DefunctTV: The History of the Muppet Show

what are you doing boss I'm trying to get the word out about my brand since you can't build me a website Cody but gosh I signed us up for Squarespace like you said in early 1976 writer Jerry Juhl was living in California with his wife Susan it had been 15 years since jewel had become the first employee of the now famous puppeteer Jim Henson he had begun work on Sam & Friends in Maryland on wrc-tv for the last few months of its run immediately afterwards Jewell followed Henson and his family to New York City helping them build his team of puppeteers and beginning his work as Henson's go-to Rider penning the Tinker Dee pilots and the script for the great Santa Claus switch in 1969 Jerry and Susan informed Jim that they would be moving out to Los Angeles to continue his writing career Jim wished him well and the two continued to work together albeit remotely jool would help write for Sesame Street the tails for Muppet lands and the first pilot for Jim's Muppet Show The Muppets Valentine show however jewel will not help right for Jim's 1975 pilot The Muppet Show sex and violence and the lack of his voice was apparent Jewell was always praised for his grip on character and structure two things that the sex and violence pilot were clearly missing in late 1975 Jules phone rang on the other end was Jim Henson holding a list of talking points to break the good and bad news to his friend the good news was that Jim had finally been greenlit for a weekly Muppet Show the bad news was that one of the conditions was that jewel cannot be head writer as a more experienced comedy writer was to be given the title in order to ease the minds at the studio Jewell agreed to write for the show without the head position this surely meant that he would have to move back to New York but Jim had one more piece of news the show wasn't shooting in New York or even Los Angeles Jim was asking Jerry to follow him to England hello there my name is Jim Henson and I'm a puppeteer I'm called a puppeteer because I work with puppets okay you're gonna love this story greatest story in the world [Music] Jack Byrnes was a comedian in the truest of senses he had been a member of the second city improv troupe and he informed two successful comedy duo's one with George Carlin and another with Avery Schreiber he had acted in a number of television shows and he had written for the laugh and inspired variety show kiha in producer award lou grades mind he was the perfect type of head writer for the Muppet Show in November of 1975 developmental medians between burns jewel and Henson were held the first thing to nail down was the premise and format the Muppet Valentine's Show and The Muppet Show sex and violence had a few similarities that they could draw from for one they were both variety shows with musical numbers and short skits this is the format in which the Muppets thrived but the series we need a premise that helped hold these segments together The Muppets Valentine show was too heavy on it's specific story to be replicated and it could have used a few more skits The Muppet Show sex and violence needed less skits and more character another similarity between the two specials was the show-within-a-show format in the Muppets Valentine show while he was writing the screenplay in the Muppet Show sex and violence Nigel and Friends were putting on a pageant the concept that emerged from the brainstorming sessions was a group of Muppets attempting to put on a vaudeville show in an old theater the concept was nothing groundbreaking and the team wasn't 100% confident in the idea one positive of the format was the ability to bring on a human guest star for each episode Mia Farrow's role in the Muppet Valentine's special seemed to prove that the audience needed a human to ground the show or at the very least give them up it's something to play off of on top of this a list of celebrity guest stars would help sell the show to more stations the idea was great but the execution would be difficult Jim's agent Bernie Brillstein was tasked with finding celebrities that would be okay with travelling to London for a week to shoot a syndicated puppet show that didn't pay that well which if you can believe it many declined Brill scene had to resort to Cohen in favors from friends and clients and he was able to secure dancer Juliet Prowse and actress Connie Stevens for the show's two pilot episodes these episodes would be filmed edited and shopped around to any us stations that would be willing to purchase the syndication rights to air the show who was convoluted backwards and a huge risk but grave believed in Jim in the Muppets and he was giving them a huge opportunity with Burrell Stein jewel burns and Henson's producer David laser on board Jim needed to assemble the rest of his team his regular puppeteering team including Frank Oz Dave goals and Richard hunt would make the trip overseas unfortunately performer Jerry Nelson would not be able to travel for the filming of the pilot episodes and so it would bring two more performers he had worked with John Lovelady and Aaron Oscar Jim would also bring another puppeteer out with him his wife Jane Jane Jim's first performing partner had focused on raising their family which had grown to five children Lisa Brian Cheryl John and Heather she was still able to find time to help Jim when he needed it providing an additional puppeteering on many projects often going uncredited Jim and Janes relationship had become strained over the past few years Jim's hectic schedule was not easy to deal with and although he made time for his family he was definitely torn between two worlds communication was another issue between Jim and Jane Jim soft gentle nature which his friends and co-workers admired was not helpful in serious conversations pertaining to the family or their relationship despite the two growing apart Jane remained an essential asset of the Muppets for one she had a sharp eye for talent and Jane would help Jim in recruiting puppeteers Jane was also one of the few people that could tell Jim the truth about his work even if it wasn't positive