred. He was a puppeteer himself, so Kermit decides to do something "new": a puppet show.
 * Several of the guest stars tried shamelessly to out-Muppet The Muppets -- like Spike Milligan, John Cleese and Peter Sellers -- with results that were indeed highly awesome.
 * "When the show first started, the producers would call upon friends in the entertainment business. However, about half-way through the second season when Rudolf Nureyev appeared, his appearance gave the show so much positive publicity, that other celebrities came to the producers instead of the other way around. " (from Wikipedia). Nureyev had seen the show whilst staying in London and liked it so much he actually called them up and asked if he could appear.
 * Chandler's Law: Henson once commented on his pre-Muppet puppet sketches that when he couldn't think of how to close a sketch, he'd either have an explosion or have one character eat the other. It's pretty clear that this carried over to The Muppet Show.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Hilda the seamstress and George the janitor are almost completely absent after the first season.
 * Clip Show: Not in the original run, but in The Eighties the Jim Henson's Muppet Home Video series of ten VHS tapes were clip shows linked by newly-shot material with the regular characters. Notably many of the U.K. spots were included (thus making their U.S. debuts), as well as at least two Season One musical numbers ("All of Me" and "You've Got a Friend", the latter being the finale from the Vincent Price episode) that would not appear on the Season One DVD set due to music rights issues. Similar compilations appeared in The Nineties.
 * Cloudcuckoolander. Most of the cast, really, but Gonzo is just batshit crazy.
 * The Comically Serious: Sam the Eagle.
 * Complaining About Things You Haven't Paid For: In the episode where Steve Martin guest starred, Statler and Waldorf debate whether they should leave after the show is canceled to hold auditions. Waldorf insists that they stay as they've paid for the tickets. When Statler points out that the tickets were free, Waldorf replies, "And overpriced, at that!"
 * Compliment Backfire:
 * Newcomer Annabel Sue Pig tells Miss Piggy of her lifelong admiration of her.
 * Pretty much everything Danny Kaye says to Miss Piggy in his episode, including another go-round of "I've admired you for years and years".
 * Couch Gag: Many, the most famous being Gonzo's gong (Season 1) or trumpet note (Seasons 2-5) at the end of the theme song. Others are: Statler and Waldorf's opening (Season 2) and closing (entire run) comments, Fozzie telling a joke during the title sequence (Season 1), the "15 seconds to curtain" reveal of the guest star (Seasons 2-4), Pops the doorman greeting the host (Season 5).
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: Most prominently, Frank Oz as Miss Piggy and Richard Hunt as Janice.
 * Crossover: Sesame Street's Big Bird appears in one episode; Bert and Ernie make a guest appearance in an early Season 1 episode. At the climax of the Arabian Nights-themed Marty Feldman episode, most of the Sesame Street cast turns up for the finale as a pun on "Open Sesame!"
 * Cutlass Between the Teeth: Fozzie at one point in his battle with the samurai in the Spike Milligan episode.
 * Dartboard of Hate: In the Leslie Uggams episode, there's a scene set in Camilla the Hen's dressing room, the decor of which includes a dartboard with Colonel Sanders' face on it.
 * Dashingly Dapper Derby:
 * Spike Milligan wears one while impersonating a Quintessential British Gentleman in a sketch.
 * When Roger Miller guest stars, he sings a song about various kinds of hat, each of which is worn by one of the backup singers; there is a verse about a derby, and a corresponding English gentleman muppet in a Dashingly Dapper Derby.
 * Dead Artists Are Better: In the episode starring Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, Gonzo learns a rumour has started that he was killed when his latest stunt went horribly wrong, and decides to go along with it in the hope of becoming, while still alive to enjoy it, one of those artists who become massively successful after they die.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Believe it or not, this was Kermit's original schtick.
 * He's still got shades of it that pop up from time to time.

"Gonzo: I'd sell my soul for a pen! No, I have other plans for that."
 * Rizzo the Rat, after breaking out of his Voiceless role, quickly revealed himself to be one.
 * Deal with the Devil: In the Alice Cooper episode, there's a subplot about Cooper offering various members of the cast a contract that will give them whatever they want in return for their soul. Kermit rejects the whole thing out of hand; Miss Piggy is tempted to do it for great beauty, until she finds out what Alice Cooper considers beautiful; and Gonzo is unreservedly enthusiastic about the whole idea, but has to pass because he can't find a pen.

"Lew Zealand: Ack! Poison! (collapses to the floor) Fozzie: This man was murdered to shut him up! Bunsen: No he wasn't, he choked on a fishbone! Fozzie: But he yelled, "Poison!" Bunsen: Which, I believe, is the French word for fish!"
 * Demoted to Extra: Rowlf. As head-writer Jerry Juhl pointed out, Rowlf was mostly consigned to being used in musical numbers and skits, almost completely absent from backstage Character Development. It's not that they didn't like the character, it's that Jim was busy performing Kermit, yet didn't want Rowlf recast. As a result, ideas Juhl had for developing relationships between Rowlf and Fozzie, Rowlf and Piggy, etc never came to fruition.
 * Double Take: Leo Sayer's reaction when Dr Teeth explains the purpose of the line running across the floor of his dressing room.
 * Drop the Cow:
 * Literally, on the Newsman.
 * And in the little known Muppet special on various types of puppetry, a cow is dropped near the characters in a demonstration on how the Muppet team uses their special effects.
 * Dying Clue: Played for laughs in the Liza Minnelli episode:

