Muppets Tonight Review | Too Edgy for The Muppets?

[@DanGamingFan2406]

Honestly, I really loved this show. The SNL style format, all of the new characters and personalities, and the selection of guest stars, were all very entertaining. It was still just as chaotic as the original Muppet Show, and I wish Clifford would make a comeback.

[@IsiahTomas]

I keep staring at that white button of his.

[@robertroy92]

me too

[@robertroy92]

and don forget seymour sal and johnny

[@KyleRDent]

Gilbert Gottfried being a rabid fanboy over Kermit the Frog is still one of the funniest Muppet moments for me.

[@danielgudinojuarez6729]

Agreed!!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@chrisbrasel8060]

A moment that two legends where on-screen together. Rest in peace Gilbert and if you were ever a Muppet you'll be the most loudest and crude one of them all in a good way.

[@hunterolaughlin]

@@chrisbrasel8060I still wish I didn’t have to live in a world where comedians like Gilbert Gottfried & Paul Reubens are dead.

[@chrisbrasel8060]

@@hunterolaughlin It's sad and depressing for sure that we have to live in a world without them but they're with us in our hearts and memories and they left behind films, shows and recordings of their moments of joy and laughter so in a way they're never truly gone. I miss people like Robin Williams but he's not gone just loved and remembered as if he never left. 🃏 😥 🙏 👼 🎥 📺

[@kylemorello4787]

There are so many classic moments in this series! Kermit singing Same as it Ever Was, Seymour and Pepe's Ellifino bit, the Manna Manna therapy sketch, Gonzo singing Dancing With Myself, Paula Abdul singing Opposites Attract with Clifford (guess that makes him MC Skat Catfish), multiple scenes with Bobo (aka the only post Henson character from both the regular Muppets and Sesame Street that everyone unanimously seems to love, unless you want to count John Slivers crew). These moments are just as memorable as Viking pigs singing in the Navy or Harry Belafonte singing turning the world around with African tribal masks.

[@1977TA]

Jim Henson did not intend for the Muppets to become the family friendly characters we know them as today. His initial vision was for them to be edgy and more suitable for adult audiences. When the Children's Television Workshop pitched him the concept of using his muppets in an education show for children he did not like the idea because he knew it would limit them to child friendly content only. After accepting the deal to produce Sesame Street Jim did not give up on his initial adult audience version of the muppets. He produced two television specials that served as pilots for The Muppet Show series. The second of these two specials was titled "Sex and Violence". When the Muppet Show series started airing in 1976, the edgy adult humor was toned down due to the child friendly reputation Sesame Street had given the muppets. If Jim Henson could've had his way he would have certainly put the muppets in R rated films similar to the 2018 film "Happy Time Murders". "Muppets Tonight" or any modern muppet show that utilizes edgy adult humor is actually closer to what Jim Henson wanted for his characters.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Have you ever watched the BBC sitcom "Mongrels," perchance?

[@ryko1478]

Happy time murders fucking sucks tho

[@robbieking4070]

Another new Mupper I remember was Dr Van Neuter, the mad scientist. Like Clifford, he also featured in Muppets From Space.

[@TCPolecat]

Is it wrong that my mind immediately went to how they could have handled Spamela and made her a compelling character. Put her on-screen/skit as the bimbo, but backstage she's really smart, but keeps getting type-casted roles because of her body. Use her to kinda turn the spotlight around on the show-makers of the time and follow her usual grousing backstage when off-camera. That could have changed her to at least an interesting character, if not a compelling one.

[@reneeangely8446]

Yeah, the kind of portrayed her as the dumb blonde stereotype with a hot body to match.

[@chrisbrasel8060]

I mean yeah you got a good point as the running bit of a similar character from Amimatics is that she's seen as a pretty yet not complex character when onscreen in a project but off screen she's pretty yes but smarter and complex than her on-screen roles. It says alot about being a actress in the industry and it had yet touched on the idea of her getting older and because she's older she's getting less roles which lots of actresses face. They writers could've written her better I agree.

