When I was younger, and before we moved house I remember that I used to love this new Muppet Show. It was just as good as The original show, except they had even better celebrities, even funnier happenings, and even more lovable characters. Sadly because of the deaths of Jim Henson and Richard Hunt we had no Kermit the Frog, Dr. Teeth, Statler or Scooter. So they had to get some sound-a-likes as well as the actors from the original show to replace them. Dave Goelz went from co-star to main star and still played my favourite The Great Gonzo, Beauregard, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, another favourite Randy Pig (with his brother Andy), Waldorf and many more. Steve Whitmire replaced Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, another favourite Andy Pig (with his bother Randy), Beaker, Rizzo the Rat and many more. Jerry Nelson as Lew Zealand, Statler, Pepe the Prawn and many more. And second favourite Frank Oz (AKA as Yoda in Star Wars) as Animal, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Sam the Eagle and many more. The reason I also liked Andy and Randy pigs was because they were always trying to cause mischief or chaos for the other Muppets, they usually always got what they deserved from the guest. They had some fantastic guests as well, e.g. Whoopi Golberg, Pierce Brosnan, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer and many more. It won 2 Emmys (from 8 nominations). Miss Piggy was number 29 on The 100 Greatest TV Characters, and The Muppets were number 47 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons. Very good!
16 Reviews
I Could Watch Muppets Tonight All Day
Rindiana21 September 2010
Dare I say it? This modern reworking of the famous Muppet Show is even better than its predecessor and better than just about everything else those lovable Jim Henson creations ever did.
Every single one of the few episodes - only 22 all in all - is filled with knock-out puns, bone-crunching slapstick, marvelously loopy sketches, hilarious story lines, good-natured guest star appearances and an overall air of liberating anarchy.
The many new characters are perfectly integrated into the Muppet cosmos. They're all breathing living creatures.
This terrific TV show was clearly made with love and care. Pure fun from start to finish.
8 out of 10 chaotic nights at the television studio
Every single one of the few episodes - only 22 all in all - is filled with knock-out puns, bone-crunching slapstick, marvelously loopy sketches, hilarious story lines, good-natured guest star appearances and an overall air of liberating anarchy.
The many new characters are perfectly integrated into the Muppet cosmos. They're all breathing living creatures.
This terrific TV show was clearly made with love and care. Pure fun from start to finish.
8 out of 10 chaotic nights at the television studio
Muppets Tonight on Disney Plus?
mkurland2313 April 2023
I remember watching this show on the Disney Channel during the point when it transitioned from ABC. It was still quite hilarious and featured guests like Jason Alexander, Tony Bennett, Whoopi Goldberg, Rick Moranis and even Prince. Even though Kermit is in a producer's role, he still has a lot of influence on the format of the show with Kevin Clash's character of Clifford taking over as host. The show hasn't been seen since its initial airings, and it's not officially available on either disc or streaming. I really hope that Disney can work out a deal with the Jim Henson Company to make the show available on either one of those formats in the near future.
In Memoriam: Jerry Nelson (1934-2012) Richard Hunt (1951-1992) & Jim Henson (1936-1990).
In Memoriam: Jerry Nelson (1934-2012) Richard Hunt (1951-1992) & Jim Henson (1936-1990).
"MT", We Hardly Knew Ye.
Jeope!31 March 2000
It's a travesty what happened to this show. In it's short-lived existence, "Muppets Tonight" was one of the best things going on television. Sadly though, it played out to an audience that apparently had been all muppeted out. A wonderful program with an incredible group of characters old and new, "Muppets Tonight" boasted a stellar ensemble of special guests. What other variety program could showcase such awesome star power like Garth Brooks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Prince and Cindy Crawford? What other show could pull off the unbelievable, like Rizzo the Rat belting out Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy' to a screaming mob of she-rodents? Or a life-sized grizzly-bear-security-guard trying to woo the aforementioned Crawford's affections? Or the hilarious Elvis Moments in History? Alas, "Muppets Tonight". We hardly knew ye. This crazy world just doesn't have room for those loony puppets anymore...except in Germany, apparently. Muppetheads across the globe await to see what happens next.
