Bob Hope

It is a dark time for Muppeturgy. Mid episodes like Anne Murray, Phyllis George, and the sinister Jonathan Winters have taken a toll on the brave hosts.During the battle, Disney+ managed to serve up a not-so-secret episode starring Mark Hamill and the stars of Star Wars, a cast with enough charm to destroy an entire planet.Joined by the often mentioned, never before heard Todd Brian Backus, our heroes race home aboard their starship to record a podcast and restore freedom to the galaxy...Show notes at https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/star-warsGet Todd's logo and more at our store!

Very special guest star Danny Lavery joins us to discuss a truly cursed episode of The Muppet Show, plus Mork & Mindy, racist tropes, surprise heterosexuality in the monoculture, and lions, tigers and aliens (oh my!) https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/jonathan-winters

We could blame Canada for this episode, but that would suggest they did something wrong, rather than give us the delightful Anne Murray (a Canadian working in the American idiom). Though a “middle of the middle” episode may suit the beigeness of Ms. Murray’s catalog a little too well, she’s a game guest star and everyone seems happy as a dodo to have her there. We also have a game guest star, the not-at-all Canadian Amy Spalding! https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/anne-murray

And the winner is…Phyllis George! For the rest of us it’s a tie at best. We’re joined by Joe Reid to talk award shows, sportscasting, Miss America, and when a clip show isn’t a clip show. https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/phyllis-george

We’ve made no secret about being Liza Minnelli fans and now the episode is finally here! Were we right to look forward to it all these weeks, or will we drink ourselves half blind over losing our love? It’s a quiet thing, but don’t worry, everything’s coming up roses and it’s gonna be a great day. With our very special guest star, Matt Baume! https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/liza-minnelli

It’s a jazzy good time of an episode, despite a guest star who appeared to only show up for half of it. But he has fun and so did we! We’ll talk about extremely glamorous fish, baffling Arabian numbers, bullfrog’s cheeks (that’s a myth! a myth!), the canonically important appearance of Waldorf’s wife Astoria, and the sadly less canonically important appearance of the Mayhem’s bongo player. https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/dizzy-gillespieProgramming note: There’s a discrepancy between the Muppet Wiki episode order and the Disney+ episode order starting at this point. If you’re watching along, we’ll be sticking with Disney+!

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl...no, wait, that’s not right. I mean it is technically right but...you know what I mean. It’s Lola Falana! She does some disco! Chickens cluck Meredith Wilson and Rodgers & Hammerstein! Gonzo is sad because he’s leaving the show! In some ways it feels like they tailored this episode directly to our interests. In other ways...not so much. We’ll get into it, as well as what may possibly be the greatest New York Times article of all time. Oh what, oh wow! https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/lola-falana

The oil crisis invades the Muppet Theater! It’s…not great! But Kenny Rogers is pretty great. (And is not Kenny Loggins, in case you were confused about that, which is crazy why would anyone be confused about that?) He knows when to hold ‘em, knows when to fold ‘em, knows when to walk away, and knows when to run, but we debate whether the puppets in the famous Gambler number are creepy, brilliant, or both. Along the way, we’ll put the lime in the coconut, fling some Muppets on trapezes, lift Mother Brown’s knees up, and of course, talk about chicken and (sigh) racism. https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/kenny-rogers

It’s a Very Muppeturgy Chrismukah! To celebrate the Winter Solstice, we muddle through this legendary — but definitely not timeless — 1979 network television special. Join us for a journey the uncanny valley of puppets whose faces don’t move and the uncannier valley of John Denver whose face doesn’t move, with stops at Christian hegemony, crimes against lyrics, how religious was too religious for television and elementary school assemblies in the 70s, if it is in fact in every one of us, a songwriter whose name is NOT Hans Gruber, extremely excellent sweaters, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. Badum-bum-bum! https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/denver-xmas

Anthony Strand joins us for a highly cultured episode to talk about racism disclaimers, Lobster Newburgh, 70s fashion, Johnny Cash being a giant, Conan O’Brien’s lip-sync “puppet” nightmares…oh yeah, and Beverly Sills is here! Was opera big in the 70s or was the monoculture small? Is this the weirdest episode? One of the best? Both? Do we, like the Muppets, wish we could hang out with Beverly Sills and practice our spoon-hanging? Let’s find out! https://muppeturgy.com/episodes/beverly-sills