"The Muppet Show" is a fun series that currently can be seen in reruns on Disney+ and I am thrilled as I can now re-watch a series I watched and loved when I was young.
Now as I watch the show again, I have noticed several things. First, the quality of the show improved with each season. Initially, like most shows, the characters were less developed and the lesser ones vanished and the better ones got more and more screen time. Season one, as a result, is good but not nearly as good as later ones. Second, the quality of the individual episodes varied according to who the guests were and how involved they seemed to allow themselves to be. A great example is Jean Stapleton, who was so refreshingly weird that it's among the very best of the shows. On the other extreme were Mummenschanz as well as Liberace, who mostly just showed up and did their routines and had little interaction with the Muppets...and these episodes are far from great.
Overall, like any variety show, the quality varies but overall the show has amazing heart and is quite fun and innovative. Too bad it only lasted five seasons, mostly because the later incarnations of the Muppets' television shows never really hit their stride like "The Muppet Show".
Now as I watch the show again, I have noticed several things. First, the quality of the show improved with each season. Initially, like most shows, the characters were less developed and the lesser ones vanished and the better ones got more and more screen time. Season one, as a result, is good but not nearly as good as later ones. Second, the quality of the individual episodes varied according to who the guests were and how involved they seemed to allow themselves to be. A great example is Jean Stapleton, who was so refreshingly weird that it's among the very best of the shows. On the other extreme were Mummenschanz as well as Liberace, who mostly just showed up and did their routines and had little interaction with the Muppets...and these episodes are far from great.
Overall, like any variety show, the quality varies but overall the show has amazing heart and is quite fun and innovative. Too bad it only lasted five seasons, mostly because the later incarnations of the Muppets' television shows never really hit their stride like "The Muppet Show".