List of Muppets Tonight episodes

This is a complete listing of episodes from the live-action/puppet television series "Muppets Tonight".

Episode list

Season one (1996–1997)

# Michelle Pfeiffer- The show opens with Kermit welcoming the Muppets to their new TV studio. Gonzo The Great is reading out their new TV schedule, when they discover that there is nothing scheduled for that night. Kermit says that they have to put together a show, but no-one wants to host it. Clifford, who is on the phone in a corner of the room and has missed all the commotion, is chosen to host the show. Owing to the short notice, the organising is very haphazard. Miss Piggy finally agrees to be their guest star, but Kermit has other ideas- he introduces Clifford and his assistant Rizzo the Rat, to Michelle Pfeiffer. Clifford seems to forget about Miss Piggy, only remembering when Rizzo tells him that they now have two guest stars. They spend the rest of the show trying to keep Miss Piggy and Michelle apart. It doesn't work, and the two rivals end up singing the closing number- excerpts from The Sound of Music" - together. Sketches include "Muppet Match-Up", a blind date show, supposedly from 1975, with Michelle Pfeiffer as the bachelorette, who ends up dating Bachelor No.3 (Animal)- he leaves her no option! The show also includes "Great Moments In Elvis History"- three Muppet caricatures of Elvis Presley re-enact the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which is interrupted by Benjamin Franklin, who has just discovered electricity. The Elvises take out their electric guitars, and end the sketch with a parody of "Blue Suede Shoes".
# Garth Brooks - Everyone expects Garth Brooks to sing one of his hit country songs for the show, but he insists in pursuing different styles of music such as rap, opera, and Tom Jones.
# Billy Crystal- The comedian features in parodies of "When Harry Met Sally", and "City Slickers". We are also introduced to the security guard, Bobo The Bear, who will not let anyone into the studio who is not on his list. He stops Larry King from entering the studio, only to discover that his name is on the list when it's too late. We also see the first episode of "The Eagle's Nest", a political commentary show hosted by Sam Eagle- the first topic is taxes. It doesn't go according to plan, because Sam's guests are Andy and Randy Pig, who fail to understand a word he says. The first episode of "The Tugmans of Porksmouth", a show which follows an obese pig's futile attempts to lose weight, and was only shown in Britain, also aired on this show. A group of jungle animals sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", but are interrupted when the lionin question chases them off the set for disturbing his rest. The closing number is a jazz number performed by Billy Crystal and the entire Muppets Tonight cast, when Billy's all-star band doesn't turn up- we learn that this is because Bobo won't let them in, even though they include President Clinton, President Yeltzin, and even Queen Elizabeth II.
# John Goodman- John Goodman wants a relaxing show, but any hope of that goes out of the window when Andy and Randy Pig assign themselves to be his personal slaves, after he saves them from being electrocuted. The first episode of "Tales From The Vet", sees Dr. Phil Van Neuter, explaining in song (preferably one by Thomas Dolby) how he met his wife, Composta Heap, sister of his assistant, Mulch. The song he sings is "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby. Clifford rolls a clip of John Goodman in a Muppet documentary about the first landing on the moon, called "The Lunar-Mooners", with Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. Later, Andy and Randy Pig give John Goodman a scalp massage using glue, and he finally ends up in a truckload of mousetraps, and in hospital.
# Cindy Crawford- The glamorous supermodel steals Bobo's heart. Rizzo tries unsuccessfully to help him win her. The show also includes a clip from "The Kermit The Frog Club", with a young Cindy as one of the Frogketeers, and an episode of Swift Wits, the fastest game show on TV- the two over-enthusiastic contestants refuse to listen to the host's clues to help them identify the mystery object, and consequently lose the game- Winky, a happy little Beaver, loses his life, as he is devoured by Carl, the Big Mean Bunny. Finally, Bobo interrupts Kermit and Cindy's closing number- "I Remember It Well" from the musical, Gigi-, and finally wins Cindy's heart, and they finish the show in grand style, dancing the tango.
# Tony Bennett- Guest star Tony Bennet appears on a show within a show, hosted by Johnny Fiama. Tony wants to sing a duet with Johnny, who has idolised him for years, but Johnny is overcome with nerves and faints. Johnny is in a terrible mood afterwards, and cruelly sends his assistant, Sal the Monkey, packing. Sal and Tony discuss how they can make Johnny feel better, and Sal dreams up an idea. Johnny has constructed his own Tony Bennet robot. Unbeknown to Johnny, Sal and Tony remove the robot from its case and Tony stands in its place. Johnny turns the robot on to sing with it instead, and finds himself fulfilling his lifelong dream- a duet with the REAL Tony Bennett! They end the show with "Shakin' The Blues Away".
# Sandra Bullock Guest star Sandra Bullock. A mad bomber man threatens to bomb the theater unless the Muppets Tonight's rating is 50 or higher. So Andy, Randy, Rizzo, Clifford, and Sandra try to keep the rating up and track the bomber down. They barely manage to keep the ratings up. After the demise of two of their most popular acts, Clifford and Rizzo resort to a series of lower profile acts- Frankie the Yak is pulled from the stage thirty seconds into his polka number, and Johnny Fiama's rendition of "Mack The Knife" is interrupted when a shark charges onto the set, chases him off the stage. Seymour the Elephant and Pepe the Prawn attempt to salvage the situation with a vaudeville comedy number, but no-one in the audience gets the joke. They attempt to explain it usig visual aids, but are unsuccessful, and resort to singing the song again- they are dragged off the stage halfway through. Surprisinly, Andy and Randy capture the mad bomber, and, more surprising, it turned out it was Sandra herself, being nervous about the show. In the end, she ends up playing in a one man band after the show. This episode was originally set to air on ABC on April 19, 1996, but executives pulled the episode from "TGIF"'s lineup at the last minute so as not to coincide with the 1st anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. The episode would have aired that day had it not been about someone making a bomb threat. The episode was reaired in its entirety two months later.
# Jason Alexander- Gonzo is very excited that his old school chum, Jason Alexander, is starring on the Muppet Show. They agree to perform a medley from their hit musical, "Bats", but things don't go according to plan during the warm-up, and they end up falling out. Jason refuses to work with Gonzo ever again, but Clifford, after a LOT of effort, finally manages to persuade him to reconsider- although even then, he only agrees in order to get "this stupid elephant" (Seymour) off his back! The show also featured a parody of "Agatha Christie's Poirot", with Jason in the title role, and the Muppets mistaking him for Hercules, the Ancient Greek hero, causing him to lose patience and storm out of the carriage, falling off the train in the process. We also see an episode of "Thor; God of Thunder". Thor tries to borrow some books from a library, but fails because he does not have a library card (or, for that matter, any form of I.D.). The scene ends with an inexplicable lightning fight between Thor, and the Greek god Zeus, much to the despair of the long-suffering librarian.
# Whoopi Goldberg- Whoopi Goldberg is such a big hit with the audience that when Miss Piggy gets lost in the desert, it is decided that Whoopi will perform the closing number instead of her. On hearing this, Miss Piggy redoubles her efforts to return to the studio, and finally storms in midway through "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". They finish the song together. We also see a courtroom sketch involving Whoopi Goldberg as the Plaintiff, and Miss Piggy as the Defendant- Miss Piggy loses the case and is dragged off stage.
# Martin Short

