Throughout the recorded history of mankind, there has been a singular instance in which 'monumental greatness' and 'green felt flocking' have met. This is not to imply that 'green felt flocking' is not an amazing entity unto itself, capable of defying all logic with its radness and sensual smoothness, but I'm thinking of one specific instance. We call that instance Mossman, from the Masters of the Universe action figure line. Sure, he's just a Beast Man rolled in glue and fuzz, but WHAT A MAN! Similarly, I look much like a human who has been rolled in glue and across a barbershop floor, as we all know that all the ladies love a randomly hairy man. Here, in these modern times, is it possible that we might achieve another such intersection of exceptional beauty? Glue and fuzz, why dost thou not cooperate more often?

I say thee yay! This new, verdant flocksational entity comes in the form of The Muppet Show : Season One, finally on DVD. Praise be to Disney, who recently made the controversial move of purchasing their floppy little legless bodies. While such a move is certainly not on the overtly disastrous scale of the widow Seuss selling Ted Giesel's timeless creations into live-action crap-o-thons, the immediate future of the Muppets is in limbo. Palisades is no longer making the action figure line which we launched ANR with so many years ago, and I can't say that I recall seeing much buzz about the Muppet Wizard of Oz, but there were rumblings about another Muppet Show on the horizon, and with that, I cannot complain. Mountebanks they are not!

This, however, is not the first time that the Muppet Show has been on DVD. A few years back, Time-Life had the rights to release a 'Best Of' DVD series, which consisted of about 15 individually packaged DVDs with 3 episodes each. While 45 episodes is a huge span, they followed no order whatsoever and primarily focused on the continued popularity of the guest stars therein, not too many of which remain well known today. This meant that if an episode didn't feature Vincent Price or Alice Cooper, we'd never see it. It's all too easy to forget about Charles Aznavour and whatever it is he did. Also on this Time-Life set were supposed to be a small collection of behind-the-scenes bonuses hosted by Brian Henson which I was never able to access, lest I decode the inner workings of the DVD player and ancient Mayan secrets at the same time.

This new Season One set contains 24 episodes in chronological order, as well as a great handful of extras, including the original pilot episode, all in a handsome 4-disc, green-flocked case. I know that when I'm trekking across the wild tundra to see my Icelandic girlfriend and spend the weekend watching DVDs and drinking cocoa with her, I'd rather be carrying this set than the 15-disc monstrosity. Those Icelandic wolves are hungry, and I survive on my agility alone, not to mention that I need that extra rucksack space for erotic lotions and bi-lingual manuals. Still, if you need that Mark Hamill episode NOW, you have a place to turn. Otherwise, you'll be waiting until the release of Season Four, and the terror that is Shields and Yarnell. The true selling point of this DVD set are the extras. Note that these episodes appear slightly altered from how they were originally seen in the US, as they also include UK song numbers which were shown instead of commercial breaks across the pond, so it's likely that every episode will hold something new for you. [Note that the Time-Life set did this as well, and while it slows down the pacing of the episodes, it's still worth having for a more completist collection.]

But what's this? Do I hear that certain song numbers have been left out? It's true. For the same reason that our dear Space Ghost : Coast to Coast DVD sets are chopped up and incomplete, certain songs could not be released in this set due to licensing issues. It's unfortunate, but many, if not all, of the missing songs can be pieced together from the Best Of sets. I'm not sure how these rights negotiations work out, but I envision a room full of men in togas, alternately performing elaborate dance numbers and fighting for their lives with maces and throwing stars and sometimes kissing. Also, a pinball machine. I don't know where it goes from there, but I'm 99% sure that this is why we lost a couple of Jim Nabors songs on these DVDs.

New to this edition of the DVDs are the Muppet trivia bits that can be turned on or off, which make clever use of the subtitle function as a kind of 'commentary track' without the noise. These bonuses explain the unusual order of the episodes and why they might not seem sequential in some events, the connections between shows, and most often, the pre-Muppets skits and characters which Jim Henson later integrated into The Muppet Show. Somehow, these convey the vast imagination and passion of Jim Henson better than a commentary track by a minorly-related creative personality might. Many of the obscure songs are given titles and origins. It's a Muppephile's dream.

While the set might seem to be missing the alternate Muppet Show pilot, a Valentines Day special, or any reminiscences with the other half of the Muppet bloodstream, Frank Oz, I don't have any doubt that these things will materialize on future seasons of the show. After all, you have to save some things for the other 4 seasons. One must accept the impossibly cool and rare bonuses that we're given for now, you senseless gluttons. Kermit made enough guest appearances in things to support a DVD set unto itself, so I sincerely hope that these clips will materialize.

The original Muppet Show pitch reel is a 3-minute, one-Muppet pitch, and not the live-action Jim Henson that one might expect. Regardless, it's innovative and entertaining, but not a HUGE bonus. The real incredible bonus comes in with the 'Sex and Violence' pilot episode, contained (as are all of the larger extras) on disc 4. One can see where the show came from, as it uses a slightly more subversive humor, a lot more non-sequitur (instead of being in a variety show format with segues), and no laugh track. It's genuinely a funny episode, even beyond the sheer curiosity factor. The Muppets representing the seven deadly sins are beautifully made, and at the very end of the episode, the camera pans out and reveals all of the puppeteers running around the set with their arms up in the air. It's a humanizing moment that never really came into the show as a whole, instead preferring the illusion that all of these Muppets were actual living beings with the occasional guest human being welcomed into their world. One would hope that we'll get to see even earlier Henson work on future DVDs, should the rights be secured properly, since they are referenced so heavily on these DVDs. Keep an eye on the clocks in the background, and the ingenious use of subtle background puppeteering to truly create a self-contained, believable universe.

The episodes are, well, the episodes. We're missing two Muppet Newsflash bits throughout the season, which were always my favorite, but I think it's a small sacrifice.

Ultimately, it's a great set, with easy to navigate menus and a very clean, crisp video transfer, and at an excellent price. They've done pretty damned well for a bunch of torsos, and watching these episodes reveals a kind of timelessness that liberates these characters and scenarios from the late 70s, during which they were filmed. Sure, the humor is simple and innocent, but if you can't appreciate it, I weep for your jaded soul.

[HOME!]