20 Must-WatchMuppet ShowEpisodes on Disney+

Jim Henson ’s The Muppet Show — the one and only — is finally exit to be more easily accessible to fans withits arrival on Disney+this hebdomad . You might be so excited you ’re just last to dive in headlong , but if you ’re down to skip around a bit , we have some suggestions for the unspoiled of the beneficial .

While Disney’smore recent moviesandseries star the Muppetshave been varying level of super OK , the original Muppet Show is still clearly considered some of thestrongest storytelling starring the persona . That ’s in no modest part because of Henson ’s direct involvement .

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Kermit shouting out from the void.

Kermit shouting out from the void.Screenshot: ABC

Because of the room The Muppet Show was originally produced in the UK before being sent out to various region across the world with no clear authorization about how the episode were think of to be ordered , it ’s been unmanageable in the past times to watch the show sequentially , unless you got your hands on a VHS or DVD box set of season one through three . Additionally , The Muppet Show ’s quaternary and fifth seasons were antecedently only useable to the public as their initial broadcasts and were not secrete as home sensitive , belike due to issues with music rights .

All of that ’s changed , though , now thatThe Muppet Show ’s arrive to Disney+in its entirety . There ’s enough more to The Muppet Show than these 20 episodes , but they ’re a perfect place to start whether you ’re raw to the serial or looking forward to revisit some of their greatest hits .

Season 1, Episode 1

One of the most notable things about the earliest episodes is how generally sloshed and put together the entire product was , considering how new it was as a series . Part of this can be attribute to the multiple pilots that ABC turn down before The Muppet Show was finally greenlit for television , and that a number of the characters and its sense of humour were thing Henson had been craft for years .

Season 1, Episode 2

By being one of The Muppet Show ’s first celebrity node , Connie Stevens spiel a polar character in setting what would become the banner for the Muppet / human interactions that have always been the public eye of the dealership ’s best storytelling . The show ’s focalize on a celebrity whose appeal might not have been as solid with younger audience was also part of its ability to offer up something that would attract just as much to adults as to children . What ’s interesting to see here and in other episodes is how The Muppet Show does n’t go out of its way to make a clear differentiation about who its target area interview is .

Season 1, Episode 5

One does not need a particular grounds to watch anything asterisk Rita Moreno , but her appearance on The Muppet Show did mark one of the earliest appearances of a full - bodied Muppet — a mortal in a larger , complicated puppet courtship — interacting with talent . The episode ’s multifariousness of sketches also settle into a pacing and style that give character like Piggy , Fozzie , and the Swedish Chef opportunities to glow as stars among the plaster bandage .

Season 1, Episode 7

During her visit to The Muppet Show level , The Brady Bunch ’s Florence Henderson became the — in retrospect , all unsurprising — villain after running afoul of Miss Piggy . How ? By making a number of remarks that began as jokes about Francis Bacon before devolving into wild remarks about the taste of pork . By this decimal point in the series , Piggy ’s signature personality was always in sharp focus , and it ’s outstanding to see her in activeness like this in her prime .

Season 2, Episode 4

In The Muppet Show ’s second season , the show ’s growing popularity was reflected in a broader pop - cultural orbit , and episodes like this are splendid examples of how one see the Muppets ’ path to doing a cinematic musical based on classic stories way back in the late ‘ 70s .

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Season 2, Episode 12

Though Bernadette Peters was the installment ’s guest star , it actually stands out as one of The Muppet Show ’s best chapters focused on Statler and Waldorf . The duo is move over a much bombastic role here as their fondness for criticism end up making them pawns in Piggy ’s state of war against the calendar week ’s visitor .

Season 2, Episode 14

There ’s an controversy to be made that Elton John was a Muppet before the Muppets were a thing , which could be why the legendary performer worked so well alongside the felt fauna , even though he did n’t pass all that much time seek to impersonate fiber other than himself .

Season 2, Episode 17

It ’s hard to imagine a time when Gonzo was n’t disturbingly obsessed with chickens . But up until The Muppet Show ’s 2d time of year , the creature had a rather difficult time articulating just what it was that he was looking for in a married person . Julie Andrews ’ presence in the sequence ’s a lovely incentive , also .

Season 3, Episode 2

Much as it may ail Miss Piggy ’s firm fans to admit it , Kermit the Frog has a rather historied history of , at the very least , contemplating whether he might be better off work closely with slovenly person other than her . BeforeDenise the Pig , there was Annie Sue , a vocaliser who Miss Piggy ensure as a rival despite Annie Sue seeing her as a use good example . Like many of the other Muppet pigs , Annie Sue ’s never really gotten her due , and her glare episodes are decidedly worth rewatching .

