MuppetWatch

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MuppetWatch

MuppetWatch is a journey through entertainment and popular culture using The Muppet Show as our guide.

Episodes

  1. 10/18/2024

    110: Harvey Korman & Huckleberry Finn

    Today we’ve got a guest who doesn’t sing at all on The Muppet Show but sings quite a bit in his movie. The star is four time Emmy winner Harvey Korman, and the movie is 1974’s Huckleberry Finn, from the unlikely team of the Sherman Brothers and a two-time Planet of the Apes director! Topics of discussion include Fozzie Bear’s finest hour, the still confounding talking houses, the equally confounding Muppet Show production order, sex versus violence on the nineteenth century stage, different pronunciations of Maurice, and con artists pretending to be Romanovs or Bourbons. Further resources: ABC Network - The Harvey Korman Show (Complete Broadcast, 4/11/1978) (https://youtu.be/O1MRPyFOk60?si=qVZVGILuInclpRrI) The Dentist from The Carol Burnett Show (https://youtu.be/9IUSM4EKcRI?si=py7E9ltMiBsp8EOh) The Family: Sorry! from The Carol Burnett Show (https://youtu.be/oNG1DkS_f4g?si=jfA9IYWBOsbZ1g3S) Gazoo’s Antimatter Arrival in Bedrock (https://youtu.be/nUg3yy5iC6c?si=Wr_MU-EzCAw9H93a) Harvey Korman and Brenda Vaccaro Win Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress (https://youtu.be/qpr6bAacyMY?si=ED2u6Zg5cNwHWPj0) Harvey Korman - Television Academy Interviews (https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/harvey-korman) It’s Hedley! - Mel Brooks - American Masters (https://youtu.be/ZEQ3OxYL2Co?si=cyO6uHpNX1GI_Frc) “Now go do that voodoo that you do so well” (https://youtu.be/jS_Shu8y0sI?si=LHDgwrA9J5-MEh-e) The Nutt House (1989) Ep. 1 “Pilot” (https://youtu.be/nlz7xN2csAQ?si=lUPalEEj_CjBkita)

    1h 16m
  2. 09/26/2024

    108: Paul Williams & Phantom of the Paradise (with Dallin Agatone)

    Thursday… today is Thursday… and this is a momentous occasion in Muppet history: their first collaboration with legendary songwriter, singer, and actor Paul Williams! Then, we and our returning guest host Dallin discuss his role in the initially-misunderstood tragedy-slash-funhouse mirror history of popular music, Phantom of the Paradise. Topics of discussion include songs about love songs, Bunsen’s odd position among the Muppets, how terrifying it would be to work at Rainforest Cafe while high, who the ultimate Muppets antagonist should be, Rick Baker’s post-Planet of the Apes filmography, and the unfortunate ongoing relevance of movies about exploitation in the music industry. Check out Dallin’s short film’s IndieGoGo here (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-want-grandkids-a-dark-comedy-short-film#/)! Further resources: Daft Punk Wins Album of the Year - GRAMMYS (https://youtu.be/ncnBz6A14i0?si=PDQZpUrFz9UylG20) “New documentary pays tribute to loyal Winnipeg fans of Phantom of the Paradise, a ’wild gem of a film’” by Kelsey Mohammed (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/phantom-of-winnipeg-documentary-pays-tribute-to-fans-1.5185828) Paul Williams Arrives Straight From Filming Battle for the Planet of the Apes - Johnny Carson (https://youtu.be/y5jQYOcpVks?si=rhUp3r3jhIR4VGpW) Paul Williams: Still Alive Trailer (https://youtu.be/1CAsJUqqFyM?si=w94CHMetFuBrtZ6t) Paul Williams - The Hell of It - The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (https://youtu.be/DKZ2p5tB6y4?si=3uQfWkujsQ17YgCV) The Swan Archives - Genesis and Financing (https://www.swanarchives.org/Production.asp)

