Features intended to become regulars?

Gorgon Heap

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We know Vet's Hospital, Pigs in Space, Muppet News, Muppet Labs, Swedish Chef etc. were regular features. Season One had a number of regular features (Wayne & Wanda, panel discussion, The Houses, Guest Star Gag) that were dropped. Season Three found the addition of lesser-used regular features Muppet Sports and Bear on Patrol.

BUT-

Is it possible that within the five-year run, we saw some features that were intended to become regulars but didn't for whatever reason? Chiefly I cite the following:

-"Muppet University": featured only in the Beverly Sills episode, Sam the Eagle lectures on microbiology to less-than-stellar results. I think they were trying this out as a new regular feature and then quickly decided that this would either turn into one of those one-joke skits (a la Wayne & Wanda) in which the outcome was too obvious OR it would be too difficult to generate funny ideas for it OR that they had enough regular features already. Maybe all of the above.

-Rowlf period sketches: "Cowboy Time" and "Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Disappearing Clues", because they aired in episodes 1 & 3, respectively, led me to believe that one such a sketch had appeared in the Connie Stevens episode- perhaps a medieval-themed sketch, or a colonial-themed sketch, or a seafarer-themed sketch ("Moby Chick"?) Perhaps more were intended, perhaps even written, but then discarded?

LMK what you think of this hypothesis, and if you can think of any others.

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole
 

minor muppetz

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Here are some that I can think of:

Rowlf's poems: There were two poems read by Rowlf during the first season, Silence (in the Paul Williams episode) and The Butterfly (in the Valerie Harper episode), both of which had the same setting. Maybe this was planned as a recurring sketch but then dropped. Then again, there was a big gap between the two sketches (an 11-episode gap).

Interviews with other characters: at the beginning of the UK spot in the raquel welch episode, Kermit says "From time to time I like to interview some of the more unusual members of The Muppet Show so that we can get to know them better....", which leads me to believe that there might have been plans to have kermit interview other characters, besides Marvin Suggs. Kermit did interview Animal two seasons earlier, in the Harvey Korman episode, but that seemed more like it was meant to be a one-time interview. Who knows what would have happened if Kermit interviewed the Zuccinni brothers, Crazy Harry, Lew Zeland, and Bobby Benson?

Kermit reports on the Planet Koozebane: it seems like the writers may have wanted Kermit to regularly report on the planet koozebane. He did a Koozebanian Mating Ritual report on the planet koozebane in the first season, and did two interviews with koozebanain creatures in season two. Maybe this was meant to be a regular feature? Then again, Kermit's interview with the Phoob was seen early in the second season, and his interview with the spooble was in the second to last episode of the second season.

Muppet Melodramas: out of the skits I've mentioned, this seems like it might have had the best chances of being a regular skit. Two melodramas were feaured, only two episodes apart, and with the same cast (Miss Piggy, Uncle Deadley, and Wayne).

Musician Jokes; The Dizzy Gillesbie episode had four of these skits with Floyd and Zoot on a bench, making some puns revolving music. These would have worked spread out among the season. Then again, they could have been filmed for multiple episodes and then included in one episode.
 

Gorgon Heap

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minor muppetz said:
Rowlf's poems: There were two poems read by Rowlf during the first season, Silence (in the Paul Williams episode) and The Butterfly (in the Valerie Harper episode), both of which had the same setting. Maybe this was planned as a recurring sketch but then dropped. Then again, there was a big gap between the two sketches (an 11-episode gap).
But I think it's obvious these two sketches were taped at the same time.

