Muppet Show Watch-along Season 1 Part 2

My friends and I are watching the Muppet Show on Wednesdays and I guess I’ll do a quick review and watchalong. But first, I guess we should talk about the thing about watching the Muppets in the year of our Luigi 2026.

The Muppet Show is a beloved institution, and everyone loves it. So you’d think it’d be super easy to watch today, right? It is NOT. It’s been re-released a bunch of times, but due to the nature of what the Muppet Show IS, the re-releases keep shifting and cutting things all over the place. So if you want the FULL experience, it’s pretty impossible. But you can do your best.

ANOTHER thing is, what is the order? If you ask Wikipedia, you get a specific answer. If you ask the Muppets wiki, you get another. We’re just… gonna do our best to watch them all in whatever order we can, alright? At least it’s obvious where the seasons begin and end.

And finally… the whole point of the Muppet Show is about the human guest stars who star alongside the Muppets. These are all the most famous stars of the 70s, so I know like, MAYBE five of them. Obviously, I’m gonna like an episode that stars Vincent Price, who I love, a little more than one that stars Sandy Duncan, who I do not know at all. There might be some jokes and commentary about those guest stars I just flat out do not get. I’m doing my best, but this isn’t like, a retrospective. This is a nerd who grew up watching random Muppets content who wants to watch the Muppets Show and the only way she can really connect to media is if she orders and ranks it all or some shit. So yeah, let’s do that.

Episode 108: Paul Williams 7/10

This one starts with an interesting change: the intro is different! It’s been a little off this entire time, but now Kermit is in the logo and introduces the guest star, and all is right with the world.

I only really know Paul Williams because he’s the guy who wrote Rainbow Connection and I’ve seen pictures of him with the Muppets a lot. Kermit even calls him an honorary muppet. He kinda looks like Garth Merenghi.

They keep doing short jokes, which feels mean but he seems to be real into it.

This one is pretty alright. The throughline joke isn’t anything special, it’s just Fozzy trying to do new jokes with Scooter and failing. (He keeps pretending he’s a telephone pole) But it has a few fun firsts. First Muppet Labs, so the first Dr. Bunsen Honeydew sighting, but we also have our first sighting of Robin! Or well, who will become Robin.

Episode 109: Charles Aznavour 6.5/10

NO clue who this guy is, but he’s very French. A French songwriter, and French music doesn’t really cross over here too often. It’s…. pretty old fashioned music, too. Not BAD or anything. His first time on screen we also see a puppeteer puppeting someone for the first time…. dunno if it’s intentionally, it doesn’t SEEM to be, they just didn’t catch it. They’re usually really good with that.

The throughplot is that Gonzo is upset because Kermit isn’t putting him in the show anymore. He claims he has loads of fans waiting for him and his art. Kermit argues he has none. Well, AS a Gonzo fan, Kermit is wrong >:( He lists some of Gonzo’s art shows, and one of them is “eating a tire to music”. If I saw someone eat a tire to music, I would be ENTHRALLED.

Unfortunately, this DOES eventually conclude with a crossdressing joke.

EXTREMELY good Piggy scene here. Charles explains to Kermit that women just get horny at French, even if they don’t get it, and after whispering nonsense into Ms Piggy’s ears, she makes out with him. “Oh, Charles, I’m so sorry.” “Why? I just met the girl of my dreams.” Charles, you are so right.

Episode 110: Harvey Korman 7/10

Oh hey, it’s Hedy! “That’s HEDLEY.”

It’s interesting to actually know one of these people. We’re introduced to him doing an animal tamer act against the truly evil monstrous demon, Thog. Thog is a sweetie who wouldn’t hurt a fly. I love him. He’s into Balzac!

Another gag here that made me giggle was in the At The Dance segment, a balloon muppet explodes. Everyone treats it as horrifying but it made me laugh. How fucked up am I, huh?

Lots of Electric Mayhem numbers in this one. Mostly cause they had to put in the UK Spot, which is an itneresting thing, I dunno if I mentioned that. In the UK, commercials ended sooner so they needed a longer show, just slightly. So they usually just put in a cover of some music, cause that was easier for them to do.

