Muppets Tonight
Muppets Tonight is a live-action/puppet television series created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. Much like the "MuppeTelevision" segment of The Jim Henson Hour, Muppets Tonight was a continuation of The Muppet Show, set in a television studio, rather than a theater. It ran on ABC from 1996 to 1998 and reruns ran on Disney Channel from 1997 to 2002. As of 2013, it is the last television series to star The Muppets characters.
The Artist Formerly Known As Prince comes to guest star and gives some song suggestions.
Rick Moranis prepares for his big musical number as the usual chaos goes on in the studio.
Heather Locklear assures the Muppets she is perfectly normal. But when she eats some experimental food from Bunsen and Beaker, things go crazy.
Pierce Brosnan is depressed over the fact that he isn't as debonair as his James Bond character, but he finally gets a chance to prove himself when the Crustacean Liberation Army attempts to take the Muppet Studios hostage and only he can save them.
The KMUP studios have been bought by a new owner, Ernst Stavros Grouper. He believes that the Muppets are just not hip enough, and he wants to make some changes. Coolio and Don Rickles guest star; Ed McMahon, Bernard Shaw, and Fred Willard make cameo appearances.
A crazed robot of President Lincoln runs amuck throughout the Muppet Studios while Clifford repeatedly tries to grab a kiss from Paula Abdul.
Clifford notices that everyone thinks Dennis Quaid does a better job running the studios, and he begins to feel left out and rejected. Meanwhile, Gilbert Gottfried wins a date with Kermit, and Kermit tries to survive it.
After Bobo the Bear accidentally kills Arsenio Hall, the original guest star, the Muppets must search frantically for a new one while Dr. Phil van Neuter and Mulch succeed in bringing Arsenio back to life, but the result has been postponed until close to the end of the episode. Jay Leno, Kevin Eubanks, Little Richard, Christopher Darden, and Kathy Ireland make cameos.
Gonzo and Rizzo host a collage of video clips of the best moments from past episodes. This was because the pre-recorded episode tape had been eaten by Carl, along with the tape-playing machine during a cheese-eating contest. As Gonzo and Rizzo walk off the stage, they notice that Statler and Waldorf have just finished broadcasting their own show titled The Worst of Muppets Tonight. Of course, they showed the exact same clips that Gonzo and Rizzo showed.
Gary Cahuenga, a dummy without a ventriloquist, is found after forty years stuck in an old trunk. The Muppets, with the help of Penn and Teller, must help Gary adjust to his new surroundings, as well as to make new friends at KMUP. Lori Fetrick, Raye Hollitt, Evander Holyfield, and Kathy Najimy make cameo appearances.
With Beaker off on a Star Trek cruise (where he encounters George Takei), Dr. Bunsen Honeydew realizes his life is very empty. Bunsen and guest star, Andie MacDowell, decide to take a walk on the wild side. Bob Keeshan and Ben Stein make cameo appearances with special performance by Liz Gandara, Lisa Thompson, and Jennifer Keyes as the Fly Girls.
Following a spat with his mama, Johnny Fiama leaves home. Daryl Hannah, Page Hannah, and Johnny Mathis make cameo appearances.
The Muppets have a new show at the KMUP network and a new host, Clifford (no one else wanted the job). In need of a big star for the first episode, Clifford accidentally agrees to both Michelle Pfeiffer and Miss Piggy guest staring without them knowing.
Garth Brooks surprises everyone when he says he'll be doing something different for the show and won't sing any country music songs.
As the show goes on with Billy Crystal, new securtity guard Bobo the Bear keeps other guests from entering the station, including a jazz band for the show's last number.
John Goodman saves the lives of Miss Piggy's annoying nephews (Andy and Randy), but soon regrets it when they become his slaves and won't leave him alone.
Bobo falls in love with Cindy Crawford. As Bobo tries to express his feelings to her, Cupid is left in charge of security and one of his arrows accidentally makes Sal love Johnny.
Johnny seems thrilled when Tony Bennett guest stars, but he gets nervous about working with the famous singer and has difficulty performing.
The Muppets have even more pressure to make the show a success when a crazed individual known as the Mad Bomber threatens to blow up the studio if the ratings drop below fifty.
Old school friends, Gonzo and Jason Alexander, attempt to bring their musical onto the show. But their disagreements could end the project.
Miss Piggy is due to be in the show's closing number, but she is late for various reasons, which causes some panic for Clifford and the others.
A freak incident in the elevator leaves Martin Short in a tight squeeze and later some delicious spaghetti sauce leaves him feeling large.
The Muppets recorded a cover of the song Popcorn featuring it as the theme of a new Swedish Chef sketch, hence its naming as Pöpcørn
Beaker performed the movement in an online virmup video. To be more specific, six Beakers perform the number: one on violin, one on timpani, one keeping time with the metronome, and three vocalists, all replacing the lyrics with extended "Meemeee"-ing. Inevitably, disaster ensues. The video was nominated in the Music category of the 2009 Webby Awards, as well as the 'People's Voice' award. Beaker won the Webby Award, and accepted the award at the June 8th ceremony.
The Swedish Chef and Beaker perform the "Habanera" aria from Georges Bizet's opera Carmen. Animal provides assistance and the Chef eats Beaker at the end.
Dressed in hippie clothing, Beaker meeps to the tune of "Dust in the Wind", but the screen constantly gets filled with annotations, most of which are negative comments.
The Muppets' version of Queen's 1975 hit. Instead of Statler and Waldorf commenting on the video, it turns out Kermit and Scooter have been watching the video as a video conference.
Gonzo and some chickens perform "The Blue Danube Waltz" by Johann Strauss II.
The Swedish Chef, Beaker, and Animal sing the song. Animal leaves to find a big bell, which falls on Beaker.
Sam the Eagle leads a penguin, the Swedish Chef, a chicken, Bobo the Bear, Beaker, Animal and Crazy Harry. Sam attempts a reading of the U.S. Constitution as the others perform a rendition of "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillip Sousa. American patriotic images such as the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and hot dogs cascade behind them.
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| Language | English |
| Release | 1996-03-08 |
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