[@zanpakutoman4225]

I was thinking, play more into the airhead aspect of her character. Make her more naive and honest rather than just the bimbo type. Make her like a Homer Simpson or Philip J. Fry, where they're not smart but their honesty makes some of their lines really clever. Your idea is also good, though. A nice subversion of the just a pretty face/body personality most shows had around the 90s and 2000s. It could've given other characters a new dynamic with such a smart character to interact with, as well. I think it's agreed though that the show kind of did her potential character dirty.

[@TBoneTony]

I remember Muppet's Tonight. I loved that James Bond episode as well as the one they spoofed The Sound of Music. The first episode was all about Kermit and friends trying to figure out how to fill in a blank timeslot called TBA. And the host of the show was one of the final creations of Jim Henson that he introduced shortly before he passed.

[@TheAnchorArmsChad]

This gave me 2 of my FAVORITE underrated Muppets: Johnny Fiama and Sal Manilla

[@magnetoonproductions9541]

The show really did feel like a product of its time. Part of the Muppet Show’s timelessness is that it always had a mix of past and present celebrities appearing on the show. The guest stars on Muppets Tonight felt like flavor of the month. In fact, the Muppet Show introduced me to a lot of boomer celebrities. There were also a lot of pop culture references and parodies on Muppets Tonight, none of which were present in the original show.

[@gamestation2690]

At some point, though, the "present" celebrities on The Muppet Show will also be "past."

[@chrisbrasel8060]

Muppets tonight is a show from the 90's but has a appeal long lasting the era it debuted in. Many kids growing up watching first knew of these celebrities through the show and it's nice to see the likes of Gilbert G. Interacting with Kermit the frog.

[@jgee8421]

It’s ahead of its time then. Meaning it would deffinetly fly now

[@zanpakutoman4225]

In defense of Spamela, I have seen someone point out that she'd make a GREAT FOIL to Miss Piggy. Where Miss Piggy is an over-the-top diva that's always trying to be the center of attention, but Spamela gets that attention without even trying or caring. The first appearance of Spamela has them both in it and Miss Piggy is screaming about being attacked by a shark but everyone's more focused on Spamela. Even without the male gaze aspect, Spamela's also more soft spoken (even if it's suppose to be a sultry voice) and nicer than Miss Piggy. They could do a skit where they're both doctors and Miss Piggy creates the cure to all diseases and nobody looks her way, because Spamela put a bandage on a kid's elbow and is getting a Nobel Peace Prize. I think, if she got paired with another Muppet that isn't such a horndog then her ditziness could've added something similar to when Kermit kept telling Cookie Monster "It's NOT a cookie!". Pair her with Fozzie and she never understands his jokes no matter what he says. Maybe, with Beaker and Bunsen, but she can't understand Bunsen's explanations but she perfectly understands Beaker's meeps. So even without the Baywatch parody,, she had potential to have good chemistry with other characters. Also obviously, they needed to give the woman some more clothes to wear.

[@tyreekanimations]

Really Great ideas, I agree alot

[@BrandonCroker]

Tonight it’s our special guest, Figment. Yay!

[@arielruh7773]

Yay indeed now we need mickey back in muppets

[@fae206]

I love Muppets Tonight, I watched it in the 90s and recorded it on VHS. I felt so cool as an eight year old watching it, lol

[@Hack_Man_VII]

Statler and Waldorf had the best humor. If I knew that judge was going to give us the box, I'd have asked for the chair! Do ho ho ho ho!

[@EngineerRiff]

I recently watched this show. They definitely should’ve done more with the characters afterwards

[@Babbleplay]

Some of them, maybe. I'd be quite fine never seeing Piggy's idiot nephews again.

[@reneeangely8446]

Ugh! I can’t stand Randy and Andy pig!

[@Princess_-gp3ep]

@@reneeangely8446me either!

[@bullmonty764]

The funniest thing about this show isn’t even a skit. Rather, it’s that when Prince guest-starred on the show, he rather hypocritically launched into a parody of Raspberry Beret. I get such a kick out of that because, with the sole exception of Traffic Jam, Prince was infamously the one artist who never allowed Weird Al to parody his work (to the point that he only agreed to appear on Muppets Tonight if Al himself was never a guest) but apparently it’s okay when *the Muppets* do it…

[@potrelviewer9536]

Thank Walt that I have a good dose of patience. Hope your voice has recovered since the medical operation.

