HTF REFIEW: The Muppet Show, Season One... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! (1 Viewer)

[AndyMcKinney]

they didn't have to fade to black and replace the "ITC Distribution" ending screen. They could've simply tacked on their Henson, Buena Vista, whatever. after the vintage ending ident.

I hate when companies replace vintage idents with "modern" ones, even if the distribution has changes. Just add the modern one to the end!

It is especially bad in this case as it ruins the final joke of the show!

I assume, then, this is exactly the same as the versions released on home video in the '90s: just before the very end (Zoot's last note), it fades to black (though the sound continues) and displays a modern copyright screen (Henson in the case of my PAL vhs tapes).

very[/d] disappointed, especially when they seem to have gone to great lengths to make sure everything else was "right."

 

[Kevin/M]

I have heard on the Ultimate Disney forum that the Muppet show box set ISN"T acutally unedited and contains sporadic cuts throughout the first two Discs. Unfortunately i can't confrim this, and the person who brought this up didn't go into detial on what's missing

 

[Seth Thrasher]

I'm downright ashamed I missed this the first time when I was reviewing the set for Sitcoms Online:

Episode 3, Joel Grey, runs about a minute shorter than 1, 2, 4, and 5 on Disc 1...

...Episode 6, Jim Nabors, RUNS 21:09

Going to Disc 2:
Episode 7: 25:31
Episode 8: 23:19
Epioode 9: 22:24
Episode 10: 25:36
Episode 11: 25:36
Episode 12: 25:36
Episode 13: 25:34

Disc 3
Episode 14: 25:37
Episode 15: 25:34
Episode 16: 25:36
Episode 17: 25:33
Episode 18: 25:29
Episode 19: 22:47

Disc 4:
Episode 20: 25:31
Episode 21: 25:37
Episode 22: 25:35
Episode 23: 25:37
Episode 24: 25:37

I've got a full sketch list, and will be comparing 3, 6, 8, 9, and 19 to the DVD versions ASAP.

Sorry guys, I feel like I've really dropped the ball here

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Here's a link to Seth's review:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/themupp...dvdreview.html

interesting that we have the opposite opinion about the lack of chapter stops.

Thanks for posting!

 

[Seth Thrasher]

I'm usually not one to not complain about a lack of chapter stops in Muppet Show S1, but really, it doesn't bother me in this set (a rare exception), I'm sure

Vincent Price (Ep 19) IS Edited: Song: "You’ve Got A Friend", Vincent & The Monster is missing.

Info on 3/6/8/9 forthcoming

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Thanks for the research. Maybe Mr. Taylor wasn't willing to sign off on that tune...

 

[Kevin/M]

I don't Know if this counts, but they also Cut out One line of dialogue from the ptich reel

When Kermit says "What The Hell Was that

Also, According to Mupeet Central's Forums, The Vincent Price episode was apparently included uncut on one of Columbia/Tri-Star's Best of Sets.

 

[Seth Thrasher]

List of Edits:

Episode 3: Joel Grey:
Sketch: "Muppet Newsflash"
Song: "Stormy Weather", Wayne & Wanda-w/comments from Statler & Waldorf
There's actually a bit added compared to the original listing I have - a small bit between Gonzo, Joel, with guest spot by a Banana.

Episode 6: Jim Nabors
Song: "Gone With The Wind", Jim-w/comments from Statler & Waldorf
"The Danceros" -A four legged dancing creature
Strange Sketch Order in 2nd Quarter of Show

Episode 8: Paul Williams:
Song: All of Me

Episode 9: Charles Aznavour
Song: "The Old Fashioned Way", Charles-w/comments from Statler & Waldorf

Episode 19: Vincent Price
Song: "You’ve Got A Friend", Vincent & The Monster

I don't have the resources to see if any specific lines were cut out of any scenes (doubtful), almost all edits are music edits). Pitchfilm MAY have had a line cut out - it's possible, but I didn't notice anything condusive to an edit.

Original Pilot (Sex and Violence) runs 25:22, so I doubt it's edited. Pitchfilm is 2:51...

