Episode 415: Anne Murray

The Muppet Show
Guest	Anne Murray
Production	January 8-11, 1980
Premiere	UK: February 1, 1980 US: March 6, 1980
(TRANSCRIPT)

Scooter bothers everyone, particularly Kermit, with his skateboarding through the theater, whether riding out of control with it or causing damage to sketch sets by leaving it around for others to trip on. However the skateboard does have some advantages: Kermit gets certain guests out of the theater for free (when they want cab fare) and Scooter ultimately convinces the frog to have an all-skateboard finale to impress his uncle.

Songs/Sketches

• Miss Piggy and the pigs sing "I Get Around" on motorcycles
• Anne Murray sings "Snowbird"; gets interrupted by a Dodo
• Muppet News Flash: Exploding Paper
• "Trudge Trudge Streak Streak"
• UK Spot: "Is This The Old Sow"
• Anne and The Electric Mayhem sing "Walk Right Back"
• Beauregard sings "Dancing on the Ceiling"
• Muppet Sports: Bagpipe Eating
• Anne sings "Everything Old Is New Again" while Muppets skate on skateboards

Episode

Picture	Description
	Cold Open: Scooter knocks on the door to let Anne Murray know that the curtain will rise in 15 seconds. As he skateboards around her dressing room, she asks if that's allowed. Scooter says it's strictly forbidden for some dumb reason. Until he knocks over a table with dinnerware, and remembers the reason.
	"The Muppet Show Theme": Instead of blowing his trumpet, Gonzo blows the horn of a cow and exclaims, "Another television first!"
	Introducing the opening number, Fozzie ruins Kermit's surprise for the audience that it involves motorcycles. Miss Piggy, Link Hogthrob, and the pigs perform "I Get Around" as a biker gang. Waldorf says he never liked road hogs.
	Backstage, Piggy tells Kermit that they should have done the number together as he'd be very attractive in the leather and goggle look. Kermit says he's already got the goggle look. Piggy agrees, "I just love your eyes. They're like two ping pong balls floating in a pond of green algae." Scooter, skaetboarding around backstage again, crashes into Piggy and carries her on stageas Kermit is introducing the next number.
	Anne sings "Snowbird", but she's interrupted by a dodo near the end who says that the snowy forest she's been singing in is going to be torn down to build apartment houses, or "condo-miniums".
	Backtage, Kermit slips on Scooter's skateboard and crashes through the set for the Mexican hat dance number. The dancers think this is funny until Kermit says he has to cancel their number because the set's been ruined.
	In a Muppet News Flash, the Newsman reports that Muppet Labs had announced the invention of hair-trigger exploding paper. He reads the message that was inscribed on the paper, and his script combusts into flames and disintegrates.
	On Koozebane, Green Heap and Silver Beak smash each other up over "trudging and streaking", eventually coming to a compromise.
	UK Spot: Milton Miller and His Farmyard Philharmonic Trio sing "Is This The Old Sow", much to the disgust of the audience...and the biker pigs.
	Zoot comes to Anne's dressing room looking for his saxophone, even though he has a hard time remembering... much less his own name. The rest of the Electric Mayhem join and they all sing "Walk Right Back". Zoot finally remembers his name by the end of the number.
	Backstage, Kermit notes that the performers from the earlier Koozebanian number are still hanging around (however Silver Beak is now accompanied by the Purple Heap rather than the Green one). Beauregard tells them they want The Muppet Show to provide them transportation. Kermit tries to explain to them that they never do that, but when they attack him, he summons Scooter on his skateboard to take care of them. Wearing a green chauffeur's uniform, Scooter follows them down the stairs to Reception, falling on his way and knocking them out the Stage Door.
	Beauregard sings "Dancing on the Ceiling" while laying in bed and playing harmonica. As he sings, a Ceiling Ghost literally dances on his ceiling. When the ghost crashes a hole through the ceiling, the Geri and the Atrics guitarist pops her head through from upstairs and yells at them for previously warning not to dance on the ceiling.
	In Muppet Sports, Louis Kazagger reports from Glasgow, Scotland where Angus MacGregor attempts to break the world record for bagpipe eating. To MacGregor's distress, when he begins to eat the bagpipe, he discovers that it isn't dead yet. After some struggle, the bagpipe begins shooting from its pipes, chasing Kazagger offstage.
	Backstage, Scooter cons Kermit into doing some skateboard trick onstage because his uncle in the audience tonight, but can't be next week because he's talking to his accountant about a potential rent increase.
	For the closing number, Anne sings "Everything Old Is New Again" while Scooter, Fozzie, Lew Zealand, pigs from the biker gang, Zoot (playing his sax), and some Whatnots skate around on skateboards.
	Observing the axiom "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", Kermit enters the stage on a skateboard to thank Anne for being their guest. Anne pats him on the back and pushes him into the orchestra pit where his head gets stuck in a French horn. As the credits roll, skateboarding Muppets include the Dodo, Bunsen Honeydew, Janice (upside-down, twirling her legs), Angus MacGregor, and the biker pigs again.

Notes

The pigs perform "I Get Around".

• The filming of the "I Get Around" sequence was featured in the documentary Of Muppets and Men.
• While the Green Heap appears during the "Trudge, Trudge" number, the Purple Heap is used instead during the backstage scene referencing the act.
• At the end of Anne Murray's last number, Zoot is seen on stage presumably skateboarding. Then the shot cuts to a wide shot that includes the orchestra, but Zoot is abset from the pit, since he was just on stage. Then the orchestra is seen from a new angle looking out at the audience, Zoot is back in the orchestra pit for this shot.

Cast

Muppets:

Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Scooter, Fozzie Bear, Link Hogthrob, Dodo, The Newsman, Pigs, Beauregard, Statler and Waldorf, Geri and the Atrics Guitar Player, Green Heap, Silver Beak, Louis Kazagger, Angus MacGregor, Zoot, Janice, Floyd Pepper, Dr. Teeth, Milton Miller, Sheep, Duck, The Mexican Hat Dancers, Purple Heap

Background Muppets:

Whatnots, Snowbirds, Rowlf, Nigel, Animal, Trumpet Girl, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

Performers

Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Link Hogthrob, Silver Beak, the Newsman, Pig and Waldorf

Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Green Heap and Purple Heap

Jerry Nelson as Louis Kazagger, Dodo, Milton Miller, Pigs and Mexican Hat Dancer

Richard Hunt as Scooter, Statler, Janice and Pigs

Dave Goelz as Zoot, Beauregard, Angus McGregor and Gonzo

Steve Whitmire as others

Kathy Mullen as Atrics guitar player

Louise Gold as others

Gallery

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