[@AWESOMEjeff654r]

Muppets Tonight for Disney+

[@12345673976]

This is where things get in tense for the Muppets

[@moisesreyes1209]

My favorite guest on this show was prince because it was funny seeing two different styles of genres colliding together and he was hilarious interacting with the other muppets and fun fact he even re recorded for some of his songs he did on that episode and I still listen to those songs seriously that starfish and coffee song version on muppets tonight is so catchy to listen too

[@NaiTaiDai]

As a kid, I always got the feeling Rizzo pretty much took up the "Scooter" role: the stagehand who worked most closely to the host, but that's probably just me.

[@tdarkhorse4]

well yeah he absolutely did. scooter only had one performer before that point, richard hunt, who died of aids complications in 1992. the two headed monster faded out of sesame street around the same time for the same reason. between hunt's death and the 2003-filmed "a very merry muppet christmas" scooter had no lines of dialogue, only showing up occasionally in the background of other muppet projects just in nonspeaking roles. guy smiley disappeared from sesame street altogether after jim died. the reason kermit and rowlf didn't suffer the same fate is they were too big of characters, they needed kermit, and luckily jim was training the man who became the second kermit shortly before his death. so yeah rizzo taking the scooter role wasn't just your imagination, but this came out only 4 years after hunt died so probably started the writing and performing/filming 2-3 years after, it was way too soon for the team as a whole especially with how bad of shape he was in at the end. now i don't know why the muppet team had a definite pivot in favor of rizzo in the 90s but he was basically the 2nd to gonzo in both of the story adaptation 90s films and they needed a character that was recognizable but not super heavily in the original muppet show so they landed on rizzo as the one to take that role.

[@georgerobertson7010]

@@tdarkhorse4it’s a very merry muppet Christmas movie came out in 2002 not 2003

[@lexramstudios1386]

Well Jim Henson wanted the Muppets to be more than kids so let them have the Muppets be edgy

[@TreyMcDonaldAnimator]

To be honest, Muppets Tonight feels like the risque humor Jim probably would have leaned towards since he had an adult edge to The Muppet Show. I loved this installment of Muppets! It's extremely nostalgic! The one that sticks out to me is the one with Cindy Crawford LOL

[@jordangerardpotier]

Parents: you! Kermit: me? Parents: you think this is funny? Kermit: In a cosmic sort of way yes Parents: well mr.funny man, is this how you get your sick kicks? Kermit: what, it’s just an ordinary mup-OH MY GOODNESS! Disney!

[@iancpowell]

One thing that gets forgotten about when it comes to any CBS Saturday morning programing, a lot of them failed because they weren’t aired on all CBS stations. WBNS in columbus only carried Muppet Babies and Pee wee.

[@ProfCoolio]

Potty is Patchy the Pirate’s parrot. Long John Silver’s lobster was named Polly.

[@persadies]

Wait..... Objectifying a puppet... object...puppet.... wait, a puppet is an object

[@moonprincesst.s.h.4ever115]

Muppets Tonight isn’t one of my favorite Muppet projects, but my favorite episode (mainly because of the music and not the comedy) is the one where the late, great American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer named Prince (Rogers Nelson) during the time when he was using a symbol as his name.

[@mikechicago6200]

Edgy is cool and man the 90s were the best......nowadays theyre too safe! Spamella was actually a fun character im sad they retired.

[@goranisacson2502]

This is an interesting video to watch since Muppets Tonight IS pretty much my personal "Muppet show". I don't recall being a fan of Sesame Street, but Muppets Tonight felt a bit more adult to my ten-year old self, so I have a soft spot for it.... but it's also been DECADES since I've seen it so I have no idea how it would hold up. I enjoyed the chaos, and it really just struck me now that Clifford hasn't been seen ever since, but even now thatI try to dig in my memory I can't say that much comes to mind except the Pierce Brosnan episode, because it ending with a Goldfinger riff and Pierce Brosnan fighting muppet terrorists in a lobster costume... that sticks with you. Funnily enough Spamela Hamderson didn't as I only remembered her when I saw the thumbnail, but I guess she WAS a pretty weak joke on the whole... either that or I prefer lobsters to pigs, which is one hell of a revelation to come in my thirties from an AniMat video.