Jim didn't take criticism exceedingly well and Jane was one of the few people he trusted for an honest opinion another was Frank Oz who with his direct and aggressive nature had no issue in telling Jim how he felt it was this dichotomy that made their friendship work and the juxtaposition that had created Bert and Ernie two of the most popular Muppet characters even with a full team of puppeteers writers and crew from grades Elstree Studios there were still a lot of frogs and dogs and bears and chickens and what Evers that needed to be brought onto the show many characters from previous specials we brought back as performers or workers on the show within a show the Swedish Chef performed by Henson with hands now puppeteered by oz would perform his zany cooking demonstrations George the janitor performed by Oz would be the show's janitor Mildred who was passed between performers was added to various sketches despite not having a role in the show Sam Eagle would return as the show's morally upright censor and fine art curator the full Electric Mayhem band would be the house band and many of the members would perform in the orchestra crazy Harry performed by love lady would be the show's unpredictable pyrotechnics experts in the elderly gentlemen sex and violence Statler and Waldorf performed by Richard Hunt and Henson respectively were given a seat in the theaters balcony where they would comment on the show and heckle the cast other Muppets such as sweetums and the cast of frogs pigs chickens Fraggles and the interchangeable Muppet whatnots would be used as needed since Jim and his team had been constantly appearing on variety shows performing skits for nearly two decades The Muppets already had a few acts to integrate into the show a skit named Mahna Mahna which Jim had first used for Sesame Street in 1969 had been evolving for over six years this skit featured a nonsense song originally written for an Italian sex documentary that just so happened to be extremely catchy new were evolved him up 'its would be created for the two pilots including a singing duo named Wayne and Wanda performed by hunt and Oscar respectively that can never seem to make it through one of their performances a muppet newsman performed by Henson that would quickly run on stage to give Muppet news flashes dr. Bunsen honeydew performed by goals who would give demonstrations of the new technology being developed by Muppet labs and Hilda the show's seamstress performed by Oscar who was typically involved in the show's backstage plots another singer would be the prima donna Pig Miss Piggy performed interchangeably by Richard Hunt and Frank Oz in one sketch in the Juliet Prowse pilot she was voiced by both Oz and hunt with oz providing some spoken dialogue and hunt providing her vocals [Music] Dave goals who was still helping in the Muppet workshop was more or less forced by Jim to perform on the Muppet Show Jim saw potential in the puppeteer even when goals was uncertain about his talents Jim wanted him to play the muppet show's resident daredevil named gonzo the great pulling him up it at random from the collection the cigar box frackle from the great Santa Claus switch handing it to goals insane this could be gonzo goals lack of confidence in his own performances created a very hypocritical gonzo on one hand he was a daredevil that believed his performances were high art he'd he mad at the audience when they rejected his attempts to eat a rubber tire to the music of the flight of the bumblebee on the other hand he was a sad pathetic character with a baby voice mostly mature enough to move up to Raggedy Ann he clearly needed work but if it was any consolation for the nervous goals the great Frank Oz was having trouble establishing his main character as well the show's resident comedian would be a bear named Fozzie oz gave the character a low gruff voice to deliver his unbearably bad jokes with the character also had a unique mechanism that allowed him to lower and raise the corners of his mouth allowing him to frown and smile Oz was one if not the best performer of the Jim had although he shrugged off the group's performances with his incessantly sarcastic personality often quipping ready to wiggle some dolls before performances still his comedic timing and delivery especially when paired with Jim was next to none Ernie and Bert were proof of this but recreating that magic with the new characters was proving to be difficult Fozzie became the victim of Statler and Waldorf but the balance wasn't right similar acts such as one performed by comedian Milton Berle proved that the setup works unfortunately Fozzie's constant failures were more sad than funny which held his character back finally Jim needed a main character and the Muppet Show needed a host the host of the sex and violence pilots the drowsy Nigel was cast to the role of conductor of the orchestra and Jim was left searching for a lead the obvious choices were Ralph and Kermit Ralph had seemed to run his course and mainstream popularity but Jim would not waste him as he had done in sex and violence Ralph would be the show's resident pianist and he would be given his own segments this left Jim with Kermit one of his most recognizable Muppets especially among the adult crowd Jim had been working with Kermit for over 20 years by this point and the character had yet to find his footing on Sesame Street he was the adult interacting with children or Muppets that acted like children but even on the preschool program he had an unrestrained anger to him and he often came off as rude and grumpy also Kermit's moonlighting on late-night shows and other specials had caused a bit of controversy with a Sesame Street gig in 1970 he provided lead-in segments to the commercials airing during hey Cinderella and a few critics were quick to point out that a Sesame Street character shouldn't be used to sell products still there were glimpses of depth in the Frog in 1970 he would sing a song on Sesame Street written by songwriter Joe Raposo titled being green the song saw Kermit taking a moment to reflect on his ordinary and possibly dual coloring in the