Product Description

And now a show that needs no introduction, but here's one anyway... Go bonkers with Beaker, goofy with Gonzo and join the brave cast of "Pigs In Space" for one of the most revolutionary and acclaimed shows in the history of television. Garnering an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program in its hilarious second season, THE MUPPET SHOW redefined prime time and showcased a host of outrageous guest stars, including Steve Martin, Peter Sellers, Elton John, Julie Andrews and more. Experience all 24 episodes from Season Two – digitally remastered and restored – in this special 4-disc DVD set. With hours of bonus features, including THE MUPPETS VALENTINE SPECIAL and rare archival footage, THE MUPPET SHOW is even better than you remember!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #942 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2007-08-07
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 612 minutes

Amazon.com
Quick wit, slapstick comedy, excellent puppets and puppetry conceived by Jim Henson, an astounding array of guest stars, and a whole lot of backstage chaos made The Muppet Show a favorite family show for a whole generation in the mid to late 1970's and those same ingredients make it equally enjoyable for today's audiences. The 24 episodes of this second 1976 season of The Muppet Show represent the family variety show at its strongest, with familiar characters like host Kermit the Frog, his assistant Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Rolph the piano playing dog, and regular segments like "Pigs in Space," "Veterinarian's Hospital," "Swedish chef," and "At the Dance." Intermingled throughout are silliness, skits, and songs featuring an impressive roster of guest stars including entertainment greats like Judy Collins, Don Knotts, Bernadette Peters, Dom Deluise, George Burns, John Clese, and Bob Hope. The hilarious predicaments of the Muppets and their guest stars are absolutely timeless and the look back in time at the earlier careers of enduring stars like Steve Martin, Julie Andrews and Elton John is equally fascinating. Highlights of this second season are Kermit's emotional ballad "It's Not Easy Being Green," Judy Collins classic rendition of "Send in the Clowns," the two old men's curmudgeonly and witty criticism of every show, Miss Piggy's determined and amorous pursuit of Kermit, and the Swedish Chef's bumbling inability to catch up with the chicken. Bonus features include the rare 1974 Muppets Valentine Special featuring a young Mia Farrow and a host of virtually unknown Muppet characters including the enormous blue monster, Thog. Also included is Muppets' music video of "Keep Fishin'," and interview footage of "The Muppets on the Muppets." Whether reliving childhood evenings spent with family around the television or experiencing The Muppet Show for the first time, viewers of all ages will adore this second season. --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

The Muppets at their best
This four-disc set includes all 24 episodes of "The Muppet Show" from the 1977-1978 television season -- one of the show's funniest years -- digitally remastered like those on The Muppet Show - Season One and The Muppet Show - Season Three. Each show has all of its original content, includes segments originally seen only in the United Kingdom, and runs a full 25:30. As with those in the other years, the guest stars for this season are a mix of Hollywood legends and then-current celebrities, but this year had more than its share of major stars. Here's the complete line-up:

EPISODE 1: Don Knotts
EPISODE 2: Zero Mostel
EPISODE 3: Milton Berle
EPISODE 4: Rich Little
EPISODE 5: Judy Collins
EPISODE 6: Nancy Walker
EPISODE 7: Edgar Bergen
EPISODE 8: Steve Martin
EPISODE 9: Madeline Kahn
EPISODE 10: George Burns
EPISODE 11: Dom DeLuise
EPISODE 12: Bernadette Peters
EPISODE 13: Rudolf Nureyev
EPISODE 14: Elton John
EPISODE 15: Lou Rawls
EPISODE 16: Cleo Laine
EPISODE 17: Julie Andrews
EPISODE 18: Jaye P. Morgan
EPISODE 19: Peter Sellers
EPISODE 20: Petula Clark
EPISODE 21: Bob Hope
EPISODE 22: Teresa Brewer
EPISODE 23: John Cleese
EPISODE 24: Cloris Leachman

Most of these shows have a lot to offer, but to me two really stand out. First, the John Cleese show is hilarious. In its Pigs in Space skit, the Monty Python star chews up the scenery as pirate Long John Silversteen. "A pirate don't use an intercom!" Cleese scarls when a Muppet suggests a modern way to communicate. "'Twould be sissy!" The Nureyev episode, on the other hand, is a real oddity. After the ballet star sings "Putting On My Top Hat," he shoots down his chorus line with a machine gun. Later, he dances to "Swan Lake" with a human-size pig.

Bonus features include "The Muppets Valentine Day Special," a 1974 television pilot which aired more than two years before "The Muppet Show" debuted. Kermit the Frog and actress Mia Farrow star, but the host is Wally, a Henson character who would rarely be seen again. Also included is "The Muppets on The Muppets," (a 13-minute series of tongue-in-cheek interviews) and the 2002 music video "Keep Fishin'" by Weezer.

Also worth mentioning is the packaging. The menus on each disc are hosted (Fozzie Bear and Kermit chat with you on Discs 1 and 3; Animal and Rizzo handle Discs 2 and 4) and the episodes themselves have (unidentified) chapter stops. In addition, the box itself is more than just cardboard, at least in this initial printing. On the front, Miss Piggy's face is fuzzy, and her blue eyes sparkle.

Problems? Just one: the closed captioning doesn't include any song lyrics!