[@magnetoonproductions9541]

Here are some reasons why Muppets Tonight flopped and didn’t connect with audiences as well the old show: • Clifford being the host instead of Kermit. He was previously a minor character on the Jim Henson Hour and he only made a handful of appearances after that, most of which were specials, sing along videos, guest spots on talk shows, albums and PC games. As a result, most people weren’t too familiar with him and thought he was created for the show. Not helping matters is his redesign and retool. In this show, he was featured with eyes instead of his cool dude sunglasses and being the host caused him to basically go from being a cool dude, to being Kermit with a black accent, making him unrecognizable. Not even Kevin Clash was fond of this version of Clifford. • You mentioned in a previous video that the head writers weren’t fond of the Muppets becoming sanitized and kid-friendly after Jim’s death (with prominent examples being the sing along videos, Classic Theater, Muppet Time, Treasure Island and Christmas Carol), so they made the series as raunchy and edgy as possible. Unfortunately, the adult jokes came off as awkward and out-of-place to a lot of viewers. Later Muppet projects would also suffer a similar fate. • Much like Sesame Street’s Around the Corner era, they tried to expand the show with new characters and locations. Unfortunately, a lot of fan-favorite characters such as Dr. Teeth, Janice, Floyd, Zoot, Animal, Scooter, Swedish Chef, Rowlf, Link and Strangepork were retired after Jim’s death, so they replaced them with brand new ones such as Pepe, Bobo, Johnny, Sal, Spamela, Andy, Randy, Dr. Van Neuter, Seymour, Mr. Poodlepants, Howard, Carter and Carl. The new characters hogged the spotlight so often, that it came at the expense of the returning ones and just like Around the Corner, only a handful became mainstays: Pepe, Johnny, Bobo and Sal. However, Johnny and Sal would vanish after the Disney buyout, since Brian Henson is stuck running the family business. Only Bobo and Pepe remain. • The show could have some heartfelt scenes, comedic moments and character development, but they didn’t really happen that often, because like I said, the raunchy and edgy material outweighed them, causing the show to have bad tonal cohesion.

[@EurofanMayhead]

Johnny and Sal did come back for Muppets Haunted Mansion in 2021 tho

[@hunterolaughlin]

Such a shame for a brief moment Johnny and Sal had to be retired because of Brian Henson leaving because I love the Muppets having a crooner in their roaster and would’ve been nice to have a character that’s a homage to crooners like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Tony Bennett during the original Muppet Show. Hopefully, they do more with him.

[@alienboy1322]

If you want an edgy version of the muppets, go see Meet the feebles.

[@EurofanMayhead]

@@alienboy1322 they did a reference to that in the muppets mayhem lol

[@alienboy1322]

@@EurofanMayhead Really? That's awesome.

[@TBoneTony]

Pepe the Shrimp: "I'm Pepe" Seymore the Elephant: "And I'm Seymore" Pepe and Seymore: "We're two of a kind" Pepe: "Were about to be assassinated" Seymore: "And I got a big behind" (most memorable moment of the Muppet's Tonight)

[@Equizition21]

Kermit, the 🐸 better hit that Ms. Piggy before I do.

[@georgerobertson7010]

The muppets equivalent of Sesame Street’s around the corner era

[@Princess_-gp3ep]

Yep, that’s one way to put it.

[@reneeangely8446]

For me as a fellow Muppet fan, I think Muppets Tonight is just okay. It’s not the worst Muppet production in the world and there are way worse, but it just feels like something’s missing all throughout. It may have been the environment change like you said, changing from a theater to a television studio as well as the majority of the humor is way off and outdated. Another thing I’d like to point out is that most of the musical numbers even ones with the guest stars are super short! It’s like there for a minute or so and then it’s over. And a lot of times, the guest stars don’t get to do much of anything except for one big sketch or musical number. The episodes I liked the most are Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Bennett and episodes like that where the guest got to do more. I also liked when other guests got cameos like Larry King, Gilbert Gottfried, George Takei, etc. Those were more enjoyable than the main guest stars I find. So Muppets Tonight I wouldn’t watch on a regular basis. It’s just okay and one I would only watch once in a while.

