Lucas Ervin - Hello everyone, I’m Luke. I’ve been a lifelong fan of the Muppets, and with the new Muppet film just a little over three months from now, I thought it’d be fun to show some highlights of The Muppet Show on the Mindset leading up to the release date.
As most of you are aware, this is unlike any Muppet film that’s been done in many, many years. Sure, we’ll have the main characters like Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo. But after 21 years, Rowlf and Scooter are being made main characters again, as well as everyone from the Electric Mayhem... not just Animal! Plus we’re going to see the return of many characters that haven’t said a word since The Muppet Show went off the air, including Wayne and Wanda, Uncle Deadly, Link Hogthrob, Julius Strangepork, Beauregard, Thog, and many more. Just with the movie trailers alone, it feels like you’re going to visit a family you haven’t seen in awhile that you’re very excited to see them all again. And the best part about the whole thing? It’s essentially a movie about The Muppet Show.
Let’s start with the seven most famous recurring sketches on the show, starting with Piiiiigs iiiiiiin Spaaaaaaace!
100. Pigs In Space - This sketch started during season two, with two new characters created specifically for this bit; Captain Link Hogthrob (performed Jim Henson) and Dr. Julius Strangepork (performed by Jerry Nelson). And of course, they had First Mate Miss Piggy (Frank Oz, of course), who usually had to deal with her slightly dim-witted counterparts. It was set up to poke fun at Star Trek and other sci-fi television shows that were on during the 70’s. The sketch was so popular that, in 1981, NASA used one of these sketches as a wake up call for the crew on Space Shuttle Columbia two mornings in a row. It’s also rumored that they will do a Pigs In Space sketch in the new movie. Here’s one of my favorite bits:
99. Muppet Sports - Based off of famous sports broadcaster Howard Cosell, Lewis Kazagger (performed by Jerry Nelson) came along during season three, and was the announcer for The Wild World of Muppet Sports. He covered some absurd "sporting events" such as wig racing, blindfold sprinting, and horseshoe pitching. Sometimes he would even fall victim to the event that occurred. Here he is, finding out that only real poo is the best poo for a wig:
98. Muppet News - Performed by Jim Henson, no other character on the show was more accident-prone than the Newsman. During the first season, however, he didn’t wear his glasses, he would sometimes interview the guest star, and his voice was much like Link Hogthrob’s. However, beginning in season two- with a voice more like Dr. Teeth’s, all of that changed, when every possible, horrible thing you could imagine started hitting him, falling on him, or blowing him up. He dealt with silverware, cattle, bowling balls, statues, rocks, chickens and even explosives, but still he’d come back again to report the news with great urgency. And it was always funny what happened next:
97. Bear on Patrol - A sketch that parodied cop dramas that were famous during the 70’s and 80’s, Bear On Patrol put Link and Fozzie in silly scenarios that made the law enforcement on Dukes of Hazard look like NYPD Blue. Here’s the first sketch they did during the Leslie Uggams episode, where a pig is caught impersonating an officer:
96. The Swedish Chef - I’m pretty sure that there are few people who don’t know who this guy is. He’s been around since the first episode, and is still one of the most famous characters in the bunch. He served chicken in the basket by shooting an actual chicken through a basketball hoop, made donuts by shooting a hole through a muffin with a blunderbuss and made a wedding cake entirely out of onions. Jim Henson always worked the head and voice while Frank Oz did the live hands. People on the set loved watching these two film the Swedish Chef bits the most because of all the improv that took place when shooting. Come for the food, stay for the insanity:
95. Muppet Labs- Where the future is being made today! Few people know this, but before Beaker came along, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (performed by Dave Goelz) was the only one around to fall victim to his short-sightedness. All that changed though when, in season two, his faithful yet abused assistant Beaker came along, who (performed by Richard Hunt) only spoke in “meeps” and “moops.” Bunsen seemed to always be oblivious to the fact that Beaker didn’t want to be the first to test his new experiments--whether it was edible paper clips, fireproof paper or an evil rabbit robot- but somehow Beaker would end up being shocked, blown up, or eaten. How Beaker survived so many years, we’ll never know:
94. Veterinarian’s Hospital - Aside from the Swedish Chef spots, this was the only other sketch that lasted all five seasons of The Muppet Show. It starred Rowlf the Dog as Dr. Bob, who was always accompanied by Nurse Piggy and Nurse Janice. During the first season, Janice was performed by Erin Ozker. From season two on, however, Richard Hunt had picked her up and gave her the voice and personality she’s most known for today. Also during that first season, Richard Hunt and Frank Oz took turns performing Miss Piggy before Oz took her on full-time during the second season and solidified her as the diva of the show. Rowlf was always been performed by Jim Henson, and as Dr. Bob, he would show just how unprofessional of a doctor he was by insulting the patient and throwing out corny jokes to Piggy and Janice. They say laughter is the best medicine, which explains exactly why the quack had gone to the dogs:
We'll see you all next time on The Muppet Show!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com
