Original air date: November 23, 1978
About halfway through this episode, Rita Coolidge sings “We’re All Alone.” She’s on a forest set surrounded by Muppet woodland creatures, but basically this is a solo number. The animals sing harmony, but they aren’t characters. Their voices aren’t really recognizable as the Muppet performers, and the song is arranged exactly like the album version. If you were just listening to the audio, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell that it’s from The Muppet Show.
Despite that, it still gives me a warm feeling every time I hear it. “We’re All Alone” was a big hit for Coolidge in 1977, reaching the top 10 in both the US and UK. But I wasn’t alive in 1977, so I never heard it until I bought The Muppet Show season 3 on DVD in 2008. I was 23 years old, and this simple, heartfelt ballad knocked me out. The first time I watched this episode, I rewound that song three times because I loved it so much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C0ftLIwlxA
Make no mistake – “We’re All Alone” is a gorgeous song. Coolidge’s soft, high voice matches perfectly with Boz Scaggs’s lyrics. A simple flute line soars above the vocals, giving the song a feeling of longing and regret. I watched it repeatedly because it’s a beautifully sung, flawlessly produced gem.
And yet, I don’t believe I would have had such a strong reaction if I’d heard “We’re All Alone” in any other context. On the radio, I probably would have thought “Hmm, that’s pretty” and never thought about it ever again. But I heard it on The Muppet Show, so it became a favorite. I listen to it often, and I’ve sung it to my children as a lullaby many times.
There’s always something special about songs performed on The Muppet Show, even when the Muppets aren’t really involved. This song is just one example of a phenomenon that has recurred throughout my life – falling in love with songs I first heard on The Muppet Show. “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John when I was 8, “Turn the World Around” by Harry Belafonte when I was 15, “Honest Lullaby” by Joan Baez when I was 25.
In all of those cases, like this one, the guest star takes center stage and no popular Muppet characters appear at all. The only Muppets in those songs are crocodiles, African masks, and a small boy, respectively. The Muppet performers add to the success of these numbers, but they do it from behind-the-scenes, serving as anonymous studio singers.
With Baez, Belafonte, and Elton John, The Muppet Show sent me down a rabbit hole. I sought out other work by those artists and became a lifelong fan of all of them. That didn’t happen with Rita Coolidge – to this day, I can’t name another one of her songs. I’m sure she recorded many great tunes, but I haven’t looked into it. I should, and maybe writing this article will inspire me to do so.
Even if I don’t, the fact remains that she sang one of my favorite songs of all-time, and she did it onstage at the Muppet Theater, where every song becomes magic.
Best Joke: Animal’s TV dinner could be such a stupid joke, but the visual really helps sell it. Animal’s enthusiasm is hilarious when paired with that smoking, broken TV.
Lamest Joke: Gonzo hiccups instead of blowing on his trumpet. I guess you can’t come up with a gem every time.
MVM (Most Valuable Muppet): Piggy, who gets a bunch of stuff to do and also vengefully pushes back against Gladys’s fat jokes in the canteen. It’s great. Piggy’s great.
Most Classic Moment: Gonzo reciting the 7 Times Multiplication Table while Balancing a Piano and Standing on a Hammock.
Should-Be-Classic Moment: Rowlf and Sam the Eagle’s hilarious UK spot “A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go.” Those two are secretly one of the great pairings of The Muppet Show.
First Appearance Of…: Billy the Bear! Yeah, babies! My favorite bear standup comic! (He’s not a standup comic yet. He’s just a regular forest animal.)
Coolest Puppetry Effect: During the Muppet Labs sketch, Beaker’s legs grow several yards longer before our eyes.
Obscure Character Watch: Gladys – the monstrous cafeteria lady – is one of Richard Hunt’s weirdest characters, and I love her so much.
Musical Highlight: This episode has a ton of great music. But I mention all of the other highlights elsewhere, so here I’ll give a shoutout to Wayne getting eaten by a wild Irish rose. The fate Wayne has always deserved.
Adultiest Content: Before the opening number, “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” Miss Piggy calls the song “sexy,” and she isn’t wrong. It’s a song about spending the night together, and she’s all over Kris Kristofferson through the whole thing. Also he starts undressing her at one point.
One More Thing…: I love Floyd’s version of “New York State of Mind.” It’s a million times better than Billy Joel’s original. But it’s a reused sketch from the Madeline Kahn episode in season 2. The Muppet Show reused sketches a few times, but I believe this is the only time they reran a sketch from a previous season.
Okay, One More Thing…: The “An Actor’s Life for Me” sketch from the Pearl Bailey episode also reappears here. Or, perhaps, appears for the first time, because this episode came first in production order. In any case, it contains my favorite Muppet line of all-time: Rowlf’s “Ah, wonderful scenery! But is it funny?”
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by Anthony Strand