Have an out of context image of Hedy in a chicken outfit. “How do I get outta this chicken shit outfit?”

We also get a song with Robin. I like Robin, but every single time he’s on screen, it’s like he’s a dickensian orphan who is in the process of dying of consumption. Like he’s struggling to even get through his lines.

Episode 111: Lena Horne 6/10

Honestly this one was just alright. Lena Horne is fine, I like her, and I did like the gag where Fozzy didn’t recognize her and she pretends to be someone random. But nothing else here really stands out.

I guess I also like the Swedish Chef segment but I ALWAYS like the Swedish Chef segments. There’s nothing WRONG with this episode but there’s nothing that stands out.

Okay I stand corrected. Right at the end Lena does a rendition of “Sing” from Sesame Street, and I really love that song.

Episode 112: Peter Ustinov 9/10

One of the things I like with the Muppets is when very serious actors have to “step down” to the Muppets level. And you can see very classically trained actors who have to basically BE Muppets for some, and it’s fantastic.

He and Fozzy tell a shaggy dog pun. It’s perfect. We all went “Jesus CHRIST” at the punchline. I also love this cause like, is this what the British think Americans are like? …They’re kinda right.

The throughline story here is that Kermit is jealous of Peter. Everyone keeps saying he’s great at things they said Kermit was great for. When Kermit points out they said he was good, they go “Oh I was wrong”. And this culminates in…

It sure isn’t easy bein’ green. Classic for a reason.

Episode 113: Bruce Forsyth 8/10

This one starts off strong with some cute Snerfs dancing around and tooting to “In a Little Spanish Town”. Very fitting of some Snerfs, whatever they are. I love them, they’re perfect little creatures.

The running joke here is Fozzy is trying to get better at handling heckers, and he’s practicing with Kermit. First he begs Kermit to stop. Then he smacks Kermit with a rubber chicken. But it’s okay, cause he won’t be heckled! Because Bruce goes out instead.

For his standup routine, he heckles back at Statler and Waldorf. “Ohhh, he’s burying me, he’s burying me!” It’s good to see them get their comeuppance. Eventually, Fozzie comes out and Bruce gives him some technique for fighting hecklers. He goes a little hard.

This was a good one, some good gags.

Episode 114: Sandy Duncan 7.5/10

This may feel reductive but I feel like every one of these white women the Muppets Show has on in the 70s look exactly the same.

Though I DO like her in this first skit lookin’ like a prince character from a yuri manga.

The throughline joke for this one is that Fozzie got a new writer, “Gags Beasley”, who wrote the famous Banana Sketch. And get this, KERMIT doesn’t know it! The famous banana sketch! Of course I don’t need to tell you what it is, because we’ve all seen it. This one was fun.

Episode 115: Candice Bergen 7.5/10

It feels like Ms Piggy has gotten like, higher res? She’s showing up more nad more instead of just a oneshot with a weird off brand voice.

I dunno Candice Bergen, but there’s a good bit where she’s in a scene with some hillbilly muppet and he sings some misogynist nonsense, so she gets dressed in a feminist outfit, destroys the house, and menaces him with a shotgun. My kinda woman!

The throughline gag of this episode is Fozzy is tortuing poor Kermit with a repeat of the same joke over and over. “Wire for Kermit the Frog! Are you Kermit the frog?” “Yes, Fozzie, you know it’s me.” “Here you go!” And then he hangs a wire hanger on him. Cute. This culminates in Kermit trying to get back at him by shoving a pie in his face, and he gets some on poor Candice. The entire scene screams “that was an accident” and we’re seeing them riff, and it’s VERY funny. Candice looks like she’s gonna fall over laughing.

Episode 116: Avery Schreiber 7.5/10

Avery is a fun over the top comedian, so PERFECT for playing around with the Muppets. He’s basically a Muppet tbh. Especially with the throughline being Miss Piggy trying to claim Avery is into her to make Kermit jealous. At first it’s just to make him jealous but I think Avery is super into it.

Honestly Avery’s skits in general are good. He gets into an insult match with Sweetums, and the insults they throw at each other are fun. Honestly, Avery is the main reason to watch this episode, nothing else really beats him and his skits.