Episodes you wanted to like (but for whatever reason, didn't)

Gorgon Heap

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When I was growing up, my local video rental had the Playhouse "Muppet Home Video" series, which were one-hour 'greatest hits' compilations of sketches and songs from TMS. This gave me a big build-up for certain bits I had a fondness for, dreaming of the day I'd see that episode (and all the others, for that matter). Certain episodes didn't live up to my expectations:

-Zero Mostel: I loved his "Fears" poem, but he just seemed so distant and uninvolved throughout, it was easy to forget he was there. Also, the triple story threads of Statler & Waldorf watching TV, Sam trying to make the show cultural, and Kermit being forced to book lady wrestlers- I think it was handled well enough but coupling it with the disconnect between the backstage and onstage happenings, it leaves the show feeling splintered.

-Cheryl Ladd: I always see that picture of her and Sweetums in front of that blue background, she's in her red outfit with her hair up just like in her number with Piggy, and I ask myself "where did this come from? It's not in the show!" I used to ask myself, "Boy, I wonder what happens in THAT number?" Aside from that, the show has one plot in the first half (Fozzie's self-improvement kick) and a different one in the second half (Gonzo's hypnotism act), but neither one is complete, so the episode itself feels incomplete (to me, at least).

-Mac Davis: it would be one thing if the Beaker clones did something other than chase Bunsen around for 20 minutes and invade the stage every few minutes. If it actually informed the relationship between Bunsen and Beaker, or in some way comprised an actual story rather than just a running gag, then I think the episode would be more satisfying. As it was, it wasn't.

-Leo Sayer: this one takes the cake. I loved his two numbers featured in "Rock Music with the Muppets": "When I Need You", with Leo up a tree and woodland creatures trying to get him down"; and especially "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing", featuring Leo, Fletcherbird and the Bird Dancers accompanied by the Electric Mayhem. I thought "man, that's one GREAT closing number!" Turns out, it was the opening number. One of the most energetic numbers in the show's history, and it's spent in the first five minutes, leaving the rest of the show to suffer in comparison. And suffer it does, because the rest of the show (UK Spot and Leo's dressing room scene excepted) features a TOTAL of FIVE characters. In each of the production numbers, we saw twice that many. With Leo's scene, the show total's 7 characters outside of Leo's acts and the UK Spot. The (slow-paced and frequent) backstage scenes feature the central 3- Kermit, Piggy, and Annie Sue- with short appearances by the other two. Where'd everybody go? On top of that, the sketches that populate the non-guest star numbers are rickety, antique-y solos by Annie Sue (a song-and-dance #), Piggy (a poetry recitation), and a memory act (by Fozzie). There's nothing to bridge the modern rock numbers with the old-fashioned vaudeville acts (bridging being something that TMS is usually brilliant at). The addition of a regular sequence, like Muppet News or Vets Hospital, could've worked wonders here. For that matter, it feels like two shows: the first a very energetic, colorful, big-scale third season episode; the second, a small, lurchingly-paced, early second season episode that hasn't got it's footing.

What are yours?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole
 

Princeton

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Well, as far as Mac Davis is concerned, I used to love that episode, but Mac looks a little bit too much like my romantic rival in high school.

- Spike Milligan: When I heard that this episode was on YouTube , I was over the moon about it, but when I saw it, I felt strangely cheated. I thought "They raise our hopes of seeing a long-lost TMS ep, and the end result is THIS?"
-Roger Moore: I expected the former Bond to be just that: James Bond! And
apart from "Slow Boat To China", you don't see him that much. The only other time that you do, he sings a song from "Doctor Doolittle"!
-Harry Belefonte: He was, plainly and simply, too darn serious! Being on TMs would be the thrill of a lifetime for me, but aparrently he didn't feel that way. Come to think of it, I can't think of one time he smiled. Plus, Fozzie ruined "Day-O", a song I came to love since its inclusion in Beetlejuice.
-John Cleese: This is a favorite of many, but I don't get all the hoopla about it. Like I said, I would love to have been on TMS, but although he was on it, he didn't like it. Some may say "Maybe he thought it was too weird". Well, if that's the case, he's an adult, he needs to deal with it like one!
 

minor muppetz

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Princeton said:
-John Cleese: This is a favorite of many, but I don't get all the hoopla about it. Like I said, I would love to have been on TMS, but although he was on it, he didn't like it. Some may say "Maybe he thought it was too weird". Well, if that's the case, he's an adult, he needs to deal with it like one!
Actually, John Cleese did like being on the show. In fact, he was so excited about being a guest star that he wanted to help with the writing, and I believe that his excitement over being the guest is what made the writers come up with the idea of him desperately not wanting to be on the show. He was just acting when he didn't want to be on the show.
 

