Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5
We’re rounding the bend on ToughPigs’ picks for our Top 70 Muppet Moments! (After part 1, part 2, and part 3!) With just one more entry to go, we’ve got another batch of phenomenal and perhaps under-appreciated Henson moments from the past 70 years to share with you all. As if we needed an excuse.
Enjoy, and come back tomorrow for the grand finale!
“Subway” (Sesame Street)
by Becca Petunia
There was a time that Sesame Street was fully a show about a grimy, realistic New York City that happened to be home to a talking frog, a giant bird, and a beautiful day monster. “Subway” is more than just one of the catchiest earworms of Sesame Street’s first ten years, although certainly that would be more than enough to earn it a place on this list. It’s also a tribute to the web of enigmas that is New York City: a place where it’s so hot you could die, where you could lose your purse or you might lose something worse, where someone’s thumb is in Betty Lou’s eye… but anyway, you’ve got to say “ain’t it great?” And it, and this song, really, truly are.
“I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your Face”
by J.D. Hansel
The Muppets began performing this sketch in their first national television appearance in 1956. They kept doing this sketch into the ‘70s, and it was revived in 2011 by the Henson Company. Kermeena (Kermit in a wig) is lip-syncing to Rosemary Clooney’s recording of “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” while gently caressing a strange, but cute little Muppet. It’s sweet and kind of boring at first, effectively doing the comedic equivalent of waiting to drop the beat, but when it drops, it drops. It established Muppets eating Muppets, Muppets hitting Muppets, and the Kermit scrunchy face as Muppet mainstays. It did not do the same for Muppet feet. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you.
“Pöpcørn”
by Anthony Strand
In the late 00s, the Muppets briefly became YouTubers. Most of these videos are a lot of fun, so by all means, watch them all if you have time. But the series went out with a bang, both figurative and literal. The Swedish Chef puts several bags of popcorn in the microwave. While they’re cooking, his kitchen plays the 1972 song “Popcorn” by Hot Butter. It’s more elaborate than the Swedish Chef sketches on The Muppet Show, but it captures the spirit, and the final gag is perfectly executed. These videos could have been the start of something great for the Muppets, but it’s nice that we have the ones we do.
“The Friendship Song” (Fraggle Rock)
by Becca Petunia
Fraggle Rock is more than just one of the best shows the Henson team ever did: it’s also one of the bravest. The Season 1 episode “Marooned” planted a giant radish-colored flag in the ground, saying that Fraggle Rock was going to be more than a show about silly friends, but also a show about the deepest fears, concerns, and hopes of society. The whole episode is full of virtuoso performances by Karen Prell and Dave Goelz, as Red and Boober face the reality of their mortality while suffocating in a rockslide. In my opinion, their beautifully tragic duet “The Friendship Song” is basically the most memorable Fraggle Rock moment: a magic spell reminding me that community, love, and hope are worth holding onto even when things are at their lowest. To me, Fraggle Rock is something spiritual, and this is a big reason why.
“Sweet Vacation” (The Jim Henson Hour)
by Matthew Soberman
For all the technological innovations that The Jim Henson Hour had to offer, it’s a strange quirk of fate that a simple musical number with a great song proved to be one of its most memorable moments. But man, does that song slap. That steel drum beat will stay with you long after the number ends. It’s matched with some visuals that remind me of The Muppet Show at its best, complete with Gonzo re-attempting his Tarzan impression. Anytime I’m headed out on vacation (or just a mental vacation hanging out with my friends), this song will always spring to mind.
“Chase the Wind” (Back to the Rock: Back to the Rock)
by Becca Petunia
One of my favorite things about Back to the Rock is the way it was always willing to explore difficult topics that similar shows often avoid. The show, for instance, would directly address gender exploration and nonbinary identities in the Season 2 episode “I’m Pogey.” But before that episode, the Archivist and Boober discussed “glowing baloobiuses” in “The Glow.” This silly word served as a metaphor for anything that makes us different but especially for all sorts of LGBTQ+ identities. Together, Dave Goelz and Cynthia Erivo sing a beautiful, powerful song about the special things inside of them in a breathtaking, unforgettable moment. Plus, this is one of the rare times that the Back to the Rock version of a classic song is unquestionably better than the original.
“The Rock Goes On (The Song of Songs)” (Fraggle Rock)
by Katilyn Miller
The thing about this song (along with many other moments on this list) is that it’s about more than the song itself. It’s about the buildup to it. Not even just in this one episode of Fraggle Rock but in the entirety of the series that came before it. It’s a progression to truly understanding the people who mean something to you because you love them, depend on them, share a world together and need each other. It is a difficult thing to truly encapsulate a journey like that, but if any song comes close to achieving that, this is the one.
