Shark Bytes

These are the lyrics to the song Rolfe sang about nature in the episode that featured Peter Sellers, season 2.

When the whippoorwill is singling in the forest,
When the little brook is murmuring a tune,
When the mockingbird is chirping in the wildwood,
And a lonely wolf is howling at the moon,

When the leaves of the old oak tree start a rustlin’,
And a waterfall makes sounds like woman’s tears,
When the whole world is filled with Mother Nature’s noises,
That’s the time to stuff cotton in your ears!

I think the episode with Jean Stapleton from S3 pretty much answers any criticism of the Swedish Chef -- her skit with Sam and the Chef is hilarious.

The Muppet Show?Jump?NEVER! I LOVED that show & am very grateful that it's out on DVD.
Apologies to all Scandanavians,but I think The Swedish Chef is pretty funny.
There was one episode where everything that could go wrong did.And finally Kermit sat on a box onstage and sang "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" Awwww!!! You just wanted to give the frog a BIG hug.
Woe to any woman that even looked at Kermit!THEN they'd get the wrath of Miss Piggy!!HIIIIYAAHHH!!!!

I grew up watching this show...it only got better with each and every season. I think what I loved the most about it is that it had a bit of a recalcitrant spirit that appealed to the teenager in me (and still does, 30 years later). It wasn't afraid to make fun of an authority figure or to do black humor -- all the while creating an atmosphere mild enough for young kids to watch and enjoy as well as the older set.

Jim Henson will live on through all of his shows, but the Muppet Show is his gemstone.

Definitely never jumped. The show stopped while it was still going strong. When Jim Henson was still there he realized that it worked because of the great rapport the characters and actors had with one another, and because Kermit helmed it with the right mix of panic, understanding and human...er... frog failings. This show is head and shoulders above any other family show on TV. The Muppets tonight was a sad attempt at a revival that relied on unsophisticated humor and forgot that having Kermit lead the pack of insane muppets was key to the shows success. Also, you may not think that throwing penguins in the air or blowing things up is sophisticated humor, but what they did had originality and wasn't rehashing some lame potty mouth joke you'd heard as a kid on the playground from some muddy bully. Muppets tonight was sad and disappointing. I'd LOVE a revival, but who knows where the muppets will go next, I've pretty much cringed at their stuff since Muppets in space. They have some small time celebrity to try to get people to watch instead of being funny in and of themselves. Here's to a revival of classic entertainment that can't be found elsewhere.

One of those rare show that actually got better after its creaky first season. Loved all the dark humor and the bad puns. Can't wait for the next revival! Maybe Tobin Bell can guest host!

This show is a rare kind: It never jumped. Ever. It was awesome from beginning to the end. (By the way, the alleged reasons for this show jumping the shark never happened.)

This Show never jumped, although I felt that the first season was a bit underplayed compared to what was to come for two reasons. One, they had difficulty getting guest stars. And second, many of the popular Muppet characters like Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, Animal and Floyd Pepper looked a bit differently form how they look today. Once Season 2 started though, things only got better.

NEVER JUMPED!!! I rented a DVD of The Muppet Show a few months ago for my kids to watch and we all loved it!!! Brought back so many fond memories.

How the hell could this show have jumped when, if you ask almost anyone over the age of 30 about this show, they get a dreamy look in their eyes and start telling you about their favorite characters/skits? This for a show that hasn't aired in 26 years.

I recently pulled my Christmas stuff out of storage and found ... you guessed it ... "John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together." This album has literally been part of every Christmas I've celebrated since 1979 (although, of course, it's now a CD). Even my 8-year-old stepson laughs at Beaker singing his part of "12 Days of Christmas" ... "mee-me-me-meme" (which of course translates to "nine ladies dancing.") The local radio station plays it every Christmas, along with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" complete with John Denver interrupting the song to shout, "Animal, sit!"

Incidentally, someone PLEASE tell me if I can find that entire special anywhere, because I'd pay almost any amount of money for it.

To those who wonder about Chris Langham as the guest star: he was an emergency fill-in for Richard Pryor, whose turn as guest-star was supposed to happen the week he set himself on fire.

BTW, the "Mahna-Mahna" skit and the Animal vs. Buddy Rich drum battle can be found on YouTube, along with several other classic Muppet moments.

I really should be fair to the NBC Thanksgiving Day reporter...any man or woman in the street (as they used to be called) who does hundreds of interviews, will have that reflex to hold the microphone up to their subject...human or muppet! Great moment, though!

Speaking of interviews, watch Jim Henson and Kermit as they appeared on the talk show circuit (these should be fairly available on DVD). When Jim Henson talks, Kermit "listens", nods his head in agreement, or just sort of looks over at Jim or the host...the sort of polite body language we usually see from celebrities on talk shows. You almost forget that Jim Henson is ad libbing and effortlessly "co-ordinating" Kermit!

Guess Kermit really was Jim Henson's alter ego...or is that vice versa?

A few "weak" episodes late in the show's run, but a "weak" Muppet Show is head and shoulders above much of todays's comedy. Jim Henson had the best creative mind for comedic anarchy since Ernie Kovacs...and had it been possible, just imagine the comedy those two minds could have created, if just for one episode.

Probably the best tribute to Jim Henson's creative genious was this accidental moment, on live television:
Jim Henson and Kermit had an interview segment for NBC's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. The reporter, with large 1970's microphone in hand, and Jim (with Kermit in hand) were live on the street. The reporter and Jim had some cordial questions and answers. The interviewer, as planned, also posed a question for Kermit...AND HELD THE MICROPHONE TO KERMIT'S MOUTH!

This only lasted maybe two seconds, as Jim leaned forward to the microphone, and the interviewer realized her gaffe...but what a great (if accidental) tribute to the ingenious Jim Henson.

Never jumped.

I have the most wonderful memories of watching The Muppet Show every Friday night. We usually had my grandparents over for dinner, and I will always remember the sound of my Grandmother's laughter as we watched the show together. Priceless!

Coherent one way incoherent in another was the Muppet Show. In one ep Kermit and Miss. Piggy refer to the Muppet Movie they previously did. Fine, but why (if I recall correctly) when Chloris Leachman guested in another ep did they not recall her being in the Muppet Movie with them. Or was she on before they did the MM? I didn't care for all the guests(particularly, except for Peter Sellers,any of the European ones as not enough Americans knew who they were). Sometimes the show was a little nasty too with Miss. Piggy's antics leading the pack.

does anyone know the words of the song sang by rowlf endig with the words: "that's the time to stuffcotton in your ears"?