Farced Perspective

Ben brings way too much research to the table — literally — as he and Pete sit down to discuss a format-breaking episode of the Muppet Show, but one where Steve adapts his previously-established act for the family-friendly audience.  And, it turns out, some of that act hasn't aged well, but that may be less problematic than Pete and Ben running afoul of the Italian-American Anti-Defamation League!

Pete and Ben get a little loopy about whether Fozzie should have engaged in a little time travel in order to establish his famous catchphrase before he started using it in honor of this week's guest. Then they get loopier still about whether Pete's rating system is baseless and can't be trusted. Except, Ben's going to go back and cut that part out. Whoops. Now we need ANOTHER temporal pincer movem...

Ben and Pete call out the Muppets and the guest-star for fat-shaming and for not agreeing with their pet thesis that the Muppets are more important than the temporary human visitor. They talk about DeLuise's recipes, Ben's research into Zulu-inspired folk music, and Pete nearly walks off the show due to punnery.

Pete and Ben break down the episode into A, B, and C plots, where C is for Chicken, and that's good enough for, well, everyone.  Edgar Bergen's ventriloquist act prompts a discussion about how engaged a puppeteer should be in a scene, Gonzo's wrestling match prompts googling of how heavy a brick should be, and the quiz prompts the unwrapping of the first prized Lego Muppet minifig.

Ben and Pete fall into an absolute spiral of film puns, but before they do that, they discuss the legacy and screen presence of Madeline Kahn, Pete's lack of memory, the rivalry between New York's and New Jersey's most iconic troubadours, and how much the internet loves feet.

Pete and Ben do an impression of a pair of knowledgeable podcast hosts and discuss the career and contributions of Rich Little. They also examine the essential heart of the act of an impressionist, realize that their patented Wild Speculation™ is the equivalent of Wikipedia's [citation needed], and make a LOT of references to other podcasts.

It's the Muppet Show! With our very special return to season two on the 45th anniversary of the original NYC broadcast. Ben and Pete continue their journey documenting what jokes land, debating which conceits confuse, and wondering from where some of these musical choices came. This week they discuss the show's secret Britishness, the worst green-screen ever, and Pete's encroaching total amnesia.

And so we come to the close of the first season of the Muppet Show, with the 45th anniversary of the broadcast of the first production episode. Pete and Ben discuss which scenes they think were re-filmed, the creepiness of an amphibian casting couch, and which Muppets have had plastic surgery, before Pete summarizes statistics and rankings for the whole year and we learn who beat whom at the quiz.

Ben and Pete examine the career and appearance of Avery Schreiber, and the ties between his comedy partner — the key writer on The Muppet Show — and his manager — whom he shared with Jim Henson. And yet, they find that this show featured some of the best writing of the season and some of the most animatronic antics by the guest star. Was it kismet or nepotism, and does it matter?

Pete and Ben get socked all the way to the Geek Farm, where they discuss this week's appearance of The Mummenschanz, are surprised by the behind-the-scenes origin of The Vendaface, and try to remember that Pete is forgetting everything.

As we get closer and closer to the end of the season, the competition is heating up and Ben and Pete start getting persnickety about a mere half-point in the weekly quiz. They also consider the who might have been the Electric Mayhem's lead songwriter, the continuing enigma of Vendaface, and share what tangents they contemplated when bored with the episode's musical numbers.

Back from a long hiatus, and no longer quite on "anniversary schedule", Pete and Ben turn their sights on the nomenclature of pairs, the legacy of earning the rank of Eagle Scout, and how the Ship of Theseus paradox works with editing and production numbers. And somehow that's all supposed to tie in with Connie Stevens career and appearance on the Muppet Show. One, two, three, dip!

Ben and Pete sit down to discuss the legendary voice and persona of Ethel Merman, while also debating whether any movie would be good without sound editing, and possibly putting to rest the season-long investigation as to whether the Muppet Show knows it's being broadcast on television. Also: thrill to the debate about if Pete deserves an extra half-point in the trivia competition!

Pete and Ben hunker down in the Sadness Café and try to tickle the ivories and make them laugh more than Phillis Diller did.  They also talk about how authentic a stand-up comedian needs to be, how great of a sax player Zoot is, and whether it's time to join the great Spotify exodus.

Ben and Pete hit the catwalk with a twirl and a smize and discussions about whether this episode was produced all at once or cobbled together later, how to reconcile that the show only sporadically engages in continuity, and whether one can ever get used to the weight and movement of long hair.

It's February when this drops, late from a January anniversary airdate, featuring footage from Spooky Season and an featured skit that takes place on New Year's Eve. And that doesn't even include the number of moments that Ben and Pete feel are out of order within the episode itself! Join them to untangle the chronology and to figure out how much Vincent Price is too much, not enough, or too obvio...

Broadway dancer and actor Ben Vereen is the Muppet Show's guest this week, and so  Pete and (a totally different) Ben delve into Vereen's show-biz controversies. They also discuss how they are quick to anger about flag etiquette, that they are confused about the appropriateness of the phrase, "hep to the jive", and that there might be a benefit to leaving in the noises of a squeaky chair.

Pete asks Ben to translate and pronounce the French in this episode, and Ben asks Pete to explain whether the writing is consistent with other episodes or constructed piecemeal out of half-baked ideas. Along the way they speculate about what musician has sold the most albums, the appeal of Americana in the UK, and whether this was the episode that got Frank Oz to lock into the character of Miss Pi...

Harvey Korman grumps his way through an episode where he apparently only spent a third of the time a guest normally commits to production, and Muffy the dog seems to take against him for it. How will Pete and Ben feel? Also, what do they think about underaged frogs on Top of the Pops, replacement drummers, and the meaning of life?

Bruce Forsyth spends this episode panicked that a gawky bird might find him attractive, astonished at sharing a dressing room with a chicken, and grossed out by the affections of a pig... but wants to rent a great-looking duck for a whole month. Ben and Pete spend the episode confused by this, along with many other inconsistencies. It's a wild one, folks.

This episode was originally filmed right before Henson Associates went on holiday, and it is being dropped, delayed, when Ben has finally recovered from one. Enjoy Ben and Pete's most contentious discussions so far about what landed (or didn't), and enjoy diversions about The Seventh Seal and disgust about long, long, long legs.

The Muppet Show sticks its toe in the waters of meta-narrative, which encourages Pete to try and get Ben to finalize his grand theory of just what kind of show The Muppet Show actually is. Pete, in turn, works on his Muppet-based philosophy that "Peoples is peoples", much to Ben's repeated chagrin.

Tonight, our panel discusses questions of lasting importance: Do "pig slurs" deserve to be answered with violence? Was Kermit really flirting with our pal Flo? Is calling Florence Henderson that overly familiar and fundamentally disrespectful? 

Pete and Ben muse over Peter Ustinov's dated ethnic impressions, "One-World" philosophy, and award nominations, while engaging in their own intractable and tangential debate on the value of the French language. Sacre bleu!

Ben and Pete start down the winding, uncertain path of developing a grand unified theory of whether the Muppet Show is a filmed stage show, a television show within a show, and whether the viewing audience exists in the Muppet Show universe. Oh, and they also review the sketches, guest, etc., etc., per usual.