[@Trent-Girone]

They did Spamala dirty.

[@zachhaumesser2092]

I think it’s also important to remember that the Muppets were still trying to get their footing without Jim Henson. Disney didn’t own the Muppets and didn’t really want the Muppets as much without Jim Henson. Frank Oz was also moving on with his directing career. He didn’t have the same dynamics with some of the other puppeteers. Sometimes his characters were dubbed over until they finally had new consistent performers around 2002. They were trying to bring new characters into the mix because it is hard replacing classic characters sometimes when a performer is so close to its performance of Puppetry, character, voice and mind of the character. Some of Richard Hunt’s characters were considered retired like Scooter or just used silently in the background once in a while like Janice. Same for Jim Henson’s Rowlf & Dr. Teeth etc. Other characters did get new performers like Beaker, & Stater but others like Kermit weren’t always accepted by all at the time. I’m glad characters like Pepe, Bobo, Big Mean Carl & even Johnny & Sal (sometimes) found life continuing on with the Muppets as usually every new performer should have their own original character/s to grow with just like the original Muppet performers did on the Muppet Show.

[@Sandlot1992]

I sure had fond Memories of watching it on the Disney Channel! hope to revisit this again soon!

[@dillonohlemiller401]

The Muppets (2015) was edgier. They had a joke about Grindr and overt references to drug use

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

It's been a long time since I watched Muppet Tonight, In fact I remember watching that show on BBC all the time as a kid.

[@Lars-ze2xf]

Finally! A review of Muppet Tonight!

[@Sage-km5je]

Thank god Spamela actually followed the dress code for Kermit and Miss Piggy's wedding when she made her first and only appearance in a Muppet Movie, being in Muppets Most Wanted.

[@visionaryventures12]

You hit upon the personalities of the show. I’ve never seen this, but I remember the Muppet Show characters being very distinctive. Fozzie was nervous and desperate to get laughs. Kermit was trying to maintain order in this chaos. Miss Piggy balanced her femininity with having brass balls. These were familiar traits in real people. Did the newer characters have that?

[@georgerobertson7010]

Good question

[@CaptainCat101]

It's no Land of Gorch, but... yeah, that's all

[@rcLdrcH]

Rumor has it that Clifford has gone on the road with Phish with his solo act, he has been doing his 1st year World Tour for 2 decades now because his memory is a little off with all of the Psilocybin and medical Marijuana but I heard he's "Livin' the Dream, and in the moment of connectivity between the earth,nature and all man".

[@lydia1634]

I think you're giving The Muppet Show way more credit as a timeless piece of media. I didn't have access to The Muppet Show until I was a teenager. Muppets Tonight was my Muppet Show. A family friend filled a VHS with episodes recorded from the TV. So that's what I watched over and over again. I was only able to go back and discover the original show as it was finally released on DVD. And it is very, very dated. It's a theater show, but all the sound and lighting and effects are very 70s. I didn't recognize half the guests because they're all obscure 70s figures. If you grew up with it, it just feels normal, but watching as an adult, all the technology and the ethos is very dated. Not that it's bad at all. It felt just like watching Muppets Tonight. Only from a different time. I really wish they would release some form of Muppets Tonight so I could show it to my kids alongside The Muppet Show (which also had some 70s edge too).

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

"Obscure 70s figures"? Please. Alice Cooper is a lot of things, but obscure, he ain't.