final verse of the song Kermit realizes that the way he is is beautiful and that it's the way he wants to be the song will become a hit and it would be covered by many famous musicians including Frank Sinatra and Lena Horne when Kermit's character developed on Sesame Street finally lightening up a bit his personality split in two in the morning he could be seen talking gently to children and teaching them the alphabet but in the evening he would be on Jim's arm appearing on late-night shows here he would act as a foil to the kind Jim once again coming off his route jim's decision to place Kermit as the host of The Muppet Show would be one of the best decisions he would make because it gave the character something he needed desperately a home as the showrunner host AM boss of the bizarre group of weirdos that resided at the Muppet Show Kermit could finally become an extension of Jim who had a very similar role with his team while also being able to get angry and yell something Jim never did after the character was given the job he no longer came off as rude or grumpy instead he was merely trying to make everything work with a group of people that were making it extremely hard for him in this way he was the show's most relatable character and he would often take quiet moments to break the fourth wall and fighting in the audience Kermit was one of the few characters that worked right away whether he was talking to the guests in the show's talk spot or watching the performances with a horrified look offstage the Juliet Prowse and Connie Stevens episodes were shot in January of 1976 after this the performers returned to the United States to continue their work on Saturday Night Live while Brillstein and laser shot the pilots around with two episodes of the Muppet Show to display two programmers they would now be able to convince more stations to syndicate the independently produced show after seeing a preview of the brand-new Muppet Show the consensus was unanimous it was a resounding no the show's pacing and format didn't work and even Lew grades American producer believe the show's humor was too British his show's intro for instance was way too long featuring a full preview of the show to come with multiple lines that would end up being cut such as Kermit singing the show tonight will feature a lovely song or two we also have some dancing if that's what pleases you and Fozzie Bear will tell you some jokes you never knew before finally singing to introduce our guest star that's what I'm here to do the backstage segments also fell flat including the scene where Kermit asked one of the chorus girls out on a date only to get rejected Jim never want to take criticism well stood in the rejection for a short while before laughing it off after all the team had 22 more episodes to shoot and they would clearly have to rework the two they had already made Jim's entire career had been leading up to this moment and while such a strong rejection of his work hurt deeply he knew that the only possible way to move forward was to improve the show and hope the new product would be better received of course Jim didn't say this he just quietly muttered it's not the end of the world and then had a drink with lazer on May 5th 1976 Jim his team sailed to London leaving behind SNL which had luckily been simple considering that no involved party had benefited from the collaboration we're no longer booked on the show and they said they said we're puppets and we don't even have a lower half what do we do Jane would stay with Jim for just the first few weeks of the six months he and the other Muppet performers would be in London before returning to look after their children this left Jim Jewell Burns AHS goals hunt love Lady Oscar and the crew at grades L Street videos to make the Muppet magic happen performer Jerry Nelson would join his friends to perform on the show in just a few weeks and Jim aside Muppet builder Bonnie Erickson to set up a new workshop at Elstree Studios to create the endless amount of puppets Jim would need for the show with everyone on board and settled in there was only a few things left to do it was time to play the music and it was time to light the lights [Music] Justice Kermit was becoming the glue that held the rest of the muppet cast together Jim was the glue that held together his team The Muppet Show ran on a tight schedule and Jim could be found running back and forth between rehearsals the editing room the writing room and anywhere else along the chain of production everyone knew the show needed to improve but it was also clear that they had a little time to do it the first guest would be Broadway star Joel Grey the first thing to fix was the characters Oz would be given a new fuzzy puppet with the frown mechanism being replaced with a new ability to wiggle the characters ears Oz would also give Fozzie a new higher pitched voice this added a bit of cuteness to the character which paired nicely with his terrible comedy performances Burns and Jewell also wrote a storyline in which Fozzie was badgering the cast with his jokes which proved a great backstage through-line for the episode the plot ended with Fozzie defeating Statler and Waldorf a possible attempt to balance the dynamic between the comedian and the hecklers one positive of the two pilots were the musical numbers Jim's eccentric and diverse tastes in music always been a part of the muppet ensembles personality and Jim had favorites in almost every genre ranging from novelty to bluegrass the recording sessions for the Muppet songs was one of his favorite phases of production getting to have fun with all of his friends singing the songs he loved in funny voices as he had done on Sam and Friends years prior he would put odd twists on some of his favorite songs such as an alien jazz number transitioning into a soft version of you are my sunshine as many of the guests Brillstein was lining up or singers The Muppet Show would feature music more than any other act another positive of this setup was the more the characters were singing the less they were talking giving the performers more time to figure out