The complete first season of the TV series The Muppet Show.
Features:
•
It's time to raise the curtain on THE MUPPET SHOW! Join Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, the Swedish Chef, and more in the complete first season of this groundbreaking twist on theic Variety Show. Included are all 24 episodes, completely restored and remastered, and something you were never meant to see: the original "pitch reel" that propelled the Muppets' blend of original songs, sketch
Product Details:
Actors:
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Eren Ozker
Format:
Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Original recording remastered, Restored, Special Edition, NTSC
Average Customer Review:
( 300 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
259 of 263 found the following review helpful:
Caveat Emptor: These episodes are not completeSep 27, 2005
By David Michael Cohen Like most children of the 70's, I grew up loving The Muppet Show. Sitting down to watch the Muppets was a weekly ritual the whole family enjoyed. Everyone could enjoy their humor and the music. More than that though, the Muppets could be inspiring and touching at times as well. There really is no way to adequately express how wonderful the Muppets can be.
So why am I only giving this collection 3 star? Because despite the claim on the box of being "restored and remastered," some of the episodes have been butchered. I saw the Vincent Price episode when it was originally shown, and it closed with Vincent and the Muppet monsters singing "You've Got a Friend." It was, for me, one of the most enjoyable scenes in the series. The sequence was included in the Columbia House "Best of the Muppets" series, but it is excluded from this set. Likewise, the Jim Neighbors episode originally opened with Jim singing, "You'll Never Walk Alone." Re-runs on Nickelodeon included this sequence, but the sequence is missing from this set. I can only guess what is missing from the other episodes in the set.
Mind you, these omissions do not keep one from enjoying the set, especially children who did not see the series when it originally aired and do not realize that they are missing. And, I must admit, the screwy antics of the Swedish Chef and the weekly face offs between Fozzie Bear and Stadler and Waldorf still make me smile. Still, it is frustrating to read that the episodes have been "restored" when they clearly have not.
160 of 164 found the following review helpful:
Incomplete But PleasingAug 10, 2005
By DVDisney I love this set but I think I should let everyone know that some of the episodes on this set have been edited. There are 6 songs & 2 news skits that are missing.
The missing songs are:
"Stormy Weather" (Joel Grey Episode)
Sung by Wayne and Wanda
"Gone With The Wind" (Jim Nabors Episode)
Sung by Jim Nabors
"The Danceros" (Jim Nabors Episode)
Sung by The Danceros; also cut backstage and intro
"All Of Me" (Paul Williams Episode)
Sung by Two Monsters; also cut intro
"Old Fashioned Way" (Charles Aznavour)
Sung by Charles Aznavour with Mildred; also cut intro
"You've Got A Friend" (Vincent Price Episode)
Sung by Vincent Price, Uncle Deadly and a chorus of Muppet Monsters; also cut intro
Also, the original pitch reel is missing it's final scene w/Kermit. In the final scene missing from this set Kermit is standing infront of a CBS logo. He looks out and says " What the hell was that ? "
The pilot episode on this set is not the original pilot as advertised. There were 2 pilot episodes. The original pilot was called " The Muppet Valentine Show " which aired in 1974. The pilot on this DVD set is the second pilot called " The Muppet Show: Sex And Violence " which aired a year later in 1975.
It's too bad this is not a complete season set but for now, it'll still do nicely.
33 of 33 found the following review helpful:
US version is NOT completeFeb 05, 2009
By Mr. D. P. Spencer
"Toonhead"
Due to Disney's aquisition of the Muppets franchise these episodes are missing key elements originally broadcast. Song licensing problems from Disney has meant that many classic moments have been cut.
The Cuts Include-
"You've Got A Friend" Sung by Vincent Price "Old Fashioned Way" Sung by Charles Aznavour "All Of Me" (Paul Williams Episode) Sung by Two Monsters "The Danceros" (Jim Nabors Episode) Sung by The Danceros "Gone with the Wind" Sung by Jim Nabors "Stormy Weather" Sung by Wayne and Wanda
There are also cuts in the intro sequences and backstage chit chat preceding the songs. Also two Muppet News sketches and a balcony scene featuring Statler and Waldorf are missing.
