Episode 311: Raquel Welch

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The Muppet Show
Guest Starring	Raquel Welch
Production Dates	April 25-27, 1978
Home Video	Season 3 Best of the Muppet Show

Raquel tries to change her image.

Fozzie goes to group therapy to become more assertive. He says he won't do his monologue, because he doesn't need to use humor to buy friends anymore. When Kermit tells the audience that there won't be a monologue, Fozzie misinterprets their cheers as a sign that they love him, and he goes on anyway. Later, Raquel tells him that he's very sexy, and she sings him a song that boosts his confidence, to the point that he decides to write "the world's funniest joke".

Songs/Sketches

Raquel sings "Baby It's Me" with a Giant Spider
Gonzo sings "Jamboree"
At the Dance : Fozzie does his act in the ballroom
UK Spot: Kermit interviews Marvin Suggs and The Muppaphone
Raquel sings "Confide in Me" to Fozzie
The Swedish Chef: chicken in a basket
Miss Piggy, jealous of Raquel's "sex symbol" status, inserts herself into Raquel's final number, "I'm a Woman".

"Baby It's Me"	"Jamboree"
"At the Dance"	"Confide in Me"
Kermit and Marvin Suggs

Trivia

The CBS show 60 Minutes visited the Muppet Show in an episode which aired on March 17, 1979. This was the episode filming at the time of their visit, and the 60 Minutes piece shows behind-the-scenes footage of the opening dialogue between Kermit and Miss Piggy, the Swedish Chef sketch, and the production numbers "Jamboree", "Confide in Me" and "I'm a Woman".

With the exception of "Jamboree", Statler and Waldorf don't make any critical comments during the episode, though they're harsh about Gonzo's performance : "- There has been wars over less than that. - No ! Nothing is less than that !" The old codgers, rather quiet in this episode, don't even appear during the theme song; Beauregard appears in their place. This is the second time that Statler and Waldorf make just one appearance on the show; the first was in episode 115.