When the subject of the status of Muppet Freak comes up, for quite some time now, i've said it's on "indefinate hiatus". This has been because if i didn't have so much other stuff to deal with in real life, i'd be updating constantly and part of me wanted to hope that maybe something in my life might actually go right for a change and i could go back to it but have always really known that's just not how things ever work and that i've always been and will always be exempt from such miracles.

After fully taking stock of everything, i can say with confidence that there will be no more Muppet Freak. Those of you who had it bookmarked and have checked in from time to time to see if anything's changed or new may now remove it. It's over.

It's with a heavy heart i say this; i dearly love writing at length and detail in-depth essays about Muppets/Henson and other areas of fandom and the posts that have appeared here only represent the tiniest of fractions of what i wanted to accomplish. I truly regret that i couldn't have left behind a much more vast archive.

However i have no regrets as to why i will not be able to continue. If you've read all previous articles including and especially the 4-7-09 entry you'll know that i hold some admittedly unconventional views on the life cycle and one's natural rights in regards to mortality. Ten years ago in 2001 i stood on a precipice faced with a self-imposed deadline as to whether to forever close a chapter or carry on. I know now with the full benefit of hindsight i made the wrong decision at that time. Ten years later facing another decade-versary, i revisit the same precipice, older, wiser, painfully unhappier, and with even less signs of hope or change than what stood before me in 2001. I know now what i must do and that the time is right (if not severly overdue). I don't yet know the date but i do know it will be before December 8, 2011.

I've not known much happiness in my life. Nor even really love for that matter. The last four decades are a nausea-inducing collage of always being unwelcome, unneeded, unwanted, unaccepted. The scant few times i've known anything close to happiness have been when i've been able to lose myself in making music or when indulging in various fandoms. Muppet Freak for a short time gave me a partial outlet for the latter and i hope some other people at least got something out of it. Any wishes, dreams or desires i've carried with me for the last decade or so have only been unobtainable dreams. Except for one. One form of release i've spent nearly every day wishing for and looking forward to, secure in the knowledge that unlike any other desires that it's not only obtainable but also inevitable. This is my one-last-desire fulfilled. It's a good thing. No tears. No one should feel sorry for me or mourn or be sad because it was what i wanted and My Choice, My Time. This is as close to a Happily Ever After people like me that should really never have been born in the first place and have regretted it for over 14,245 days get. Be happy for me. This is a good thing and shouldn't be thought of as anything but.

My lifelong hero, Jim Henson, had a goal to leave the world a better place than he found it. I may not have been able to leave behind a legacy of art or works the same way he did, but i can at least exterminate an unwelcome horrible blight from it. Another reason to celebrate.

Thank you for reading.
Goodbye.

Hi, all. In case you're wondering, after my last post, things ended up going from bad to worse to absolute disaster and it's only been very recently that things have finally started to only just barely turn around. Muppet Freak is still on indefinate hiatus but today i'm posting a special report originally written for The Muppet Mindset.

Unfortunately the version that got published there was edited so severely that all the feedback i received was that readers were confused - and i don't blame them! For an article titled "How Soaps' Cancellation May Affect the Muppets" the "How" part (and also the "why") ended up largely absent and what did get published was a large random mess of disconnected thoughts. I apologize to anyone who was left scratching their heads at the Mindset's version. I think they were a bit too cautious of printing anything that might offend Disney for fear of losing any contacts or support from Muppets Studio/Disney but as you can see, when you take all that out, you get a random jumble (most telling was the complete absence of the word "boycott" - and as you'll see any article tracing the relationship between the two which avoids use of the word won't make much sense).

I wish i did have the ability to keep Muppet Freak going on a regular basis so more in-depth essays and analysis which might be more controversial in nature had a home. We're not part of any larger network or club and that underground independance gives us the opportunity to present things more unfiltered without worry of stepping on any higher-up's toes. But i don't see any miracles forthcoming in my personal life that will keep Muppet Freak returning regularly. But at any rate, here's the original unfiltered, uncensored (and coherent!) version of the report...

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Today's article is a bit different since it concerns a subject one wouldn't normally expect to see on the Mindset. However, as a devoted fan of both Muppets and One Life to Live, i have a unique perspective on how the two projects' fates intertwine and why Muppet fans should be concerned with recent developments surrounding the other.

Ever since the announcement that Jim Henson was selling the Muppets to Disney before his death, fans greeted the news with raised eyebrows; even though both Disney and Henson were synonymous with family entertainment, the managerial styles and corporate culture of both companies were very different. After Jim passed away (and even beforehand), we saw how the Mouse House can become a Shark Tank when it needs to be and many of us were very apprehensive about the Muppets ever falling under Disney's ownership since.

