Dear
Internet,
Are you
ready for me to say that I have nothing to talk about concerning "The
Muppet Show," again? Well, you are
in luck again, especially considering how every other time I have said that I
got nothing I end up writing plenty. It
can still be plenty of nothing, but it is plenty of it. Today, I finished viewing season four. The way the show gets better is sort of
strange, considering that more modern shows have a way of declining after the
first season. "The Muppet
Show" plays itself very to a pattern in the first two seasons. There is a guest star in each episode. The Muppets put on a show for an audience in
a theatre. Acts are performed, and the
guest star participates in a few of them.
All the performances are separate from one another with a thin backstage
plot taking place on the sidelines that barely affects the performances.
The
show did at least one thing right. Just
when the show's pattern got to the point of being a standard, it began to
change things up for the better. Many episodes
between seasons three and four throw the whole thing out the door, or at least
puts it out gently to do its business. There
are episodes where the premise is barely even there with the episode's plot
taking full stage. Take for example the
Lynn Redgrave episode where the entire cast acted out a performance of Robin Hood. There was singing, plenty of acting, and even
more comedic over-acting from Miss Piggy.
These three things are usual for an episode for "The Muppet Show,"
but the fact that it is different stays glued in my mind. Then there was the Liza Minnelli episode
where the cast acted out a murder-mystery.
There was singing, dancing, and comedic over-acting from Minnelli. Yet again, the fact that it took a different
route than the normal episodes makes it an interesting watch.
I could
go down the list of the unique episodes and keep repeating myself. If I did that, all I would end up doing is
saying that the episodes that are different are memorable because they are
different and would not really be saying anything about how good those episodes
are. These different episodes are in
fact good. I would even go so far as to
say they are usually better than the regular episodes. The reason I say this is that these unique
episodes offer the chance to make jokes that the normal set up would
restrict. There could be Robin Hood
jokes if there was a Robin Hood sketch, but that would mean that the jokes
would only last for one sketch at max. A
few could be carried over, but they would feel forced. Devoting an entire episode to a specific
premise opens up new avenues that the show can take. Each element of Robin Hood is made comical,
from the archery contest to the rescue of Maid Marian. On top of that, the song numbers are given
context to the play being performed.
This
does not mean that all the regular episodes fell lackluster because the unique
episodes overshadow them. They do not
overshadow at all, really. There are a number
of episodes that fit the mold and still are able to be memorable. Take the Christopher Reeve episode. It was a usual format episode, with a variety
of skits and musical numbers present.
But then again, it had the man of steel, Christopher Reeve, which is
enough, in my opinion, to warrant remembering.
Outside of my opinion, the episode plays up the fact that the guest star
had recently starred in "Superman."
There are plenty of jokes that revolve around this fact and also the
fact that Christopher Reeve is not Superman himself. Despite this, the show implies he is one and
the same with plenty of outfit quick-changes inside a telephone booth. There is even a very comical attempt by Miss
Piggy to karate chop Reeve.
The
Mark Hamill episode does something very similar. For half the episode, Hamill stays in the character
of Luke Skywalker. During the other half
he plays himself. Jokes come forth from
how the two never meet and how Skywalker is on a rampage, trying to fight the
empire despite there being none on "The Muppet Show." The episode also included C-3PO, R2-D2, and
Chewbacca. They add even more
shenanigans to the show.
What I
am trying to get at is that "The Muppet Show" knew when to start to
add even more variety to a variety show.
If it had continued to make every single episode for season after season
share the exact same format, it would have dried up long ago. The episodes that break up the pattern
prevent this from happening. On top of
that, the episodes that do keep to the formula ensure they are entertaining by
changing the formula ever so slightly to make them fun to watch. There are still episodes that I found somewhat
boring. I will admit that. The notes I take for each episode include some
where all I have listed are the names of the guest stars beside the episode
number. Perhaps I will get to those
tomorrow. Who knows?
Yours in digital,
BeppBoop
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