"Kermit : Mr. Price, Mr. Price, help! Vincent Price : Well, I'd like to help, froggie, but you do look delicious!"
 * Early Installment Weirdness
 * The show's first season had a different (and far less epic) opening, the first few guests were given their own Muppets in their likeness (eliminated in part because of the cost), Gonzo's eyes weren't as expressive, some other characters looked and/or sounded different, etc.
 * There were also fewer celebrity interactions with the Muppets.
 * The Muppet Valentine Show and Sex and Violence were hosted by now-obscure Muppets (Wally and Nigel respectively) instead of Kermit. And at the end of the latter, !
 * Eenie Meenie Miny Moai: A moai head occasionally appears as a backing singer, for instance in the opening number of the Sylvester Stallone episode.
 * Endangered Soufflé: In a brief bit in the Spike Milligan episode, a tap-dancer's conversation with Kermit comes to an abrupt end when the Swedish Chef rushes up and attacks him because his tapping has collapsed the Chef's soufflé.
 * "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Used frequently, especially if the guest was the butt of the joke of the sketch. Said guest would laugh with everyone else at the punchline to show that the sketch was an act and that there were no hard feelings.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Swedish Chef, the Newsman.
 * Everything's Better with Penguins... and chickens... and rats... and fish... and the occasional Argyle Gargoyle. One of the show's catchphrases is "frogs and dogs and pigs and chickens [and things]"
 * Exact Words: In one sketch, Sam claims that eventually he will receive his "just desserts" for acting as the moral centre of the show. He's immediately hit by a pie. What was it according to the monster who threw it? "Just dessert."
 * Executive Meddling: Averted in that Henson had a degree of immunity. The show's British producer Lord Lew Grade gave Henson one condition; that he produce the show in Grade's London studios. Apart from that Grade pretty much gave Henson carte blanche to do what he wanted. As a thank-you, Henson wrote a Lew Grade Expy into The Muppet Movie, played by Orson Welles.
 * There was a bit more executive meddling in the form of the Laugh Track.
 * Expository Theme Tune
 * Expospeak Gag: In a 'Pigs in Space' sketch, First Mate Piggy is highly gratified to be told that she alone can "operate the independent heating/unifying element across the horizontal equalizing plane and save the entire crew" -- until she works out that this means "iron the laundry".
 * Extreme Omnivore: Most of the larger Muppet monsters have had moments where they ate things that were not, strictly speaking, food, but there's one in particular for whom this is his main characteristic. He has no name, so he's generally referred to, in memory of one of the things he ate on his debut appearance, as the Luncheon Counter Monster.
 * Fainting: A Muppet trademark. For the classic example see Kermit, in the John Cleese episode, after nearly being hit by two heavy weights falling from the rafters.
 * Falling Chandelier of Doom: A recurring setting is a ballroom with a large elaborate chandelier; sure enough, there is a sketch in which it falls on one of the dancers.
 * Fantastic Comedy: It was not unusual for curses that force everyone to speak Swedish, diseases that cause people to spontaneously turn into chickens, the guest star trying to sell cast members' respective souls to the Devil, and other such fantastical things to be major plot points. (Not even touching the fact that within the context of the show, the Muppets were normally portrayed as real people, not "puppets".)
 * Far Side Island: In the episode featuring Cloris Leachman, there's a sketch in which she is washed up on one after a shipwreck.
 * Fauxreigner: It was lampshaded on at least two occasions that the Swedish Chef is not actually speaking Swedish (presumably in case any really slow viewers were offended on Scandinavia's behalf). His real language is mock Japanese.
 * Flat What: Sam the Eagle utters a disbelieving, "What." when he hears Kermit introduce Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat major... played by Dr. Teeth.
 * Follow the Leader:
 * Le Bébête Show was the first French satirical puppet show. It represented major French political figures as characters similar to those of The Muppet Show, with, for instance, President François Mitterrand portrayed as a frog named Kermitterrand (and naming himself God).
 * French and Saunders was more or less The Muppet Show with people.
 * Fortune Teller: James Coco appears as one in a sketch, complete with Crystal Ball.
 * Framing Device: The antics backstage. Later seasons made them more story driven, something that was carried over to the comic book adaptation.
 * Friendly Tickle Torture: The Ruth Buzzi episode ends with a few of the Muppets tickling her.
 * Friend to All Living Things: Several of the guests have musical numbers where they're in a forest and have a backing group of animals. Depending on the guest and the song, this may be played straight, or twisted in some way (as in the case of Leo Sayer, whose animal companions spend half the time singing backup and the other half trying to eat him).
 * Fruit of the Loon
 * Galley Slave: In the Elke Sommer episode, the closing number is Elke singing "Row, Row, Row" in a galley, with the galley slaves as the backing chorus. Animal plays the role of the guy beating time on a big drum, which causes problems when he gets bored halfway through the song and starts upping the tempo.
