UNAIRED PILOT
Priceless. Band conductor Nigel is the host. Certain touches are a little more raw and subversive. "Beneath the Return to the Planet of the Pigs"? Classic.
JULIET PROWSE **
Fozzy's eyes aren't quite right, and in her first appearance, Miss Piggy has a different voice. But we're off to the races, in a Statler/Waldorf-heavy episode. Juliet is lovely.
CONNIE STEVENS ****
Sha-bang! Only two tries to hit it out of the park. Connie is adorable, as she flirts with Kermit. The first appearance of The Swedish Chef, brought to life by both Jim and Frank, who kept each other on their toes, with the head not always knowing what the hands would do. Bert and Ernie guest star too, and the "Bert is gay" crowd doesn't want you to see this one.
JOEL GREY ***
Fozzie's eyes are finally right, but Piggy's voice is still wrong (half the time). Rowlf makes his solo piano debut, and Joel is charming doing "Cabaret", in which the Muppets continually steal his lines. Sondheim's "Comedy Tonight" also shines.
RUTH BUZZI ***
Ruth is a scream in "You're Just Too Good to be True", with Sweetums.
RITA MORENO ****
Rita sizzles and sparkles and is disturbingly sexy, for any milieu...particularly in a seedy bar scene where she arrives with skirt slit wayyyyyy up to here, and proceeds to dance/brawl with one of the locals. Her rendition of "Fever", with Animal getting carried away on drums, is classic. Rowlf is a howlf in the debut of Dr. Bob. Richard Hunt still hasn't given Piggy's voice full time to Frank. And it's a trivia gem, an unannounced appearance of Muppet versions of Jim and Frank (and Jerry Nelson), as a folk music trio.
JIM NABORS **
Jim is sweet and fun, in a middling episode notable for the debut solo number of Dr. Teeth, and for the first (sort of) appearance of guest-for-the-ages John Denver, when Mr. Nabors sings "Thank God I'm a Country Boy".
FLORENCE HENDERSON **
An episode that never quite takes off. The Kermit/Piggy dynamic is finally set (along with her voice).
PAUL WILLIAMS ***
If Paul doesn't move your excitement meter, look closer. For those of you whose lives have been touched by the worlds of Jim Henson, imagine THE MUPPET MOVIE without songs...every one written by Paul. Dr. Honeydew's debut, too.
CHARLES AZNEVOUR ***
For a bit, it seems that Charles is vying for the "most obscure" AND "most underused" guest awards. But his "Inchworm" number is very touching...and a touch peculiar, coming from one of the great stars of the land that gave us the, um, metric system.
HARVEY KORMAN ***
Dr. Teeth's debut with the Electric Mayhem!!! They do two atomic, jammin' numbers. Plus the gentle debut of Robin. Harvey is lovely.
LENA HORNE ***
Charming. The ragmop number is a gem.
PETER USTINOV ****
A middling episode is coming to a close, and with no warning, the final number flies away into the land where dreamers meet dreams, and no one is ever left behind. The tiny nuances in which this performance of "Bein' Green" differs from the album version probably won't be noticed by 99%.
BRUCE FORSYTH ***
British song and dance comedian Bruce is a deeelight. He teaches Fozzie how to deflect Statler and Waldorf's heckles. They do "Side By Side". The Snerts are beautiful.
SANDY DUNCAN ***
Even moreso than Rita Moreno, Sandy's sexual slink through "A Nice Girl Like Me" is a blind-siding, delightful surprise. She gets boozy, then some Muppets tear her skirt off. "Try to Remember" is also beautiful. Gonzo's first shining moment, as he sings "Nobody" with Rowlf.
CANDACE BERGEN ***
Candace is a smile, and part of one of the seminal moments in the history of feminism. Okay, maybe not that grandiose, but at least a moment that quietly affected a generation of children. She plays a put-upon wife for a hillbilly chauvinist Muppet, eventually stripping out of her LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE ensemble into a feminist T-shirt, before trashing his shack and walking out. Damn right, sister. The scene of her as an art class's model is also classic.
AVERY SCHREIBER ***
Funnyman Avery is charming, particularly singing the beautifully quirky "Make a Song". The Electric Mayhem perform a rip-roaring "Tenderly".
BEN VEREEN ***
Ben is sublime, especially in his two big numbers, "Mr. Cellophane" and "Pure Imagination". Rowlf play the chamber music "Fur Elise". The greatest Wayne & Wanda segment ever, with TOOTSIE lovers getting an extra giggle. The last time Richard Hunt voices Piggy.
PHYLLIS DILLER **
Spiller. Filler. Phone-biller. The first time Statler and Waldorf appear onstage.
VINCENT PRICE ***
A monstrous episode that ought be part of every Halloween tradition. A ghostly rendition of The Beatles "I'm Looking Through You" is the gem.
VALERIE HARPER ***
Sam and Rowlf perform "Tit Willow". Statler spends most of the episode backstage, trying to pick up Valerie. He asks her to a steak dinner. She's a vegetarian!
TWIGGY ***
A surprising delight. Thoroughly charming AND talented...her performance of "In My Life" is truly touching.
ETHEL MERMAN ***
Ethel gives an unforgettable performance. She does a sweet, slow arrangement of "No Business Like Show Business" for Fozzie, who's feeling down. You might cry.
KAYE BALLARD ***
Floyd and the band stage a walkout, because the theme song is too square. Over the end credits, Rowlf plays alone. Kaye is charming. The Jim, Frank, and Jerry Muppets are transcendant performing "In the Summertime".
MUMMENSCHANZ ***
Comic contortions, creatures, and clay faces. "When I'm Not Near the Fish I Love" strikes a blow for free love!
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