Love this show.
jstarkey47 December 2020
I love this show. It's very similar to the original muppet show. At the time it aired it was marketed as being a more adult version of the muppets. I suppose there are a few more risqué or sophisticated jokes in this show, but it's still pretty wholesome. It's too bad it didn't last longer.
It may not be The Muppet Show but it still has wit to it.
mitsubishizero28 September 2020
Let's just get out of the way that there will never be another Muppets Show. With that being said, this was ok. It wasn't great but it had some funny jokes. Clifford as the host instead of Kermit was interesting. I have to say, he can hold the show together well. It's still a shame though that Kermit plays a minor role in this show.
Otherwise it's ok. You'll either Ike it hate it. Me, I personally liked it. It was clever at times. My favorite episode was when Sandra Bullock guest starred. The laughs were nonstop for me. So yeah, if you like muppets check it out.
Otherwise it's ok. You'll either Ike it hate it. Me, I personally liked it. It was clever at times. My favorite episode was when Sandra Bullock guest starred. The laughs were nonstop for me. So yeah, if you like muppets check it out.
(Oh, Trust, We'll Get to Pepe Later!)
bblack1-699-9685776 June 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I remember watching some episodes of "Muppets Tonight" as a kid. I loved it; it's the Muppets, what's not to love? It had been years since I recently saw this show before I viewed some episodes on YouTube. Does it still hold up?...No. People seem to think the Muppets began putting out some pretty crappy productions, and I'd be lying it I said I didn't see that. If it be true, this was the start of the downward spiral for the Muppets for a while.
It looks like the show is trying to be a re-creation of "The Muppet Show." They have a special guest in every episode who deals with the zaniness of the Muppets, the theme includes Kermit introducing the show and the guest star, and there are music selections. Now just by the first sentence (and my review for "The Muppet Show," you'd think that this would be awesome. Well...it's not. Let me tell you why.
First of all, let's talk about the Muppets themselves. When you think of Muppets, you (or at least, I) think of the more popular characters like Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Piggy, Scooter, the Electric Mayhem, Bunsen and Beaker, Statler and Waldorf, Rowlf, Swedish Chef, and a few others. Here, the screen is moved with a bunch of new characters that we (or, at least I) don't necessarily care about. I don't care about Andy and Randy, I don't care about Dr. Phil van Neuter, I don't care about Pepe or Seymour, I don't care about Bobo (not in this production anyway), I don't care about Pepe, I don't care about Nigel, and I don't care about Pepe! (Oh, trust, we'll get to Pepe later!) It's particularly Brian Henson's and Bill Barretta's characters that are extremely annoying and stupid to me. What about someone else's character, like Kevin Clash's? I love Clifford! Clifford is great! I was shocked when I heard in an interview with Kevin Clash that a lot of people don't like Clifford. As the interviewed continued, I heard Kevin Clash say that the reason was because the producers and writers took away a lot of Clifford's coolness. Go back and watch "The Jim Henson Hour" and "The Muppets at Walt Disney World." Watch Clifford with Jim Henson on "The Arsenio Hall Show" in 1990. There's a distinct difference between that Clifford and the Clifford here. Here, he's clumsy, we see his eyes, he's quirky, he's not as cool as he used to be. On top of that, despite the fact that I still love Clifford, why is he the host? He should never have been the host, and Kevin Clash himself agreed. When you think of a Muppet hosting a Muppet TV show, or a big Muppet star, is Clifford the first one you think of? Unfortunately, no. How about Rizzo? I guess he's OK here because we've gotten to know him from "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and "The Muppet Christmas Carol." But even with that, he's not one of the original Muppets. And why aren't we seeing the other, more beloved characters as much as, or more than, we see him?
How about the entertainment? Is it still the Muppet's brand of entertainment we all know and love? Not at all! Harsh to say, it sucks! Remember how I said the Muppets in "The Muppet Show" and "The Muppet Movie" had their own form of entertainment? That goes out the window here! Here, you definitely get the sense that their just conforming to what was popular. There's no charm, there's no originality, there's no pushing the envelope with puppetry, there aren't any serious or mature moments. They're just trying to get us to laugh at things that aren't funny, just like a modern sitcom. There are a lot of sex jokes and fat jokes; and neither of those jokes - or the other jokes they make - are funny! They're distasteful!
