First watched : 1976
The Muppet Show was the TV phenomenon of the mid-seventies. Jim Henson's creations took puppetry light years beyond Hartley Hare and Lambchop and any show featuring puppet sidekicks today owes something to The Muppets. Henson's work first featured in Sesame Street and was by far the best thing about the programme but he began to feel stifled by the format and wanted to do something with broader appeal. Two American networks demurred at his Muppets pilots but Lew Grade offered him the opportunity to make it in England and then syndicate the show worldwide.
The Muppet Show was a show-within-a-show set in an old vaudeville theatre where the backstage chatter and the views of two aged critics in their box were as important as the performance itself . I read somewhere that The Muppets' greatest appeal was their incompetence. You had Kermit, the host who was a bag of nerves, Miss Piggy, the unattractive sex symbol, Fozzy the unfunny comedian and The Great Gonzo who had no talent whatsoever . I think there's something in that. It was also a great family show that piled slapstick , music and satire on top of each other at great pace so it never got boring.
The show was an instant success and went round the world winning many awards and creating a marketing bonanza. A string of Muppet films began in 1979 . Big names clamoured to be the human guest star on the show. In 1981 Richard Pryor had to drop out of his slot at the last minute so scriptwriter Chris Langham who had some performing experience from his stint on Not The Nine O Clock News had to fill the gap.
My favourite Muppet was Kermit's little nephew Robin whose mawkish Halfway Down The Stairs was a Top 10 hit in June 1977 while my sister liked Rowlf, the dog pianist.
The British show ended in 1981 because Henson had better offers in the US and all future Muppet programmes have been made there. Henson's untimely death in 1990 didn't stop the juggernaut and a new series was launched this year.
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