When Disney finally acquired the Muppets in 2004, it's been a long road for Disney to win over the acceptance, confidence and trust of Muppet fans. Though it's been a slow process, the general feeling among the fan community is that the sale may very well have been the best thing that ever happened to them, especially with Disney's full support and marketing muscle with the upcoming "The Muppets" movie. Lots of ill will, skepticism, and fears have been pacified.

However when the Muppets were acquired by Disney, they became part of a vast corporate "ecosystem". And like all ecosystems in nature - and in Fraggle Rock - when one part is endangered, it eventually affects everything else. Right now, there are tainted radishes in the Gorgs' garden which could eventually spell trouble for the Fraggles, Doozers, and the like!

I'm talking about ABC's cancellation of not one, but two of its iconic daytime dramas, All My Children and One Life to Live on April 14. On the surface, this would seem to be something that has nothing to do with the Muppets, but there are many reasons why Muppet fans should keep an eye on this situation.

Before the shows were cancelled, fans had already been proactive in responding to various rumors and insider rumblings about how ABC was mulling the decision to replace either AMC or OLTL with a reality show of some sort. (The network's other soap General Hospital, was safe for the time being). Fans mobilized very quickly and in such huge volume that ABC employees have been quoted as saying they've never seen such a huge outpouring of letters/calls since they've been with the company. Despite such a huge response, this did not keep the axe from unexpectedly falling on BOTH shows with the announcement that AMC would end in September and OLTL in January.

This has put me in a very odd and unique position as of late. Most everyone in the Muppet fandom community knows i'm a Muppet Freak of the highest order. But one of my major non-Henson fandoms has been One Life to Live. I started watching in 1992 to see the homophobia story they were doing (starring a then unknown Ryan Phillippe) and without expecting it, quickly became hooked for life. I'd eventually become the type of fan that could answer other fans' questions on forums about story/character history the same way i can spout off Muppet/Henson trivia. I've maintained vast video collections of both. For the last several years, i found it amusing how two of my biggest loves were Disney properties.

Since i had been spending a good month or so answering the same questions and typing up the same advice in different places, once the news came, i immediately set up a Save OLTL site (at http://community.webtv.net/dw_m/saveoltl ) so all the various forums and fan groups could get essential info in one place and be on the same page as per what's best and what's actually harmful to do. My site of course was just one of several resources that quickly sprung up. Ironically, it was my previous extensive experience as a Henson fanatic with the groundbreaking successful Save Farscape movement which gave me the insights i've been passing on to this other fan community suggesting courses of action they may not have otherwise considered as quickly.

Now of course, everyone reading this wants to know about the Muppets, so to make a long story short, as i've been gathering and disseminating info from and to several places, it's been a very sobering reminder of how many divisions of and executives within Disney are not as competent, understanding. benevolent or responsive to their fanbase as the Muppets Studio part of Disney's been. We all need to be extremely thankful that someone like Lyelle Breier is in charge of the Muppets as opposed to a Brian Frons or Anne Sweeney. I've become privy to lots of info about all the worst parts of Disney corporate culture and it's been a hard pill to swallow as i've been reminded how all the worst parts of Disney we all feared would be handling the Muppets still exist elsewhere within the company at large.

The initial plan was for fans to support AMC/OLTL's sponsors and boycott sponsors of the replacement shows The Revolution and The Chew (is that one of the worst show names in television history or what?) as well as that timeslot while exploring different ways for the shows to live on. Many fans were so moved to boycott ABC altogether and some have decided to avoid all things Disney from this point on. Much has happened in just one week with a major groundswell of action that caught ABC off guard with companies such as Hoover and Hershey's pulling their ads from all the network's programming. Affiliates and shareholders are being contacted, ratings for the networks' shows are dropping and the non-soap press is buzzing. This is a large movement that's determined to make a difference and not accept the destruction of these American Institutions. Much has already happened in under two weeks and things are only going to grow exponentially until something positive occurs.

Unfortunately, several very reliable insiders soon reported that while ABC is feeling lots of heat, Disney's been largely unmoved as they've been looking to unload ABC (they make far more money with their cable ventures) and fans need to strike more at the heart to have any effect. So now, the movement is growing into a boycott of the Disney Company and all its various properties.

Which means that come November when "The Muppets" hits the theatres, it will be halfway between AMC's departure and OLTL's if nothing new happens in the meantime. African Cats, which opens this week has been a major target of the Disney boycott and seven months from now, if Disney doesn't exert some major damage control and good will, a large number of people that would have otherwise been excited about the Muppet movie will be staying home as well as not buying any Muppet merchandise.

On a personal level, it's been really tough. What to do when two fandoms collide? It's been a case of "Why are there so many songs about rainbows" vs. "Here's what you do when you don't find the rainbow's end". My personal loyalty lies with the Muppets as i've been a devoted fan practically since birth long before they became a Disney property. But i am staying away from all other things Disney and even then my spending habits may still be affected in various ways such as being more likely to buy Muppet products second-hand these days.