I don't know what else to say about the show; it's bad. It's the exact opposite of "The Muppet Show." The characters are annoying, the celebrity guests are annoying, none of the episodes or moments or songs are memorable; it's bad. You can see why this show lasted for only 2 years! If you really want to see another Muppet production or just to see if it's as bad as I say it is (which it is), I guess you can check it out. And maybe, who knows, you'll find something about the show that you can get hooked onto. But if you're like me, I can definitely say you can skip this one! BOOYIKA!
It looks like the show is trying to be a re-creation of "The Muppet Show." They have a special guest in every episode who deals with the zaniness of the Muppets, the theme includes Kermit introducing the show and the guest star, and there are music selections. Now just by the first sentence (and my review for "The Muppet Show," you'd think that this would be awesome. Well...it's not. Let me tell you why.
First of all, let's talk about the Muppets themselves. When you think of Muppets, you (or at least, I) think of the more popular characters like Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Piggy, Scooter, the Electric Mayhem, Bunsen and Beaker, Statler and Waldorf, Rowlf, Swedish Chef, and a few others. Here, the screen is moved with a bunch of new characters that we (or, at least I) don't necessarily care about. I don't care about Andy and Randy, I don't care about Dr. Phil van Neuter, I don't care about Pepe or Seymour, I don't care about Bobo (not in this production anyway), I don't care about Pepe, I don't care about Nigel, and I don't care about Pepe! (Oh, trust, we'll get to Pepe later!) It's particularly Brian Henson's and Bill Barretta's characters that are extremely annoying and stupid to me. What about someone else's character, like Kevin Clash's? I love Clifford! Clifford is great! I was shocked when I heard in an interview with Kevin Clash that a lot of people don't like Clifford. As the interviewed continued, I heard Kevin Clash say that the reason was because the producers and writers took away a lot of Clifford's coolness. Go back and watch "The Jim Henson Hour" and "The Muppets at Walt Disney World." Watch Clifford with Jim Henson on "The Arsenio Hall Show" in 1990. There's a distinct difference between that Clifford and the Clifford here. Here, he's clumsy, we see his eyes, he's quirky, he's not as cool as he used to be. On top of that, despite the fact that I still love Clifford, why is he the host? He should never have been the host, and Kevin Clash himself agreed. When you think of a Muppet hosting a Muppet TV show, or a big Muppet star, is Clifford the first one you think of? Unfortunately, no. How about Rizzo? I guess he's OK here because we've gotten to know him from "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and "The Muppet Christmas Carol." But even with that, he's not one of the original Muppets. And why aren't we seeing the other, more beloved characters as much as, or more than, we see him?
How about the entertainment? Is it still the Muppet's brand of entertainment we all know and love? Not at all! Harsh to say, it sucks! Remember how I said the Muppets in "The Muppet Show" and "The Muppet Movie" had their own form of entertainment? That goes out the window here! Here, you definitely get the sense that their just conforming to what was popular. There's no charm, there's no originality, there's no pushing the envelope with puppetry, there aren't any serious or mature moments. They're just trying to get us to laugh at things that aren't funny, just like a modern sitcom. There are a lot of sex jokes and fat jokes; and neither of those jokes - or the other jokes they make - are funny! They're distasteful!
I don't know what else to say about the show; it's bad. It's the exact opposite of "The Muppet Show." The characters are annoying, the celebrity guests are annoying, none of the episodes or moments or songs are memorable; it's bad. You can see why this show lasted for only 2 years! If you really want to see another Muppet production or just to see if it's as bad as I say it is (which it is), I guess you can check it out. And maybe, who knows, you'll find something about the show that you can get hooked onto. But if you're like me, I can definitely say you can skip this one! BOOYIKA!
Highly under rated
Op_Prime7 July 1999
Muppets Tonight was true to the Muppet Show in every way. The only problem was, no one was interested. Muppets Tonight offered our favorite Muppets, as well as new characters and fresh material. It's shame it was so short and killed by ABC. But not to worry. Those of us who have the Disney Channel can catch it in reruns and newer episodes that never made it to the air.