 * Gentle Giant: In the Julie Andrews episode, she sings one of her songs in a graveyard while trying to dodge several enormous ugly monsters with sharp fangs that keep pursuing her all over the set. It turns out that they're all big fans of hers, and just want her autograph.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar:
 * "Mah Na Mah Na" as noted above, among others. The song was actually a minor hit in the US in 1969. Seeing as how Henson also used the song in skits featured on The Ed Sullivan Show and (of all places) Sesame Street, both in 1969, he may have just heard it on the radio and didn't know its ultimate origin either.
 * Sax and Violence, anyone?
 * The episode where Raquel Welch guest stars. Pretty much all of it, but especially the segment where she caresses Fozzie, sings him a sexy song, then invites him back to her dressing room for "tea".
 * Lady Wrestlers
 * The song "I'm My Own Grandpa", which existed before the Muppet Show, plays around with the Oedipus Complex trope. It's made slightly less disturbing because the weird family ties are ties of marriage rather than ties of blood, but still not something you'd expect on a fun-for-all-the-family show...
 * The episode starring Alice Cooper involved Alice trying to convince Kermit (And later Gonzo) to sell his soul to the devil
 * The "Koozebanian Mating Ritual".
 * Gladiator Games: Sylvester Stallone appeared as a gladiator fighting a lion. When the lion realised who he was, it tried to escape, and failing that turned the fight into a rendition of "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off".
 * Good Angel, Bad Angel
 * Grand Finale: While not technically an episode of the series, The Muppets Go to the Movies was meant to serve as this to this series.
 * Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: One of Gonzo's outre stunts involves reciting the seven-times table while holding a grand piano over his head; partway through, he gets lost and stops to count on his fingers -- and the moment he realises this means he's no longer holding the piano (but not a moment before) it falls on him.
 * Greek Chorus: Statler and Waldorf.
 * Groupie Brigade: The Sylvester Stallone episode is the Trope Namer.
 * Gun Twirling: The villainous Bullets Barker in the Western-themed Roy Rogers episode.
 * Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Fozzie Bear only wears a trilby hat and polka-dot tie, which was once the basis for one of his routines. ("Good grief, the comedian's a bear!" "No he's a-not! He's a-wearin' a neck-a-tie!") Rizzo the Rat wears a jacket and ballcap but no pants, as does Pepe the Prawn. Of course, most of them are never seen from the waist down, so it's usually a moot point.
 * In The Great Muppet Caper Fozzie and Kermit play twins. Nobody recognizes them as such until Fozzie removes his hat. Later on Kermit is sitting alone and a passerby mistakes him for a bear. Someone else corrects him; "Bears wear hats."
 * Half-Hour Comedy
 * Handcar Pursuit: In the Loretta Lynn episode, a mix-up leaves Kermit and Gonzo stranded miles from the train station where the show is temporarily set, and they travel back by handcar. At one point they get chased by a locomotive.
 * Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist: One appears in several sketches in the episode guest-starring Jean Stapleton.
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: Scooter's uncle, the owner of the theater. The gag of Scooter mentioning him to get what he wants was gradually phased out. He did actually appear a couple of times during the second season, but on the whole the writers felt that he worked better as an off-screen presence.
 * High Dive Hijinks: In the Danny Kaye episode, the Flying Zucchini Brothers attempt a daredevil high dive into a bucket of water. While they're on their way down, the theatre's janitor notices somebody's left a bucket of water on stage and helpfully tidies it away.
 * Hook Hand: John Cleese has one when he's being a pirate. Over the course of the sketch, it switches from one hand to the other, and gets caught in the collar of his shirt, among other indignities.
 * Horny Vikings: Performing opera during the Rudolf Nureyev episode, and singing "In The Navy" in the Roger Moore episode.
 * Hostile Show Takeover
 * Human Mail: In the episode with Paul Williams, Paul plays a travel agent and a monster asks for the cheapest travel package he has. Paul flattens the monster with a weight, sticks a stamp on him, and mails him.
 * Hurricane of Puns: The "Veterinarian's Hospital" sketches, and to a lesser extent the entire show.
 * Hypocritical Humor: One sketch has Sam the Eagle giving a commentary in which he denounces the efforts "namby-pamby conservationists" to shackle American industry "for the sake of a few insignificant animals". He then pulls out a list of endangered species, which he begins to read from mockingly. When he notices that the American bald eagle is one of the animals on the list, he beats a hasty retreat muttering, "This list is now inoperative."
 * I Am Not Spock: As far as the show is concerned, Christopher Reeve is Superman. He doesn't seem to mind, though.
 * I Have This Friend: In the episode where Miss Piggy goes on a diet, she asks the guest star for advice: "I have this friend who is absolutely devastating, except she has an itty-bitty weight problem..."
 * I'm a Humanitarian:
 * Zero Mostel almost gets eaten.
 * John Cleese's agent does get eaten.
 * And the Muppets are constantly eating each other: one of the creepier instances of this was a Muppet eating another, then singing "I've Got You Under My Skin" -- while the smaller Muppet, still alive, struggles to escape. (And occasionally takes over the song for a line or two: "I've tried so hard not to give in...")
 * When Vincent Price guest-starred, one monster decided Kermit looked delicious.