"The Muppets" has been the moment we've been waiting for; have dreamed about! We've watched the momentum build with a marketing campaign that's been years in the making. To see Disney's poor business decisions in a largely unrelated area affect its success is hard to watch unfold.

But there's other much bigger reasons why Muppet fans should be concerned beyond being affected by an overall Disney boycott...

Many of us became Muppet fans because we grew up watching Sesame Street on our screens every day for over 40 years. The ability to produce over 4000 episodes with new episodes airing daily rather than weekly has allowed an amazing amount of characterization (for both Muppets and humans), history, and audience attachment very few shows can achieve. This is how fans of AMC/OLTL feel - the level of story history and character development a daily drama produces can't be obtained elsewhere and these shows are about the same age as Sesame. After over 10,000 episodes, the characters are like members of our families. As someone like me can attest, the audience isn't the stereotypical bored housewives stuck at home; they're male as well as female, teens to senior citizens, and all appreciating complex storytelling by some of the hardest working actors in the business - which have included Muppeteer Gabriel Velez (having appeared thrice on OLTL), Fran Brill as Erika Kane's Betty-Fordesque counselor and "Mrs. Joey Mazzarino" Kerry Butler who played OLTL's Claudia Reston for over a year.

When ABC Daytime President Brian Frons was making the publicity rounds the day of the announcement, he joked how he's joined the Witness Protection Program. I'm pretty sure that it's in the first chapter of "How to Run a Successful Business" (and the third chapter of "How to Run a Moderately So-So Business") that if a business practice causes millions of your loyal devoted customers to wish you bodily harm, then that's a good sign you shouldn't act upon it. But just as Disney disregarded the outspoken outcries of scores of fans, what will happen when the time comes that the Muppets are no longer worthy of their full support? Things may be wonderful in 2011 but if Disney is so willing to put an end to American Institutions with a half-century of devoted fans who still follow the brand with a passion, who's to say the very same thing can't and won't happen to the Muppets who also fit that exact same description? Breier could one day be replaced with a shark or a hack or the people above her may decide the Muppets' time has faded despite protestations from their own millions of fans. This, more than anything is why Muppet fans should be concerned about Disney's actions and lend their support to the endangered shows and their fans.

A network (and entertainment company) ultimately exists to serve its viewers. If they anger them to the point of mass protest, they've utterly failed at their basic purpose. This is more about two shows; it's about corporate heads' lack of respect for their very customers and the legacies of their own iconic properties.

I'd like to invite all Muppet fans to support these programs. A good way to start would be to tune in to watch One Life to Live on Wednesday April 27 as they air a special episode paying tribute to six-time Emmy winner Erika Slezak's 40th anniversary in the role of Victoria Lord Banks. (Or if you're reading after 4/27, you can see it at onelifetolive.com ) But watch with caution - you may end up getting captivated enough to become as hooked as i did back in 1992 when i thought i'd never be a soap fan! As folks like myself and Tough Pigs/Muppet Wiki founder Danny Horn (who also created One Life to Live Wiki!) can attest, it doesn't take much for a Miss Piggy fan to be quickly enchanted by one of the few grande dames who can out-diva the pig, Mayor Dr. Dorian Lord!

You may have noticed a lack of posts lately. The work drama has been all-consuming lately and things have gotten very bad for me again.

Due to a mixture of several things, we're owed five weeks backpay and my department is being trimmed down to 11 people (other departments have been cut altogether) and i may not make the latest cuts. I'm in danger of losing practically everything including my home and car so i'm selling stuff i never thought i would including my Muppet/Henson collection.

More details are visible at forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=48582 which is being updated continually as i dig stuff out of storage/boxes/closet and as stuff sells. Lots of rare items including autographs and scripts spanning all areas of Muppet/Henson properties from Classic Muppets to Sesame Street to Farscape. Even lesser known projects like The Fearing Mind!

I'm selling all this silent-auction style. If anyone wants something, make me an offer and if it's reasonable and no one else makes a higher offer for the same thing, it's yours. I'm not able to take Paypal but i do sell internationally. Contact me personally through email at dw_m@webtv.net and mention Muppets or Henson in your subject heading so i don't mistake your email for spam. If you know others who may be interested, spread the word.

While i have much more available besides Palisades action figures, i know these in particular are being actively sought by fans so i've listed them here but of course you can see all the other non-figure stuff i have at the above link.

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All items and playsets come with all their original accessories. All are out of box and have been on my display shelves as i never planned on selling. Any major defects are noted and should be easily fixed with super glue. All playsets will be sold with the action figure that came with it (and vice versa) unless i have a really good offer for either the figure or the playset without the other - so basically i plan on keeping them together but someone who for some reason wants one without the other could always make an offer i can't refuse.

I've had sage council from a pricing expert as to mimimum amounts i should sell these for so i reserve the right to reject offers too low.

