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Muppet Madness Zoot is the reason I took up saxophone in sixth grade. The Strack Intermediate School band director, Mr. Gerkin, wanted me to play trombone, but ever since I was five, because of "The Muppet Show," I knew that saxophones were cooler (apologies to any trombone players out there). And so I insisted on alto sax, the ax of choice of the Muppet "Zoot" and his hero, Charlie Parker. Such is the power of television to shape young hearts and minds. When "The Muppet Show" was picked up by CBS for the 1976-1977 television season, many viewers' initial reaction must have been something like "what the heck is this?" But the show, which combined old school vaudevillian antics, absurd humor, and state of the art puppetry, soon became a worldwide hit with adults and kids alike. After an Emmy win for first season guest star Rita Moreno, the 1977-1978 season of "The Muppet Show" would be awarded an Emmy as the Outstanding Comedy-Variety Music Series, and guest stars Bernadette Peters and Peter Sellers would also be nominated for Emmys. Both of their appearances are included in the new four-disc set "The Muppet Show: Season 2." Re-watching these "Muppet Show" episodes as an adult, I found some of the sketches to be rather hit-and-miss, especially those that rely on physical humor. But my two-and-a-half year old daughter liked that aspect. Samantha was entranced and picked up on the characters' names right away. Re: Fozzie Bear -- "He's FUNNY!!" The sketches that rely on silly puns and verbal humor are the ones that hold up best. Who can forget "Pigs In Space," featuring that trio of celestial swine, Link Hogthrob, Miss Piggy, and Dr. Strangepork, or "Veterinarian's Hospital," where surgeon Rowlf plays "a quack who's gone to the dogs." Most of the guest stars are real troupers and work well with the Muppets, but a few seem like they're ready to phone their agent to ask if their contract includes a clause about working with non-humans. The best guests on the show were the ones that took the Muppet zaniness and ran with it. Peter Sellers never appears as "himself" on the show, instead choosing to inhabit a variety of outlandish personae. George Burns seems to actually be tickled to sing alongside Miss Piggy, and one of my favorite episodes on the set features Elton John, himself as much a character as his felt covered friends. John sings all or part of four of his hits from the '70s, and the Electric Mayhem prove themselves to be a pretty good backing band. In fact, musical performances are routinely one of the highlights of these "Muppet Show" episodes, whether it's Rowlf and Fozzie duetting on piano (playing Grainger's "Shepherd's Hey"), or Lou Rawls bringing some soul to the gang. Other good musical guests are Judy Collins, Cleo Laine, and Steve Martin's banjo. Season 2 of "The Muppet Show" also includes some of the show's most memorable original numbers, including little Robin (Kermit's nephew) singing "I'm Five" and Kermit's now classic number, "Bein' Green." "The Muppet Show: Season 2" includes a few extra features on the fourth disc. There's a series of interviews with the Muppets today that's very funny, a contemporary music video with the Muppets and alt-rock heroes Weezer, and an archive presentation of the 1974 Muppets Valentine's Day special, which predates "The Muppet Show," and unlike the other shows on the discs tries to string together its sketches with a semi-cohesive narrative idea, "What is Love?" The shows have all been digitally cleaned up, and it's hard to believe these are 30 years old. The video quality is miles above some of the other 1970s era television DVDs I've seen. I enjoyed my trip down memory lane with these DVDs of "The Muppet Show: Season 2," even though some of the sketches aren't as funny as I remember. It's also been a lot of fun to watch Samantha really get into the show, too. So far, she seems to name Rowlf the Dog as a favorite performer. I sense a future pianist in the house. 8/12/07 Back to the main Cinema Tuesdays Reviews page More about the Cinema Tuesdays series  |
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