Sunday, March 16, 2014

THE MUPPET SHOW: Every Episode Ranked - Part VI



THE MUPPET SHOW
EVERY EPISODE RANKED
28. PAUL SIMON
Season 5, Episode 11 - Songwriting Woes
With a legendary and prolific singer/songwriter like Paul Simon as the guest star, the Muppets center the whole show around his songs.  Simon himself sings his hits like "Long, Long Day," "Loves Me Like a Rock" and "Scarborough Fair" (seen below).  In addition to that, Floyd and Janice duet on his song "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (which of course the Muppets use the title for some really bad puns!) and even Gonzo tries his hand at songwriting (with exactly the disastrous results you can imagine!).

27. KENNY ROGERS
Season 4, Episode 10 - Slippery When Oiled
Kermit injures himself during the opening number and the Muppets are thrown into chaos.  Backstage there is also some chaos, the Theater owner has sold the mineral rights to some Arab businessmen and they begin to drill for oil (don't worry, the jokes are not as racist as you might expect!).  In the meantime, guest star Kenny Rogers sings some of his best songs (especially "The Gambler," seen below).  As for Kermit, it wouldn't the Muppets without some strange hilarity.  He takes part in a musical number, "assists" Gonzo with his catapult and is subjected to the help of Piggy who is determined to take care of her frog...no matter how much it hurts him.

26. DANNY KAYE

Season 3, Episode 16 - Statler & Waldorf Skip a Night
Statler and Waldorf leave their box during the show's theme song because they are not pleased with who the announced guest star is (they refer to him as "Whats-his-face Kaye, the worst performer they have ever seen!).  Of course they are mistaken, since Danny Kaye was the perfect performer to join the Muppets.  He sings a duet with Miss Piggy, cooks with the Swedish Chef (as his uncle, see below!) and sings his sweet hit "Inchworm" from the film Hans Christian Andersen.  In the end, Statler and Waldorf find out they were indeed mistaken (I won't tell you how, but it is quite funny!).

25. TONY RANDALL

Season 5, Episode 13 - Piggy Gets Stoned
Noted stage, screen and TV star joins the Muppets and creates havoc when he thumbs through an old magic spell book and accidentally turns Miss Piggy into a stone statue.  He does everything he can to rectify it, but to no avail.  Of course, the rest of the Muppets (with the exception of Kermit) think this is utterly hilarious (cause...well it is!), especially her fellow "Pigs In Space" crew.  In addition to the backstage hilarity, this episode features some great numbers including a rousing rendition of the rock classic "Yakkety Yak."

24. LIZA MINNELLI

Season 4, Episode 14 - Muppet Murders
Liza (with her "Z") joins the Muppets for a little murder mystery.  Kermit takes the part of a Sam Spade-like detective who is hired by famed performer Liza O'Shaughnessy (Ms. Minnelli) to find out who is trying to sabotage her new show.  While investigating, the director (played by Dr. Strangepork) and the stage manager (Scooter) are both murdered and the list of suspects keeps growing.  In the meantime, several great songs are performed like "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Great Day," "A Quiet Thing" and a charming rendition of Barry Mannilow's hit "CopaCabana" (seen below, with Liza as Lola!).

23. ETHEL MERMAN

Season 1, Episode 22 - The Small World of Irving Bizarre
Fozzie is excited to renegotiate his contract and he brings in his "big gun," his agent Irving Bizarre.  During all this, Broadway legend Ethel Merman sings some of her most classic tunes.  She even sings a bunch of them in one medley with most of the Muppet gang (seen below).  She tops it all off with a big, brassy and belty rendition of her legendary anthem "There's No Business Like Show Business."  There certainly was no one like her.

22. MAC DAVIS

Season 5, Episode 14 - Too Many Beakers!
Country star Mac Davis joins the Muppets and he sings some fun and catchy tunes ("Hard to Be Humble" is quite hilarious when he sings it with Link Hogthrob!).  But its chaos going on backstage at the Muppet Theater that drives this episode to great hilarity.  Dr. Bunsen Honeydew has commanded his poor assistant Beaker to test the Muppet Lab's new copier, and Beaker accidentally makes several copies of himself in the process.  The many Beakers run amok backstage driving the rest of the Muppets nuts, confusing Mac Davis and hunting down Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (who they blame for some strange and unknown reason!?!?!?!?!).

Tomorrow: #'s 21-16

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