- Kermit (camera accessory is broken in half due to fall of shelf)
- Miss Piggy
- Dr. Teeth
- Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (glasses are broken off - they stay in place for me fine displayed on my shelf but you may wish to fix with glue)
- Muppet Labs Playset with Beaker
- Koozebane Kermit
- Stuntman Gonzo
- Floyd Pepper
- Crazy Harry
- Electric Mayhem Playset with Animal
- Rowlf
- Scooter
- Lew Zealand
- Zoot
- Swedish Kitchen Playset with the Swedish Chef
- Sam Arrow (bottom half broke off due to fall off shelf, snaps back together and stays in place for shelf display but you may wish to glue together)
- Rizzo
- Link Hogthrob
- Julius Strangepork
- Gonzo
- Pepe
- Newsman
- Clifford
- Patrol Bear Fozzie
- Statler
- Waldorf
- Swinetrek Playset with First Mate Piggy
- Captain Smollett
- Frog Scout Robin
- Johnny Fiama
- Beauregard
- Usher Scooter
- Sam the Eagle
- Phil Van Neuter
- Marvin Suggs

Pvc sets:

- Sam the Eagle with book / Mahna Mahna /Thog with flower
- Kermit as Bob Cratchit with Robin the Frog as Tiny Tim / Statler as Jacob Marley / Two ice skating Penguins
- Fozzie Bear as Fozziwig / Waldorf as Robert Marley / Ghost of Christmas Present

Also:

Jack in the Box kids meal figures: Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal, Pepe, Chef

Kermit on a log playing banjo with banner saying "50th anniversary" with button that plays Rainbow Connection when pressed. Can be used as either a stand alone shelf display item or has a small hook to hang as Christmas tree ornament

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As mentioned, even though i've focused on the Palisades Muppet figures here, there's lots of other stuff available from books to cds/dvds to autographed items to scripts and rare collectables. I hate to part with this stuff but if i don't have a home to keep it in, it doesn't matter much anyway.

And of course given that all this stuff is going on, i'm sure you can guess what this means for the blog - it's on indefinate hiatus again. Obviously everything in my life has become topsy-turvy again and surviving (or maybe "not surviving" if it ultimately comes to that) takes top priority now. I hope to be back to posting again and soon, but of course this could be my last post. Thanks to everyone who's read this small hidden corner of Muppet fandom on the web and shared your comments with me. It's time now for the closing credits to roll. Maybe more episodes will come later or maybe this is The End. Thanks for being a part of the journey either way.

Okay, so when Jim Henson was trying to get a weekly primetime Muppet show on the air, he started with the first pilot "The Muppets Valentine Show" in 1974. He later shot a second pilot which was a lot closer to what The Muppet Show would become and where most of the supporting characters made their debut, "The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence". The American networks passed but Sir Lew Grade in England gave the show a greenlight so two MORE pilots were made...episodes one and two of The Muppet Show proper. As we talked about, these were shot months before the other first season episodes and were largely altered as the final aired versions incorporated elements of the original pilot versions and new material shot towards the end of the production window.

So (deep breath), that brings us now to the third episode of The Muppet Show which is the first "regular" episode! Now this is going to be interesting to write about, not only because it's the Muppet Show's proper debut but also because of the dvd cuts.

When released on dvd in season box sets, there were a handful of episodes that suffered some edits due to music rights. This episode is one of them. However there were also some cuts NOT due to music rights.

I don't know why this is but every now and then a Henson television show's first episode ends up being longer compared to the rest of the run - The debut episode of Bear in the Big Blue House was a minute longer as was the "Exodus From Genesis" episode of Farscape (the first episode shot). The full uncut episode of the Joel Grey episode runs at 26 minutes - 30 seconds longer than all the others. Disney, probably unknowingly, must have got hold of a master tape that was trimmed down to match the standard length with the two Muppet News segments cut from this episode - i doubt they would have purposely edited them out for the dvd release.

So i'm going to be watching the full episode, but because most of you watching along have the dvd version, i'll be using the same time stamps as the official dvd. I'll follow that same process for the other season one episodes that have cuts.

It's a good thing this is a blog and not some other form of media as i might have run out of time by now! But we've got all the time in the world, so kick up your feet, have your popcorn or pizza (or pizza with popcorn on top) by your side and press play...

:21 - So after the really long opening theme used in the original
versions of the pilots, the new version is considerably shortened. Though somewhere in the editing of the pilot version of the theme and the new "official" version, a glitch occured where a frame of Zoot and Crazy Harry from the original version is still seen after the shot of Animal at his drumkit. You won't see this (or another similar one-frame edit gaffe that occurs later in this episode) on the dvd version since the same master tape that cuts the News Flashes also cleaned up these odd edits.

