Your Thoughts: The Muppet Show Season 3

[bazooka_beak]

After finishing my DVD set, I noticed a lot of the musical numbers from this season were featured in some 80s TV specials that I rented as a kid (there's one where Piggy and Kermit are out dining and talk about the show, that I remember).

Yeah, I thought something was a little "off" about the Milligan episode.

 

[Skekayuk]

I think you mean "Carbon Paper" from the Leo Sayer episode. Yes I know about Frank Oz performing Annie Sue in that number while Louise did the singing. I read about it in Muppet Wiki.

It's definately Frank Oz puppeteering Annie Sue on Carbon Paper. About six years ago (back in November 2002), someone brought this up on one of the Muppet forums (possibly here on Muppet Central, or maybe over on TP). Well by around the same time The Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust were staging Cole Porter's 'DuBarry Was A Lady', which I happened to be going to see,. I hung round the stage door of theatre after the concert and spoke to that show's leading lady, Louise Gold, and asked her about that number and she said that Frank Oz had puppeteered it.

 

[CBPuppets]

Other than the audio drops I can't wait to see Muppets on Puppets!

 

[Dr. Bombay]

I finished watching the set yesterday and I have gotta say that out of all three seasons so far released, this one is my absolute FAVORITE! I don't know if it's because the writing is better, the performances are better or what I really think it is, is this is the season that I remember watching on TV...yes I was quite young when it was on TV (just barely turned two) but it seems that this season felt the most familiar to me. With the exception of about four episodes, a lot of these I hadn't seen in YEARS or if at all.

I liked the addition of Beauregard...I guess he's always been a favorite and it seems that Piggy is in her best here.

I have to say that the Leo Sayer episode was the worst out of the bunch but it lands itself on the far end of the scale where the rest seem to be huddled together in the cool kids group with the exception of the Spike Milligan episode. He seemed like some transient they happened to pick up outside the Muppet Theater behind the dumpsters and told him they'd give him a sandwich if he'd come in and "perform", like they had just had the regular guest star cancel.

My favorite guest stars though were:

• Pearl Bailey (I really liked her song with Floyd)
• Gilda Radner (The Muffin Show! LOL)
• Jean Stapleton because we get to see the Muppet Theater from many new angles
• Alice Cooper. He was pretty much the reason I was so excited to finally get this season as his episode is one of the first I remember seeing because I was totally scared of him when I was little and I thought it so strange that this scary man looked nothing like a girl, let alone THE girl who fell down the rabbit hole. His episode is going to become a tradition at Halloween.
• Loretta Lynn. I about died laughing when I saw that they were going to put the show on at the train station and they even had a mock up opening title! That was AWESOME!
• Raquel Welch. Hands down, the SEXIEST guest star ever to grace the show. Plus I love her and Piggy's duet.
• Harry Belafonte. It used to be that I loved this show because of the Banana Boat song, but after listening to the Muppet Cast and finding that the "Turn the World Around" song was one of Jim's favorites not to mention being sung at his service, it brings a whole new special meaning to it.
• Leslie Uggams. She is simply vivacious and how AWESOME was it that Big Bird was on TMS? Especially when he tells Piggy he's never heard of her before! LOL Plus I loved his duet with Leslie.
• Danny Kaye. This is one I remember from my childhood because I LOVED the Inchworm song and any time I saw him on TV or in a movie, I wanted to have him sing the song.
• Roger Miller. He's just a fun guy and the Muppets turning into chicken versions of themselves was SOOOO hilarious!
• Roy Rogers & Dale Evans. I just love the feel to this episode. It reminded me a lot of my now long deceased Grandpa. And how about how much Betty White looks like Dale Evans?

I really liked "the Muppets on Puppets" and find it disheartening to know that Disney couldn't have found the version with all the audio intact...and didn't I read somewhere that there is a color version of this?

I hope the future sets contain more vintage Muppet commercials.

BRING ON SEASON FOUR!

 

[Telly]

Alice Cooper was the episode my roommate was most looking forward to watching. The "Banana Boat" skit is by far one of the top five most hilarious skits on the show!

 

[rexcrk]

I got mine in the mail the other day and I've only watched a few episodes so far. I'm really liking it though.

The only problem is that the Muppet Show was way before my time (I was born in '88) so I'm not very familiar with a lot of the guests But that's alright, 'cause it's all about the Muppets for me

This is why I want them to make a new Muppet Show, so that they can have guest stars that *I'm* familiar with

 

[CensoredAlso]

I'm kinda of a retro person and probably would recognize a lot of the guests this seasons, lol. It was the first season guests that occasionally threw me, but that makes sense. I honestly can't think of too many current stars I'd want to see with them now. But that's just me.

 

[SweetMayhem]

The audio drops didn't bother me much in and of themselves, but I find it hard to believe that they couldn't have found a transcript to fill in the blanks with closed captioning. It wouldn't have taken THAT much more effort, considering that so many are reporting that there are in tact versions available.

That detail aside, I love the special, especially the crazy fractured fairytale skit.

 

[CBPuppets]

I wish I knew what they were saying during those drops.

 

[DTWolf]

Season Three Boxset in a Nutshell--negatives

Complaint #1: Like some others who've posted, I hated the Spike Milligan episode. I frowned at a few of the stereotypes, but mostly it was his endless unfunniness. His self-consciously "zany" routine did nothing for me at all.

Complaint #2: Elke Sommer should not have been given a chance to sing (twice!). Her voice wasn't actually bad to listen to--she wasn't screechy or off-key or anything--she just seemed incapable of projecting. Her voice got lost under the music. It was like her volume control was stuck at 2 while everyone else was up at 6 or 7. Compare that to Cheryl Ladd's first number--C. L. didn't have a perfect voice, but she could really belt it out, and the song was twenty times more enjoyable.

Complaint #3: Disney should've made more effort to get the missing audio for Muppets on Puppets. At the least they should've gotten the text and subtitled the missing parts.

Complaint #4: There were other episodes I found a little dull, but that's personal taste and any season of shows is going to have two or three of those.

Complaint #5: Yep, no question, the package image of the Muppets in the theatre seats is hideously bad.