The Muppet Show Season 5 Episode 17 - Hal Linden

[Phillip]

The Muppet Show Season 5 Episode 17 - Hal Linden
US/New York Premiere: Saturday February 7, 1981
Disney+ Premiere: Friday February 19, 2021

After years of complaining that they could put on a much better show than Kermit, longtime hecklers Statler and Waldorf finally get their shot at hosting. But the tables are turned when the dissing duo discover that staging a show is a lot harder than it looks - especially when their supposedly well-planned acts devolve into unforeseen comic chaos!

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This is the first time this episode has been commercially released or streamed since its original broadcast.

If you saw "The Muppet Show" with Hal Linden on Disney+ please like this post and share your thoughts below.

 

[minor muppetz]

This is the only episode I watched in full on YouTube, many years back, but I watched this on Disney + last night, and there were things I didn't remember from before (well, I had watched that only once on YouTube).

Kermit lets Statler and Waldorf host the show, and then they cancel practically everything (except the guest star) in favor of the show they want to do. So how close to the show did Kermit let them host? If so many acts were scheduled and they didn't cancel until after the show began, I feel Kermit should have hosted this one and let them host the next, giving them more time to plan a show. Unless Kermit was just THAT fed up with them that he let them host on such short notice to see if they could do better.

I remembered that Kermit liked some of the acts (with Fozzie saying that the opening number was like something he would schedule, and asking if they made a mistake), but didn't realize he liked so much of it. And at the end, he tells them that every good show has plenty of chaos (so I guess a good show for Kermit but not for Statler and Waldorf).

Fozzie acts like he hadn't been in the balcony before, when it is at least his fourth time. One thing that didn't hit me until recently (thanks to the Toughpigs "Hubba Wha?" podcast), the two characters sitting in the balcony this time are the two who had appeared in the balcony more than any other character besides Statler and Waldorf.

When I knew "If We Ruled the World" was edited, I assumed the whole dressing room scene would be cut. So I was surprised to see the start of the scene, wondering if they just cut the song or if Disney actually got the song reinstated (Toughpigs did bring up the possibility of Disney clearing more music rights in the future and that, unlike discs, they could just replace the edited copies with more complete ones easily). It still works, cutting past the song straight to Gonzo's line, though I feel that line is funnier following the more serious song.

Hal wanted to walk off the show just before the opening number, due to what happened in his first number. While there had been guest stars who acted like they really did not want to be on the show, this must be one of the few who just wanted to leave during the show (well, Cloris Leachman threatened to leave due to the pigs taking over, and Miss Piggy said Candice Bergan was going to walk unless Piggy did the opening number).

 

[YellowYahooey]

I remember seeing this episode in 1981, and it was so close to the end of the series. I don't recall seeing any new episodes after that, so was this episode the finale? If not, what celebrity appeared on the finale?

Either way, I bet that the series went out a normal episode, implying that the producers didn't know the end was coming.

 

[minor muppetz]

I remember seeing this episode in 1981, and it was so close to the end of the series. I don't recall seeing any new episodes after that, so was this episode the finale? If not, what celebrity appeared on the finale?

Either way, I bet that the series went out a normal episode, implying that the producers didn't know the end was coming.

The episodes aired in different orders depending on the individual station. By production order, the last episode is Roger Moore. By taping order (kinda confusing thay taping and production order are different), it’s Gene Kelly.