1:15 - And here we have the only episode of The Muppet Show opening theme with an extra verse. This being their first attempt at retooling the first version of the theme song, they replaced all these various references to what the viewer will see and replaced them with previews of the guest star (instead of having them come out and sing a verse) and a verse only seen here where Kermit sings "Our show tonight will feature some stuff that looks like this..." with another preview of what's to come. Between this and the next episode of the show, they obviously realised that the theme could be shortened a tad more and that this verse is really not needed - why waste time showing something the viewer will see in a few minutes anyway? Even though the guest star preview would still be kept, these would still undergo changes. Here we see two clips of the guest from the show itself. The rest of the episodes just are one shot of the guest and one that's done for the opening instead of a shot lifted from the episode proper.

1:30 - I was between four and five years old when the first season of The Muppet Show aired. While i can easily remember moments of the second season onward (what happened, where i was when i was watching them and what i was thinking, etc), my memories of the first season episodes were hazy until they went into reruns following the final season of the show. I remember bits and pieces - Statler coming backstage with a plant for the guest star (though i remembered it as George the Janitor being in love with Miss Piggy), my ritual of laying out my Sesame Street puppets to play along with the puppets on tv (my parents kept telling me they're different Muppets and i kept telling them i KNEW but i didn't HAVE puppets that matched the ones on tv - so Bert would often be played with when the Newsman came on, Ernie would fill in for the jug band's jug blower, Grover would fill in for Gonzo, etc. Of course i would feel vindicated when Ernie and Bert DID show up on the show!), a miniature Kermit singing "Halfway Down the Stairs" (which further cemented my belief that Muppets were real since he was singing all by himself with no visible puppeteer). Having the original Muppet Show record jogged many of my memories of the first season including the theme song - but it used to BUG me because i KNEW i remembered some weird time the theme song was different and showed Crazy Harry hiding under an arch as a girl screamed. This left such an impression on me and i used to wonder about it all the time if it was really part of the theme song somehow or if it was a dream or something.

2:25 - YES! Muppet Monsters! And Crazy Harry! How can you not love this? Some of the Muppet Monsters (many recycled from 1970's The Great Santa Claus Switch) are seen for the first time on the show here and though more monsters would make their debut during the show's run, this early musical number contains many of what would be throught of as "The Muppet Show Monsters"!

2:33 - Beautiful Day Monster - i would always jump up and down and excitedly point to the screen when a Muppet besides Kermit that i saw on Sesame Street popped up on The Muppet Show!

2:56 - John Lovelady was Crazy Harry's original performer in The Muppets Valentine Show and would usually play him during the first season of The Muppet Show (with Jerry Nelson taking over in season two). However Richard Hunt played Harry in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence and also performs him here.

3:50 - Wayne and Wanda return to having the dressing room on the right!

5:40 - If you're watching with the Muppet Morsels on, "George never appeared after the first season" is SO false!

5:43 - I have no idea if Mildred getting stuck in the chandelier was intended or a blooper...and that's what makes the Muppets so awesome!

5:58 - First cut bit - a Muppet News Flash. Here's the full text for those who've not seen it:

"Here's a Muppet News Flash. Dateline: New York City. A former circus daredevil who billed himself as Boffo, the Human Cannonball fired himself out a cannon yesterday into a crowd of holiday shoppers. Fortunately there were no injuries to the passers-by; Boffo was not so lucky. Said his wife, the former Mrs. Boffo, "I guess I'll just have to pick up the pieces and live my life."

Since last episode's News Flash was a new bit recorded later in the season, this is The Newsman's debut. He does not yet have his glasses plus his voice is deeper. He also runs out onstage after announcing the News Flash. The first news sketches are just silly stories. In episode six, this will be replaced with The Newsman interviewing the guest star playing a character. Finally in episode 19, the Newsman will become a victim of the story he's reporting setting off what would for the most part remain the News Flash's formula. As a sidenote, in the first season scripts, The Newsman was called "Muppet News Reporter"

7:18 - This is Gloat (the Green Frackle)'s third onstage act!

7:40 - I never thought about this before but since Jerry Nelson wasn't able to be present for the taping of the first few episodes, it's cool to see they brought out the Jerry Nelson Muppet so Jerry could still be present in a sense!

8:15 - In college, this was one of my two big numbers in our chamber singers' big spring show. I was thrilled to do a number that i first knew about due to the Muppets! One of my fellow Muppet fans in the group remarked that one of my moves reminded him of Grover!

8:55 - Joel's being very careful with his kicks lest he strike a Muppeteer!

9:04 - According to the dvd's Muppet Morsels, you can see a puppeteer's head showing under Zoot ... but you can ALSO see a different puppeteer's head between Gonzo and the Jerry Nelson Muppet in the same shot!

9:09 - Looks like Gloat's puppeteer's arm is tired as he just kind of rests there on Joel's shoulder (or maybe Gloat himself is tired from dancing three numbers in a row!)
9:20 - One thing i like about Statler and Waldorf's balcony scenes - they're all done with different angles or frames each time.