[@lydia1634]

@@Beedo_Sookcool Wasn't talking about Alice Cooper. I was talking about Sandy Duncan and Lena Horne. Half the stars, especially in earlier seasons, are names that didn't really make it out of the seventies. The Muppet Show ran for 5 seasons and had time to build up a reputation to get Elton John and Alice Cooper and Julie Andrews. Muppets Tonight ran for a season and a half. What he's doing in this video is condensing his memory of five seasons and comparing it to individual episodes of this show. Yeah, the Paul Simon episode is awesome. But some of the earlier episodes don't work as well and aren't nearly as coherent as he's painting. Mumanshanz, anyone? So no. I'm not talking about Alice Cooper. I'm talking about the guest stars that you don't immediately think of.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

@@lydia1634 Same could easily be said of the "Muppets Tonight" guests -- a bunch of timeless classics and a bunch of people I wouldn't know if they came up and introduced themselves to me. Kevin Eubanks, Page Hannah, any of the American Gladiators . . . no idea who they were until I looked 'em up. The point is, a lot of those "obscure" names WERE big in the 1970s, people knew who they were, and all that happened is that time moved inevitably on. You come across as being judgmental just because something's older than you, and treating it like it should therefore not be important to anyone else. Check your ageism.

[@lydia1634]

@@Beedo_Sookcool Just pointing out that The Muppet Show isn't as timeless as nostalgia has painted. I know Muppets Tonight is a product of the 90s. And The Muppet Show is a product of the 70s. Neither is as magical as our nostalgia paints it and using nostalgia as a sign of quality is iffy.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

@@lydia1634 And yet loads of the gags from both shows still hold up today.

[@kootunesscrewy]

Not better as The Muppets Show, but it's still a great series. Heck, it's even better than that 2015 show.

[@DaddyOfTheSugarVariety]

I always thought Seymour was an anteater.

[@DocZFlux]

If anything good came out of this, it was Pepe the King Prawn, okay?😏

[@rickdarris6152]

Fun show. Made fun of itself and Prince was on .

[@snowdinsummers]

the repeating "in the bar" sketch felt like a fever dream, it confused me so much, till i searched it up and apparently it was parodying another sketch from another (i think british) comedy show

[@thefantasticretroreviewer3941]

This is more of a Retrospect on Muppets Tonight rather than talking about the Episodes as their own Seperate videos

[@UnicornFairy42]

You know, Polly Lobster and Clueless Morgan sounded differently in Muppets Tonight. then they did in Muppet Treasure Island.

[@beaufonville4454]

Another excellent review, well done AniMat!🤠👍

[@jerrod7361]

The Muppets 2011 is my favorite things the Muppet Studios has done since Muppets Treasure Island. Muppets on Disney Plus have some good things but man I feel like the 2011 Muppets should have gotten a TV show and more movie sequels but also they need someone like Jason Segel who both respects the characters but is also hilarious.

[@TheRealBlackarrot]

That Martin Short in a fat suit sequence is basically a prototype version of Jiminy Glick

[@mattb6522]

I remember Muppets Tonight. I loved the Muppet Show reruns as a kid and I checked out Muppets Tonight years later as I had been excited about new Muppet content. I watched a few episodes but it just never clicked with me. I didn't care for a lot of the new Muppets, a lot of the humor just felt like it was trying way too hard to be edgy and just came off as forced, and it just seemed to lack a lot of the charm the original Muppet Show had. It wasn't the worst show, but it tried too hard to capture the essence of the original Muppet Show and just ended up feeling like a pale imitation.

[@georgehernandez9767]

I enjoyed seeing this show via syndicated reruns. It did feel like an SNL vibe with the Muppets mixed in. I also loved the television station setting and the equipment they utilized even if it’s from that period. Glad you looked at it! I’m going to have to disagree with you on the dislike of the edginess and “offensiveness”. I don’t see any issues in that regard.

[@JustinGrant-jf5gv]

You know what I find funny? When I was watching this, during the part where Animat said "Women, am I right" I actually got an ad for Back Panther: Wakanda Forever. Kinda Ironic, am I right?

[@Cobast92]

Dam that picture of miss piggy . I definitely be eating bacon tonight .

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

That's not Miss Piggy. It's Spamela Hamderson.

[@MadDragon-lb7qg]

Clifford was new to me when Muppets Tonight came on as we didnt get the Arsenio Hall show here in the UK, and only parts of the Jum Henson hour aired. We got The Story Teller on Channel 4, but Muppets Tonight was on BBC 1.

