Why The Muppet Show Ruled

While the Muppets were never truly gone, Jim Henson's classic creations have certainly been out of the spotlight for awhile. But with their wonderful return to movie theaters this week, in The Muppets, we're once again reminded of just how great the Muppets are.

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The Muppets can be traced back to the mid-1950s, and made appearances on several TV shows through the years – but it was the 1976 debut of The Muppet Show that cemented their place in pop culture history. For those of us who grew up with the series (which ran originally until 1981, but then continued to play in syndication for years, allowing more than one generation to partake in Muppetness), The Muppet Show was essential TV viewing, as each episode, a different guest would take part in the wacky antics at the Muppet Theater.

So what was it that made The Muppet Show so very special and allows it to hold up to this day? Here are some of the standout elements…

No one would have cared so much about The Muppet Show if they didn't care about the Muppets themselves. While several Muppets, notably Kermit and Rowlf, were created years earlier, The Muppet Show gave them a much bigger chance to shine, while bringing in a huge and wonderful group of characters around them. Rather than dull archetypes you might find on other kids shows, the Muppets felt fully formed – from the terrible yet good-natured jokes of Fozzie Bear, to the prima donna ways of Miss Piggy to the overly stern and smug Sam Eagle, viewers felt they knew these guys… and wanted to spend more time with them.

One of the great things about the Muppets characters were how genuine and well-rounded they felt – yeah, Kermit was usually a pretty even-tempered dude. But watch him absolutely lose it with Miss Piggy when she took things one step too far.

A lot of the guest stars for The Muppet Show would have been right at home on any of the other popular comedy/musical/variety shows of the era – people like The Brady Bunch's Florence Henderson, The Carol Burnett Show's Harvey Korman and Bob Hope. But it also was clear that the producers of The Muppet Show were willing to reach out to more atypical guests for a "kids" show - and that those people were happy to be on the series. Hence, episodes featuring the likes of Alice Cooper, John Cleese, Sylvester Stallone and Debbie Harry. And in a trifecta of geek nirvana, episodes featuring the cast of Star Wars, Christopher Reeve and Lynda Carter all aired in a row.

Guest stars on The Muppet Show were clearly having the time of their life, and that was pretty infectious to watch. You must check out this clip from the Star Wars episode below, to see a very amped up Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

From heartfelt songs like "Bein' Green" to covers of everything from "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", The Muppets had a ton of great musical performances – sometimes on their own, sometimes aided by their guest stars, such as Elton John, who performed several of his late 70s hits on the show, all given new, Muppet-enhanced life.

Then of course was the iconic and instantly recognizable Muppet Show theme song… and another song that, while performed by Muppets on earlier TV appearances, had its most memorable (and awesome) version debut just a few minutes into the very first episode of The Muppet Show.

The Muppet Show was aimed at kids and families, but Jim Henson and his collaborators knew that didn't mean you had to talk down to the kids and that there was no reason you couldn't throw in jokes aimed at adults who caught the show. All of the Muppet characters were funny – Asked about his potential romantic interest in Miss Piggy, Kermit once replied, "With a napkin, knife and fork is the only way I'm touching pork." But it's hard not to hold a special place in our hearts for Statler and Waldorf, the two permanently curmudgeonly, permanently heckling old men who sat in the Muppet Theater's balcony.

These two had so many great lines and great bits, but a particularly standout segment had to be when the legendary Milton Berle was on The Muppet Show and found himself facing off with two guys who were ready for verbal war.

Funny, sweet, musical and memorable all at once, The Muppet Show had it all. Here's a bit with Fozzie and Rowlf show just how that amazing alchemy worked.


Plus, any show that gave the world Beaker is one I am eternally grateful for.


What are your favorite memories from The Muppet Show? Let us know in the comments!
Eric Goldman is the Executive Editor of IGN TV and really hopes that all of the new Muppet hype leads to Season 4 and Season 5 of The Muppet Show finally being released on DVD! You can follow him on Twitter at @EricIGN.

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