It’s time to play the music. It’s time
to light the lights. It’s time to get things started on the Muppet
Show tonight.
Okay, first things first: After some three decades, does the Muppet
Show hold up as quality entertainment?
Fearful what I’d see when the hazy fog of nostalgia was lifted,
I placed the first disc into my DVD player with trepidation. Surely the
show could not live up to my fond childhood memories. And yet my fears
were entirely unfounded. The answer to the question is, it sure does.
It does hold up. It remains a warm, lively, funny, clever show
populated by a huge cast of memorable characters.
In short, the Muppet Show still rocks.
The
Muppet Show was a family-friendly variety show back in the
days when variety shows not only still existed, but were actually popular.
Seems like a long ways away. And I suppose it was. After all, it has
been over 30 years since the Muppet Show hit the air
for six seasons of laughter, music and good times. Somehow the show,
which ran from 1976 to 1981, managed to appeal to both children and
adults. How, I do not know. All I know is, my parents and I watched
it together religiously, and far from it being a case of mom and dad
tolerating one of my shows, we ALL loved it.  Maybe it was the guest
stars. Maybe it was the music. Maybe there was nothing better on TV.
But I don’t know anyone between the ages of 30 and 60 who has
seen the Muppet Show and who did not love
it.
This
four-disc set collects the entire second season of this landmark program,
24 episodes in all, plus some bonus content. If you’ve seen even
a single episode of this popular program, you know how they all go. Kermit
the Frog and crew attempt to put on a great show for their audience.
They have a special guest star who will provide the entertainment. Backstage
shenanigans threaten to throw the program off course, but by the end
everyone is given a great performance and walks away happy.
 Well, except for the two hilariously grumpy old men in the balcony,
that is.
Each
episode leans in a direction that suits its guest star, emphasizing music
for Elton John (episode 14) and Julie Andrews (episode 17), vaudeville
comedy for Milton Berle (episode 3), slapstick for guys like Don Knotts
(episode 1) and Dom DeLuise (episode 11), and so on and so forth. Major
stars like John Cleese, Peter Sellers, Bob Hope, George Burns, and others
make appearances during this season, and all have some great moments
that fans simply must see. I mean, Milton Berle and Fozzie Bear trading
old stage humor during a goofy song and dance number? Classic.
Even
better, the show holds up for today’s youth, too. I watched a good
chunk of these episodes with my 10-year-old son, and he laughed uproariously,
 declaring it one of his new favorite shows. He didn’t know who
any of the guest stars were, nor did he care. He just knew he loved the
characters and humor and relentless pace of the skits. When I wasn’t
watching these discs for review, he was asking to put them in himself,
that’s how much he enjoyed it.
To say that I was surprised not only at the show’s ability to
still be entertaining all these years later, but also to capture the
heart of a new generation, is an understatement. I learned long ago that
nostalgia is not to be trusted. That which you loved as a youth is likely
to disappoint as an adult.
But not the Muppet Show. The Muppet Show rocks.
 Disc Presentation
I’m
not aware of the program being remastered or otherwise improved, so
the overall quality of these discs surprised me. Oh, don’t get
me wrong, they won’t put even the slightest strain on your expensive
home theater, it’s just that the episodes still look pretty decent
even today. Maybe it’s the bright, bold color palette of the show,
but generally, while it still looks like older TV, this set offers a
better picture than most TV-on-DVD collecting shows from this era. Good
looking picture.
The sound is also great, which is welcome, as the Muppet Show is
full of musical numbers. We get a solid surround track with clear, crisp
audio and nice, full music. Good stuff.
 Disc Extras
The
array of bonus content here might not be enough to make me gush with
delight, but it’s solid enough for what it is.
The Muppets Valentine Special – First aired in 1974
and largely unseen since, this is the centerpiece extra on the set, and
one likely to have older viewers exclaim, “I remember that!” Cute,
primitive, and delightful.
The Muppets on the Muppets – A whole series of brief
interviews rather than a single feature, this extra gives us some modern
day Muppet wackiness as the Muppets answer questions like, “Who
is your best friend,” and so on. There are some funny moments here,
but in a few instances the differing voice actors are glaringly obvious.
 Weezer
music video – A few years back, Weezer’s video for Keep
Fishin’ made a splash with 30somethings when the band essentially
created the first new Muppet Show episode in years. It’s not a full episode,
of course, but it is five or six minutes of good fun. I generally
dislike music videos as extras, but this one? This one I liked.
The Bottom Line
Still the reigning champ after 30 years, The Muppet Show remains
a fun, funny, entertaining program as good as when you and it first fell
in love. Don’t worry about it not holding up to your nostalgia-laden
memories. It manages the trick with ease. The back of the box says, “The
Muppet Show is even better than you remember,” and you
know what? It is. It is wonderful to have the Muppets on my
TV again.
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