[@danielgudinojuarez6729]

Never thought I say this but ever since the passing of Jim, people within the muppet studio and Disney always fail whenever the muppets have a small comeback. For example, the 2011 movie made them a house hold name again but the failure of 2014's muppets most wanted and the 2015 Mock show on ABC ruined all opportunities soon after!!! Things within that division has to change and so that many people could apprentice them more. With Muppets tonight, it is a clear reason that just because you're edgey doesn't make you memorable or smart in the long run. Otherwise, it makes you DATED.

[@VeryStupid4547]

"You're the one who lets him watch all them... Muppets. They got frogs kissin' pigs... WHAT THE HELL DID THEY THINK WAS GONNA HAPPEN?!" - Hank Hill

[@kingofthemooners09]

I laughed at the head of the network muppet in the show because it looks like Bob Igor who I believe was the head of ABC at the time.

[@lexxstrum]

Love the episode, but do you really think people would be freaked out by things being ~checks notes~ 30 years younger?

[@domomitsune5920]

Honestly, I didn't remember the show until I saw the thumbnail. Spamala Anderson, brought back my memories of watching the show. But back in the day you couldn't just watch any episode you had to be there at the right time to watch it. And when I went to watch the show, I believe this was the first episode I actually saw of it. I know they say you can't put makeup on a pig and make it look attractive, but put a pig in a humanoid fit Body and Add a bikini as well, and do you have a recipe for success. I always thought that this was Miss Piggy after breaking up with Kermit the Frog. She got into shape, and she wanted to move on by getting together with someone else with a fit body.also, she changed her name. But with a muppet in that type of look, who wouldn't find her attractive.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

And as I recall, they kept moving it around the schedule, making it even harder to be there at the right time to watch it.

[@domomitsune5920]

@@Beedo_Sookcool good old days before streaming, right.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

@@domomitsune5920 Yeah, streaming: where they'll announce another season of something you like, then retroactively cancel it to put on another season of "Big Mouth," instead. 😥 The BBC did that annoying "Musical Time Slots" thing with both "Mongrels" and "Monkey Dust," too, damn their eyes.

[@darthdank1993]

Wasn’t spamula more mocking baywatch then men mocking women? I remember a lot and I mean a lot of satire of how shallow baywatch was….it was the best bad show on tv. I mean I was convinced baywatch stayed on the air more due to mock watching than actual fans.

[@FullMetalPanicNL]

WHY ARE YOU YELLING?!

[@Kryptoknight321]

Dude is just passionate about the this topic. Lol!

[@h3llg3ar]

Very agreeable views. I wonder what you thoughts are on The Happytime Murders...

[@phillipzachgo9633]

Are you the same guy that talked about epic mickey characters? If you are, I loved it when you talked about Captain hook, smee, Captain hooks crew & the crocodile. Although I have to tell you that the crocodile did make a small appearance in return to never land. He was in the sequence where Peter & the lost boys were looking for jane.

[@loonytunescrazy]

I enjoyed Muppets tonight

[@senrab99]

I loved the show, but any shortcomings are due to Disney's money machine being in high gear of sucking the life out of IP. Modern Disney is wound too tight for money. Brian Henson was no match for the Disney Succubi

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Alas, true.

[@TheAceOfFire]

21:29, The informational intro ends here and the main issue is addressed.

[@randomreviews4278]

Loved this muppet show wish its on Disney +

[@jabberwock6]

music rights are usually the reason why it's not available

[@bl3343]

I'm calling it. Animat was raised Mormon. He's super polite, never swears, and is offended by everything. 😂. That being said, I appreciate all the hard work he goes through, and dealing with all of the annoying Starters and Waldorfs of the Internet such as myself.

[@C4nn15]

I watched this as a teen, it used to come on for us Friday nights at 5:30, it was after Cybernet, so around 97 when Buffy came out which was on another channel at the same time, it was like hmmm had to record one or the other.

[@joshuaW5621]

The Muppets keeps getting more edgy every year.