their characters the recurring segments would also be constantly created improved or removed the pun filled at the dance a leftover from the sex and violence pilot would return despite the mixed feelings the writers and performers had toured it and the lackluster panel discussions a segment in which the Muppets tried and failed to engage in serious debates and talking houses a series of skits featuring talking homes delivering house and building related punchlines were created the Joel Grey episode would be better than the previous two and the Muppets took advantage of the guests talents by having him perform two great the next episode would star comedian Ruth Buzzi and it would introduce Hunt's main character a PA that constantly pestered Kermit named scooter scooter had a childlike persistence and energy similar to Hunt's own personality and he would never stop talking especially around Kermit which was similar to hunts relationship with Jim although Jim only pretended to be frustrated with hunt in real life when I came into the thing I was 18 and I was a really energetic and you know I'd say yeah sure everything you want to do boss no problem I talked a lot like him he's my voice when I was younger like this a breakthrough around this time was a moment in rehearsal for a scene with Piggy and Kermit in which Piggy was scripted to slap the Frog that she was in love with Oz who was performing piggy during the scene had her karate chop Kermit instead screaming hi-yah as she pummeled the Frog without mercy everyone in the room was filled with laughter and I saw depth to Piggy's character for the first time the next episode of film guest starring comedian Harvey Korman would be a huge step forward a new sketch veterinarian's hospital in which ralph claimed the character dr. Bob spoofs the medical John Rowe with his nurses and some clinically bad jokes would be introduced to memorable scenes would also come from this episode in one Fozzie's character seemed to solidify his place in the ensemble after dragging karma into a convoluted bit making the Frog give the punch line to his joke a miscommunication between the two characters would lead to one of the show's funniest bits yet you're a wonderful looking guy and it's a pleasure to be here you just said here that was not wrong here which is the right here the other here also in this episode was a musical number sung by Robin the Frog performed by Jerry Nelson Robin was sing one of Jim's childhood favorites a a Milnes half way down the stairs Robins rendition of half way down the stairs would be one of the most memorable moments from season one and the sweet song would even make its way on to the UK Singles Chart the next year Jim would also use another Milton favorite coddle stand pie sung by Ralph in an episode guest starring Florence Henderson the show's next episode with guest star Rita Moreno would be the best one yet in the improvements the team had made were apparent the muffin mania just might work Fozzie's given a great running gag backstage it has some hilarious dialogue with Kermit's in Rita morano's show-stopping performance of fever with animal distracting her resulted in one of the show's first iconic moments since the episodes would be aired out of order and the team believed that the syndicators would want to air the Mareno episode first the writers would give scooter a proper introduction for the show's six episode yes starring Jim Nabors fully explaining scooters role as a gopher and his relationship with his uncle who happens to own the theatre the Muppets performance I'm scooter cute cute name in episode 12 with guest star Peter Ustinov Kermit would give a sweet rendition of being green after his performer seemed to be so infatuated with the guest star that they forgot about him completely Brillstein laser and Jim knew early on that finding guest stars for the show would be difficult and they believed the only way to ensure more guests signing on was for the show's first guest to spread the word this meant that the celebrities had to have a great time doing the show it helped that Jim was already well known and respected throughout the entertainment industry and many stars loved working with him laser took the responsibility of the executive point of contact with the guests always making sure they were comfortable this show's format put a spotlight on the celebrities as they were the only human in the episode the guests were also asked what they would like to do whether it be comedy bits singing or dancing instead of simply asking them to do what they were known for the conscious effort to make a good impression worked and word quickly spread through the industry the guest starring on the Muppet Show was a great time the constant work meant a constant paycheck for the already well-off Henson Jim was not modest with this wealth whether it was when he was younger purchasing a rolls-royce and driving it to his college graduation or now take elaborate European vacations during the short breaks in production he was just as quick to spoil those around him as he was himself bringing his family on vacation with him finding apartments for his crew and taking the Muppet performers in each guest star to an expensive rap dinner after each episode was complete in August in 1976 gymnast team briefly returned to New York shooting inserts for Sesame Street and promoting the Muppet Show on various programs in September of 1976 the Rita Moreno episode of The Muppet Show premiered in the UK and the United States the episode was warmly received but it was not a smash hit the humor still needed work with some critics pointing out the Bern style seemed to be influencing the show more than the Muppets Jim was already on his way back to London to shoot the remaining episodes of the muppet show's first season the crew even went back and filmed additional scenes for the two pilots even going as far as to explain some of the continuity errors sound like John Jim would add a memorable number with scooter and Fozzie Simon Smith and his dancing bear in the Juliet Prowse episode and Kermit would sing Lydia the tattooed lady