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The Muppet Show: Difference between revisions
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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 Must Go On|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 ([[Exactly What It Says
{{quote| ''Why do we always come here?<br />
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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 [[
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 [[wikipedia:Mondo film|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. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I48IXSbHsy8 Here's the track itself.] (Henson also did [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtsKfzAwGRg an earlier version] back in [[Sesame Street]]'s younger days).
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* [[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
* [[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''.
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*** Initially a subversion, as the original "guest star" of the Hamill episode was a Muppet named [[Added Alliterative Appeal|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]], [[
*** "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 [[Stuff Blowing Up|an explosion]] or have [[I'm a Humanitarian|one character eat the other]]. It's pretty clear that this carried over to ''[[The Muppet Show]]''.
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'''Kermit:''' I don't know ''why'' to thank you guys. }}
** Rizzo the Rat, after breaking out of his [[The Voiceless|Voiceless]] role, quickly revealed himself to be one.
* [[Deal
{{quote| '''Gonzo:''' I'd sell my soul for a pen! No, I have other plans for that.}}
* [[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.
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* [["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
* [[Exact Words]]: In one sketch, Sam claims that eventually he will receive his "just desserts" for acting as the moral centre of the show. [[Pie in
* [[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]].
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* [[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 [[
* [[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".)
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** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skkM2zPFPy0 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 [[Deal
** 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".
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* [[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]]: [[
* [[Horny Vikings]]: Performing opera during the Rudolf Nureyev episode, and singing "In The Navy" in the Roger Moore episode.
* [[Hostile Show Takeover]]
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* [[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 (
* [[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]]:
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**
{{quote| '''Sam the Eagle:''' You, sir, are a demented, sick, degenerate, barbaric, naughty freako!<br />
'''[[
**
{{quote| '''Maid Marian:''' You black-hearted, villainous swine!<br />
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* [[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
* [[Japanese Ranguage]]: The 'Japanese' muppets who sing "Yokohama" in the "Salute to All Nations" episode:
{{quote| We berong to the rand<br />
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* [[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, [[
* [[Man Shaped Hole]]: The outcome of Rudolf Nureyev's encounter with Miss Piggy.
* [[May the Farce Be
* [[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.
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** ''[[The Muppet Christmas Carol]]''
** ''[[Muppet Treasure Island]]''
** ''[[Muppets
** And in 2011, there came ''[[The Muppets (
* [[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 ([[Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie|sentient, Japanese]]) cake in half with a "[[As Long
* [[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).
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** "...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
* [[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.
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* [[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 [[
** [[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 [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/File:Gildaradner.jpg a slight misunderstanding].
*** Cleese also gets to ask it [[Monty Python's Flying Circus|"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
* [[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 [[wikipedia:Fleet Street|Fleet Street]].
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* [[Shout-Out]]:
** Occasional mentions of ''[[Sesame Street]]'', ''aka'' "that cute little children's show with the ''puppets''".
** The [[
** Floyd Pepper is patterned after [[The Beatles|Sergeant Pepper]].
*** He also has pink hair, making him a [[Pink Floyd]].
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** 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 [[Charlie's Angels
* [[Sour Supporter]]: [[Statler and Waldorf]]. There every single show.
* [[Space Pirate]]: Attacks the ''Swinetrek'' during the "Pigs in Space" sketch in the [[
* [[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.
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* [[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
{{quote| '''Floyd:''' Hey, now we'll really hear some music!<br />
'''Animal:''' Yeah... what music?<br />
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* [[Widget Series]]
* [[William Telling]]:
** In the [[
** 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]]:
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