The Couch Potato Report – August 9, 2005
This week The Couch Potato Report features The Muppets, and man am I excited!!
I was born at the right time. Some people wish they had been alive in the fifties, the twenties, the renaissance or the age of innocence, or some time other then when they were born, but I was born at the right time.
I was born in 1968. A year later a great family show called SESAME STREET began. In my early years I learned how to share, count and much more from Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, Mr Hooper, Kermit and all of my friends at SESAME STREET. I enjoyed every sunny day, sweepin’ the clouds away, on my way to where the air was sweet.
No one had to tell me how to get to SESAME STREET, I knew the way.
As I was getting older and began to search for a new show to call my own, along came a program made by some of the same people responsible for SESAME STREET, namely Jim Henson.
This new show also featured Kermit The Frog, one of my favourite characters from SESAME STREET.
Once I had graduated from Sesame Street, another great family show, THE MUPPET SHOW was waiting right there to entertain me!
Yes, I was born at exactly the right time!
Now, after years of having to suffice with just “Best Of” compilations the entire first season of THE MUPPET SHOW is available on DVD!!
And I am trying to remain calm, because it is my favourite TV show of all time!!
I completely enjoyed playing the music, lighting the lights, and meeting the Muppets on The Muppet Show again this week.
THE MUPPET SHOW – SEASON ONE is a four-disc box set that features all 24 episodes from the 1976 season. Each episode has been completely restored and remastered. The set also features the original pilot, the original pitch of the show and a great trivia filled feature called “Muppet Morsels”.
I am happy to report that all of the charm, the craziness, the bad jokes, the running gags, and every element of THE MUPPET SHOW still holds up almost thirty years after it’s debut.
Of course, that is said as someone who is a fan. If you or your children are people who have never seen the show, and finds the films that The Muppets are making these days less than entertaining, I can’t say that you will share my excitement.
I also say that because a friend of mine was watching some of the episodes with me and she wasn’t enjoying them at all. She then asked me what I enjoy about the show. I explained that I like the characters, the jokes and the music, but I the main reason that I enjoy it was because of the fact that I loved it as a child.
Yes, I still enjoy the show a great deal, but since it was a part of my youth Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and the rest of The Muppets are sort of like people I grew up with, maybe even like family.
Of course, while watching them, I admit I don’t feel like I have grown up at all!
Some of The Muppets’ guest stars in SEASON ONE are Charles Aznavour, Candice Bergen, Ruth Buzzi, Phyllis Diller, Joel Grey, Florence Henderson, Lena Horne, Harvey Korman, Jim Nabors, Vincent Price and Peter Ustinov.
The highlights are too numerous to list, but what I truly love is Charles Aznavour singing the song “Inchworm”; the Koozbanian Mating Ritual; Lena Horne’s rendition of “I Got a Name”; Muppet Robin’s version of “Halfway Down the Stairs”; Kermit singing “It’s Not Easy Being Green”; and then there’s the Muppet classic “Mahna, Mahna.”
Whether it is due to the fact that I have loved THE MUPPET SHOW since I was a kid or whether it is due to the fact that I am still entertained by it, I suppose I will never be able to say.
But I completely enjoyed watching this SEASON ONE box set and I will be just as excited when SEASONS TWO through FIVE come out.
I will also be just as excited when FRAGGLE ROCK – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON comes out on September 6th, but I digress.
Now, in case you think I will recommend anything that The Muppets do, you need to know my thoughts on THE MUPPETS’ WIZARD OF OZ. This is the TV movie from May based on the classic story.
On the Friday it aired three months ago, I rushed home after work to watch it.
When it was over, I wasn’t disappointed, as I am a fan, but it wasn’t very good.
I am sure you know the story behind THE WIZARD OF OZ, so I will just tell you that singer Ashanti stars as Dorothy, Pepe the King Prawn is Toto, Kermit is the Scarecrow, Gonzo is the Tin Man and Fozzie plays The Cowardly Lion.
It still seems like a great idea, but the film isn’t as good as the work that is The Muppets’ legacy and, in the end, THE MUPPETS’ WIZARD OF OZ just isn’t very entertaining.
If you’re not a Muppet fan and you’d like to watch THE WIZARD OF OZ, look for the Judy Garland version. If you are a Muppet fan, I’m sure you already own it, whether you think it is good or bad.
Either way THE MUPPETS’ WIZARD OF OZ and THE MUPPET SHOW – SEASON ONE are all available right now.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
UNDECLARED is one of the best, under-rated, and least watched TV shows off all times. Next week the entire series debuts on DVD and I will tell you all about it!
On the other hand is THE SIMPSONS, one of the highest-rated, most watched shows of all time. THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON DVD COLLECTION has all 25 episodes from the sixth season, including Part One of the season cliffhanger “Who Shot Mr. Burns?”
Another high-rated, popular show is also new on DVD. Our other featured television title next week is THE COSBY SHOW – SEASON ONE.
Finally next week is the film SIN CITY. This is the very unique film based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller. Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino share directing credits with Miller and the movie about a city full of hard luck cases is a treat for the eyes! Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke and Clive Owen lead the all-star cast.
I’m Dan Reynish and I will have more on those, and some other releases in seven days.
For now, that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I’ll see you back here next week on The Couch!
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