in the Connie Stevens episode The Muppet Show continued to release new episodes in the UK in the u.s. with Brillstein laser being able to sell the show to more and more stations after the filming of season 1 was complete Jim and the Muppets returned to the United States beginning work on another TV special and the daughters jug band Christmas an adaptation of a children's book of the same name Emma daughter would see Jim collaborating with songwriter Paul Williams who had guest-starred on episode 8 of The Muppet Show the collaboration resulted in some of the catchiest songs in any Muppet special in the sentimental ballad when the river meets the sea would be particularly memorable it also featured some impressive puppet wizardry including a radio-controlled Emma daughter on a rowboat and other Muppets on snowmobiles still Emma nodders joband Christmas had trouble initially getting picked up by a television network airing in Canada during 1977 s Christmas season before landing on HBO in 1978 reaching far less viewership than Jim had hoped the quaint special would grow in popularity over time and it would eventually be regarded as a classic back in England the popularity of the Muppet Show was skyrocketing while I had it fully caught on in the States yet The Muppet Show had created legions of fans including both children and adults it was even said that members of would gather water-cooler style every Monday morning to discuss the Muppet Show episode from the night prior in May 1977 The Muppets returned to London to begin work on a second season of the Muppet Show Oscar and Lovelady would not return for the show second season and British actress Louise gold would join the cast as a puppeteer Brillstein had let head writer Jack Byrnes go burns and Henson had a few creative differences throughout the first season and it was no secret that Henson preferred the writing style of his friend Jerry Juhl Jule would take over the post as head writer and the change between seasons would be apparent for one a cold open with scooter and the guest star was added and a new opening was filmed removing Kermit's mid-song introduction of the guests are in Fozzie's Joe replacing it with a cutaway to Statler and Waldorf many of the characters would be rebuilt most notably gonzo and Miss Piggy Gold's had found Gonzo's character toward the end of season 1 and with a new design he was playing him as the king of the weirdos on the Muppet Show Oz was now performing Miss Piggy full-time no longer sharing the role with hunt Piggy's karate moves and attempts to upstage guest stars had made her one of the muppet show's most popular characters in the first season despite her original intention as a background character she would appear much more prominently going forward the at the dance segments appeared less regularly Bunsen honeydew slab assistant beaker performed by hunt was added in the panel discussions and talking house segments were removed a new recurring skit pigs in space was introduced and would become extremely popular among audiences the sketch starring Miss Piggy linked hog throb performed by Henson and dr. Julia strange pork performed by Nelson wood spoof space operas such as lost in space and Star Trek another notable development in the season was gonzo finding his love for chickens who were given a hilarious performance a baby face in the Edgar Bergen episode in an episode starring Bernadette Peters Robbins established his Kermit's nephew in this episode he wants to run away from home after being ignored by his uncle and feeling down on himself but Peters and subsequently the rest of the Muppets sing just one person showing how much they care and believe in him finding guest stars for season two was much easier and big names such as John Cleese Steve Martin Peter Sellers Julie Andrews and international ballet sensation Rudolf Nureyev would appear on the show two of Jim's personal inspirations puppeteer Edgar Bergen and Cammie Milton Berle would even guest star Muppet mania finally hit the states in late 1977 with critics and audiences going wild over the show The Muppets were awarded Entertainer of the Year by the American guild of variety artists as well as multiple Emmy nominations a Kermit the Frog balloon would glide through the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Jim and the Muppets had proved every executive that turned them down wrong Muppets were not for children they were for everyone in the truest sense of the word Jim was thrilled but his Restless creative mind was not satisfied unlike Kermit the Frog who would often get overwhelmed just trying to put on the show each week Jim was always looking ahead for his next creative venture It was as if time would find him if he stood still for too long instead he kept racing away from it trying to do as much as possible even with a full plate his new idea would seem like a natural next step he had secured his weekly puppet show so why not make a puppet feature film an unprecedented production would solidify the Muppets success by having them appear on the big screen Jim was also quietly planning a fantasy film reaching out to illustrator Brian Froud about a possible non Muppet feature as for the Muppet movie Jim was asking for an astronomical 8 million dollar budget but grade couldn't turn down Henson seeing how much he believed in the project Jim would reach back out to Burns to help him draft the script in early 1978 pre-production on the Muppet Show third season was beginning Boni Erickson left her post as head of the Elstree Workshop to form her own company being replaced by designer Amy van guilder Erickson and Henson would miss each other and Henson wish her the best a short time later the Muppet Workshop would suffer a more permanent loss Muppet builder Don Saleem suddenly passed away on February 20th 1978 the loss of the workshops founder was devastating to the entire Muppet team especially Jim although he would not cry in front of his team the spiritually curious Henson would simply say we'll see Don again those close to him would chalk it up to his unwavering optimism the same optimism that had