What A Cartoon! - The Muppet Show "The Stars of Star Wars"
Added 2021-08-02 04:00:00 +0000 UTCChosen by premium Patreon subscriber Phil, we're breaking format to talk about a show that we love that may as well have been animated, The Muppet Show! We reflect on a childhood love of Muppets, the career of Jim Henson that led to the creation of the biggest show in the world (for the time), and then look at the now-eerie Star Wars tie-in episode with special guest star, Mr. Mark Hamill, yaaaay!!!
Comments
I was one of those GenXers who saw this episode live back in the 1980 and I will forever remember Luke heroically stepping out from the smoking cardboard. My memories of this are much stronger than the Holiday Special, which were limited to the very scary image of Lumpy opening the door excitedly expecting his deadbeat dad, only to see the Stormtroopers and how they wrecked his bedroom. As I watched it now on Disney+ with The Boy (what I call my son), it's obvious how much fun Mark Hamill had on the set. It's unfortunate that his comedic talents went untapped for so long.
Stephen C. Nedell
2021-08-18 13:02:34 +0000 UTCI've been hoping you guys would cover the Muppets in some capacity and this episode did not disappoint. I for one don't think you need any justification to cover a puppet show! Maybe I'm biased because I'm a puppeteer myself (I used to tour the US and Canada with blacklight puppetry productions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight Moon, among others) but puppetry IS animation. It's just live animation (and yes, it is a terrible strain on the animator's wrists). Good puppetry is essentially key frame animation. The stereotype of the Muppets maybe be Kermit manically waving his arms, but watch closely and you'll notice a lot of still posing punctuated by big movements. Early animation owes a lot to puppetry, so it's nice to see you guys covering arguably the most influential puppets of all time!
Graeme Black Robinson
2021-08-11 22:17:26 +0000 UTCMy first exposure to The Muppets was a VHS tape my folks bought me that had 2 halloween specials on it, one with Vincent Price and the other with Alice Cooper. It was directly responsible for how I dressed as a teenager, I'm sure. Also there was a bit on that tape where furniture came alive and ate muppets. That gave me genuine nightmares as a 5 year old. Silly to think about now, but the concept got to me. Definitely want to revisit these episodes and more after listening to this.
glowstickjuice
2021-08-04 21:13:06 +0000 UTCHaving grown up without cable, my introduction to the Muppets was mostly through Sesame Street and when the films were on the ABC movie of the week, rather than Muppet Show reruns. I did watch a bit of the revival show in the early 90s too, but my real Muppet nostalgia is for Big Bird and co. I appreciate that Henson didn't want to make a show for kids, especially as a parent now, as he made something adults could enjoy too. Don Piano's existential ennui, Guy Smiley's manic energy, Grover the waiter tormenting a hapless patron, and Harvey Kneeslapper's pranking remain personal favorites. Likewise, the music was always fantastic, whether it was their original du-op earworms or they had a guest on to perform a pop hit. I'm still known to bust out in Rubber Duckie, and will gladly pop a Sesame playlist on YouTube. A lot of that spirit was carried on to Nick Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba, a product of Aquabat's frontman Christian Jacobs and a show I enjoyed with my son when he was young. In that respect, I think it shares a lot of the Muppet Show's more whole family oriented DNA. In fact, there was so much adult content in Sesame Street that when it first came to DVD in the early oughts, it had warning stickers saying it wasn't for kids! Jk. That early internet chestnut is only partially true. The DVDs did have a warning saying they weren't up to date with current best practices in children's edutainment and shouldn't be viewed as educational tools. I can't blame them. I too slammed my forehead into my dad's Knabe baby grand, just like the funny puppet man. I was also a victim of the Egyptian tomb sketch. One of my earliest memories is of an old church pew that my evidently psychotic parents had in lieu of a couch in the living room (so uncomfortable). When that sketch would come on, I would duck behind the pew and only watch it with my head peering just over the back enough for me to see. Great ep as always, guys, and thanks for the nostalgia trip.
Ron Sterling
2021-08-04 15:29:45 +0000 UTCThe Ned muppet in Earth to Ned is pretty impressive and funny. I really hope more people watch since it does seem less people care about the Muppets these days.
lego69lego
2021-08-04 03:13:00 +0000 UTCI loved all the La Choy Dragon love from Henry in this episode. A few years ago I visited the Muppet exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens (which I highly recommend for all muppet fans) and have been obsessed with that dragon ever since. (There’s a LOT of La Choy dragon at that exhibit). And there has been a can of La Choy stir-fry vegetables in my pantry for the past three years and I will never eat them, but it was just that effective.
Kat Heagberg
2021-08-03 03:58:46 +0000 UTCThey clearly misread Chewbacca's message. He was kidnapped BY TURKEY. What we missed was a messy and violent confrontation between him and President Fahri Korutürk. Which that actually does sound like the name of a guy who'd be in Star Wars but that's neither here nor there... great podcast.
Devin Hoffarth
2021-08-03 01:47:59 +0000 UTCI mentioned my Dark Crystal experience upthread, but also, my FIRST movie memory was The Muppet Movie. I have a fondness, just because of that, but I know that it's probably far down on the list of Muppet movies to be covered.
hrhomer
2021-08-03 00:22:23 +0000 UTCSpeaking of men talking to puppets as an excuse to show cartoons. Toon in with me on broadcast TV channel MeTV is stupid fun every morning at least just to watch Looney tunes, Pink Panther T+J, Popeye or random other MGM cartoons
Chris Tar
2021-08-02 23:53:57 +0000 UTCThis was the first episode of Muppet Show I've ever watched. No idea the writing was so sophisticated. I have a lot of catching up to do. Thanks Phil for thinking outside the box. And thanks Bob for your sacrifice. This podcast is more important.
Adam Voyde
2021-08-02 22:52:51 +0000 UTCI’m sure a Muppet film will be on our poll someday! - Henry
Talking Simpsons
2021-08-02 21:37:09 +0000 UTCI was secretly hoping you guys would be doing the Muppets Christmas Carol for the holidays, but this was a great surprise! The Muppet Show was one of the few things shows my whole family agreed on and I have a lot of great memories crowding around the TV when it was on.
count
2021-08-02 20:03:36 +0000 UTCNever heard that Ram-a-Lamb song until now, now it's stuck in my head, thanks :)
ShyRanger
2021-08-02 17:08:32 +0000 UTCLove the muppets- one of my earliest tv memories - piiiiggs in spaaace 🐷😎
Alistair Shand
2021-08-02 16:59:17 +0000 UTC