    1h 58m
  3. 09/04/2024

    105: Rita Moreno & West Side Story

    In the first episode of The Muppet Show that we would call great, we’re joined by jacqueline-of-all-trades and third-ever EGOT Rita Moreno. Then, we discuss West Side Story, which looms large over Moreno’s career - but due to an entirely unplanned mixup, one of us watched the 1961 film and the other watched the 2021 film. Further resources: The Electric Company - Director’s Sketch - Good Night (https://youtu.be/aA6CyjiaT38?si=B3YbMQv75s6AZhpm) How Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Finally Solved the Problem of “I Feel Pretty” by Charles McNulty (https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-12-10/how-steven-spielberg-west-side-story-finally-solved-the-problem-of-i-feel-pretty) How West Side Story’s Anybodys Went From Tomboy to Trans Character by Isaac Butler (https://slate.com/culture/2021/12/west-side-story-anybodys-2021-movie-trans.html) Mainly on Directing: Gypsy, West Side Story, and Other Musicals by Arthur Laurents (https://search.worldcat.org/title/mainly-on-directing-gypsy-west-side-story-and-other-musicals/oclc/904295222) Rita Moreno Winning Best Supporting Actress - 34th Oscars (1962) (https://youtu.be/ZaOy0eb0Tbs?si=_VV_eUQkTXCMi3bq) Rita Moreno Wins Outstanding Lead Actress, Single Appearance, Drama or Comedy (1978) (https://youtu.be/xNDzTWR28lk?si=ofOwZHhuzyLUeE94) Rita Moreno Wins Tony (1975) (https://youtu.be/n8nj-mNKApQ?si=cNJY-HprnxwVi84Z) Steven Spielberg Wanted to Cut “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story by A. A. Cristi (https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Steven-Spielberg-Wanted-to-Cut-I-Feel-Pretty-from-WEST-SIDE-STORY-20220224) West Side Story stars Ariana DeBose and Rita Moreno open up about Anita’s attempted sexual assault by Maureen Lee Lenker (https://ew.com/movies/ariana-debose-rita-moreno-anita-sexual-assault/)

    1h 18m
  4. 08/05/2024

    102: Connie Stevens & Rock-A-Bye Baby

    Tonight on MuppetWatch, our special guest is singer-actress Connie Stevens, and the show undergoes more growing pains. Then we take a trip back to 1958, with the Frank Tashlin-directed Jerry Lewis-starring semi-remake of The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, Rock-A-Bye Baby. Topics of discussion include Muppet skin versus fur, the Electric Mayhem still having yet to perform as a group, unfortunate color schemes for evening gowns, the FTA tour, and how much emotional suffering for Fozzie Bear is too much emotional suffering? Further resources: Baywatching: “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (https://youtu.be/NUOqTdaWZyg?si=zAiklSGoH7iSMyZo) Connie Stevens - Official Web-site (http://conniestevens.com) F.T.A. - Official Re-Release Trailer (https://youtu.be/YWAbhonmCOg?si=1AEs4QEE_4FjZvbQ) Hope: Entertainer of the Century by Richard Zoglin (https://search.worldcat.org/title/Hope-:-entertainer-of-the-century/oclc/879468434) “Jerry Lewis’ Costars Speak Out: “He Grabbed Me. He Began to Fondle Me. I Was Dumbstruck”” by Julie Miller, Amy Ziering, and Kirby Dick (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/jerry-lewis-sexual-assault-harassment-investigation) “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)” with Edd Byrnes on The Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show (https://youtu.be/MT9QZBGyXjU?si=yxdc7RuCVT24Pvnh) Laughing Hysterically: American Screen Comedy of the 1950s by Ed Sikov (https://search.worldcat.org/title/Laughing-hysterically-:-American-screen-comedy-of-the-1950s/oclc/29564401) Mulholland Drive: “Sixteen Reasons” (https://youtu.be/AnZKD-EqMQA?si=fTMmJTxeQJ2PqznH) Tashlinesque: The Hollywood Comedies of Frank Tashlin by Ethan de Seife (https://search.worldcat.org/title/Tashlinesque-:-the-Hollywood-comedies-of-Frank-Tashlin/oclc/785601430)

    1h 12m

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MuppetWatch is a journey through entertainment and popular culture using The Muppet Show as our guide.

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