Was the muppet show meant to be structured?

[minor muppetz]

I have noticed that the first two episodes of The Muppet Show seemed to have some sort of structure. Was the show meant to have a set order of how the show was run? It does seem a bit odd that there would be a structure in the first two episodes since they were refilmed after later first season episodes were filmed.

Anyway, this is what the order seems like:
opening number
backstage scene
a muppet act (gonzo eats a tire/ The swedish Chef: meatballs)
another backstage scene, starting with just muppets, then with the guets star eventually entering and talking to Kermit (in a purple tux) before their first act.
the guest stars first act.
At The Dance
u.k. spot
talk spot
another backstage scene
a big act (cowboy time/ sax and violence)
a short act (zoot talking to juliet prowse/ gonzos violin act)
a backstage scene, concluding the plot
another act (simon smith and his amazing dancing bear/ muppet news)
the closing number
Kermit gives the guets star a muppet likeness

Has anybody noticed this before? Of course, with some exceptions, the show would end up normally having At The Dance right before the commercial break (although the Joel Grey and Ruth Buzzi episodes, the first two non-pilots, had At The Dance right after the first backstage scene), the U.K. Spot right after the commercial break (with the exception of the Joel Grey episode), and then a talk spot.

 

[David French]

If you look at most episodes, they seem to follow a structure of one kind or another - usually the Guest Star does their opening number after the Opening Act although they are sometimes the Opening Act. The Closing Number is just about always the Guest Star's last number as well.

You would have to ask the writers if they followed a certain set of rules in when writing each script or whether that was just an editing decision.