Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters

"Little Muppet Monsters" was a short-lived Saturday morning TV show, which aired only three episodes on CBS in 1985. The first season of "Muppet Babies" did very well in the ratings, so CBS decided to expand the series from a half-hour to an hour, pairing "Muppet Babies" with "Little Muppet Monsters". They called the hour-long package "Muppets, Babies and Monsters".

The show was anchored by three young Muppet monsters: Tug (Richard Hunt), Boo (David Rudman) and Molly (Camille Bonora). Other regular muppet performers on the series were Michael Earl, Jim Kroupa and Kathy Mullen.

Storyboard director Scott Shaw discussed the show in MuppetZine issue #3 (Winter 1993). "The concept of this second half-hour was neither simple nor particularly well-developed," he said. "A trio of new (live-action) Muppet Monster Kids, working from the basement of the adult Muppets' home, create their own television station which broadcasts only to the TV sets in the house upstairs. Their 'shows' were such regular segments as "Pigs in Space", "Kermit and Fozzie, Private Eyes", "Animal's Exercises" and "Fozzie's Comedy Class", among others.

Although eighteen episodes were produced, only three of them ever aired; Henson Associates and CBS agreed that the concept had never been properly thought out and just wasn't up to Henson's high standards. To Jim Henson's credit, it was his idea to pull the show from the Saturday morning lineup.Fact|date=January 2008

"I've always felt that the juxtapositioning of live-action and animated Muppets invited an unfavorable comparison, to which the cartoon version inevitably suffered; the puppetry was just too good. The combination of Muppet babies, adults and kid monsters was very disorienting. Also, due to a lack of development time, the concept -- and therefore, the writing and designs -- never quite jelled."Fact|date=January 2008

"The now-vacant second half-hour was filled with repeats of the first season's "Muppet Babies" episodes, and the ratings stayed strong."Fact|date=January 2008

The three episodes have never been re-run.In fact it is unknown if the show will ever come to syndication unlike its other counterparts.

After the show ended, an instrumental version of the theme music for "Muppet Babies and Monsters" would be used for the closing credits for the "Muppet Babies" episodes from 1985 onward.

The three monster kids were also seen briefly in the special "", which was broadcast in January, 1986. The special was shot before the decision was made to take "Monsters" off the air, so the show cheerfully plugged the Muppets' latest production -- even though that production had been cancelled four months earlier. An animated "Pigs in Space" episode later was shown in the Muppet Babies episode "Eight Flags Over the Nursery".

Voice Cast

* Frank Welker as Kermit the Frog and various people
* Hal Rayle as Miss Piggy,Gonzo and Animal
* Greg Berg as Fozzie Bear and Julius Strangepork
* Bob Bergen as Bunsen Honeydew and Link Hogthrob
* Richard Hunt Animated Muppet Shorts Narrator

Creators

* Characters designed by: Michael Frith
* Tug built by: Ed Christie
* Molly built by: Joanne Green
* Boo built by: Rollie Krewson

Episodes

* "In the Beginning" - 9/14/1985
* "Space Cowboys" - 9/21/1985
* "The Great Boodini" - 9/28/1985
* "Hi, Mars" - Unaired
* "Monster Measles" - Unaired
* "Gonzo's Talent Hunt" - Unaired
* "Can't Stop the Music" - Unaired
* "Boo Monster Ace Reporter" - Unaired
* "Feels Like Rain" - Unaired
* "Foo-Foo Phooey" - Unaired
* "Penguin for a Day" - Unaired
* "Gunko" - Unaired
* "Mail-Order Guest" - Unaired
* "Meet Germathea" - Unaired
* "Episode 15 (Title Unknown)" - Unaired
* "Episode 16 (Title Unknown)" - Unaired
* "Episode 17 (Title Unknown)" - Unaired
* "Episode 18 (Title Unknown)" - Unaired

External links

* [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Little_Muppet_Monsters Muppet Wiki: Little Muppet Monsters]
* [http://www.tv.com/little-muppet-monsters/show/14083/summary.html Little Muppet Monsters @ TV.com]