Will the Muppets be on the CBS 75th Anniversary?

[Ryan]

The 60 Minutes show is from 1979. It's about fifteen minutes, and it shows interviews with the performers and puppets, and behind the scenes looks of the Raquel Wlech episode. It's very funny and informative.

 

[Drtooth]

I must have blinked and missed it.

Did anyone see the whole special? I was watching Treehouse of Horrors instead... I was waiting for Get Smart Clips...

 

[BJC899]

I saw the whole thing. Although on the commercials I was watching the simpson's. I was very happy to see Tina Louise representing Gilligans Island.

 

[Whataday]

That's right, wasn't it actually produced by ITV (Thames Television, UK) anyway? It was a Sir Lew Grade Production, I believe, and licensed to US stations, that is why there are the extra skits. We were only seeing the edited versions.

When Jim Henson pitched the idea to CBS, they agreed to put some of their money towards it. Lew Grade agreed to provide the rest of the cash, on the condition that the show was made at his ATV studios in Elstree, UK. Lew Grade owned both ATV and ITC, and I think TMS was made as a "Henson/ITC co-production", but the technical staff were mostly ATV.

ITC also made Thunderbirds. Lew Grade was very cunning in that he made British shows with American voices in order to sell them to the states.

Incidentally, ATV changed its name to Central Television in 1982, and sold the Elstree studios to the BBC. The BBC now makes EastEnders (top rating soap opera) at the studios.

Central then became Carlton Television, which is about to merge with Granada Television to create a wholly owned ITV Network.