Met its time too soon
sngbrd3913 May 2000
This show very nearly captured the heart and soul of the original "Muppet Show" with its outlandish humor and hilarious guest hosts (whom I had actually heard of). However, apparently not enough people agreed with me, and the show was cancelled. They do not even have the Disney Channel reruns anymore. (Granted, since the show was only on for two years, the same episodes kept popping up over and over again. But this should never have been a problem in the first place!)
2nd Short life of Muppets on Television
Fury90332 April 2006
The Muppets Tonight was 1st serious attempt to make a dedicated television show for the Muppets. It was different, and it had potential. The guest stars of amazing quality, and new spin on how original Muppet Show was done.
However, it had to deal with changed world. After 2 brief seasons, Oklahoma City bombing accrued. Which rattled America, and it was key factors of the cancellation of the this young and potential show. The episode which was to be are, if memory services right few weeks after the bombing, introduced an old character. Crazy Harry, one of the Muppet show's original characters, a mad bomber. Television executives made the decision that this was too much and too soon after the Oklahoma bombing, so the squashed the episode.
Later entire show was squashed. America changed, it became hyper sensitive about its viewing content on Television. Thus, Muppet Tonight one of its very first victims. Disney owned show transferred the show to its Disney Channel and it quietly shown in reruns for short while and died. Creative of the Muppets had been lost with the passing of Henson, thus no new motivations to push keep the new show going and being original as "Show" was. This is a private view, but I believe is the correct one. As of that date of this review. No new original Muppet oriented material has come out since Muppets Tonight. Only re-has, redo, television movies and Direct to video material.
However, it had to deal with changed world. After 2 brief seasons, Oklahoma City bombing accrued. Which rattled America, and it was key factors of the cancellation of the this young and potential show. The episode which was to be are, if memory services right few weeks after the bombing, introduced an old character. Crazy Harry, one of the Muppet show's original characters, a mad bomber. Television executives made the decision that this was too much and too soon after the Oklahoma bombing, so the squashed the episode.
Later entire show was squashed. America changed, it became hyper sensitive about its viewing content on Television. Thus, Muppet Tonight one of its very first victims. Disney owned show transferred the show to its Disney Channel and it quietly shown in reruns for short while and died. Creative of the Muppets had been lost with the passing of Henson, thus no new motivations to push keep the new show going and being original as "Show" was. This is a private view, but I believe is the correct one. As of that date of this review. No new original Muppet oriented material has come out since Muppets Tonight. Only re-has, redo, television movies and Direct to video material.
I Loved This....
onefabbyally24 October 2004
This was aired in the U.K around 1996/97, i cant remember but i thought it was amazing!!!
I had never really been into The Muppets before but this just blew me away!!! The parts i remember most were parts like Whoopi Goldberg teaching the band to sing No Woman No Cry, Really slowly but they kept speeding up!!,
i was in stitches with this!, Also who could forget Spamela Hamderson!!!!
When this finished airing its first season I remember waiting a whole year for it to come back on BBc1 but it never returned,
i can only say how sad it is that this never succeeded with the publics interest.
Live on The Muppets Tonight.
I had never really been into The Muppets before but this just blew me away!!! The parts i remember most were parts like Whoopi Goldberg teaching the band to sing No Woman No Cry, Really slowly but they kept speeding up!!,
i was in stitches with this!, Also who could forget Spamela Hamderson!!!!
When this finished airing its first season I remember waiting a whole year for it to come back on BBc1 but it never returned,
i can only say how sad it is that this never succeeded with the publics interest.
Live on The Muppets Tonight.
Whatever happened?
jemsybaby19 May 2001
I never watched the original Muppets, in fact, I was never a great fan of them. However this show was more than that. It was not about your usual children's puppet show; it was light hearted entertainment that was well written and had guest star roles that perhaps some of the most well established entertainment shows couldn't get a hold of considering it's short run. I had always wondered what had happened to this brilliant show; am I only one of a few who thought this?
Do u remember?