10:41 - "...three cats, two dogs, a turtle and three frizbees" LOL!

11:05 - Over the years, Statler and Waldorf have become pretty cliched - making remarks (often pun-based) on how bad the Muppets are. Many times you can predict the punch lines before they're said. But here is just a fun interchange between the two talking about their history and memories and it's moments like this that make the characters shine and fleshed out. Moments like this rarely happen these days and i'd love to see more S&W exchanges like this over the predictable puns.

11:30 - One of the only times the UK sketch was left in for the American audience with something else in the show taken out instead (the Sherlock Holmes sketch). When i was working on the Muppet Show episode guides for Muppet Central, the Henson Company sent me a guide to the UK sketches and they reveal the singer's name in this song is Hassan.

13:00 - That moustache is already slighly showing before the reveal.

13:22 - Cut scene #2. Wayne and Wanda. As always, they're first introduced not by Kermit, but Sam the Eagle making his Muppet Show debut here despite his big part in the "Sex and Violence" pilot. His entire role in the first season is kind of odd - he brings on Wayne and Wanda (with an implication that he's circumventing Kermit to do so), takes part in the roundtable panel discussions and not much else. With Wayne and Wanda gone, his place in the Muppet Theatre gets much further established at the beginning of season two as the show's self-appointed censor. Sam's introduction is the same one heard on Muppet Show records when he introduces the pair...

"To insure to the quality and moral content of this show is above reproach, I Sam the American Eagle, am proud to present the singing duet of Wayne and Wanda. Besides being tremendous singers, they are church people. (Where do I go?)"

Unlike the Muppet Show records, this introduction is not followed by "Trees" (which will be in a different episode). Standard Wayne and Wanda fare - elaborate music intro, Wayne sings the first couple of lines of "Stormy Weather" and it then rains on the pair. Waldorf comments to Statler, "I told you they were all wet!"

13:30 - Here is the first season Miss Piggy puppet as she'll look the rest of this year, fixed mouth and eye focus. Not that attractive a puppet compared with the ones that would follow over the years but it's kind of "hauntingly beautiful". What's really fun about this puppet though is that originally, Piggy's name was going to be "Piggy Lee"...and this puppet looks AMAZINGLY like a pig version of Peggy Lee. Seriously, try this sometime...get a picture of Peggy Lee and draw pig ears and a snout on it and VOILA - a picture of season one Miss Piggy! I also love Richard Hunt's variation of the Piggy character in this scene! I do think Oz had the better characterization, but Hunt's Piggy is still such a blast to watch whenever he performs her this first year! Kermit's also fun to watch in this scene between his little nod as Fozzie realizes they're being silent and his expression after Fozzie cracks his first joke.

14:27 - Fozzie's second wife joke this episode! And come episode 18 and he'll be shy of doing wife jokes because he doesn't really have one and considers it a lie!

15:30 - Even though it was one of the first things seen in the unaired first episode - this is the first time we actually get to see Fozzie interacting with Statler and Waldorf...or for that matter S&W actually addressing the people onstage instead of talking to each other. S&W heckling Fozzie, to me at least, is one of those iconic images or moments that spring to mind when thinking of The Muppet Show. It's actually pretty cool that for the "first" time the hecklers cut into Fozzie's act it's per his prompting - he invited audience participation! Unfortunately for Fozzie, they'll still continue to interupt his monologues even when he doesn't invite them to do so.

16:55 - Aside from Kermit, Rowlf was the only other existing big star going into The Muppet Show via his years on the Jimmy Dean Show. Here he stars in a comedy sketch as the writers are looking for things for him to do aside from being the piano player and singing funny songs. Two more episodes from now he'll star in another comedy sketch (also with Miss Piggy), "Veteranarian's Hospital" which would become one of the most famous of the show's recurring sketches. If Vet's Hospital ended up being a one-shot, i'd bet they would have kept coming up with different sketches for Rowlf to do.

This is a hilarious sketch though - too bad the US had to wait so long to see it...a wonderful combination of classic British humor and classic Muppet humor. Plus we have Miss Piggy eaten by a monster in a sketch during one of the show's first episodes. This would happen to her again in a sketch during one of the final episodes (Carol Burnett)

19:18 - Cut Scene #3 - second News Flash:

"Here's a Muppet News Flash. Dateline: Brooklyn, New York. A Harry Oblong, a retired New York City bus driver, said that he is holding that state as a hostage and will not release it until he is paid 50 million dollars in cash. Mr. Oblong, whom state officials say 'is not playing with a full deck' says that he will not disclose the whereabouts of the state of New York, but does say that it has enough food and water to last for ten more days."

Here's what's really interesting. Before this segment begins, there's another one frame editing gaffe like the one in the theme song where Kermit in front of the curtain is seen before the News Flash. And it looks like he's about to introduce the Great Gonzo which is the scene after the news sketch. So was the News Flash a last minute post-production placement that got taken back out when a different master representing the 25 1/2 minute episode assembled? It would be interesting to find out the story behind the editing of this episode.

