The Muppet Show - The Complete Third Season
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Movie Reviews of The Muppet Show - The Complete Third Season
Movie Review: Muppets at the top of their game!
Summary: 4 Stars
Season 3 of the Muppet Show is one I have been waiting for a long time. Most of these episodes are one I haven't seen, and I enjoying watching them for the first time. I love the Harry Belafonte episode more that ever before.
A few things make me rate this set 4 out of 5 stars.
First, as others have noticed, no Muppet Morsels. The First season DVD was awesome because it gave some behind the scenes information that Muppet fans really want to know about. And I thought that since it was in the first season it would continue through the rest of the series. Sadly, it's missing in Seasons 2 AND 3.
Second, the 10 minute mini-documentary "Company of Players" is just too short! It looked like there was a lot of footage taken from the old Muppet performers in interviews, and I could easily see that this could have stretched out at least an hour. Again, Muppet fans want to see and hear what it was like during the zany times on the show.
And thirdly - and this is technical issue - It seems that on my copy of the DVD, that the second disk was authored incorrectly. Anytime I go the "Episode Selection" screen and choose Helen Reddy's episode, Alice Cooper's starts instead. The only way I could watch the Helen Reddy episode is to "Play All" and skip all the scenes until her episode started.
Overall, this season of the Muppet is the best in video and audio quality, and is definitely worth picking up. If a few things could be added, this would have been a 5 star pick.
But because of the aforementioned concerns, I give it 4 out 5 stars.
Movie Review: The third season is also perhaps its most eclectic and unpredictable
Summary: 5 Stars
his set marks the third of five seasons that will hopefully all come to DVD soon. After watching the first three seasons, it only serves to remind me how great this show was and how today's families are fortunate for the opportunity to see this kind of quality and creativity today.
Genius is a word commonly attributed to Jim Henson, as well as some of his longtime collaborators, such as Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson, but the show itself is an ingenious concoction as well. Under the guise of constant self-deprecation, it is actually a meticulously crafted blend of vaudeville, TV variety and satire that constantly reflects within itself with a sharp irony much like that which is attributed to David Letterman and Conan O'Brien. It's a variety show that sends up variety shows.
In the first season DVD set, you could trace the development of the characters, particularly Miss Piggy. She went from being a chorus girl (often with differing voices) to a major international star. I'll never forget when Siskel and Ebert went into a lengthy debate about her performance in The Great Muppet Caper, before catching themselves in the absurdity of it all ("Can you believe we're talking about a piece of foam with more depth than many flesh and blood actors performing today?")
By season three, the show had found its identity and gained the kind of clout and chic that attracted the "in" celebrities of the day (Gilda Radner, for example). Ironically, some of these guest stars are the most dated aspects of the series. The bizarre, unpredictable style of a series at its peak is very much in evidence. The Loretta Lynn episode takes place in a railroad station, the Marisa Berenson show features the "wedding" of Kermit and Piggy, and the Lynn Redgrave show is an original musical version of "Robin Hood."
For fans of "Muppet*Vision 3-D" at the Disney parks, there are echoes in the Spike Milligan episode (which has a "Small World" finale) and the masterful show with Pearl Bailey that randomly combines Broadway show tunes with reckless abandon.
Not much in the way of extras, though the "Muppets on Puppets," a black and white documentary created for public TV in 1968, is a treat. A sweet new documentary short, "The Making of The Muppets," is just that, sweet but short. It would have been nice to have more of those pop-ups that added so much inside info to the Season One set -- not that I'm complaining, though, I'm just glad to have this show on DVD and love sharing it with the kids.
Movie Review: A Walk Down Muppet-Memory Lane...
