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

[Brenton]

Well I don't have very many different places at which to shop around in the immediate area looking for fuzzy packages, but judging from you guys's experiences, I'll probably be skipping Best Buy.

Isn't Media Play related to Sam Goody? I do have a Sam Goody nearby.

Anyone have any word on Target, Fred Meyer, Kmart, Wal-Mart?

 

[Brenton]

Another question: Can you tell through the shrink wrap whether or not the copy you're holding is fuzzy?

 

[Jay Pennington]

No. Speedup happens when motion picture film (shot at 24fps) is transferred to PAL at 25fps. The Muppet Show was shot on video.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I got the fuzzy cover, I ordered

Edit: K-Mart had the fuzzy box, and I think if you just feel on the shrink rap there's a part that's not fuzzy and a part that is so the fuzzy part should be feeling just a bit different even through the shrink rap.it from a local store though not a big retale chain.

 

[Greg Madsen]

That is good to hear. I am travelling to Saint John, NB tomorrow to get mine so hopefully they will be fuzzy there too.

 

[Joe Schwartz]

So nobody has compared the video quality to that of the previous Time-Life DVDs?

 

[Jeff Newcomb]

Costco had both fuzzy and non-fuzzy versions in stock ($26.99). It is easy to see the difference through the shrinkwrap.

 

[Mike Frezon]

FWIW, I saw Fuzzy covers at my local Target tonight.

What an odd sentence!

It was easy to tell through the plastic that the cover was "fuzzy".

 

[Joseph_S_Walker]

Got mine at Target, and the cover was fuzzy. I balked momentarily at their $35 price, but I knew I wanted this today, and it was worth the extra few bucks to me to get it home quicker and start watching!

Interesting note on the censoring thing: although the word "hell" was removed from the pitch reel, it appears in the trivia subtitle track on the very first episode (as part of the translation of the name of the Swedish film in which "Mahna Mahna" first appeared). Seems like an odd distinction to make; are they saying that only the parents of children too young to read will find the word offensive?

 

[Chris S]

Thats a good price! I'll be taking my $30 non-fuzzy version back to Best Buy this weekend.

Chris S.

 

[SteveFlack]

I have a new theory on the cut "What The Hell" line from the pitch reel.

Remember this pitch reel was done to try and sell the show to CBS. Now, according to the Muppet Central review, the show this image from the cut line (I tried posting a link, but alas, I haven't posted enough yet) which shows Kermit in front of the CBS eye. Disney owns CBS's rival, ABC. Could it be that they cut this shot because they either couldn't or didn't want to show the CBS logo, and not because Kermit says hell?

-Steve!

 

[Sam Favate]

Mine arrived from DDD yesterday, and has a fuzzy cover.

 

[RomanSohor]

Got mine at Best Buy 27.99 with Employee Discount

No fuzzy cover though... but it was closing time and there were only 4 left in the store when I grabbed mine...

 

[streeter]

I think it's the studios that should be stopped from being allowed to release EDITED seasons as THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON or SEASON ONE. If a season has edits, they shouldn't be allowed to label their releases as such. IMO, this DVD set isn't Season One of the Muppet Show.

Disney should have called this "THE MUPPET SHOW - Most of Season One". I didn't know about these edits when I ordered this set, and I might not have gotten it had I known about this. I haven't decided yet whether I'll go through the hassle of returning it.

 

[Keith Paynter]

Fuzzy cover...

I don't know what is at issue re: the cuts. It's possible that since all the episodes include a number for British broadcast, that cuts that we may want to see are due to editing for original British broadcast (judging by the vintage dissolves as that content ended), as opposed to the versions for US distribution.

The factoids are excellent. I didn't know Floyd's (the bass player) full name was Sgt. Floyd Pepper - I dug the Beatles reference and could now appreciate his choice of wardrobe! I was surprised to learn that CBS turned down the show, but stations got to air it because the 7:30 time slot was regulated for local broadcasts, so the networks would not broadcast reruns, and affiliates put the show on at that time (definitely easier than producing their own local programming). I don't think we had that issue here in Canada when the show was originally broadcast on CBC.

I wonder if we would still love Miss Piggy as much if they continued to refer to her as Piggy Lee (obvious reference to Peggy Lee)?

Damn, I loved this show growing up. How many of you had the Muppet Show albums? I loved hearing (and seeing) those sketches and songs, and it was interesting to finally see Rowlf sing "Cottlestone Pie" (in the 'British' footage'). I've only gotten through 2 discs so far, but the Harvey Corman episode still rates as my all time favorite for two reasons - one is Fozzie's routine (hijacking Kermit as straightman - I've reinstated an old signature as a result), and Robin singing "Halfway Down The Stairs", a surprisingly poignant performance both musically and visually that consistantly left me emotionally stricken, and continues to do so to this day. I can't wait to get to Dr. Teeth (& co.) totally shredding Rosemary Clooney's "Tenderly"!

I think the show still works for young and old alike, although the very young may wonder "that's not Miss Piggy", especially when she's not voiced by Frank Oz (due to character assignments in some sketches), and the pig was redesigned later, just as Fozzie and Gonzo were.

I strongly agree with David, this is an outstanding package, even though the obvious replacement shot of Zoot at the end is an alarming experience at first (the original was better paced), but sonically, it's correct.

 

[Sam Favate]

In fairness, this set isn't labeled as "The Complete First Season," but simply "Season One." I think that's a difference, and as much as I do not approve of cuts, it's slightly more forgivable that calling it "complete."

 

[Adam W]

I keep hearing how all these people are looking for the fuzzy cover over the non fuzzy cover. I had to go to 4 stores in order to get me some Muppets. (I did end up with the second to last and fuzzy copy at..of all places..Target)

I forget to mention at Best Buy you get ten dollars off instantly if you buy Muppets Season One and the Muppet Wizard of Oz movie and then inside the package is a 5 dollar rebate making straight to dvd movie free(in 6-8 weeks).

 

[Tim Gerdes]

There were no cuts to the British broadcasts. The episodes aired in Britain without edits, though sometimes slightly different takes were used. In the British version of the Vincent Price episode, there is a reference to Jack Parnell, in the US version it's Guy Lombardo. In the UK versions, the end credits were left justified and included a guest star credit, whereas the US broadcasts showed center justified credits, without mention of the guest star.

Syndication versions were offered to markets outside of the UK - including the US - which edited one sketch out of each show, presumably to make space for additional advertising. The UK shows only had one commercial break, the syndication (US) versions have three.

It appears that the new DVDs use a mixture of both UK & syndication masters. Apart from the change to the end credits, all of the cuts are specific to these DVDs.

 

[Keith Paynter]

That's what several of the episodes I have watched featured - UK credits. The Guy Lombardo/Jack Parnell joke is in the Haunted House skit, not the 'excised' musical number. Hence, my suspicion that the UK episodes are different in structure and are what have been included in the set. We get a UK-only musical number in every episode (out of the ones I've seen so far on the 2 discs).

 

[Tim Gerdes]

The Vincent Price episode is a good example. The previous Time Life compilation set also included the UK master of the Vincent Price episode. In that collection (with left justified credits and the reference to Jack Parnell) we did get Vincent Price and Uncle Deadly singing You've Got A Friend .

The UK master was edited specifically for this new release.