20:15 - Aside from the talk spots, all of Joel's acts are with Gonzo.

21:35 - Head showing between the male pig and the chorus girl.

21:55 - ...and again between Nigel and Crazy Harry (best seen in the top picture). Since there weren't as many Muppets at this stage, this chorus is made up of characters like Animal and Crazy Harry that would later rarely be seen in such a capacity - and certainly very sedate! Watching this now, it's actually reminding me of the "Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson" arc of Boom!'s Muppet Show Comic Book where Animal starts dressing in tuxes and acts less like ...well ... an animal!

22:37 - Muppet versions of the guest is now gone and replaced with Muppets coming out for a curtain call. A better ending perhaps, but i would have loved to see Muppet versions of Avery Schreiber, Phyllis Diller, and Mummenschanz!

23:42 - You can barely see him, but Beautiful Day Monster is behind Fozzie.

Since debuting the new feature "Watch Along with a Muppet Freak" doing a commentary on the first episode of The Muppet Show, it seems only obvious that i should follow that up with a Watch Along on the second episode of The Muppet Show.

But that would be just too obvious and predictable, so instead i present my analysis of how The Salem Witch Trials may have differed if they had aired on C-SPAN and were heavily covered by Fox News.

Unfortunately this scary chick named Taminella is threatening me with popovers so on we go with a look at The Muppet Show Guest Starring Connie Stevens.

Now unlike the Juliet Prowse episode, i have not seen the original edit of this second pilot episode, but i can make very educated guesses as to what bits were new and which came from the original taping, but first we have a great opening theme...

:15 - How cool is it to hear Kermit refer to Ernie and Bert as "special guest stars"?

1:26 - The dvd "Muppet Morsels" read "Many celebrities were cautious about appearing on a 'puppet show' so the production team had to rely on professional friendships to book the stars." So, there you have it; an explanation of how Ernie and Bert got booked!

2:00 - Lydia the Tattooed Lady was always a big hit with my Muppet loving friends in high school. My best friend had no radio in his car so we would often pass the time driving by singing favorite songs and this is one we would frequently croon!

2:45 - Check out Animal's reaction to Lydia's shaking her assets!

3:00 - If you ever wondered how to make a puppet bellydance, here's your answer! This is what makes the Muppets so great - this number's a perfect example of things puppets can get away with that humans have a harder time pulling off!

3:20 - I've always been intrigued by Lydia's "hooves" and wondered if that's how Miss Piggy's hands would look if they weren't covered by evening gloves. However she's seen enough without gloves in the first season that the answer is no...but then again we don't know how much cosmetic surgery Piggy's had! Just a thought on the subject of tattooes...is it just me or does it seem that (at least in the United States), we've reached the point where the majority of the population have tattooes these days? I'd actually really love to get the statistics on this and how it varies from ten years ago?

3:37 - Okay, it's tempting to feast your eyes on Kermit and Piggy here, but check out Lydia instead - she does that little innocent bow to Piggy and then just GLIDES off set in that nifty way pretty much only Muppets (or cartoon characters) can!

4:55 - This must be The Swedish Chef's best recipe as he's served (literally) meatballs like this on at least three seperate occasions...here, The Muppets Go Hollywood, and America's Funniest Videos.

5:00 - It's always hilarious watching people who do subtitles for dvds or what have you try to transcribe the Chef's mock Swedish. The dvd has him saying "English word der Swedish meatballs."

5:25 - the sound effect totally sells the gag as the meatballs don't seem all that bouncy without it. On the subject of meatballs, when i was real young, Animal's nose always reminded me of a big meatball.

5:35 - Apparently Wayne and Wanda share a dressing room with Fozzie. Of course throughout the Muppet Show's run, the dressing room doors are always belonging to different people based on the necessity of a scene, but it's always fun spotting when this changes within an episode! Of course due to this scene being from the original version and the teddy bear backstage plot being an add-on, note how the interior of the dressing room changes too! Here it looks as if there's brick walls and gaudy looking curtains.

6:00 - This is one of those rare times we hear Wanda speak rather than sing (using the term "sing" loosely of course)

6:11 - one of my favorite little details on the backstage set: look how much dirtier it is around the control panel on the wall...now that's really true to life!

6:56 - Wonder if Jimmy McAfee was just a name the writers came up with or if that was actually one of Connie's high school boyfriends? If so, what did he think about being immortalized on The Muppet Show?

8:45 - the middle Mutation has sharper dance moves than the others (bet that's why he's in the middle!)

10:07 - that sliding panel on the side door's one of my favorite elements of the set - how often do we see that in reality?

10:28 - a rare first season At the Dance where George and Mildred dance with different people. Not only is Janice wearing Zoot's hat but look how ... uh ... into each other they are? Could you do that in a ballroom in 1976 without attracting the attention of staff?