Summary: 4 Stars
Growing up Muppet-style wasn't a choice, it was mandatory! From corny jokes and wild band members (Animal was my favorite), to grumpy old men booing in the balcony and listening to singing, dancing, and the acting talent of the day, The Muppet Show still holds nostalgic sway for those of us who grew up watching Jim Henson's puppeted cadre. Season three started off with a bang as singer Rita Coolridge graced the show with her amazing voice and actor Kris Kristofferson decided to rough-up a few of the cast. The show really got blazing, though, during episode four when Gilda Radner took a liking to Kermit, much to the chagrin (and karate chop) of Miss Piggy. But the Muppet brigade took a stunning jolt in episode seven when Alice Cooper was the guest star. Playing with the Muppet band, Alice took the show to a whole new level, showing U.S. audiences that puppets can be topical (and controversial?). It was then that The Muppet Show really started to take wing. Actors, musicians, and many other Hollywood talents began showing up in season three. From the voluptuous Rachel Welch and exceptionally talented Harry Bellafonte, to muscle man Sly Stallone and blonde bombshell Cheryl Ladd, the show gained notoriety from new quarters.
The amazing thing about The Muppet Show is that kids and adults can both enjoy it, but on totally different levels. Kids will probably like the physical comedy (watching Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker blow up the lab, or having a dog operate in an episode of Animal Hospital, "A show that has gone to the dogs.") while adults will be amazed at the interspecies attractions between the likes of Kermit and Miss Piggy, or Gonzo (whatever he is) and his chickens (note the plural there; was he a polygamist?)
No mention of The Muppet Show would be complete without noting the supporting cast. Two favorites tend to be Waldorf and Statler, the old hecklers that are perched in the balcony and heave insults and boos at the cast. My other personal favorite is Sam the Eagle (so overly-pompous).
Digitally remastered just like seasons one and two, the sound and visual qualities on most HD TVs is quite nice but still iffy in places. If you don't have an HDTV, you'll probably still enjoy it, but I'd recommend seeing it in all its digitally intended glory.
This latest release has some interesting packaging that I should mention. The cover-image of Fozzie actually has a soft texture that resembles his fur. Animal packaging? And there are some cool extra features, too:
"Muppets on Puppets" is a sixty-minute feature. Hosted by Jim Henson, it looks at the early formation of the Muppets. A rare feature that appeared first in 1969. Great Muppet history for those that want to be "in-the-know."
"A Company of Players" is a behind the scenes look at the puppeteers. The fascinating work of master puppeteers comes to light. For those that don't want the magic spoiled, you might want to pass on this one.
"Muppets Commercials" are a couple of Purina Dog Chow commercials that are hysterically funny.
A Trailer for Disney's upcoming release "Wall-E" and an advertisement for the new 2-Disc and Blu-Ray editions of "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
The Muppet Show ran for five years (1976 through 1980) and here in season three they were hitting an incredibly smooth stride. All the cast, crew, and guests appeared relaxed and to have enjoyed themselves immensely. The Alice Cooper episode is a must see, at the very least. Unfortunately there is no Blu-Ray disc release of any of the series, but I have a feeling they're coming. And if they don't come out in the near future, I'm gonna send out Miss Piggy to find out why. Hear that Sony?
Movie Review: This wonderful sequel is closed captioned.
Summary: 5 Stars
The producers of DVDs really should show on the box whether the DVD is closed captioned for the hearing impaired, and whether it has captions in other languages. The first Muppet DVD captioned dialogue but alas, not the songs. The second and third are closed captioned. This is incredibly important for the deaf and hearing impaired. I erroneously posted here that the DVD was not captioned because there was no symbol of it on the box. My son checked it out and indeed it is fully captioned!! Perhaps Amazon would be so kind as to add CC somewhere in its listing of this product. As Fozzy Bear might say, "Zowie!"Movie Review: missing just one key thing
Summary: 4 Stars
there might not be commentaries but at least put in the muppet morsels again. the past two seasons on dvd have had everything you want except for the morsels. there's alot of guests i still don't know anything about or even more muppets, jokes and gags i wanna more about. bring this feature back and these dvds get nothing but 5 stars.