Keeping vaudeville alive with puppets...
Two years of painful waiting has finally produced Season 2 of "The Muppet Show" on DVD. Compiliation of season one was apparently fraught with copyright squabbles, resulting in some missed segments and shows of varied length. Happily, all shows on this set run to approximately the same length and show no signs of slicing and dicing. And that's good, because The Muppets became stars (well, quasi-stars, they were puppets) during this season and were able to attract bigger names. In contrast to season one, anyone alive in 1977-78 would recognize 95% of the names listed on the box: Elton John, Bob Hope, George Burns, Julie Andrews, Steve Martin, Peter Sellers, Petula Clark, and on and on. Anyone who wasn't there will probably wonder how a bunch of fancy talking oven mitts ever caught on with the public. Those who were there know why. Season 2 solidified the cast: Kermit as undisputed front runner (he plays marginal roles in the pilots), Miss Piggy as the pig infused with unrequited love, Fozzy as the cheesy comedian, Statler and Waldorf as the curmudgeon critics, Gonzo as the frustrated artist. The indefatigable "Pigs in Space" also made its debut. Season two ends up being worth the wait. It even has a fuzzy cover.

The show's formula remained vaudevillian with songs, skits, and stars. Ghosts of the Marx Brothers loom in the background. Puns and slapstick abound. Even international artistic sensations such as Rudolph Nureyev drop all pretensions. Nureyev dances with a large pig. He sings, dressed only in a towel, "Baby, it's cold outside" with an aroused Miss Piggy. She tries to abscond with the towel. The guy definitely had a sense of humor. When Steve Martin appeared, the show was canceled. Instead they held auditions for new acts. Martin plays his famous "wild and crazy guy" (sans obscenities) to its hammy limits. He has to compete with the brilliant "ribbit" song duet, who do moving renditions of "Old Man Ribbit" and "Way Down Upon the Swami Ribbit." A hard act to beat, for sure. Elton John fits right in with chickens in leather, large feathery creatures and singing crocodiles providing accompaniment. Judy Collins does an amazing rendition of "There was an Old Woman who Swallowed a Fly." Julie Andrews, still in robust voice, reprises her Sound of Music days with Muppetry. Peter Sellers delivers the usual hilarious and disturbing performance. He squawks to Kermit "There is no me I do not exist. There used to be a me but I had it surgically removed." And of course John Cleese steals the entire show. Even Muppets can't compete.

Season one included the show's pilot, and this set includes a sort of a pilot. In 1974 "The Muppets Valentine Special" aired with guest Mia Farrow. It was a test run. The formula wasn't exactly perfected yet, though an it presents an interesting look at the formation of the Muppets. Ernie and Bert even appear. But don't blink. This experiment remains a far cry from the hit show that debuted a few years later. By 1981 the Muppets were so big that Jim Henson pulled the TV show for larger bait, namely more movies. But in the late 1970s the Muppets reigned on television. Season 2 showcases their imminent rise and shows once and for all that there was entertainment before CG.

Now how long before Season 3?

The Muppets I Love, Remember & Hope Return!
It has been two years since The Muppet Show: Season One release and Season Two is worth the wait. It appears that Disney had to stare-down some carnivorous music licensors in order to release the season uncut (also including the extra skits previously unseen in America). They have set a good precedent for future seasons. Actually, I won't mind if this leads to a re-issue of season one unedited.

The episodes alone give this set a perfect score. This is the Muppets at their best! They Crocodile Rock with Elton John, coerce John Cleese into singing, audition strange performances with Steve Martin, throw cutlery at (always-in-character) Peter Sellers and Kermit the Pig takes over the Cloris Leachman episode. Best of all...Beaker appears in this season. (Meep!)

Sound and color are fine and appear to be slightly re-mastered from the 70s PAL formatted source. The packaging is simple and attractive. I like the limited edition fuzzy-faced Piggy on the cover, others might want to seek the plain version. The graphics have a classic look rather than the unfortunate newer (and much over-used) stock imagery that has marred recent products.

The special features include the deliciously odd Valentine Special with Mia Farrow. I particularly like her dance with Thog. I miss that big blue fella! The Weezer video is enjoyable, but does not include MTV2's making-of documentary with Pepe. It's funny (Rowlf appeared in it) and I kind of expected its inclusion. That being the case, something other than the video would have made a better addition.

The Muppets on the Muppets documentary is fantastic, but way too short. It really left me wanting more - and to give Animal a bunny rabbit. The menus also contain great banter with Fozzie & Kermit, Animal & Rizzo. I would have liked to see Rowlf, Scooter and the Mayhem included in this new footage. Maybe next time.

The menus and the interface are much more Muppety than the previous release. Also the pop-up trivia option is absent this time. I am one of the few that didn't care for the feature. I found it distracting (and I knew most of the trivia). I would rather have them record performer commentary. It would be sensational to hear stories from the Muppet trenches from those who have been there.

There are some people out there (usually non-fans) who believe that the passing of Jim Henson should have sealed the fate of the Muppets. I disagree. There is a misconception that he was their one and only core. He was a great creator/performer whose characters ranged from the kind-hearted Kermit to the boisterous, nonsensical Swedish Chef. He was also the soft touch that brought out the best in every performer and writer (we miss you Jerry Juhl). The Muppets were best under Jim's genius, yet it has always been a team effort and that is best illustrated here.

Recent attempts with the Muppet characters have been hit-or-miss. Fans have taken the good with the lack-luster. I hope the Muppets find their solid foamy center again and move forward with the confidence, grace and humor as seen in The Muppet Show: Season Two.