"Kermit: Good work, guys, that sketch was really dynamite! Crazy Harry: Did somebody say, "dynamite"? (BOOM!)"
 * Inadvertent Entrance Cue: Crazy Harry's appearances were usually presaged by another character making the mistake of uttering one of these.

"Sam the Eagle: You, sir, are a demented, sick, degenerate, barbaric, naughty freako! Alice Cooper: Why, thank you."
 * Incessant Music Madness: The "Salute to All Nations" episode ends with a rendition of "It's a Small World After All" that keeps going and going and going. It can be heard in the background as Kermit does the goodbyes at the end, and then swells again, drowning out the closing theme music.
 * Incredibly Lame Pun: A staple of the show, some of the sketches like "Veterinarian's Hospital" were made of this trope.
 * Indecisive Parody: The show always walked the line between being a full-blown parody of variety shows and a unique example of one.
 * I Need to Go Iron My Dog: Gonzo tries to get out of looking after Miss Piggy's dog by claiming "Oh my god! I left an anvil in the oven!". Of course, this being Gonzo, it's entirely possible he actually had left an anvil in the oven.
 * Instrument of Murder
 * Insult Backfire:

"Maid Marian: You black-hearted, villainous swine! The Sheriff of Nottingham (Gonzo): Oh, you silver-tongued flatterer."

"We berong to the rand And the rand we berong to is gland!"
 * The Intern: Scooter, in the first season.
 * Interspecies Romance: Where Piggy intends her relationship with Kermit to go, Gonzo's love affair with Camilla, and implied as part of Scooter's back-story. When Kermit inquires as to his species- "My mother was a parrot. We never knew my father. It was during the war!"
 * Its All Greek to Me: The Swedish Chef speaks mock-Swedish. There were several episodes between his introduction and The Reveal that he wasn't speaking real Swedish In-Universe.
 * Japanese Ranguage: The 'Japanese' muppets who sing "Yokohama" in the "Salute to All Nations" episode:

"Kermit: Y'know, I don't miss me at all."
 * Kayfabe: The Muppets have a long-standing tradition in appearances outside the show and in public events. The Muppeteers performing them are never seen and the humans interact with the puppets like regular people. The Muppeteers need to have perfect improv skills in order to say unscripted lines that would be appropriate for the characters!
 * Kent Brockman News: The "Muppet News Flash" sketch.
 * Knife-Throwing Act: Leslie Uggams inadvertantly becomes part of one as Lew Zealand, Boomerang Fish Thrower gets carried away and starts throwing swordfish. The scene ends with Leslie surrounded by swordfish in a Knife Outline.
 * Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Sam the Eagle, on the subject of Culture. In the episode guest-starring Rudolf Nureyev, Sam gushes that Nureyev is one of his favourite opera singers. In the episode guest-starring Lynne Redgrave, Sam pronounces himself a great fan of William Shakespeare -- why, he's seen The Sound of Music at least a dozen times! -- and is greatly saddened to hear that Shakespeare is dead.
 * The Lady's Favour: In the Pearl Bailey episode, the finale is a jousting scene with Floyd and Gonzo as the knights. Floyd gets a favour from Janice; Gonzo gets a favour from Camilla.
 * Lampshade-Wearing: Beaker attempts the disguise version in the Elke Sommer episode in an attempt to get out of a particularly hazardous Muppet Labs sketch. It works right up until Beauregard tries to plug him in.
 * Large Ham: The cast in general qualify; but Miss Piggy qualifies in more ways than one.
 * Gonzo also cranks it up a notch or two.
 * If the celebrity guest stars aren't keeping up with the Muppets in the scenery chewing department, then they're just flat-out doing it wrong. Exhibit A: Mark Hamill impersonating Kermit and Fozzie, followed by a bout of tapdancing. Exhibit B: Roger Moore judo-chopping a laser-toting fluffy bunny while singing "Talk to the Animals".
 * Arguably the only guest star to out-ham the Muppets was Zero Mostel.
 * Zero Mostel's right pointer finger out-hams several of the Muppets.
 * Larynx Dissonance: Miss Piggy
 * Late to the Punchline: The George Burns episode begins with The Teaser, featuring a silly "burns" pun, followed by the title sequence and then Kermit's opening monologue -- and then Waldorf gets the pun.
 * Laugh Track: Used (much to the annoyance of Henson & co.) in every episode except the Steve Martin one where the only laughter heard is that of the Muppet performers who really were the audience at that time.
 * Or at least that was the original intention for Steve Martin's episode. In the end, it turned out that Richard Hunt's laughter was so loud, they had to put in a bit of a laugh track anyway!
 * For on-stage segments, it is justified as the laughter of the audience watching in the Muppet Theater.
 * Left the Background Music On: During the cowboy sketch in the Bob Hope episode.
 * Let's See You Do Better: The Hal Linden episode had Statler and Waldorf run the show themselves while Kermit and Fozzie watch from the balcony.

"Waldorf: Hey, she just vanished! How did she do that? Statler: Probably like this! [takes a deep breath and fades out] Waldorf: Yep, that's probably how she did it!"
 * Literal-Minded: The butt of many, many of the show's jokes.
 * After a scene in which guest star Juliet Prowse dances and then artfully fades out of view:

"Kermit: Scooter, what is this? Scooter: It's a crate, chief! [...] Kermit: May I ask you what is in it? Scooter: Sure, go ahead! Kermit: What is in it?"
 * When Scooter shows up backstage with a large wooden crate:

"Luke Skywalker: Threepio, you cover that exit! C-3PO [to Kermit]: What shall I cover it in?"
 * C-3PO, as per the usual, in the Star Wars episode.