[@sasamichan]

every thing from this point on after was slightly more edgy

[@chrisbrasel8060]

I'm glad to see Mat again and talking about The Muppets and for the series in question Muppets tonight it's not as good as The Muppets show but it's still good with a bit of edge that may or may not be in fan's taste for these characters. It'll be funny to see miss piggy have a fight with this female pig Muppet and bringing up this show up as miss piggy is still the best. 📺 🎭 😆 😊 🐸 🐖 🐻

[@Undrave]

I think it makes sense that Jim would put a different character as the host of a new show. If he anticipated being too busy with other projects to play Kermit full time he might have prefered more freedom.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Well, to be fair, he'd been dead for over half a decade by the time "Muppets Tonight" aired . . . .

[@Undrave]

@@Beedo_Sookcool true but in this case they were saying Jim had floated the idea before his death.

[@jamisonisme5457]

I feel like story wise, Kermit was taking a break from being in charge for a while, everyone needs a break every now and then

[@hissignaturestudios6869]

Sound doesn't seem synced with the video. Update: It's sinced now. I think it was just the wifi.

[@nathanblevins9870]

When I saw the thumbnail I thought “This was the muppets?”

[@visionaryventures12]

I just had an inkling of Statler and Waldorf making fart jokes and drinking beer, and yet I know they would never have shown that on television.

[@tallguy8389]

I vividly remember the Prince episode,where he was the artist formerly known as Prince and they kept holding up a sign with his symbol anytime they addressed him😂😂😂

[@samfeldstein4498]

I wonder what Muppet media Animat would give the Seal of Garbage

[@KrazyJoesConcessionStand]

I can't disagree with this review enough. Number 1, I DEFINITELY recommend this series and think it's a travesty that it's not on Disney+. Also, I have never ever heard this series described as "Edgy" before. I don't think the show was intended to be edgy, and I don't think it comes off as Edgy. I could see calling the 2015 series edgy, but not this one.

[@lexycocoa9979]

Actually back then, they also had edgy ness to they too.

[@CrushedLvl]

This video was recommended to me and I'm loving it so far! Hope you touch on the commercials Jim Henson did before he made the Muppets, like Wilkins Coffee for example lol

[@nicolasribeirodossantos6082]

39:45 THAT'S FROM MUPPETS TONIGHT???? I thought this was from Muppet Show.

[@chuumon95]

I hope they add Muppets Tonight to Disney+

[@jabberwock6]

music rights are usually the reason why it hasn't been on disney plus yet

[@TheGerkuman]

I enjoy the show, and I don't think it's as random as you feel it to be, but I do agree that it's a product of its time more than the original was, and the comedy doesn't always land. I need to watch Johnny Fiama Come Home, because that was the last episode and the one the writers felt moved the show in its own direction. In regard to your criticisms of how the sketches don't seem to have endings, I wonder how you'd react to Monty Python's Flying Circus, because they did that all the time, on purpose, and it puts a lot of people off. Also, your comment when summing up actually reminded me of an old Muppets show. The Muppet Show pilot 'Sex and Violence'. Now *that* was very random and also not very funny (at least, IMO.) Someone needs to give Mickey Dolenz his retro sixties Alimony. 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU VOTED FOR DUKAKIS?!'

[@OxBigly2010]

I kept getting this, and the Jim Henson Hour confused

[@smurvin]

In fairness Jason Alexander was born 50 years old

[@volzschlittseyxavierkoopa9287]

💚 MUCH LOVE AND ALGORITHM APPEASEMENT!

[@LexIsNotASimp]

This is actually my favorite muppet show bc it's so funny and bc I love Clifford.

[@jgee8421]

It’s ahead of its time then. Meaning it would deffinetly fly now

[@Oasis888]

You're really going to forget the blatant sexism of the 70s Muppet Show, and how Miss Piggie's only goal after Stardom was being Kermit's wife? Sexism in The Muppets is nothing new. And I will fight anyone who doesn't think the misdirect Garth Brooks did to sing "If I Were A Rich Man" is the funniest thing ever. He hosted SNL and I didn't laugh once, but on Muppets Tonight he was GOLD.

[@kieranbenclarke9821]

So not all the sketches work so it's just like SNL

[@skunkman9815]

Spamela Hamderson is freakin hot

[@justins2497]

I LOVED the crap out of this show!! I was like 6 and watched all of 'em . TOo bad it didnt last longer!

[@IsiahTomas]

I mean, you could give the show 155 more sides, but that would just get architectually confusing.