Kermit reports on the Planet Koozebane: it seems like the writers may have wanted Kermit to regularly report on the planet koozebane. He did a Koozebanian Mating Ritual report on the planet koozebane in the first season, and did two interviews with koozebanain creatures in season two. Maybe this was meant to be a regular feature? Then again, Kermit's interview with the Phoob was seen early in the second season, and his interview with the spooble was in the second to last episode of the second season.
Sheer numbers. The John Cleese episode was actually taped in between Dom DeLuise and Bernadette Peters, and while parts of the Judy Collins episode WERE taped early in Season Two (specifically, the backstage scenes, Pigs in Space, and Muppet News), Judy Collins taped her material in between Rudolf Nureyev and Elton John. This was also likely when Link's number "Talk to the Trees" was taped, possibly when the Phoob sketch was taped (hard to tell).

Muppet Melodramas: out of the skits I've mentioned, this seems like it might have had the best chances of being a regular skit. Two melodramas were feaured, only two episodes apart, and with the same cast (Miss Piggy, Uncle Deadley, and Wayne).
I'd kind of like to do one of these in a fanfic. Only problem is the two they did are exactly the same- Deadly tries to force Piggy to marry him, Wayne shows up to rescue her, notices a similarity between himself and Uncle Deadly, and joins him in that unrelated thing, leaving Piggy to fend for herself or suffer Deadly's intended fate.

Musician Jokes; The Dizzy Gillesbie episode had four of these skits with Floyd and Zoot on a bench, making some puns revolving music. These would have worked spread out among the season. Then again, they could have been filmed for multiple episodes and then included in one episode.
I would've liked to see more of them, or at least see these ones spread out.

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole
 

minor muppetz

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Here's a few more that I've thought of:

Advertising Segments from Later in the Show: In the Star Wars episode, there is a brief scene where Scooter basically advertizes his Six String Orchestra number. He is practicing the song, and in the same setting (It would be weird for that big set to be put on-stage abnd then have to be taken off-stage for just a few seconds). There was no mention of this sketch between that scene and the actual number, and no other mentions. Scooter didn't rehearse backstage. Maybe this was meant to be done more but just not. It's a bit simialr to how the opening for the Joel Grey episode had a sneak preview of a scene from the opening number. The Lynda Carter episode kind of did this with Miss Piggy forcing Kermit to announce the Wonder Pig sketch in the first introduction, buit can you imagine advertisements within the show, such as Fozzie announcing his "I've Got Rhythym" number in the Alan Arkin episode ("I've got rythym, and you can hear my rythym later tonight!"), or Senor Buffy announcing his act in the Gladys Knight episode, or maybe Bunsen advetising an invention, The Swedish Chef announcing a meal he would cook later, or Louis Kazagger advertizing a report on a sporting event?

Early Gonzo Acts: Okay, I know that Gonzo continued to do acts throughout the shows run, but in the first season, it seems like his acts were more like Wayne and Wanda's acts, being acts that were shortend, only due to either the audiences booing and/ or some other disaster. The first two episode featur Gonzo doing acts in the same setting. The first three episodes feature acts done by Gonzo that get booed shortly after he begins, though in the third episode, Joel Grey helps turn this act into a closing number. In the Lena Horne episode, Animal made the act end early, ruining it. After the first season, Gonzo started to become slightly more successful. There were still acts that ended early (Gonzo's bagpipe playing on a pole, Gonzo balancing a piano while doing a math problem), but they weren't due to him being booed by the audience. After the first season, he even got appluase for doing some dull acts (his dancing chicken act, in which the chicken doesn't even dance, got applause from the audience, albeit from TR Rooster and the chickens).

Similar Closing Numbers: the first three closing numbers have the same setting (a blue background, which sometimes changes color with lighting), and all begin with a big scene with characters talking or not singing yet. Also, in the first three episodes, the importance of the guest star keeps rising. The first closing number does not feature the guest, the second one features the guest during the middle of the act, but not really the main focus, and the last one features the guest singing for the majority of the number, but starts out as an act for Gonzo, not even introduced as the closing number. This makes me wonder if the original plan was to occassionally have guests in the closing number, just like how the guests occassionally appeared in the opening number (only four first season guest stars appeared in opening numbers).
 
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