Season 3, Episode 7

While all of the other Muppets have always been game to be ridiculous and goofy , Sam the Eagle ’s been a reliable source of roof of the mouth - cleaning seriousness — perfect for when Edgar Guest like Alice Cooper cut by to get in on all the comedic shenanigans . Along with Sam ’s keep a sharp eye on the show ’s rocker client , this episode also featured one of The Muppet Show ’s fistful of in - universe callback to earlier installment ( Julie Andrews ’ in this font ) establishing a sense of continuity .

Season 3, Episode 9

One can easily imagine Sam ’s feelings about Liberace , but it ’s the fashion the piano man ’s bearing rack up the rest of the featured cast members into a tizzy that makes this sequence special . As the doll all preen and plume in attempts to snag billet in Liberace ’s bird - theme concert , The Muppets Show becomes that much more a show about the yield of a show , an idea that would only go on to delineate The Muppets franchise .

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Season 3, Episode 14

While Harry Belafonte was jazz for being peculiarly make out about what kind of television projects he would tally to , he was unrestrained to appear on the show . He want to lick tight with Henson ’s team to control that his episode would be a memorable one meant to expose audiences to component of African culture not often celebrated on television . Both Belafonte and Henson were loose about how uncommon it was for The Muppet Show ’s creative squad to add guest into the scripting unconscious process , but both at last felt that their coaction precede to one of the series ’ good sequence .

Season 4, Episode 17

By The Muppet Show ’s fourth season , the series had become the kind of cultural phenomenon that made stars like Mark Hamill ’s appearance almost foregone conclusions . But rather than merely reveling in the fact thatthe Star Wars manwas playing around with the Muppets , the show very much treated Hamill like another fame who was expected to be game to fit himself into the Muppets ’ world , which he did and then some .

Season 4, Episode 18

Many of The Muppet Show ’s jokes aboutChristopher Reevelikely would n’t fly today give that Disney is n’t exactly in the business enterprise of drawing attention to what Warner Bros. has been up to withDC Comics IP . The installment ’s references to 1979 ’s The Muppet Movie , however , are precisely the sort of jest you ’d expect to hear the Muppets making now , as they ’ve become part of one of the most muscular , straggle multimedia system companies in world history .

Season 4, Episode 19

As fans ofLynda Carterthemselves , the Muppets all take to becoming superheroes in their own right when she stops by just a few months after theWonder Woman series’cancellation .

Season 4, Episode 24

Theatrical as you might expect Diana Ross ’ episode to be , it was actually one of the serial ’ more down - to - earth entries that focused more on the process of how the show all comes together and the stress Kermit deals with as stage handler .

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Season 5, Episode 1

sequence in which Kermit’s — or any Muppet ’s , really — legs come along are always worth paying care to because of the technical artistry that go into pulling the practical visual effect off . When Gene Kelly comes to natter , Kermit ’s given cause to get up and trip the light fantastic in his limited way , and it ’s a effort that ’s worth just as much praise as his hand flailing affair .

Season 5, Episode 15

you’re able to always tell when a renown guest was especially have it off to work with the Muppets — as was very much the case with Carol Burnett , who spent her episode portraying both herself and the Muppets ’ janitor . Burnett ’s willingness to see and interact with the Muppets as if they were fully - realize , living , suspire the great unwashed is precisely why her installment is one of the series ’ most memorable . It ’s exciting so many citizenry are sound to have the hazard to see it for the very first prison term .

Season 5, Episode 16

As the Muppets shin to figure out how they ’re run to put on a show with the roof of their theater rot through , Gladys Knight picture up ready to enter some of the mat up performers as her “ Mup - Pips ” for a last - instant show that advertise them to pull out all the stops .

Season 5, Episode 21

As one of the only melodic guest to execute on both Sesame Street and The Muppet Show , Johnny Cash is every bit a part of both serial ’ histories as the puppets themselves . While Cash was n’t quite as actively in on the trick as some of his renown peer , his repeated bearing in the Muppets ’ inhabit , both in somebody and as the tush of jokes , is reason enough to give this episode a viewing .

The Muppet Show pop streaming tomorrow on Disney+ .

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Muppy imploring Kermit and Scooter to consider renaming the show.