"Lesley Ann Warren (guest): You know, Kermit, I thought you were the one person on this show who wasn't crazy. Kermit: Me not crazy? I hired the others."
 * Loads and Loads of Characters
 * Look Behind You!: In a sketch where Cloris Leachman is trapped on a Far Side Island with a monster, she shouts "Look! Up there! Quick!". When the monster announces he's not going to fall for that old gag, a coconut from the island's lone palm tree falls on his head.
 * Mad Bomber: Crazy Harry.
 * Mad Scientist: Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is a mild example of this.
 * Mad Scientist Laboratory: Dr. Honeydew's lab is generally too clean and functional to qualify, but there's an excellent example, with lots and lots of colorful bubbling liquids, in the "Time in a Bottle" sketch.
 * Magnificent Moustaches of Mexico: At one point during his episode, John Cleese is dressed in a Mexican mariachi costume, complete with a magnificent false moustache -- worn over his real moustache.
 * Man Shaped Hole: The outcome of Rudolf Nureyev's encounter with Miss Piggy.
 * May the Farce Be with You
 * Meat-O-Vision: Played with in the Pearl Bailey episode's "Pigs in Space" skit -- the explorers, hopelessly lost in space, start seeing each other as food... because of a Negative Space Wedgie that's actually turning them into food.
 * Minsky Pickup: In the theme song intro.
 * Moral Guardians: Sam the Eagle is a parody of moral guardian types and expressed Strawman Conservative sentiments on occasion, such as decrying nudity while wearing no clothing and endangered species protection while being a bald eagle.
 * Morphic Resonance: In the Roger Miller episode, the cast is swept by an outbreak of cluckitis, a disease which turns the afflicted into chickens. The Swedish Chef retains his mustache and eye-covering eyebrows. Lew Zealand, Rowlf, Miss Piggy, Floyd, and Janice keep their respective eyes; Kermit does, as well, and even has his pointy collar. Only the main cast retains Morphic Resonance, however, and some don't even get that: extras and even some of the main cast turn into indistinguishable chickens. Maybe they'll have a hat or necklace, which they keep.
 * The Movie: Creatively called The Muppet Movie, it was so popular that five more theatrical features followed over the next 20 years:
 * The Great Muppet Caper
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan
 * The Muppet Christmas Carol
 * Muppet Treasure Island
 * Muppets from Space
 * And in 2011, there came The Muppets, which is intended to Re Boot the franchise and (hopefully) pave the way for further outings. This film features a traditional-style Muppet Show.
 * NameTron: In the Harry Belafonte episode, the "Pigs in Space" sketch revolves around Dr Strangepork's new invention, the Dissolvatron.
 * Ninja Prop: The ping pong ball in The Coconut Effect
 * No Fourth Wall: The fact that the series takes place on a stage show seems like justification for the lack of such... until you realise that the Muppets constantly break it backstage. And the audience keeps laughing at everything said and occuring off stage, even though there's absolutely no way they'd be seeing or hearing them.
 * No Kill Like Overkill: The Swedish Chef ends up "cutting" a (sentient, Japanese) cake in half with a "cakenschmooscher" (baseball bat). Of course, the cake was more crushed than sliced, but by that point the Chef didn't really care too much...
 * Non-Fatal Explosions
 * Noodle Implements: Gonzo once attempts to perform an act using a torch, a tire swing, and a cow. Exactly what he was planning to do with these is never shown, as he was booed off stage before he could start, but he had originally planned to use a typewriter instead of the cow (they didn't have a spare typewriter he could use).
 * Noodle Incident: On the episode with Loretta Lynn, Scooter tells Fozzie to use the joke about the electricians and the polar bear, saying, "I laughed for days." Sadly, the middle of the joke is lost due to a passing train...
 * The Sandy Duncan episode: "You never heard of the banana sketch?!"
 * No Sense of Humor: Sam the Eagle.
 * Oh Crap: Plenty. Beaker's face was even MADE to always be in shock.
 * Old-Fashioned Rowboat Date: A Wayne and Wanda sketch where the two were enacting such a date while singing "Row, Row, Row". It's one of few Wayne and Wanda sketches that make it to the song's chorus, Then the boat springs a leak.
 * Old, New, Borrowed and Blue: In the Marisa Berenson episode, Miss Piggy plots marriage to Kermit and tells Marisa that her wedding will feature "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something green".
 * Ominous Pipe Organ: During the "Veternarian's Hospital" segments.
 * Once an Episode: Miss Piggy becoming furious.
 * Only One Name: Gonzo, Scooter, Sweetums...
 * Only Sane Employee: Arguably the inspiration of the trope, as one blog post humorously points out.
 * Only Sane Frog: Kermit, and at times even he was just hanging on by his metaphorical fingernails.

