I actually have an opposite idea regarding the Steve Martin episode. I would've liked to see him interact more with the characters, and I felt he did too much of his usual act. That's all he did, basically: bits from his stand-up act. I like the bit where he comes out in a bathrobe at the beginning of the show, how apparently that's his costume for the big number, and I always wondered what that number was supposed to be. "Splish Splash", maybe? (Incidentally, that's why I used that in my Buddy Hackett outline, set around the same time as the Steve Martin episode).
I have two picks for most disappointing; one was a disappointment based on my expectations, the other I just thought was the worst episode of the series.
Worst based on expectations: Leo Sayer
I also was a devotee of the Playhouse video series, and loved Leo's "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" in "Rock Music with the Muppets". Once I knew more about the structure of the show, I thought that that song was the closing number, and "When I Need You" the opener. It made sense, not only because they were ordered that way on the video, but because that way, night follows day, they end on a high note (literally and figuratively), and the jokey one, "When I Need You", heads off the show rather than closes it, which is more in keeping with the way they did things. Closing numbers were either big production numbers or small, sentimental songs; "When I Need You" is a sentimental song made humorous by a comedy motif, trying to get Leo out of a tree.
I read in a fan-made series outline that the numbers were actually in the other order, and I didn't believe it. Sure enough, it was correct. The show begins on it's highest note and it's peak of energy, and everything that follows pales in comparison. "The Show Must Go On" is close, energy-wise, to "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing", I'll admit. The problem is that the show is all downhill from the opening, made more obvious by the very real problem with the rest of the episode.
The plot revolves around the introduction of Annie Sue, and all the stuff outside of Leo's material, both on-stage and backstage, features Kermit, Piggy, and Annie Sue. All the acts include one or more of them, and the backstage scenes feature them EXCLUSIVELY. It's as though half the show uses a full cast and the rest uses little more than three characters (five including Rowlf & Fozzie). Plus, coming off of Leo's modern rock numbers, we have an old-fashioned song and dance, a poetry recitation, and Fozzie's memory act- all staples of vaudeville. Coming off of Leo's energy we find a very sluggish, slow-paced backstage story made ever-slower by the contrast. For that, it feels like two episodes combined: the first, an energetic, big-scale, visually impressive third season episode; the second, a sparsely populated, minimalist, and vaudevillian early second season episode that lacks regular features and forward motion to the storyline.
This episode could've been fixed very easily by doing three simple things:
1) switch the opening and closing numbers so that the show builds to its peak and has a sense of forward momentum
2) add in some regular features, like Muppet News, Vet's Hospital, or Pigs in Space, to bridge the gap between the ultra-modern rock numbers and the antiquated vaudeville acts
3) re-work the storyline into an actual arc that incites continued interest from the audience, rises and falls, and ends at a natural conclusion instead of just stopping
"The Muppet Show" has always been great at making contrast work in its favor; coupling acts, ideas, sketches, and stars that no one would ever associate with one another. This is one thing that gave TMS its vitality and made each episode interesting. Here, the show is pushed into two different extremes with nothing to buffer the schism between them, and the result is off-putting. Maybe that's why they switched the order of Leo's numbers in that compilation video?
Worst of the series: Joan Baez
It is, of course, an attempt to re-work the storyline from the Loretta Swit episode. In each, a principal character makes a mistake that threatens their continued employment on "The Muppet Show", and each rift is mended by the end of thirty minutes. The reason it worked with Piggy is two-fold: one, she was very clearly characterized by that time and the audience already had an emotional investment in her; and two, the plot grew out of elements that were in keeping with what we knew to be true of the characters. In other words, it was sincere.
Bo was a newer character that they tried, unsuccessfully, to find a hook for, and it shows here. The very foundation the plot is built on- Kermit's annoyance with the rats- is in complete contrast with information already revealed to us in previous episodes. In the Christopher Reeve episode, Kermit defends the rats to Sam, telling him and the audience that they fulfill a specific function in the theater. So why are they suddenly unwelcome? It's a false premise and completely forced, so it follows that everything else is similarly insincere and groundless. The story isn't that funny, either, and Bo was not only not as popular with audiences, but his character was less specific. Mainly we know he's good-hearted but dim-witted, so his actions, while they may be appropriate to his character, are hardly demanded. Piggy's reactions to the various turns of plot in the previous episode are very specific to her character, very expected, very appropriate. We know what Piggy's going to do in any given situation moreso than Bo. An attempt to explore his character would've been better served had it not been intended for dramatic purposes. A more benign exploration of his character would've worked better than an attempt to drum up sympathy for someone we don't know very well.
Then there's the fragmentation of the plot itself. First, the rats want food. Then Rizzo wants to join the crew of Pigs in Space. Then the rats are planning to take over. It lacks focus in something that's already not working.
Finally there's the preachiness of the whole thing. In the cold opening, Joan says "at least you're unbiased around here". In the opening number, the animals bemoan pollution. Joan sermonizes in her own hippie way in "Honest Lullabye". Rizzo meets with discrimination in Pigs in Space. In her dressing room, Joan preaches non-violence to the rats, referencing Gandhi. Finally, Joan convinces Kermit to let the rats stay, going back to the 'unbiased' motif of the cold opening and a 'room for us all' message that gets wrapped up in the closing number "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" Could they shove anything more down our throats in 25 minutes?
Preachy, forced, and lacking in sincerity, specific characterization and even character consistency, this surely represented, at the time, a nadir in Muppet writing. Sadly, in recent times, this has become more commonplace in projects like "Muppets Tonight" and especially "Kermit's Swamp Years" and "Muppets Wizard of Oz".
Please respond with your thoughts. I put a lot into this post.
David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole
Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Back to the Rock Season 2
Sesame Street Season 54
The Muppets Mayhem premieres
Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
