Little things we've noticed

[minor muppetz]

In Bunny Picnic, the farmer was so allergic to the bunnies, that apparently his grand master plan was to have them captured so he could make them into a stew . . . but, wouldn't that potentially be fatal to him if he consumed the very thing he was allergic to? Granted, maybe it's just their hair/dander he's allergic to, and not necessarily rabbit meat or anything, but still, looking back on it as an adult, it strikes me as kind of a bone-headed plan.

On the other hand, the farmer was one of Marty Robinson's very few non-Sesame Muppet roles, and he was absolutely fantastic.

He did say that the only kind of rabbit he’s not allergic to is a stewed rabbit. I guess that way he’s unaffected, or maybe he was just going to stew the rabbit for the evil of it and not actually eat it.

 

[minor muppetz]

Today I did my annual rewatch of A Muppet Family Christmas. I think I have noticed this a few years ago, but there are many rooms/parts of the house that get used in multiple scenes that until recently I had not noticed were the same room. I guess the rooms where The Electric Mayhem performs, the gang watched the Muppet Babies home movie, and the Sesame Street gang does a pageant are all the same. There are many parts of the house that we just see a little bit, then we see a lot more of it during the carol sing.

I used to think that the carol sing took place in two different, big rooms, and thought some characters were in both rooms. And this is something I saw pointed out on the Golden Age Cartoons forum, that it's likely all one big room (probably two different sets, likely to accommodate not having enough performers to put all the characters on screen at once). Most of the characters who appear in both sections of the room are near the side of the screen and close to the same order, though with how they are spread out, it does look a bit too different (if they were to scroll across the room to appear to all be one, it might not look right).

There are a few characters missing from the carol sing, mainly Animal and Herry. Of course Animal was on a sleeping hanger, I wonder if that was done to explain why he's not shown. But then Gonzo is up on a hanger and then down on ground level (and in different outfits both times).

In the scene where Fozzie takes Kermit to meet the snowman, I always thought he took him to the back door (which I guess is really in the kitchen). Doc enters stage right, Kermit goes to the phone, then Fozzie approaches him and takes him to the door stage left. And as I watched I noticed that we actually do see both sides of the living room (and different angles to the door), I should have known the layout was the same but I watched closely... When they leave the phone the camera kind of moves across from the room, I guess not too noticable because they are walking ahead.

 

[D'Snowth]

I always assumed it was Richard who performed the two Whatnot detectives in "Searchin'" if only because he and Jerry were often paired together in sketches (what with Floyd performing this song), so I was a little surprised to learn that it was actually Jim who performed the Whatnots instead of Richard.

 

[minor muppetz]

Just the other day, I watched an episode of The Muppet Show on YouTube, a slowed down video… and in slow motion, almost everybody sounds like a Richard Hunt character (and not just Richard Hunt’s characters).

 

[ErinAardvark]

Here's something I never noticed until today (and I've owned Season 2 of the Muppet Show since it was released! How could I have missed this?!) When Miss Piggy and Elton John are singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," Elton's glasses are heart-shaped.

 

[DMHFan]

Not sure if anyone's brought this up, but, I noticed that three episodes of the fifth season of The Muppet Show (Glenda Jackson, Carol Burnett, and Gladys Knight, respectively) used the wide shot of The Muppet Theatre audience (including Statler and Waldorf) applauding that was also used in two episodes of the third season (Sylvester Stallone and Lynn Redgrave, respectively) and several episodes of the fourth season. Here's the shot in question:

Oh, and the reason I wanted to share this is because in the fifth season, a bunch of the characters were redesigned, Animal started wearing a tuxedo in the orchestra pit again, then-new character Lips was added as trumpeter, and Trumpet Girl switched to playing trombone (which she previously played in the Anne Murray episode from Season 4 during the closing number). Much like the two shots in The Muppet Show Theme (the one where the sign goes up and the curtain opens to reveal the arches, and the other where the audience sings "Why don't you get things started?"), the shot above was never reshot to include Lips.

 

[ErinAardvark]

Forgive me if this one was mentioned, but I noticed something when I was watching the TMS Christopher Reeve episode earlier tonight. During the "Disco Frog" opening number, I saw the puppeteers in the background!

 

[minor muppetz]

I was looking at the Muppet Wiki page for the computer game Muppets on Stage...

Muppets on Stage | Muppet Wiki | Fandom

Is it just me or does it look like Gonzo is wearing the checkered outfit he would wear starting with Muppet Classic Theater in the game (which came out in the 1980s)?

 

[Muppetage]

In season 1 when Fozzie was in prototype form,he was a slightly different character towards Kermit.In fact he wasn't very nice to Kermit.Especially in the episode that guest starred Candice Bergen,where he pulled some rather mean practical jokes on him.Ever since season 2 Kermit and Fozzie have famously been best friends.Fozzie thinks the world of Kermit and declares him his inspiration.

Many times throughout the first four seasons,Miss Piggy gave Kermit such a hard time.She was quite a bully in general,not just to Kermit.But the only real torment he recieved from her in season 5 was during the episode that guest starred Linda Ronstadt when she locked him in a trunk.I used to assume this was because he fired her in the episode guest starring Loretta Swit.Apparently however,according to the production order,Loretta Swit was the second episode of season 5.Linda Ronstadt was the second to last one.But Loretta Swit always aired two episodes after Linda Ronstadt.And during the episodes that aired after Loretta Swit she left him alone.(Except for the episode guest starring Senor Wences where he got a "HYAAH" from her.)They seemed to tone her down the rest of that season.

I don't know if anyone else noticed this.But the episode where guest star Tony Randall accidently turns Miss Piggy into stone and the aforementioned episode where Kermit gets locked in a trunk appear to share a simular pattern.Even though the circumstances are totally different.(Plus the turning to stone was accidental,where the trunk locking was done on purpose.)
Tony Randall:
During Pigs In Space,Hogthrob and Strangepork manage to turn Miss Piggy back to normal.But when she makes all kinds of violent threats towards them,they turn her back into stone.Then during the closing goodnights,Tony Randall accidently turns Kermit into stone.
Linda Ronstadt:
At one point,Kermit is breifly released from the trunk by Linda Ronstadt herself.But when she leaves the area after crooning"I've Got A Crush On You",Miss Piggy locks Kermit back in the trunk.Then during the closing goodnights Miss Piggy is locked in the trunk.
(Plus Linda Ronstadt always aired right after Tony Randall.)

Toward the end of Jean Stapleton's episode,she seems to sound more like her famous "Edith Bunker" character.

Episodes guest starring Roger Miller,where everyone turns into chickens,Cloris Leachman,where pigs take over the show(with a Kermit The Pig,Fozzie Pig and Swedish Pig)and Mac Davis,where Beeker accidently gets duplicated a dozen times from a machine Bunson invented,all share the same basic idea.
Roger Milleruring the closing credits The Electric Mayhem Band and Rolwf are replaced by chickens in the orchestra pit.
Cloris Leachman:They're replaced by pigs.
Mac Davis:They're replaced by the Beeker clones.