helped him get through the death of his brother in April the team was back in London shooting the third season of the Muppet Show on top of the addition of gold a young puppeteer named Steve Whitmire would join the team he had auditioned for Jane and Jane always won two spot talent and a person passed him along to Jim a slightly different opening was made for the season in the new episodes featured a new setting the show's cafeteria with a cafeteria lady GLaDOS performed by hunt Gold's new character a pig named Danny su would become more prominent during this season and become Miss Piggy's rival the Muppet cast now almost as famous as any guest star we're taking over the show with many episodes featuring heavier concept plots such as an episode guest starring Loretta Lynn in which the Muppet Theater is being fumigated and the show must go on at a train station more members of the muppet show were added such as a new custodian named Beauregard performed by goals that replaced George the janitor and a sportscaster named Lewis cos agar in an odd performer with a boomerang fish act named Lugh Zeeland both performed by Nelson by this point The Muppet Show was not just a hit in the UK and the u.s. it was a hit everywhere it was reportedly showing in 106 countries and had garnered an audience of 235 million people some reports were saying that it was literally the most popular TV show on earth and Jim was ready to put them up it's on the big screen he had given the Muppet movie script to jewel after burns completed a draft jewel always the best writer when it came to handling the characters added in an emotional core to the film that brought the cast of Muppets together in a satisfying and heartwarming way Jim had also recruited Paul Williams to join them up it's once again writing original songs for the film while composer Kenny Asher would write the score while Jim wanted to direct it was suggested that he find a more experienced director to handle the film Jim was disappointed but found a solid choice in director James Frawley the film would see the Muppets outside of their natural habitat and the Muppet Theater and would instead be an origin movie where each character would be introduced to one another in the real world Henson Oz and probably would begin test shoots in the summer of 1978 to see how the characters looked outside of the studio no it's over near Los Angeles [Laughter] taking a break from shooting them up it shows third season the Muppet team along with new puppeteer Catherine Mullen began production the film was a testing ground for technical feats of both puppetry and filmmaking wide shots of Kermit riding a bike scenes with the Muppets driving cars in the opening scene in which Kermit sings a sentimental song Rainbow Connection pondering what it means to have a dream would be filmed with Kermit playing the banjo on a floating log in the middle of a swamp this was achieved by Jim building a swamp in a tank on a studio backlot going beneath the water in a cramped diving bell and sticking his hand up through the log as usual Jim's dedication paid off and it would be the film's most memorable scene the film was chocked full of celebrity cameos Muppet mayhem and emotion Jewel and Burns had wrote a solid script and Kermit the Frog had never been closer to Jim Henson starting as a dreamer in a swamp as Jim has started a Mississippi during his childhood Kermit pursues his Colleen finding friend after friend along the way the film was full of emotional moments such as a song from gonzo titled I'm going to go back there someday about trying to recapture a magic that he had felt only briefly in a beautiful scene in which Kermit talks to himself I guess I was wrong when I said I never promised anyone I promised me the film also commented on the Muppet crew itself with Jule injecting representations of the love that the team felt for one another you know well I've got a dream too but it's about singing and dancing and making people happy that's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with well I found a whole bunch of friends who have the same dream and it kind of makes us like a family at the end of the film after defeating the evil doc hopper who wants to make kerbin a spokesperson for frog legs the gang finally makes it to Hollywood busting into the office of Hollywood executive Wu ward played by Orson Welles a not-so-subtle reference to lord liu grave Wu ward takes one look at the frog in his band of weirdos and says it's Tracy prepare the standard rich and famous contract for Kermit the Frog and company it was a comical simplification of Jim and the Muppets rise to fame which took them two decades the culmination of their work was on the screen especially in the final shot were over 250 of the workshops creations appeared Jim once again relied on the puppeteers of America as well as his family and friends to puppeteer the characters the ensemble would sing the last lines to the closing song a reprise of the rainbow connections line someday we'll find it The Rainbow Connection the lovers the dreamers and me with a twist life's like a movie write your own ending keep believing keep pretending we've done just what we've set out to do thanks to the lovers the dreamers and you with production on the film complete Jim in the Muppets return to London in October of 1978 to film six more episodes of the Muppet Show including a memorable episode with guest Harry Belafonte with a hilarious rendition of the Banana Boat song and a beautiful rendition of turn the world around the message of unity is something that Belafonte and Henson found a mutual passionate and the episode would be one of Jim's favorites to produce a new recurring sketch was created during this time bear on patrol in which Fozzie plays a police officer with link hogs Rob being his chief also more concept episodes were produced such as a cowboy episode with guest stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and a Robin Hood episode with guest star Lynn Redgrave season 3 of The Muppet Show would finish production in February of 1979 and the team would be back to work on season 4 just