In some respects, since Kermit the Frog was a featured star, The Muppet Show would be a spin-off from the long running PBS series, Sesame Street, except that the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) had nothing to do with the show. Instead, it was produced by England's ITC, better known for its line of spy shows (i.e. The Saint), puppet shows (Thunderbirds), and had a sci-fi series on the air around the same time that Muppet Show hit the air (Space: 1999). ITC had done variety before, having packaged shows with Tom Jones, Val Doonigan, & Engelbert Humperdinck between the late 60's & early 70's, all for ABC here in the US. The Muppet Show, lasting 5 seasons in syndication, would be the studio's most successful variety series.
The show was set in a theatre that was being leased to Kermit and the gang by J. P. Closse, whose nephew, Scooter, was the go-fer, who meant well, but was often presented as a bumbler.
Following is a season 2 musical number with Rich Little:
There were the classic comedy skits that have become just as much a part of pop culture as the show itself. In later years, the series found a cable home on the Disney Channel, and today, Disney owns the rights to the series, but can't be bothered to dust it off and put it on one of their networks for a new generation. It certainly would've helped with last year's "The Muppets" feature film.......!
Rating: A.
Boy does this bring back memories!
ReplyDeleteThis used to be the warm up before primetime - and bedtime!
Indeed. I have one other clip from the series up, when Kenny Rogers appeared and did "The Gambler". That one was done a year and a half-plus back.
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