" Mark Hamill Luke Skywalker: Listen pal, we're on a mission. There's no way we're gonna be involved in some third-rate variety show! Kermit (deeply wounded): Second-rate variety show!"
 * Orphaned Punchline:
 * "...but the wallpaper is delicious!"
 * The Sex and Violence pilot has Statler telling Waldorf one of these. "...And so the waiter says, 'Excuse me, but you're dancing with my umbrella!'"
 * Painful Rhyme: In-Universe in the "Robin Hood" episode; Scooter, doing exposition in the role of Alan a Dale, rhymes "in sooth" with "living fast and looth", prompting a complaint from Fozzie.
 * Pants-Free: In a "Muppet Newsflash" sketch, the newsreader reads a report about a newsreader who forgot to put on his pants before going on air -- then realises that the newsreader in question is himself.
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: In the "Robin Hood" episode, Robin Hood's disguise for the archery contest is a pair of Nerd Glasses and a bright red false beard. Apart from that, he's wearing the same outfit he wears in every other scene.
 * Parachute Petticoat
 * Parental Bonus: Tons, which was part of the show's point. Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl saw it as a show aimed at everyone watching, not just children or adults.
 * Parody Failure: Not the Muppets themselves, but most attempts to parody them have focused on Carnivore Confusion and Interspecies Romance, which were constantly lampshaded and analysed in the show itself.
 * Pirate: Notably portrayed by John Cleese and Glenda Jackson in their respective episodes.
 * Pirate Parrot: Assisting Cleese and Jackson. (It may even have been the same parrot on both occasions.) And a near miss in the episode guest-starring Gilda Radner; she plans to do a duet from The Pirates of Penzance with a talking parrot, but there's a slight misunderstanding.
 * Cleese also gets to ask it "Do you want to be an ex-parrot?"
 * A Pirate 400 Years Too Late: One "Pigs In Space" sketch had John Cleese attacking the Swinetrek as a pirate- of the swashbuckler variety. Link Hogthrob informs him that he's a few centuries out of place, which leads to an argument between John and his parrot.
 * Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: The one time Fozzie tells a guaranteed hilarious joke, it's the episode at the railway station, and the joke is drowned out by a passing train.
 * Poor Communication Kills: During the Swedish Chef skit for the Dyan Cannon show, Miss Piggy loses her pet Foo Foo. She asks the Chef where her dog went, and the Chef -- who has just finished plopping hot dogs into a pot of boiling water -- responds, "De doggies en de pottie!" (In 30-odd years since, who else has put one over on Miss Piggy without getting knocked into next week?)
 * Punny Name: Fleet Scribbler, a play on Fleet Street.
 * Quintessential British Gentleman: In the "Salute to All Nations" episode, Sam the Eagle's contribution is to hold a conversation on Anglo-American relations with a "proper English gentleman", who appears dressed in a Dashingly Dapper Derby and pinstripe suit and carrying a brolly. The illusion that Spike Milligan is actually a proper English gentleman disappears as soon as he opens his mouth (if not before that when he started pulling faces behind Sam's back).
 * Reading the Stage Directions Out Loud: In the "Robin Hood" episode, Fozzie's idea of cavorting involves literally saying "Cavort, cavort, cavort, cavort, ..."
 * Red Herring: Literally, once...
 * The Reveal: During the closing credits of the Sex and Violence pilot, the camera pulls back to reveal Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and the other Muppeteers performing the characters during the chaotic scene.
 * Revival: Muppets Tonight
 * Roofless Renovation: The theater gets one of these in the Gladys Knight episode.
 * Rouge Angles of Satin: See Pirate Parrot, above.
 * Rule of Three
 * Running Gag: Lots of them. Lampshaded in the Rita Moreno episode with a series of backstage phone calls ("Is there no end to this running gag?!").
 * Perhaps the most spectacular example was Dudley Moore's crazed, robotic music machine, which managed to work its way into virtually every single sketch.
 * Saw a Woman In Half: Fozzie attempts this trick in the Sylvester Stallone episode, but is unable to find a volunteer and has to settle for a robot in a blonde wig. He ends up cutting into its main power cable, giving himself an electric shock and making the robot explode (for the second time in the episode).
 * Security Cling: The Pigs in Space sketch where Link and Miss Piggy explore the alien planet Koozebane has the exaggerated leap-into-his-arms version -- but it's dashing hero Link who leaps into Piggy's arms, much to her disgust.
 * Self-Deprecation: Frequent jabs at the quality of the show:

"Your eyes are not bulgy, you don't live in a swamp, You don't hop, or turn somersaults, Your feet are not webbed, and you never eat flies. (I'm sorry to dwell on your faults.) And yet I still love you, I always will love you You shine in my mind like a dream And yet I still love you, I always will love you Although you are not even green."
 * Statler and Waldorf exist for this, in-show.
 * Serendipity Writes the Plot: Miss Piggy's trademark karate chop was scripted on its first appearance as a face slap. Oz couldn't figure out a way to get the puppet to do the slap convincingly, and in a fit of frustration ad-libbed a karate chop. Everybody watching fell about laughing, and the rest is history.
 * Shirtless Scene: Played entirely straight in a long scene featuring Rudolf Nureyev wearing nothing but a towel.
 * Shoo Out the New Guy: Fleet Scribbler, an aggressive gossip reporter introduced in season 2. While the British press loved the character, the writers quickly tired of him and he was dropped after just a handful of appearances.
 * Shout-Out:
 * Occasional mentions of Sesame Street, aka "that cute little children's show with the puppets".
 * The John Cleese episode, perhaps inevitably, includes a bit where he winds up shouting about an ex-parrot.
 * Floyd Pepper is patterned after Sergeant Pepper.
 * He also has pink hair, making him a Pink Floyd.
 * Dr. Teeth is a dead-on impersonation of Dr. John.
 * Miss Piggy originally had the last name "Lee".
 * Show Within a Show: The stage show itself, and within that the recurring sketches.
 * Signature Laugh: Several, most notably Statler and Waldorf's "DOOOHOHOHOHOHO!".
 * Silly Love Songs: The "Robin Hood" episode includes a love scene between Robin Hood (Kermit) and Maid Marian (guest star Lynne Redgrave) in which Marian brings up the fact that he's a frog and she isn't, and he sings a song to reassure her that he loves her anyway.