If you want the FULL UNCUT episodes I sugest buying the UK Region 2 version instead of this butchered so called "Special Edition"
662 of 766 found the following review helpful:
Finally :o)Jun 16, 2005
By Ronald Markworth
"rmarkworth"
Finally, the Muppet Show - 1st season is arriving. And this is their program:
Charles Aznavour
Song: "I Feel Pretty"
Song: "Dance the Old-Fashioned Way" - Charles
Sketch: Gonzo's rock act ('Art! (thunk!) Art! (thunk!)')
Sketch: Vet's Hospital
Sketch: French bread
Sketch: At the Dance
Backstage?: Charles & Kermit - use French to get women (Piggy)
Fozzie's act ('that Gonzo is so dumb - I told him there was water shortage and he suggested we dilute it!')
Song: "There's no Business Like Show Business".
Rita Moreno
Rita - slapstick cafe
Vet's Hospital (Fozzie)
phone running gag
Swedish chef - flapjacks
At the Dance
Marvin Suggs & the Muppetphones
panel - conversation a dying art?
Rita & Kermit talk
Wayne & Wanda
Fozzie
Song: Rita: "Fever".
Mummenschanz
Song: Scooter & Floyd: "Mr. Bassman"
Gonzo romances Piggy (?)
Mummenschanz- notepad faces
library sketch - Blue Danube
Mummenschaz - crawlies
At the Dance
Kermit "talks" to the Mummenschanz
Song: Wayne & Wanda: "Paper Moon"
Vendaface
Mummenschanz - clay faces.
Jim Nabors
Song: Dr. Teeth: "Money"
intro. of Scooter
Song: Jim: "Gone With the Wind"
danceros (?)
At the Dance
Jim & Kermit
Fozzie
Song: Jim: "Thank God I'm a Country Boy".
Juliet Prowse
Song: "Ma-na-ma-na"
Juliet dances
At the Dance
Juliet & Kermit talk
Western sketch (loaded pickles)
Song: Scooter & Fozzie: "Simon Smith & His Dancing Bear"
Song: glee club: "Temptation".
Vincent Price
Song: "Under My Skin"
Vincent - house of horror ('watch it! I'm the beautiful assistant! Every night at the stroke of midnight the master turns into a screaming, maniacal, demonic, raging, bloodlusting animal! And then I get _mean_!')
Wayne & Wanda
panel - gourmet food ('you must admit Froggy you look mighty tasty!')
At the Dance
Vampires
News flash - furniture monsters (priceless!)
Song: Vincent: "You've Got a Friend".
Avery Schreiber
Song: Dr. Teeth: "Tenderly"
Piggy uses Scooter to make Kermit jealous
Avery duels Sweetums using insults
Muppet Labs - gorilla detector
Avery & Fozzie - the old living painting sketch
At the Dance
Wayne & Wanda
Vet's Hostpital
Avery & Fozzie do an act
Avery & some creatures do a silly song.
Connie Stevens (+ Bert & Ernie)
Song: Kermit: "Lydia" (tattooed pig)
Fozzie & Gonzo's old teddy bear ('that bear is the most beat-up thing I've ever seen - get rid of it!')
Swedish Chef - rubber meatballs
Song: Connie: "Teenager in Love"
At the Dance
Song: Connie & Kermit & Fozzie: "Close to You"
Zoot & his sax
Ernie & Bert & Connie.
Twiggy
Song: "Dance" (fuzzy snakes)
Phantom of the Muppet Show
Song: Twiggy holds a press conference & sings "There Are Places I Remember" (with photo history)
Song: Wayne & Wanda: "Let It Snow"
skit - the king's breakfast
At the Dance
Vendaface
Song: Twiggy: "Nobody's Business But My Own" (country scene)
Peter Ustinov
An evening at the pops
Muppet Labs - Peter as a robot diplomat
At the Dance
Peter & Fozzie discuss economics (a Benny shaved is a Benny urned)
Song: "You Do Something to Me (kablam)"
News flash - cure for the cold
Song: Wayne & Wanda: "Falling Leaves"
panel - psychiatry
Song: "It's Not Easy Being Green".
