Some of America's Funniest Comedians Shine on The Muppet Show

Columbia/Tri-Star is still ever-so-slowly trickling out releases of The Muppet Show on DVD. So slow that it pains me. Time-Life released these same DVDs in a series of 15, giving us 45 of the 120 episodes from The Muppet Show’s five-year run. Columbia/Tri-Star, like Mrs. Butterworth, is taking their own sweet time, and has given us seven DVDs over the last three years. That hurts.

Volume Five is one of the best, and has some unforgettable Muppet Moments. It includes two episodes that completely break the format of The Muppet Show, and performances from three comic geniuses—people who were at their prime when these episodes were made.

The three episodes’ Very Special Guest Stars are Steve Martin, Carol Burnett, and Gilda Radner. Three of my favorite funny people, and people I want my children to be familiar with because I have such fond memories of growing up with them.

The Steve Martin episode starts off with the announcement that the show has been canceled—due to a miscommunication between Kermit and Martin’s agent, he shows up to perform on a night that Kermit and some of the other Muppets are auditioning new acts. This gives us some great acts that we only see this one time, and in this second season of The Muppet Show, the characters have become familiar enough that we see some self-parody. Fozzie wrings his hand at the prospect of Kermit finding a better act than his horrible comedy. When a funny dog, Baskerville the Hound, comes on stage wearing a pink polka-dotted tie (like Fozzie) a porkpie hat (like Fozzie) and telling funny jokes (unlike Fozzie), Fozzie takes matters into his own paws and yanks the dog off the stage. Kermit tells him he’s taking it too personally, until a lime green lizard gets up and tries his hand at hosting the show. Kermit has the pretender yanked. Steve Martin decides since he’s already there, he’ll entertain the Muppets, and basically puts on his then stand-up routine. It includes balloon animals, a few songs on the banjo, and is pretty funny, but Martin is actually funnier in his one-on-one time with the Muppets than in his stand-up bit. A few more Muppet moments from this episode: Marvin Suggs and his singing fruit performing "Yes, We Have No Bananas,” and Statler and Waldorf FREED from their Balcony to perform a softshoe number—The Varsity Rag. Fozzie Bear occupies the balcony and heckles them. He doesn’t do a very good job.

The Muppet Show writers won their first Emmy for writing the Carol Burnett episode, and like the Steve Martin episode, it breaks the traditional format of the program. In this case, Kermit turned the reins over to Gonzo of all people (people?) to let him have a dance marathon. Burnett arrives in the middle of it and is furious—she threatens to leave several times, giving her some great scenery-chewing and frog-throttling moments. Through the entire dance marathon, there are attempts to have the traditional Muppet Show bits, like Pigs in Space, but all are done while the characters are dancing. Carol just wants the show to be over so she can perform her “lonely asparagus” sketch, but she gets the chance to sing several songs—quite well, for someone I don’t normally consider a singer. Carol Burnett is at her best here, and her delivery and the script they had to work with are both beautiful—especially considering such a hackneyed premise.

The third episode on the DVD is with the late Gilda Radner, and she’s in her prime here and simply radiant. She duets with a seven-foot tall carrot, singing a piece from “Pirates of Penzance,” is a victim of a superglue experiment gone awry with Bunsen and Beaker, and tap-dances her troubles away…even though some of her troubles include being glued to a giant slinky, Beaker, pieces of the stage, the set, and eventually most of the Muppets. It’s a great episode, and includes some great Muppet moments, like a Muppet melodrama starring Miss Piggy and the rarely seen Uncle Deadly. Another fine moment is a performance of “Witch Doctor” by Marvin Suggs and his Muppephones—those little balls of fur that cry out when you strike them viciously with a mallet. Nice.

All three episodes are great—there are some Muppet guest stars who don’t necessarily work well with the Muppets, but these three comedians really shine here. There are some Muppet sketches that I skip over with the DVD remote—but everything in all three episodes is not only unskippable, but is downright hilarious. If you’re a fan of any of these three stars, or of the Muppets, you can’t pass this one up. Bring home a Muppet tonight.