"The Newsman: "Reports are coming in from all over the world that television news reporters are blowing up! These unlikely rumors have--" Ka-BOOM!"
 * Sketch Comedy
 * Smoking Barrel Blowout: The villainous Bullets Barker in the Western-themed Roy Rogers episode.
 * Snap Back: In one first season episode, the Electric Mayhem threatens to, and eventually quits, leaving Rowlf to have do the closing theme by himself. By the next episode, they're already back.
 * Sneeze of Doom: In the Leo Sayer episode, Miss Piggy attempts to recite "The Daffodils", with incidental music by Rowlf, but the flowers decorating the set cause a massive sneezing fit that results in parts of the set, and even Rowlf and his piano, being blown away. Then the audience sneezes as one, blowing Miss Piggy away.
 * Something Completely Different:
 * The Steve Martin episode focuses on the audition process instead of the resulting show.
 * In the Loretta Lynn episode, the show takes place at a railroad station because the theatre's being fumigated.
 * The Lynne Redgrave episode takes the form of a production of Robin Hood, with only backstage skits breaking from the theme.
 * In the Glenda Jackson episode, pirates hijack the theatre and sail it out to sea (...somehow).
 * During Cloris Leachman's episode, the show is taken over by the pigs -- including pig copies of a few of the regulars.
 * The Liza Minnelli episode was a Whodunnit murder mystery.
 * So My Kids Can Watch: The reason why Sylvester Stallone, of all people, ended up in an episode.
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: Miss Piggy and Cheryl Ladd practicing karate and trashing Ladd's dressing room to the tune of "I Enjoy Being a Girl," a song that extols the virtues of traditional femininity and being a Proper Lady.
 * Sour Supporter: Statler and Waldorf. There every single show.
 * Space Pirate: Attacks the Swinetrek during the "Pigs in Space" sketch in the John Cleese episode. Technically just a normal pirate (complete with Hook Hand and Pirate Parrot) who's very, very lost.
 * El Spanish-O: In one episode, the Porcelino brothers call their muppet pyramid "el pyramido". (The real word is "pirámide".)
 * Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace: In the Marisa Berenson episode, Miss Piggy nearly manages to trap Kermit into marrying her. During the ceremony, the priest does the "speak now or forever hold your peace" bit and there is a long, long pause while Kermit looks around hopefully, but nobody says anything.
 * Special Edition Title:
 * The Loretta Lynn episode takes place at a railroad station instead of the theater, so the opening and closing were changed to go along with it. Though it was less "Special Edition" and more "Stylistic Suck", with an off-key opening (and closing) theme and a (badly) hand-drawn Muppet Show sign.
 * Several episodes have normal titles but specially recorded closing credits to reflect the events of the show. These include the Harry Belafonte and Spike Milligan episodes, where the final song continues over the credits; an episode where the band quits, leaving Rowlf to play the closing music on his own; and the Roger Miller episode, where the band (along with nearly everybody else) gets turned into chickens.
 * Species Surname: Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy - just a couple of the most prominent examples.
 * Spinoff Sendoff: In one of the pilots, Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street show up to perform a skit, where Bert worries that their little kid's show comedy wouldn't cut it on the new show meant for older audiences.
 * Spontaneous Human Combustion: Played for laughs (naturally).

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know the pickles were loaded!"
 * Statler and Waldorf: We have this show to thank.
 * Stealth Pun: Floyd, the house band's bassist, is pink.
 * And then there's his full name, Sergeant Floyd Pepper.
 * Sting: Lampshaded in the Roger Miller episode when Gonzo asks for a "dramatic sting" when he announces an outbreak of "cluckitis"... and gets it. Later, when Scooter mentions the disease, the sting happens again... and he and Kermit react to it.
 * The Stinger: Provided each week by Statler and Waldorf.
 * Stop Trick
 * Strawman Political: Sam the Eagle is a conservative one, though like everything else on the show, it's taken to humorous extremes. His monologue about people being naked underneath their clothing is a good example.
 * Stuff Blowing Up: Crazy Harry, particularly in the Ben Vereen episode. This trope was a favorite go-to gag for the writers in general, and it's a Running Gag in the first half of the Jaye P. Morgan episode.
 * Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion: The characters have a problem with this in "The Rhyming Song" in the Loretta Lynn episode.
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial:
 * "We're not turning into chickens."
 * Invoked by Fozzie in a sketch in the Roy Rogers episode, where he plays a deputy trying to deal with a gunslinger who's come to kill the sheriff. When the gunslinger realises that the sheriff must be hiding in the somewhere nearby, Fozzie nervously denies that he's in the overnight cell, then locks the gunslinger in when he goes to check.
 * Take Our Word for It: Kermit the Frog does a virtuoso display of tap-dancing to the tune of "Happy Feet" -- filmed, like nearly everything he does, entirely from the waist up.
 * This also applies to Fozzie and company's roller skating in the Lou Rawls episode.
 * Take That: Statler and Waldorf raised this to an art form.
 * Talking Animal
 * The Teaser: Every episode after the first season had a brief one featuring the guest star preparing backstage. By season five, the most common cold opening was the guest star greeting Pops, the elderly stage doorman.
 * That Russian Squat Dance: Done by pigs in Cossack costumes.
 * This Banana Is Armed: One sketch features Fozzie as an Old West-style criminal whose entire arsenal consists of fruits and vegetables.