“You’ll Never Get out of The Cube” (The Cube)
by J.D. Hansel
This is The Cube’s only musical number, at first played by a friendly guitarist, then by a raucous rock band and a shouting preacher. It concludes by revealing that the sound was coming from a record all along. (David Lynch, eat your heart out. [too soon?]) It follows the structure of everything else in the film, lulling the subject into the comforting belief that truth can be known… and pulling out the rug. The irony is that this number does tell the truth: you, dear reader, are really in the middle of the outside of your thoughts, and you’ll never get out.
(Big) Birdman
by Anthony Strand
Remember the movie Birdman, where Michael Keaton played an actor whose inner monologue was his old superhero character? No? It was a pretty big deal. It won Best Picture at the Oscars, and people on the internet talked about it a lot in 2014. Well, Sesame Street did a much better version of it, where Michael Keaton was played by Carroll Spinney, and his inner monologue was played by Big Bird. Even at the time, this was a fun celebration of Carroll’s long tenure as the Bird. Now that he’s gone, it’s even better. What a great way to remember our real-life hero, Caroll Spinney.
A Brief History of Motion Pictures
by Matthew Soberman
If there were a venn diagram between Muppet fans and classic cinephiles, this would be smack in the center. There are so many jokes about Hollywood’s golden age, it should run thrice daily on Turner Classic Movies. Even the canisters next to Cookie Monster are funny, mixing iconic films like Ben-Hur and Modern Times with famous “bad” movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space and Ishtar. The visuals are made for the big screen, allowing for bigger gags and more details than a television show could allow. It’s a crime how brief its run was in theaters. I want to see it before The Mandalorian and Grogu! I want to see it before Avengers: Doomsday! I want to see it before Schindler’s List! (Actually, scratch that, I want to see it after Schindler’s List, mostly because after that film, I need a pick-me-up.)
Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman auditions to be Zoot (Muppets Mayhem)
by Katilyn Miller
The next time someone says that Michael Caine is the actor who was most serious in his role in a Muppet production, you should bring up Morgan Freeman in The Muppets Mayhem. Morgan Freeman, after listening to Zoot and Jimmy Shoe, looks up and says in his Academy Award-winning voice of God, “This may very well be the role of a lifetime.” And you were exactly right, Mr. Freeman.
Behind the scenes of “The Music Just Keeps on Rolling Along” music video (The Jim Henson Hour)
by Ryan Roe
Every once in a while, a behind-the-scenes photo from a Muppet production will circulate online, and a few commenters will complain that they don’t like seeing that stuff. But you know who loved showing people that stuff? Jim Henson! That’s why he made “Secrets of the Muppets,” an entire episode of The Jim Henson Hour dedicated to demonstrating how our favorite characters are brought to life. The triumphant music video for “The Music Just Keeps on Rolling Along” provides glimpses of the Muppet performers in is the recording studio, on the set of the show, and working on a bluescreen, all of which proves just how much work goes into these things. And for fans who recognize people like Jerry Nelson and Dave Goelz, it’s a thrill to watch them make magic.
“Careful of the Icy Patch” (Muppet Family Christmas)
by Matthew Soberman
Running gags truly are the gift that keeps on giving. Despite not changing much during the entirety of A Muppet Family Christmas, it keeps getting heightened to the point where you know anyone entering the farmhouse is about to wind up as horizontal as Charlie Brown after Lucy pulls away the football. From Rowlf tossing presents in the air to the entire Sesame Street crew falling slip after slip as they enter one by one, it becomes a rite of passage. Slipping on the icy patch is the thing that connects them all. And by the end, Jerry Juhl somehow knew just how to end Miss Piggy’s elegant, heartwarming arrival. After all her struggles to get there, separated from the perfect Christmas with the frog she adores, when the moment of triumph comes, she must slip on the icy patch. It is her destiny, as it is for all of us.
“It’s that simple wimp Pimpernel and his Humperdink’s lumpy pumpernickel crumpet!” (The Muppets Go to the Movies)
by Beth Cook
Any good take on The Three Musketeers must contain either Muppets, Tim Curry, chocolate nougat, or any combination thereof. Aside from the fact that the props department struggled to get a piece of bread that remotely resembled pumpernickel, this sketch is essentially a slow buildup to a Seussian tongue twister, plus fencing and plumed hats. I’m not surprised another moment or two from “The Muppets Go to the Movies” made it onto this list. It’s a largely forgotten gem that not only promoted The Great Muppet Caper, the closing number with everyone singing “We’ll Meet Again” also served as a bittersweet goodbye to The Muppet Show. That Gummo is a heck of a writer.
Four down, one to go! See you tomorrow for the finale of ToughPigs’ Top 70 Muppet Moments!
Click here to perform the role of a lifetime on the ToughPigs Discord!
by The Entire ToughPigs Team
