Another Muppet Show Episode Idea

[TravellingMatt]

SPECIAL GUEST STAR: AARON TIPPIN

OPENING THEME

OPENING NUMBER: Zondra and some punk-rock Anything Muppets play "Cherry Bomb" by Joan Jett, with Crazy Harry detonating his explosives whenever the words "Cherry Bomb" are sung.

STATLER & WALDORF:

STATLER: It never ceases to amaze me how many times the Muppets bomb on stage.

(Crazy Harry appears in the box)

CRAZY HARRY: Did someone say "bomb"? (detonates explosives and laughs hysterically)

GUEST STAR: Aaron Tippin sings "There's Nothing Wrong With The Radio" with the Muppet jugband.

BACKSTAGE: Sam the Eagle is honored to be in the show's finale: Aaron's patriotic hit "Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly". Little does he know that Gonzo is choreographing the number...

MUPPET LABS: Bunsen invents an anvil detector (which he attaches to Beaker). However, he realizes he still has a few bugs to iron out...just as an anvil falls on Beaker.

SKETCH: At The Dance

TALK SPOT: Aaron serenades Miss Piggy with "For You I Will"

SKETCH: "Veterinarian's Hospital"--Dr. Bob, Nurse Piggy, and Nurse Janice attempt to operate on Guy Smiley, who's on the wrong show and has no idea what part he plays.

UK SKIT: Scooter sings "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight" with a cameo appearance by Philo and Gunge.

BACKSTAGE: Gonzo fine-tunes the choreography for the closing number...behind Sam's back.

SONG: Floyd sings "Move It On Over" while trying to pick up his date, Janice. However, Animal makes it a bit hard for the two to get to one another.

CLOSING NUMBER: In a patriotic finale, Aaron Tippin sings "Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly"...with Sam taking flight--on suspension wires!

CLOSING THEME/CREDITS

STATLER: And once again, another show blows up in the faces of the Muppets...

CRAZY HARRY: Did someone say "blow up"?

(explosion and hysterical laughter)

 

[Gorgon Heap]

I just about laughed out loud when I read the part about Gonzo choreographing the number.

Are the commercial breaks in your copies of TMS not in the middle of the show? In most episodes with a Talk Spot that Talk Spot is right after the UK Spot, same as At the Dance is nearly always right before it (or Vet's Hospital as the case may be.) UK Spot is smack dab in the middle. Move it to in between At the Dance and the Talk Spot and you've got it. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused you.

BTW, who is Aaron Tippin?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[TravellingMatt]

Sorry I didn't address this sooner!

Aaron Tippin is a country singer whose career as a major-label recording artist began in and remained moderately popular throughout the 1990's. While he hasn't achieved the status of a Garth Brooks or a Dolly Parton, he sure isn't starving either. He released numerous CD's for RCA in the 90's before jumping ship to Lyric Street Records, which is distributed jointly by Universal and Disney. Some of these CD's include "Tool Box", "People Like Us", and the Christmas release "A December To Remember".

Aaron is known for singing mainly about the "working class heroes" or love songs. Some of his hits include "There's Nothing Wrong With The Radio", "Kiss This", and "You've Got To Stand For Something". His most recent hit is "Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly", and was released as a single shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. (However, it's still a pretty uptempo number and is one of my favorite songs by him, which is why I included it in my Muppet Show outline.)

Most of his RCA recordings are out of print, so the only places you'll probably find them are used CD stores or online. At this juncture I'd recommend "Greatest Hits...And Then Some", since it outlines the bulk of his RCA period. All of his Lyric Street CD's ("What This Country Needs", "A December To Remember", "People Like Us", and the single for "Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly") are all in print.