Worst Muppet Show Episodes

[Muppet Master]

I'm surprised that no one's ever made this thread, seems like a no-brainer to me. Well, it's hard for any of us to blatently say an episode of TMS is bad, hardly any deserve that label, even so there are a few ones that fall flat in many people's eyes, so which one do you not like, didn't live up to your expectations, or just fell flat. Here is my worst episodes list.

• Gildna Radnar (The premise of the episode wasn't anything special, everyone's glued to stuff, didn't do it for me, plus I didn't think any of the Gildna Radnar parts were very funny.Though I did like the Muppet Melodrama.)
• George Burns (It was just boring, the plot was season 1-ish, it was a simple running gag that didn't work, and most of it was just Burns and Rowlf on the piano, I love Rowlf, but him and Burns just didn't have chemistry.)
• Sandy Duncan (The numbers were bland, the plot was a bland running gag, not something like the rita moreno one, and the guest star was...meh.)
• Candice Bergen (Same reason as the Sandy Duncan one, also it was overall very unmemorable to me.)

These are the only ones I really didn't like, so share your thoughts.

 

[Oscarfan]

• Sandy Duncan (The numbers were bland, the plot was a bland running gag, not something like the rita moreno one, and the guest star was...meh.)

Bland? The opening number is one the best and most energetic ones of the season.

I don't think any episode is the "worst", but I don't care for the Roy Rogers/Dale Evans episode. Outside of the opening number/Muppet Sports/Bear on Patrol, the rest of the show is "meh."

 

[Muppet Master]

Bland? The opening number is one the best and most energetic ones of the season.

Just my opinion.

 

[Drtooth]

As I've been saying recently, Liberace. It had some pretty decent stuff the first half of the show, but whoever decided to just let him hijack the rest of the episode... eh, I'll cut the joke. It was a bad decision. He barely interacted with them, and it's mostly him with a piano. If not a bad episode then at least a bad guest. Or bad guest concept at the least of the least.

He didn't hijack Batman and spend the entire time playing piano. He did something there. Too bad he didn't here.

 

[Muppet Master]

As I've been saying recently, Liberace. It had some pretty decent stuff the first half of the show, but whoever decided to just let him hijack the rest of the episode... eh, I'll cut the joke. It was a bad decision. He barely interacted with them, and it's mostly him with a piano. If not a bad episode then at least a bad guest. Or bad guest concept at the least of the least.

He didn't hijack Batman and spend the entire time playing piano. He did something there. Too bad he didn't here.

It could have had like a 3 minute Liberace "mini-concert", and then more of TMS, then as a closing number, his "Someday Stole My Bird" song. It would've left room for some funny scenes with Gonzo auditioning for the number. I mean just before the UK spot, they have to literally END the episode when Liberace states that he's almost done with his bird judging. If you watch it without the UK spot, and subtract the Liberace concert out then you've got like 10 minutes or less of TMS. Granted, I don't mind the concert that much. Sam,Statler and Waldorf livens it up, but it's amazing that S&W actually liked Liberace. Anyways the "Someday Stole My Bird" song is amusing enough. Though I did agree he was a BAD guest star even though the episode is a good one (not the best though). He hardly interacted with any muppets or anything, and he didn't do anything funny or memorable.

 

[David French]

It could have had like a 3 minute Liberace "mini-concert", and then more of TMS, then as a closing number, his "Someday Stole My Bird" song. It would've left room for some funny scenes with Gonzo auditioning for the number. I mean just before the UK spot, they have to literally END the episode when Liberace states that he's almost done with his bird judging. If you watch it without the UK spot, and subtract the Liberace concert out then you've got like 10 minutes or less of TMS. Granted, I don't mind the concert that much. Sam,Statler and Waldorf livens it up, but it's amazing that S&W actually liked Liberace. Anyways the "Someday Stole My Bird" song is amusing enough. Though I did agree he was a BAD guest star even though the episode is a good one (not the best though). He hardly interacted with any muppets or anything, and he didn't do anything funny or memorable.

Perhaps it's my imagination, however I seem to recall that Liberace interacts with Scooter, Statler & Waldorf, Sam, Fletcher Bird, Rowlf, various Bird puppets, Kermit, Gonzo...

Seems to me like he *did* interact with the Muppets.

As for not doing anything funny or memorable, I would have said his concert was memorable and the opening of chopsticks was rather funny.

 

[Muppet Master]

Perhaps it's my imagination, however I seem to recall that Liberace interacts with Scooter, Statler & Waldorf, Sam, Fletcher Bird, Rowlf, various Bird puppets, Kermit, Gonzo...

Seems to me like he *did* interact with the Muppets.

As for not doing anything funny or memorable, I would have said his concert was memorable and the opening of chopsticks was rather funny.

I said he HARDLY interacted with any of the muppets. Sam wasn't even a minute, S&W was the most he interacted with muppets, and even that barely took a minute or less. Everyone else he interacted with took about 2 seconds and wasn't memorable whatsover. Obviously he interacted with Kermit (and also Gonzo, because he had a prominent role in the episode) at the end, every guest star does. Everything else is simply a matter of opinion. In all, I still don't mind the episode, and I still watch it now and then, but it's definetly nowhere near one of my all-time favorites.

 

[Vax Novier]

Season 1-Florence Henderson
Season 2-Cleo Laine
Season 3-Leo Sayer
Season 4-Arlo Guthrie
Season 5-Melissa Manchester

 

[jobi71]

A different way of thinking of this question is if you could choose one Muppet Show to be erased from the cannon and replace it with a different guest star/or the same guest star with a different plot what would you swap out and put in it's place?

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans did not really do it for me, but they were show business legends and some of it worked.

Like several here I would have ditched Liberace. He was a perfect 1970's variety show guest star, and from what I know had a great sense of humor, but the division of the first half and second half seemed extreme. Perhaps he was available less for filming? In his place? Gene Wilder, of course. He's the only one of that Mel Brooks troupe (Mel, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman Gilda Radner - his wife) to not work with them.

I do disagree (sometimes strongly) with some posters' thoughts on the worst episode, but since this is an opinion thread I am not going to try and convince anyone that episode X and guest star Y were really great because they're your opinions and I am not here to tell you your opinions are wrong. (Please be aware I think some of your opinions are wrong ).

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Season 1-Florence Henderson
Season 2-Cleo Laine
Season 3-Leo Sayer
Season 4-Arlo Guthrie
Season 5-Melissa Manchester

The Florence Henderson one is one of the best episodes!