Original air date: February 28, 1980
When we talk about The Muppet Show, one thing we often talk about is how great it was that the show allowed famous entertainers to make use of talents they never got to show off otherwise. Opera singers tap-dance, ballet dancers sing pop songs, serious thespians do comedy. It’s clear why this was appealing for the guest stars – when everyone knows you’re excellent at one thing, it’s exciting to show the world you’re also excellent (or pretty good) at other things.
In the cold open of the episode featuring legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, Scooter finds the guest star in his dressing room playing with a marionette. Are we about to see Dizzy Gillespie’s hidden skills at puppetry? But when Scooter warns that Kermit has a strict “no puppets” rule, Dizzy tosses the marionette away and picks up his trumpet.
From that point on, Dizzy spends the rest of the show doing what he’s excellent at. And so does The Muppet Show and everyone involved with it.
For example, the Electric Mayhem – and the real Muppet Show band behind them – are really excellent at playing music. With a jazz musician as a guest star, every song except the UK spot is a jazz tune, and they’re all sublime. I’m a person who never dances and kind of hates the idea of dancing, but all three of Gillespie’s numbers made me feel like jumping up and cutting a rug.
The Muppet performers, meanwhile, are excellent at making the most of any character’s screen time. In the closing number, “Swing Low Sweet Cadillac,” there are several background Whatnots swaying and grooving to the music, which adds so much to the experience of watching it. And in the opening number, performed by an all-fish band, I really want to know who performed a) the fish so expressively playing the banjo, and b) the fish who tries to bite the singer’s tail. I love that stuff.
You know who else is excellent at what they do? The folks at Muppet Wiki. This is the episode where Statler is absent from his seat in the balcony, so Waldorf brings his wife Astoria, who can’t believe Waldorf keeps coming to this awful show. Astoria is a funny character, but doesn’t quite sound like any other Muppet. For years, the question haunted the nerd elite of Muppet fans: Who performed Astoria? She sounds kind of like Jerry Nelson. But also like Steve Whitmire? And maybe like occasional Muppet performer Bob Payne. Even asking people who worked on the show proved unsuccessful, as they just didn’t remember.
But in recent years, Muppet Wiki editors have gotten access to more Muppet and Sesame Street projects with performances by Bob Payne. And after listening with intense scrutiny, and discussing the matter with intense politeness, they’ve now finally added a name to Astoria’s performer box on the wiki. It’s Bob Payne! And say, he did a pretty excellent job with Astoria, too.
In fact, the only person I can think of here who’s not so great as his job is Inspector LaBrea from the County Environmental Department. He shows up with a recording device, admonishing Kermit about the loudness of the show, and threatening to cancel it if the noise levels get too high. But he’s easily distracted by Fozzie, and by the Swedish Chef, and by a karate chop from Miss Piggy. And when he finds out the guest star is Dizzy Gillespie – a considerably loud musician – he abandons his task completely and joins the closing number. He never does his job!
That’s a good thing for us, though. If Inspector LaBrea had cancelled the show, we would missed out on another season and change of more excellence.
MVM (Most Valuable Muppet): It has to be Astoria. Her name is a joke, she’s Waldorf’s wife who looks like his best friend in drag, and she manages to hijack Fozzie’s act in a way that makes the audience actually appreciate him for once. And she still has an air of mystique from that performer mystery.
Best Joke:
Nurse Piggy: “You have a brother?”
Dr. Bob: “Well, I did, until he fell into a vat of molten optical glass.”
Nurse Piggy: “What happened?”
Dr. Bob: “He made a spectacle of himself!”
Joke That Is Old and Predictable But I Love It:
Passerby: “Do you know to get to Carnegie Hall?”
Zoot and Floyd: “Practice!”
Most Classic Moment: I think it just might be in final moments before the credits, when Dizzy Gillespie expresses his admiration for frogs because they can do this… and then he does his trademark inflated-cheek move. (Kermit says he can’t do that.)
Should-Be-Classic Moment: The UK spot in this episode is the all-time best performance of one of the all-time great rock bands, Geri and the Atrics. Their take on “Doo Wah Diddy” makes me wish I had half the energy of those wrinkly old ladies.
Musical Highlight: All of Gillespie’s numbers are great, but “St. Louis Blues” stands out.
Obscure Character Watch: Besides Astoria, there’s the bongo player who sits in with the Electric Mayhem for “St. Louis Blues.” He’s fun to watch and he looks like he could be related to Ernie.
Adultiest Content: In “Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac” there’s a guy who appears to be smoking hookah. And a Whatnot who pretty prominently shakes her moneymaker.
One More Thing: At the very end of the credits, Inspector LaBrea pops up in Waldorf and Astoria’s box to announce that the show is cancelled. I first saw this episode on TNT way back before there were wikis or episode guides or anything. I assumed this was, in fact, the final episode and the writers had chosen to go out in an exceptionally abrupt and irreverent way.
Click here to perform Astoria on the Tough Pigs forum!
by Ryan Roe – Ryan@ToughPigs.com