 

[Joseph_S_Walker]

OK, that's really disappointing to hear after all the hype about this being uncut. Some of those are great moments; I especially have fond memories of the Vincent Price number. But this is going to be an awfully hard set to pass up, even with edits. Argh....

 

[Brenton]

That's too bad about the edits, but that's not enough to keep me from buying.

Excellent review, Seth.

I also find your perspective on the lack of chapter stops interesting. You seem to be of the opinion that without chapter stops, people are now more likely to simply sit through the whole thing. While I agree with you that the whole thing is probably worth sitting through, I think most of us are of the opinion that chapter stops would be invaluable in a situation where we might be looking for one particular sketch. Not to say that any of us actually plan to skip material. It's just nice to have the option.

One thing that you might want to edit on your review is the line in your Final Comments that says, "Ten years later, the show still holds up in my eyes." At first I thought you were foggy on the age of the show until I reread your introduction and realized that you meant you simply hadn't seen the show in ten years.

 

[ScottR]

I'm sorry, but no sale...I don't have a lot of cash and I have to be selective about what I buy. I guess I'll pick up Dallas instead.

 

[Dane Marvin]

Disappointed about the edits. I didn't think "You've Got a Friend" was james Taylor's song though. Pretty sure Carole King wrote it and Taylor later covered it. Sad that it's missing, along with some others like "Gone With the Wind" (did it include a Muppet parody of the film or something like that?). I'll still purchase, but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Disney has the money to put forth to do this right. If Columbia can get something right, Disney should be able to. Everyone knows this is going to sell like wildfire.

What's next -- no "Star Wars" likenesses or references allowed in the Mark Hamill episode?

 

[Eric Emma]

I wouldn't worry so much if this set sells well, I'm sure that disney will put more money for Season 2, I commend Disney for just coming out with season sets instead of testing the waters, then again I can't miss what I never had(never seen the original show so I won't miss the edits)

 

[TonyD]

crap.

does anyone still have the timelife set?

are these cuts on there as well.

 

[Tim Gerdes]

Of the cut episodes listed in this thread, only the one starring Vincent Price was even in the Time Life set. And his rendition of "You've Got A Friend" with Uncle Deadly is on that disc.

I'm really torn about this now. When I was a kid, I was allowed to watch only one TV show a week, and from 1976-81, my only TV show was the Muppet Show. So for me, this really is the entire "nostalgic tv from my past" ball of wax.

And in the US, we never saw the entire episodes, as there was material that made it to the UK broadcast that were cut out over here. Though in the Vincent Price episode, the US version contained "You've Got A Friend" but omitted a ghostly version of the Beatles' "I'm Looking Through You", lending credence to the theory that this is a music rights issue.

If this were any other show, my pre-order would already be canceled. Apart from being "The Muppet Show" though, many of these episodes are more complete than I've ever seen them, they have the long missing first season opening, and one of the two rare pilot episodes is included. That still just too much to pass up, as much at these cuts really bother me.

 

[Dale MA]

Yeah, it's a damn shame about these cuts but as this is "The Muppets" and the set is of such a high quality (apart from the edits), I'm going to buy it anyway.

 

[Dax P]

Buying anyway, but very very sad about the cuts.

This has been one of my Most Wanteds since dvd came along... I had high hopes that it would be 'perfect'.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Sad about the cuts, but buying anyway. This to me isn't like the Cosby show where they promised original NBC airings and then didn't deliver, I don't think that promise was made in this case, and plus and I know there are some that don't feel this way and that's cool, but I'm a little more sympathetic when it comes to an episode cut because of music rights reasons. Its still not cool, but we don't know how far Disney went to clear that music, perhaps the rights owners just wanted more than what Disney thought was reasonable.

 

[Christian Preischl]

Yup, same here. And as it turns out, I'm starting to save a loooot of money. First Cosby, now Roseanne and the Muppets in the same week. Collecting TV on DVD is no fun anymore.

Chris

 

[MatthewA]

It's not Mr. Taylor you should worry about. It's Carole King, who wrote it.

I think it's time for a class action lawsuit against the music industry to stop this crapola. I'm going to call a lawyer on Monday who can help me.