"Milton Berle: If you don't stop, I'll have the usher throw you out! Waldorf: He can't, he's too busy. Milton Berle: Doing what? Waldorf: Keeping people in!"
 * This Is Sparta: "PIIIIIGS. IIIIIN. SPAAAAAAAACE!"
 * Also, the end of the theme song. "This. Is. What. We. Call. The. Muppet. SHOOOOOOOOW!!!!"
 * Threat Backfire: Milton Berle runs afoul of this trope more than once while trying to make Statler and Waldorf stop heckling him.

"Floyd Pepper: If I didn't know I was a genius, I wouldn't listen to the trash I write!"
 * Trash Can Band
 * True Art Is Incomprehensible: In-universe, this is The Great Gonzo's guiding principle in his acts.

"Floyd: Hey, now we'll really hear some music! Animal: Yeah... what music? Floyd: "Put Another Nickel In". [Animal inserts another nickel] Animal: I put nickel in. What music? (and so on)"
 * Tsundere: Miss Piggy. Making a grand entrance dressed as Princess Leia: "Listen, Skywalker -- just go with it or I'll break you in half."
 * Two for One Show
 * The Unintelligible: Beaker and the Swedish Chef. The Chef slips just enough English into his monologues to give the viewer an idea where he's going ("Now ve takin ana boomin de shootin!"), while Beaker just squeaks. Note that Dr. Honeydew has no trouble understanding Beaker, regardless.
 * Unintentional Period Piece: One can learn a lot about 70s pop culture by watching this show.
 * Variety Show: Duh.
 * Vaudeville Hook: Deployed in several episodes, including multiple times during the episode that showed the audition process for the show.
 * Verbal Tic Name: Mahna Mahna, who can only utter his name, grunt, and scat-sing.
 * Verb This: Piggy usually does this before punching somebody.
 * Vetinari Job Security: Whenever Kermit isn't around to run the show, things quickly get out of hand -- moreso, anyway.
 * Visual Pun: The show practically ran on these. No Muppet could use an expression without triggering one. Often, especially in the "backstage" parts, the Visual Puns would involve Muppets who walked onscreen just to make the Visual Pun, then promptly disappeared, never to be seen again.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Statler and Waldorf. You can tell that they can't live without each other, although they constantly heckle, make fun of, insult and sometimes even hit each other! Fozzie and Kermit also count.
 * The Voiceless: Rizzo the Rat, in his early appearances. According to the book Of Muppets and Men, this was because his actor, Steve Whitmire, while a fantastic puppeteer, was in the beginning reluctant to do voices. Whitmire got more confident in towards the end of the show, and Rizzo began getting speaking roles, evolving into the Brooklyn-accented Deadpan Snarker we know him as today.
 * Walk This Way: In the "Pigs in Space" sketch where Fozzie stands in as one of the crew.
 * Wanted Poster: In the "Bear on Patrol" sketches, the walls of the police station are decorated with Wanted posters for the members of the band.
 * Weapons Grade Vocabulary: Guest star Avery Schreiber engages in a duel with Sweetums. The weapon of choice: insults.
 * Wheel-O-Feet: In the Don Knotts episode, there's a creature running around the Theatre -- and when he stops running, it turns out it's not just a movement illusion, he really does have a wheel of feet. In the same episode, the creature performs (appropriately) "Windmills of Your Mind (The Thomas Crown Affair Theme)" ("Like a circle in a spiral/Like a wheel within a wheel--")
 * Who's on First?: When Teresa Brewer, who had a number one hit beginning "Put another nickel in / In the nickelodeon", guest-stars on the show, there's a bit that begins with Animal finding a jukebox and inserting a nickel:

"Statler: That was an amazing mess of mediocre mediocrity. Waldorf: You can say that again. Statler: Wanna bet?"
 * A more notable example happens between Fozzie and Kermit. The duo have agreed that upon Fozzie's saying "hear" at a certain point in his act, Kermit is to rush on-stage and yell, "Good grief, the comedian's a bear!!". Except that Fozzie naturally keeps saying "here" throughout his routine, causing Kermit to keep rushing out before his cue. The confusion escalates until Fozzie comes up with a different prompt.
 * "No he's-a not! He's-a wearing a-neck-a-tie!"
 * Widget Series
 * William Telling:
 * In the Alice Cooper episode, a William Tell routine was playing onstage, but all that is seen are the stray arrows falling backstage. At the end, the boy walks offstage with an arrow through his head. "You know me. In one ear and out the other."
 * In the Sylvester Stallone episode, an orchestra performs the William Tell Overture and finishes with the cellist firing the bow from his cello to shoot an apple off Beauregarde's head.
 * Wraparound Background:
 * When a Wheel-O-Feet critter sings "Windmills of Your Mind" in the Don Knotts episode.
 * During the cowboy sketch in the Bob Hope episode, as Cowboy Bob rides his horse across the lone prairie.
 * In the Loretta Lynn episode, as Kermit and Gonzo travel by handcar.
 * The "Jogging" item in the Danny Kaye episode and the the "Dog Walk" item in the immediately subsequent Spike Milligan episode use the same wraparound background (and the singer from each appears as a background event in the other).
 * Another cowboy-riding-aross-the-lone-prairie example is the "Four-Legged Friend" bit in the Roy Rogers episode, although this time there's two of them -- and they're riding cows.
 * You Can Say That Again: At the end of the Leo Sayer episode:

"Statler: We raised "Take That" "to an art form?"

Waldorf: It looks to me like they "took that" and ran with it.

Statler: If only we'd done the same, eh?

Both: Dohhhhh-ho-ho-ho-ho!''"