10:50 - All the members of The Electric Mayhem are dancing except Floyd. He must be the one playing the gig!

11:10 - Not often you hear Floyd singing that low; almost a different voice, but not as dramatically different as it is in Mr. Bassman.

13:04 - There it is - the big dramatic leg crossing mentioned in my last commentary.

14:00 - look how freaky Fozzie's eyes looked in that first incarnation...the pupils are too small. Compare the size of Fozzie and Connie's heads...nearly identical which helps sell the believability of the Muppets and makes it easier to forget about them being puppets.

14:20 - Of course the curse of being a Henson Freak is that i can't ever hear this song now without thinking of that haunting MirrorMask version!

15:07 - Whew! Now we're back to better looking Fozzie eyes...and a very different dressing room design that what we glimpsed earlier.

15:10 - That book Fozzie packs is called "Better Jokes for Bears" - look real close as Fozzie puts it in his bag and you can see a sketch of Fozzie on the cover that looks like Jim drew it.

15:50 - SAX AND VIOLENCE! Now for me, this is this episode's "Tempation" - the bit that makes the whole episode worth watching and that gets me rolling over laughing no matter how many times i watch it. The real beauty of this piece is that once the music starts, the whole thing is essentially puppet pantamime and all the comedy comes solely through the movement, reactions, and "expressions" of the puppets! This is such a masterpiece in more ways than one.

16:20 - Zoot gets lots of stage time this episode! This is his third onstage act! Now in addition to his pigs in last episode's Temptation number, here's a splendid example of how gifted Dave Goelz was as a puppeteer when he at this point was only with The Muppets for two years and not having done a lot onscreen at this point aside from specials/guest spots. He and Jim are totally carrying this piece with their puppetry skills. Dave is doing stuff as pretty much a fresh newbie that others aren't able to pull off after a decade of experience. I really could go on and on about how brilliant Henson and Goelz do with this bit...but i'll just say watch this thing three times: once watching the puppets play off each other, the other just watching Mahna Mahna and the third just watching Zoot!

17:15 - Yeah, this is very definately a visual piece, but it's such a cool instrumental that it got included on the original Muppet Show Soundtrack album! Might seem bizarre, but it is fun to just listen to!

17:45 - Though mostly known for the song Mahna Mahna, the character/puppet did other things and made other appearances too. (And here, i'm just referring to the "Classic Muppet" Mahna Mahna and not his "Sesame" variant who sang a good number of songs). Aside from the times he popped up as a background Muppet, all of his major appearances - Mahna Mahna, Sax and Violence, and Wild String Quartet on the Ed Sullivan Show - have one common thread: the character trying to interject his own unique musical spin on someone else's gig. If Mahna Mahna has a "hook", that would be it more than just his popping up and saying "Mahna Mahna". The guy does speak actual English after all even though fans tend to characterize him as not being able to say anything else. ("Don't you realize we are playing Beethoven?" "Oh yeah, who's winning?")

20:00 - Watch for Jim's head when The Newsman attempts to pick up the phone.

20:10 - Now this shot where Kermit introduces Ernie and Bert as the curtain opens to reveal the pair is really strange. I don't know why they would be but it seems as if the puppeteers are in some very odd uncomfortable position because the puppetry looks very strange as if no one has good control over their puppet. Obviously, someone else is doing either Kermit or Ernie is this shot besides Jim who's doing the other character but BOTH look like it's someone other than Jim because the puppetry's so weird and Bert also looks off - but once the camera cuts to a tighter shot, we're back to "normal".

20:45 - When you have puppets with such minimalistic designs as Ernie and Bert, it makes duplicating them especially hard because any difference in shape or placement of a feature, color or texture of fabric, and so forth changes the whole overall look. (A fun exercise in this is to draw a whole bunch of "smiley faces" - betcha most will look a bit different even though you're duplicating a very simple pattern with not much to draw!) The Ernie and Bert puppets used here are probably my favorite puppets in the 40 year history of the pair in terms of how they look overall.

21:38 - That is one fancy tux! Most Muppet tuxedos aren't that spiffy!

23:30 - If you're not a One Life to Live fan, you won't appreciate this, but if you are you'll TOTALLY smile in recognition reading about this. Look at Connie's ending pose at the top of the stairs. In between the hair, the pose, and the dress that is just about a PERFECT match of the mural of Roxanne Balsom inside of Foxy Roxy's! Even before they introduced that setting, Roxy always reminded me of an older alchoholic version of Connie Stevens but when i saw Chris Vega painting that portrait, that was just the biggest case of deja vu!

24:20 - Another so-perfect-it's-scary Muppet likeness of a guest. Tell me both Connies' hair wasn't made by the same person!

25:00 - "John Bottoms - Special Muppet Dancing" - he had to have been the one inside the center Mutation!