Ben Vereen
Song: "Boogie Woogie Music"
Fozzie & the magic cabinet
Song: Ben: "Mr. Cellophane"
At the Dance
Ben & Kermit
Vet's Hospital
Wayne & Wanda
Song: Ben: "Imagination".
Paul Williams
Song: "All of Me"
Song: Paul: "Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song"
Muppet Labs: all-purpose tenderizer
Song: Rowlf: "Silence"
At the Dance
Scooter & Fozzie do the telephone pole bit
Paul sings.
I haven't seen it so far, but i know them from TV - and they are still great!
31 of 32 found the following review helpful:
Great season, good extrasAug 10, 2005
By WTDK
"If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.-Albert Einstein"
Humor in whatever form it takes has a universal appeal. The Muppets had to work hard for their laughs. Not because they weren't funny but because nobody was really interested in a comedy aimed at adults and children with furry Muppets. When the show premiered in America in 1976, it caught on quickly with its audience delighting both adults and children. What's fascinating is that the show had a hard time attracting guest stars during its first season. After Rudolf Nureyev appeared all of that changed but during the first season Henson and his staff would have to rely on friends in the entertainment business to be guest stars in this bizarre variety show.
What's amazing is how well this show has aged. Despite some references to events that are nearly thirty years old, "The Muppet Show" remakes funny because of its combination of the absurd and everyday. That along with talking Muppets channeling the surreal world of The Marx Brothers allowed "The Muppet Show" to transcend children's programming and appeal to a universal audience.
"The Muppet Show" was shot on videotape in the mid-70's so it's no surprise that the show looks soft and the colors aren't as vibrant as they should be but the show looks very good overall. The image quality is fairly consistent throughout."The Muppet Show" looks, for the most part, pretty good given the age of the source material. The mono sound has been beefed up a bit but, aside from that, it appears au natural.
No retrospective featurettes or new interviews with people like Frank Oz but we do get one of the pilots made for the series that was never aired. Evidently there were two pilots one of them being "The Muppet's Valentine Special" and the pilot entitled "Sex and Violence" (since it's the Muppets you know that it has absolutely nothing to do with pointless sex and violence) is included here. What's surprising is that Kermit doesn't host the pilot. He does appear briefly with a prototype for Miss Piggy promising her a job on an "educational program". Hopefully we'll get the second pilot with the second season set. We also get a first season promo gag reel and, more importantly, Jim Henson's original pitch reel. Interestingly, Floyd, Dr. Teeth, Waldorf, Astoria and the chef (and even Bert and Ernie who appeared as "guests" in one episode appear) and other characters are here but the show is hosted by Nigel a nondescript Muppet that doesn't have half the personality of Kermit. It's clever, funny by the end. This isn't an extra exactly but we do get the songs and short sketches that were aired in the BBC but not in America. The BBC aired the show without commercials and, as a result, the BBC episodes run longer than the US versions by about 3 to 4 minutes. So we are truly seeing these uncut for the first time in the U.S. with the original British segments intact.
Perhaps Disney will include the segments shot for Germany and other countries that appeared only overseas as extras for the next set.
We get a trivia filled text commentary referred to as "Muppet Morsels" which features all sorts of unusual facts about the Muppets and the various shows. While it can't possibly replace a true commentary track (I'd love to hear Frank Oz or one of the other writers/producers do a commentary track with behind-the-scenes information), it's a pretty good compromise. They could do without the question marks that appear on the screen along with the stars and everything else. I could have done without some of the question marks and stars that appear during some of the text commentaries. I would have liked to see a featurette on Jim Henson and other key Muppet operators.
Disney has done a very good job with the first season of "The Muppet Show". The show looks surprisingly spry on DVD given the age of the original videotapes. Truly Jim Henson and his collaborators were comedic geniuses and the lasting testament to that is this very funny variety show that captures this classic series in its formative years.
based on 300 reviews
( 300 customer reviews )
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