TheJimHensonHour

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Gorgon Heap said:
When I was growing up, my local video rental had the Playhouse "Muppet Home Video" series, which were one-hour 'greatest hits' compilations of sketches and songs from TMS. This gave me a big build-up for certain bits I had a fondness for, dreaming of the day I'd see that episode (and all the others, for that matter). Certain episodes didn't live up to my expectations:

-Zero Mostel: I loved his "Fears" poem, but he just seemed so distant and uninvolved throughout, it was easy to forget he was there. Also, the triple story threads of Statler & Waldorf watching TV, Sam trying to make the show cultural, and Kermit being forced to book lady wrestlers- I think it was handled well enough but coupling it with the disconnect between the backstage and onstage happenings, it leaves the show feeling splintered.

-Cheryl Ladd: I always see that picture of her and Sweetums in front of that blue background, she's in her red outfit with her hair up just like in her number with Piggy, and I ask myself "where did this come from? It's not in the show!" I used to ask myself, "Boy, I wonder what happens in THAT number?" Aside from that, the show has one plot in the first half (Fozzie's self-improvement kick) and a different one in the second half (Gonzo's hypnotism act), but neither one is complete, so the episode itself feels incomplete (to me, at least).

-Mac Davis: it would be one thing if the Beaker clones did something other than chase Bunsen around for 20 minutes and invade the stage every few minutes. If it actually informed the relationship between Bunsen and Beaker, or in some way comprised an actual story rather than just a running gag, then I think the episode would be more satisfying. As it was, it wasn't.

-Leo Sayer: this one takes the cake. I loved his two numbers featured in "Rock Music with the Muppets": "When I Need You", with Leo up a tree and woodland creatures trying to get him down"; and especially "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing", featuring Leo, Fletcherbird and the Bird Dancers accompanied by the Electric Mayhem. I thought "man, that's one GREAT closing number!" Turns out, it was the opening number. One of the most energetic numbers in the show's history, and it's spent in the first five minutes, leaving the rest of the show to suffer in comparison. And suffer it does, because the rest of the show (UK Spot and Leo's dressing room scene excepted) features a TOTAL of FIVE characters. In each of the production numbers, we saw twice that many. With Leo's scene, the show total's 7 characters outside of Leo's acts and the UK Spot. The (slow-paced and frequent) backstage scenes feature the central 3- Kermit, Piggy, and Annie Sue- with short appearances by the other two. Where'd everybody go? On top of that, the sketches that populate the non-guest star numbers are rickety, antique-y solos by Annie Sue (a song-and-dance #), Piggy (a poetry recitation), and a memory act (by Fozzie). There's nothing to bridge the modern rock numbers with the old-fashioned vaudeville acts (bridging being something that TMS is usually brilliant at). The addition of a regular sequence, like Muppet News or Vets Hospital, could've worked wonders here. For that matter, it feels like two shows: the first a very energetic, colorful, big-scale third season episode; the second, a small, lurchingly-paced, early second season episode that hasn't got it's footing.

What are yours?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole
you know that last bit about it all not flowing..yea I think thats why Jim didn't want to do the show anymore..just a thought though.
 

Da Dogster

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TheJimHensonHour said:
you know that last bit about it all not flowing..yea I think thats why Jim didn't want to do the show anymore..just a thought though.
WRONG!!!!!
I gew up with the Muppets What had Happened is That After a good 5yrs run. He wanted to do movies and he had other Ideas so Jim wanted to end the show with The Muppets remaining fresh. He wanted to do Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal and many more Muppet Movies at the time.
 

TheJimHensonHour

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Da Dogster said:
WRONG!!!!!
I gew up with the Muppets What had Happened is That After a good 5yrs run. He wanted to do movies and he had other Ideas so Jim wanted to end the show with The Muppets remaining fresh. He wanted to do Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal and many more Muppet Movies at the time.
isn't that what I just said more or less? and this coming from the guy as Wuzzup as a quote *shesh*:smile:
 

Da Dogster

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TheJimHensonHour said:
isn't that what I just said more or less? and this coming from the guy as Wuzzup as a quote *shesh*:smile:
been away for too long.
 

Drtooth

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minor muppetz said:
Actually, John Cleese did like being on the show. In fact, he was so excited about being a guest star that he wanted to help with the writing, and I believe that his excitement over being the guest is what made the writers come up with the idea of him desperately not wanting to be on the show. He was just acting when he didn't want to be on the show.
Exactly. And if he didn't like being on the show, why would he have had that cameo in GMC?

I'm just disappointed other Pythons weren't on the show. Eric Idle would have been perfect. In fact, when Eric Idle was a Guest voice on Buzz Lightyer, he even wrote and performed a song.
 

Gorgon Heap

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Princeton said:
Well, as far as Mac Davis is concerned, I used to love that episode, but Mac looks a little bit too much like my romantic rival in high school.

- Spike Milligan: When I heard that this episode was on YouTube , I was over the moon about it, but when I saw it, I felt strangely cheated. I thought "They raise our hopes of seeing a long-lost TMS ep, and the end result is THIS?"
What was it you didn't like about this one?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole
 

Princeton

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Gorgon Heap said:
What was it you didn't like about this one?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole
Just how our hopes were raised when we heard that a longlost episode would be available for the general public to view, and it just turned out to be very disapointing for me. I dunno, I guess I was expecting too much.
 
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