The Muppet Show: Season 1
The charm, the zaniness, the corny jokes, the showbiz cliches--every element ofThe Muppet Showholds up 30 years after Jim Henson's legendary variety series' debut season. Well, perhaps not everything: Today's younger viewers might have a hard time placing some ofThe Muppet Show's then-guest stars, such as Florence Henderson or Ruth Buzzi. But then, theShow's real celebrities are perennial icons Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo the... whatever, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and the rest of the Muppets' harried, well-meaning family of entertainers.Season Onefinds the show pretty much in the basic shape longtime fans will remember: A musical introduction followed by backstage chaos, another musical number, a sketch, a scene with the guest star, and so on. A half-hour episode can fly by pretty quickly, but it's interesting to note that the series hadn't quite found its familiar tone through much of the first year. A reliance on too many disposable verbal jokes and redundant, so-so material for sketch fodder ultimately gives way to more creative premises and the development of key relationships between characters. By the final half-dozen episodes in the first season,The Muppet Showis truly cooking. Season highlights include Kermit's confession to guest Juliet Prowse that he always wanted to be a dancer, and Prowse's comparison of the little green superstar to Robert Redford. Joel Grey does a cabaret-style act for a roomful of Muppets and is later outraged when Kermit's introduction of the actor proves so thorough there is nothing left for the latter to say. Rita Moreno proves quite game in a funny piece, set in a French cafe, in which her dance with a man-size Muppet turns from romantic to table-smashing violent. Harvey Korman plays bumbling ringmaster Maurice the Magnificent, easily the worst animal trainer in history. Phyllis Diller bats out shameless one-liners ("I sang 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,' and it fell on me"), and Vincent Price toys with his own horror film image by playing a ghoul who turns into a maudlin orchestra conductor at midnight.--Tom KeoghStills fromThe Muppet Show(click for larger image)The divine Miss PiggyKermit and Miss PiggyFozzie Bear and KermitSing along!Everyone's a critic