two months later apart from yet another variation of the opening the formatting characters seem to be more concrete possibly thanks to a few new and improved designs from the Muppet movie also because of the film set to be released in may Jim and the Muppets had to fit the filming of six episodes into one month Jane and their three youngest children had joined him in London which made the devoted father extremely happy after the episodes were finished Jim went on a promotional tour for the Muppet movie during my bath down here you're dying the film premiered on May 31st 1979 in London in a would hit us theatres the next month the film was praised by critics and audiences alike and it would gross over 65 million dollars bellowing it's eight million dollar budget out of the water it was indicative of just how strong the team's work was and how much the audience loved it season 4 of The Muppet Show continued filming throughout the summer of 1979 until a union strike halted production the Muppets and John Denver would develop a Christmas special together called John Denver and the Muppets a Christmas together Denver had guest-starred on The Muppet Show early in season four in the collaboration on the Christmas special especially the soundtrack would become hugely popular during the 1979 Christmas season one of the songs it's in every one of us would be a personal favorite of gems and Robin and Denver would sing when the river meets the sea from Emma daughters jug band Christmas on the album filming on season 4 of The Muppet Show would resume after the strike ended in late October one of season fours most memorable episodes would be when the cast of Star Wars visited the Muppet Theater with the second film in the series The Empire Strikes Back set to release later that year Luke Skywalker his cousin Mark Hamill Chewbacca c-3po and r2d2 made appearances Empire which had coincidentally been filmed at Elstree Studios featured the new character Jedi Master Yoda performed by Frank Oz with assistance from Catherine Mullen bringing the Muppets into George Lucas's world now months later Star Wars was brought in to Jim Henson's world the episode ended with everyone singing the classic Disney song when you wish upon a star which in hindsight is a perfect illustration of the phrase be careful what you wish for in February 1980 the final episode of The Muppet show's fourth season was complete each season had consisted of 24 episodes for a grand total 96 being produced thus far the International sensations 5th season would put the show over the magic 100 episode number the amount necessary to syndicate reruns of the show in rotation Jim had decided that this was enough always looking forward he planned that the upcoming season would be the last for the Muppet Show he could have continued doing the program indefinitely was the possibility that it would become a staple of television a show with immunity to cancellation but Henson wanted to end it on and he was happy that the royalties from the reruns could help him fund future creative projects while he was proud of the show he was already on to bigger ideas the final season of the Muppet Show would film through the spring and summer of 1980 another variant of the opening would be filmed a new cold open format would begin each episode and more concept episodes would be produced it wouldn't be until June that the news would break that the fifth season of the Muppet Show would be final but with pre-production on a second Muppet movie already underway fans knew that Kermit and the gang weren't going anywhere the final episode of The Muppet Show would film in mid-august of 1980 with guest star Gene Kelly the episode featured a running gag in which characters referenced the end of the world a subtle nod to the episode being the show's last to be produced the crew at Elstree Studios was sad to see the Muppets go and the send-off was bittersweet for the Muppet team they were leaving behind the most successful show in the world but they were following Jim Henson and as usual he was already one step ahead of them Jim had developed as an artist throughout the years on the Muppet Show thanks in part to jewel characters became deeper and there were more beats of sentimentality than just cartoon violence puns and dancing the episode of Belafonte had shown Jim what his creations could do when thoughtfully tackling bigger topics and it seemed Henson was listening to Kermit the frog's advice life's like a movie write your own ending while Henson didn't see an ending he did see the next scene he couldn't shake an idea that he had been given by entrepreneur Peter Orton at a private gathering Orton had suggested the Jim create a children's show for the international market taking some of the techniques developed for Sesame Street and combining them with the international reach of the Muppet Show instead of teaching letters and numbers Jim had his eyes set on something more complex love and life he would recruit Jewel and Jocelyn Stevenson a writer Jim and met through the children's television workshop among others to help him brainstorm they would need a world new characters and above all a name Jim liked the title woozle world but he was reminded that a a Milne had already popularized Woozles winnie-the-pooh it was then suggested to call the characters googlies but Jim didn't like the way it sounded then someone brought up Fraggles the name given to the henchman from the great Santa Claus which he thought about this Fraggles it wasn't bad but it could use some work [Music] this episode of defunct TV is sponsored by Squarespace Cody finally tried out Squarespace and I think it's safe to say he was blown away it's no surprise because there is no better way to get the word out on your brand than with Squarespace is simple yet powerful website design tools and now Squarespace is offering a free trial and 10% off your first purchase just go to squarespace.com slash defunct land and use the code defunct land or click the link in the description to sign up and start designing your website that's squarespace.com / defunct land code defunct land [Music]