Groverclevland22242 April 2004
i remember when it aired that there was a long brake before new episodes came on the air. the last epidose before this brake had gonzo launching himself out of a cannon, then u heard a loud crash. i soon heard on the news that the gonzo puppet had done damage to the set when it was launched, they then took the break to fix the set. gonzo never launched out of a cannon again on the show. does any one else remembner this. this was a classic muppet piece of art better then that crappy nbc muppet christmas movie. they should release this as a dvd set with the full series and never before aired footage and episodes. it lived up to the muppet show if it wasnt better.
Where did it go?
newkidontheblock28 August 2004
Okay I was just a little kid when this series premeired, but I do rememeber that the show was extremely funny. Its just a darn shame that they canceled it as quickly as they did. This remake of the Mumppet Show was witter and maybe even better than the Mumppet Show (please don't stone me for that comment). But I think my one line summary said it all, where did it go?
So the question is, why in the world did ABC cancel this program? The answer is very simple, the people at ABC are idiots. There's no way around it, they have no idea what there doing! They we're 4th place for a while, THEY WE'RE BELOW FOX FOR ST. PETERS SAKE! First the Critic, then Muppets Tonight 2 years later, its just a shame.
So in conclution, The American Brodcastic Co. should have let this show run, because if they did, it would have been a hit! But oh well, maybe they'll have it on DVD one day.
So the question is, why in the world did ABC cancel this program? The answer is very simple, the people at ABC are idiots. There's no way around it, they have no idea what there doing! They we're 4th place for a while, THEY WE'RE BELOW FOX FOR ST. PETERS SAKE! First the Critic, then Muppets Tonight 2 years later, its just a shame.
So in conclution, The American Brodcastic Co. should have let this show run, because if they did, it would have been a hit! But oh well, maybe they'll have it on DVD one day.
Fun show!
TOMNEL26 November 2005
stars: Steve Whittemire as Kermit the frog, Andy Pig, Rizzo the rat, Beaker, Mr. Poodlepants and others.
Dave Goelz as Gonzo the great, Waldorf, Bueregard, Randy pig, Bunsen Hunnydew and others.
Frank Oz as Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Sam the eagle and Animal.
Jerry Nelson as Lew Zealand, Statler, Announcer, Floyd Pepper(2 episodes only) and others.
Bill Barretta as Johnny Fiammo, Pepe the prawn, Bobo, Rowlf(2 episodes only) and others.
Kevin Clash as Clifford.
Brian Henson as Dr. Van Neuter and Sal Manilla.
The new version of the Muppet Show twenty years later. The new host of the show is Clifford, a Jamaican buisnessman, but Kermit still puts it all together. Like the original, it had a new guest every week that participated in the zaniness, and still, the crank Statler and Waldorf and in the balcony. The show mostly focuses on new characters, with the only main characters on this that returned from the original were Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Lew Zealand, Statler and Waldorf, Beuregard, Sam the eagle, Bunsen and Beaker, Animal(who returned even though the rest of the band is pretty much gone) and Rizzo the rat. Good show, but not great.
My rating-B.
Dave Goelz as Gonzo the great, Waldorf, Bueregard, Randy pig, Bunsen Hunnydew and others.
Frank Oz as Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Sam the eagle and Animal.
Jerry Nelson as Lew Zealand, Statler, Announcer, Floyd Pepper(2 episodes only) and others.
Bill Barretta as Johnny Fiammo, Pepe the prawn, Bobo, Rowlf(2 episodes only) and others.
Kevin Clash as Clifford.
Brian Henson as Dr. Van Neuter and Sal Manilla.
The new version of the Muppet Show twenty years later. The new host of the show is Clifford, a Jamaican buisnessman, but Kermit still puts it all together. Like the original, it had a new guest every week that participated in the zaniness, and still, the crank Statler and Waldorf and in the balcony. The show mostly focuses on new characters, with the only main characters on this that returned from the original were Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Lew Zealand, Statler and Waldorf, Beuregard, Sam the eagle, Bunsen and Beaker, Animal(who returned even though the rest of the band is pretty much gone) and Rizzo the rat. Good show, but not great.
My rating-B.
See also
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