The Muppet Show : Season 3 on DVD
05.14.08 By Collin David
It was less than a year ago that I excitedly expounded on the second season of The Muppet Show being released on DVD, so it’s with that same enthusiasm that I bring you the third season of the Muppets Show. With a total of five seasons ever filmed, we’re over halfway towards having a complete collection of almost everything Muppets - and with the plentiful DVD extras, this goal is more possible than ever.
This DVD set contains 24 episodes, as have the previous releases. By the third season, the Muppets had really hit a unique rhythm and were attracting a huge variety of guests from the entertainment world. While every episode has at least a half-dozen memorable moments, not even counting the truly awesome Swedish Chef and Muppet Labs scenes, this season also holds some of the most well-known episodes, featuring Alice Cooper, Danny Kaye, and the legendary Harry Belafonte episode, which is a spiritual experience in itself. This might be a ridiculous thing to say of puppets, but I find it to be absolutely true.
There’s such a vibrant innocence to the show, and it’s never more clear than during Belafonte’s ‘Turn the World Around’ musical number. It needs to be seen. The Henson folks worked very closely with Belafonte on almost all of the content of the episode, all the way down to Muppet design - making sure that none of the African Mask Muppets would upset any religious or cultural sensibilities.
Some of my personal favorite guests include Leo Sayer and Roger Miller. Sayer’s spasmodic overacting makes him seem like he IS one of the Muppets, and while it’s pretty cringe-inducing, you settle into it by the end of the episode and you can probably base a drinking game on how many times Sayer can flailingly change his emotions in any given moment. Mime doesn’t work when your mouth is moving, Leo.
I admit that I’m too young to know who most of these people are without hearing their notable songs or seeing them in action, since all of the names come right out of the 1970s, but Roger Miller was one that I recognized by voice alone. In his episode, the entire cast comes down with Cluckitis and begins transforming into chickens. While he is spared from catching the epidemic, I had become a fan of Miller from his role as The Rooster in Disney’s 1973 production of Robin Hood (which is my favorite animated Disney movie of all time), so he got to be fowl after all.
Other guests on the 4-disc set include Jean Stapleton, Kris Kristofferson, Cheryl Ladd, Sylvester Stallone, Liberace and Gilda Radner, among many others. Of course, any TV-on-DVD set is only as good as its extras, and this set has some gems.
‘Muppets on Puppets’ is an hour long, black and white feature originally filmed in 1969, and is an extended exploration of puppets and puppetry by none other than Jim Henson, with assistance by Frank Oz and his puppet-making team. In relatively simple terms, Henson interacts with a bunch of puppets and talks about puppets from around the world, how they’re operated, how to make them, and how to put on a puppet show. It’s a rare opportunity to see Jim Henson as himself, operating his Muppets, and also pointing out to Rowlf that he is indeed a puppet, which only slightly shatters his world. Given how elaborately the Muppets are operated and have had a world seamlessly structured around them, it’s strange to see the humans who stick their arms up the Muppets’ guts. Just like the actors who performed alongside the Muppets, I forget that they’re not real - which is Henson’s real masterstroke. The whole feature is like watching an oldschool arts and crafts TV program, and it’s worth the price of the DVD set alone.
Additionally, there’s a 15-minute featurette called ‘A Company of Players’, which is a current-day conversation with the Muppet team about how some of the Muppets came about and the working relationship of all of the players. Finally, there’s 6 or 7 minutes of Purina commercials from the 60s that star Rowlf and another dog Muppet. As a huge fan of retro commercials, I approve.
And the whole thing is fuzzy. Yes, fuzzy. You can rub against it and it feels nice. It’s exceptional viewing, without exception, and I have many a soft summer afternoon planned with this playing. You should too.
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Article Tags: DVD, Jim Henson, Muppet Show, muppets, review================
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