Well, my birthday is six days away but I just got the best present ever. (I mean, there’s still time. You could knock my socks off with like, a big bag of Tootsie Rolls or something.)
When Disney Plus launched I wrote a blog about it, and mentioned in passing the presence of a few Muppet movies. I didn’t even reference “The Muppet Show” because I wasn’t expecting it for a while, if ever. The classic variety series had stalled on DVD after season three which for this kind of program screams “music rights issues.”*
But today! Disney Plus announced that all five seasons of “The Muppet Show” will be available for streaming February 19th. Woo-hoo! It makes me happy that this was a HUGE news story today:
I have a lot of geeky obsessions and some are weirder than others. But everybody seems to love “The Muppet Show”! I used to watch the show Wednesday nights at 7:30pm on channel 9 in Syracuse, NY. In fact, I can remember my great-grandmother Winn calling Mom to tell her those puppets I like from “Sesame Street” were on their own show now. (That’s…not exactly right but we’ll forgive it. “Sesame Street” Muppets and “Muppet Show” Muppets, Kermit aside, are different universes. Well, except that Bert, Ernie and Big Bird made guest appearance on “The Muppet Show.” Let’s not start pulling hairs.)
It is safe to say that I was one of millions of kids whose entire 1970’s was decorated, scored and bedecked with Muppets. I had the TV show AND “Muppet Movie” cast album, I had all sorts of books, I had Fisher-Price Muppet dolls and puppets, I was an official member of the “Muppet Show” Fan Club (complete with quarterly newsletter that told you such scintillating information as “Tony Randall will be a guest star next season”, and on and on and on. And I was allowed to stay up past bedtime to see the Muppets engage in lukewarm banter with Bob Hope.
I am really looking forward to seeing the show again, especially seasons four and five which haven’t been available for a good decade or more. So, to get the ball rolling on the 30-day countdown, here are my 5 Favorite “Muppet Show” Clips. (These are my favorite today. Ask again tomorrow and it may be a different five.)
- It is not outside the realm of possibility that there will be music edits to the “Muppet Show” episodes on Disney Plus. Let’s just hope Uncle Walt (or Uncle whoever) puts a serious effort into clearing things. The way I understand it, songs performed “live” are easier to clear than lip-syncs to master recordings. So I am cautiously optimistic yet guardedly pragmatic.