Farced Perspective

September 5th 2026 is the 50th anniversary of the original UK Broadcast of the first episode of The Muppet Show, and to commemorate the occasion, Ben and Pete are revisiting the episode from five years ago. As the podcast has continued, their focus and technique has changed, so they asked: what aspects of the episode would they concentrate on if they were to look at the proceedings now? Combined w...

Pete and Ben talk about an episode where Cheryl Ladd and Miss Piggy demonstrate their martial arts skills, and then go hammer-and-tongs against each other about their wildly divergent opinions about a classic novelty song from the 1950s. They also establish two or three new pieces of head-canon for the show, stretch five moments out to seven, and — once again! — try to work out the application of...

Ben and Pete find themselves curiously in sync: enjoying the same moments, speaking in unison, and finding aspects of the episode wholesomely enjoyable — is this a spooky fraternal synchronicity or are they merely following Fozzie's exhortations to find something nice in the show? 

When last we left Pete and Ben, they recorded an extra-long examination of an episode with unusual structure, and asked trivia questions based on a cinematic biopic. It's all happening again! Is this the new normal for both the show and the podcast? Does the House of Leaves situation extend to train platforms now? Tune in next time after you've tuned in THIS time!

Ben and Pete are astonished by the unconventional structure of this episode, in which Liberace gets the lion's share of the running time to perform a concert "for the birds". Will a performer doing schtick ruffle Pete's feathers, or will he be hypnotized by Liberace's glitz and glamour? A larger than normal episode to encompass a larger than life personality!

Anna and Ben sit down to visit the third most successful film of 1972, the slapstick comedy "What's Up, Doc?" They discuss how the film compares to its obvious antecedents and whether Streisand's character is more manipulative and callous than either Hepburn in "Bringing Up Baby" or any of Groucho's schemers, and whether Bugs Bunny's life has to be endangered to justify his actions. Of course you...

Anna and Ben lie back on the psychiatrist's couch and delve deep into the challenges facing the "classic paranoid" behavior of a man who believes he's Sherlock Holmes and the woman who violates professional ethics for him. They also discuss how cavalier language about sensitive topics can be hurtful, and how they probably aren't equipped to do no harm, but at least they have trivia questions about...

Pete corrects Ben's assumptions that James Coco was a sketch comedian and that most sketch comedians are indistinguishable, balding brunets. They weigh whether the episode is constructed of re-used bits or just joyfully chaotic, and are interrupted by what might be sirens announcing The Rapture. But considering this whole episode has been replaced with an extended stream of silence, you won't hear...

Ben and Pete squabble over this episode, which Ben thinks might be one of the best introductions to the Muppet Show, while Pete finds the vibe — and millennials are all about vibes — lacklustre. But they can find common ground in their problems with Kermit, who Ben thinks is undercutting his own show, while Pete is astonished that he somehow doesn't understand the jokes he's hosting on his stage.

Pete and Ben add two new items to track over the course of Pete's statistical analysis of this new season, and keep a look out for them during Roy Clark's visit to the Muppet Theatre. They also examine if there's a reason why only Frank and Jim seem to be present during the episode's backstage sequences and why the trumpeter in the Muppet pit band seems to be replaced on every possible occasion.

Ben and Pete return, somewhat belatedly, to examining the 45th anniversary of the original TV broadcasts of The Muppet Show, and they examine Helen Reddy's accent, Doctor Bob's lasciviousness, and just how busy the Muppet studios were in 1978. With new characters, newly credited actors, and new Lego minifigs to vie for, why does the show seem weirdly negative, and will it continue? Speculate wildl...

Anna and Ben visit one of Anna's favorite genres — the comedy Western — and arrive at very different responses to James Garner's non-sequel sequel to 1969's "Support Your Local Sheriff". So much so that they instead end up talking about the 1994 film "Maverick", the fairness of quiz shows, and Ben's obsession with "Charade".

Pete and Ben wrap up their coverage of the Muppets' second season with a look at the celebrated career of Cloris Leachman. They also sum up the cumulative statistics from the entire season, and Pete's rankings of the guests generates disbelief on the part of both hosts.

Ben and Pete are both mildly unprepared for this episode, not knowing enough about the cultural weight of the Muppets' guest-star, bunraku puppeteering, or the potential offensitivity of Noel Coward. Pete's excuse is that he fell asleep during the episode, whereas Ben has to hide behind distractions, puns, and other [merdlidop]s. Roll 1d6 to find out how they get out of this one...

Carve out about three hours for Pete to quiz Ben about English songstress Petula Clark, her relationship with other Muppet guests, and his research on her chart-topping status. Ben takes Pete to task about his dislike of apparent cue-card use and presents his own "Pet" theories about Ms Clark's lip-synched performance.  

Ben and Pete practice a percentage of being persnickety this episode, riffing on P words, debating the use of the term "podium" and generally paying peculiar partial attention to the guest-star's middle initial, to no particular purpose. Press play to participate!

Thrill to the unexpected, as Pete and Ben look things up on the Internet while broadcasting! Join them to discover whether Muppet special guest Lou Rawls has deliberately smuggled bird imagery into many of his lyrics, and whether a bonus question can earn Ben yet another victorious Lego minifig!

Ben and Pete take the content warning on Disney Plus to heart, but is it about Beaker's abrupt teleportation — which had previously been edited out by Nickelodeon — or Peter Sellers' cultural depictions? And is Fozzie secretly torturing his boss to force him to break down publicly and perform one of the Muppets' most well-known songs? The answers to these questions and many more can be discovered...

Pete and Ben go bullish and steak their reputations on some prime cuts of cow-based punnery that you'll calf to heifer yourself to believe. Somehow in the midst of all that, they manage to talk about Julie Andrews' career and how she was able to naturally interact with the Muppets in a way to which other guests could only aspire.  Pete also watches a clip from the infamous Muppet Movie test footag...

Ben and Pete come to very different conclusions about the underplayed demeanor of Bob Hope as he enters his last quarter-century of comedy on The Muppet Show. They also discover that Ben is racist against pigs, that Pete might want a cat for a sleep mask, and — against all expectations — that Kermit might be a well-modulated stage manager after all.

Pete and Ben come to very different determinations of the rules Pete has established for judging the performances of the guest stars on the podcast. They also make a ruling on Ben's previous confusion about Muppet crocodiles, talk about not talking about a particular sketch, and find an unexpected application of the word "hornswoggle".

Ben and Pete clash over what comes off more poorly in this episode: the newly corporeal figure of of Scooter's uncle or the folk music stylings of the guest-star. They also guess what segment of the show was produced months after filming and engage in a truly gross pun run.

Pete and Ben discuss the legacy, potency, and popularity of the Soviet Union's premiere cultural defector, and consider how he's objectified by the episode, whether Statler and Waldorf should sing along to the theme song, and how big Robin's hat should be.  They also determine a head-canon for the Muppet Show warm-up comedian and that Pete doesn't appreciate anything classy.

Ben and Pete look at the posthumous release of the Muppet Show episode featuring Zero Mostel, discussing his maximalist performance, dissecting the show's spec script origins, and digressing into the depths of wordplay "betta" left unplumbed.

Pete and Ben investigate how well the Fawlty John Cleese of 1977 matches up with the potentially more cloth-eared John Cleese of 2022, and what the term "cloth-eared" means, anyway. They also investigate the height of the Muppet theatre, where Frank Oz was during this episode, and why both local fireworks and Siri seem to want to interrupt their recording session.