Season two (1997–1998)

# The Artist Formerly Known as Prince - Prince makes fun of his unpronounceable name and the Muppets revisit his past images. The Artist performs songs including Starfish & Coffee, She Gave Her Angels and Let's Go Crazy.
# Rick Moranis
# Heather Locklear- Heather Locklear is used as a guinea pig for scientist Bunsen Honeydew's newest invention, which can cause people to be nice or nasty. It works too well- Heather ends up the victim of uncontrollable mood-switches, which help to add comedy to her closing duet with Kermit.
# Pierce Brosnan- The then-new James Bond stars in a parody of an earlier Bond film with the Muppets. Everything goes nightmarishy wrong, with Pierce being as far from 007, as it is possible to be- he overturns a casino table, and stands on Miss Piggy's feet while dancing with her. The sketch has to be put to bed, and the Dancing Grandmas are put on instead. The studio is infiltrated by a band of thoroughly unpleasant lobsters who wish to take over the studio and put on only what they want to see. Pierce Brosnan, who had been on the verge of leaving the show, embarrassed by the casino sketch which went badly wrong, is persuaded to stay by the other Muppets. He then saves the day, disguising himself as a giant prawn and battling the lobsters, whilst Johnny Fiama sings a parody of "Goldfinger". Pierce also features in a juggling sketch with Andy and Randy pig- unsurprisingly, it goes nightmarishly wrong because the pigs didn't even know what juggling was.
# Coolio & Don Rickles
# Paula Abdul- Sam Eagle's topic for the Eagle's Nest is heroes. He tries to address the problem of children in today's society not having enough heroes. But Andy and Randy pig mess things up as usual- they have heroes- Hero Sandwiches!
# Dennis Quaid
# The Cameo Show
# The Best of Muppets Tonight
# The Gary Cahuenga Episode
# Andie MacDowell & George Takei
# Daryl Hannah & Johnny Mathis

External links

* [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Muppets_Tonight_Episodes "Muppets Tonight" episode guide]