Channel: Defunctland

Views: 1,861,649

Keywords: defunctland, kevin perjurer, theme park, extinct, abandoned, defunct, defuncttv, jim henson documentary, kermit the frog history, jim henson history, muppets documentary, muppets history, the history of the muppet show, best muppet show episodes, muppet show episodes, miss piggy history, fozzie bear history, the great gonzo, frank oz, empire strikes back

Id: P5jJQ2IeDvE

Length: 40min 44sec (2444 seconds)

Published: Wed May 15 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/LunarxSeven]

Aaa new Defunctland! I can’t wait to get home!

[u/[deleted]]

I cried. lol.

Kinda wild how it all had such humble beginnings, and by the time they got to the movie, this little "family" of people ended up on top of the world.

sidenote..really gotta get my act together and watch that movie already. if I've ever seen it as a kid, I don't remember it lol

[u/Clinozoisite]

This might be the best documentry on Jim Henson ever made

[u/Fourwindsgone]

I am absolutely loving these. I was addicted to the muppets when I was a kid. I can't wait for the fraggle next episode!

[u/brighteyedmarinere]

I didn’t think I cared that much about Jim Henson, but it turns out I do. I am loving this series! Just got the free trial of hbo go so I can watch fraggle rock

[u/secret_online]

These just keep getting better and better.

[u/[deleted]]

🎵 It's time to play the music!
It's time to light the lights!
It's to meet the Muppets on the Muppet show tonight! 🎵