Cert U
Show **** Extras ***
Jim Henson's puppet army had been doing telly guest spots for more than a decade before they got their own variety show in 1976. The Muppets were instant superstars, their weekly prime-time slot an exuberant, felt-covered cavalcade of rowdy slapstick, song-and-dance routines, groany gags and peculiar guest stars (a Swiss mime troupe called Mummenschanz? Go figure). Hanging out with Henson's indelible characters is where the fun lies: Kermit's eternal, scrunch-faced exasperation, Statler and Waldorf's heckler double-act and the great Gonzo.
The extras here are fun, if a bit meagre. The Muppet Morsels that can pop up during episodes fill in background anecdotes, but it would have been nice to hear some yakking about Henson's genius.
BEST BIT Miss Piggy makes her porcine passion for Kermit known during a musical number, thus creating TV's greatest unrequited love story... |