87: Henson Perspective: Guest-starring Liberace

September 5th 2026 is the 50th anniversary of the original UK Broadcast of the first episode of The Muppet Show, and to commemorate the occasion, Ben and Pete are revisiting the episode from five years ago. As the podcast has continued, their focus and technique has changed, so they asked: what aspects of the episode would they concentrate on if they were to look at the proceedings now? Combined with Pete's utter lack of memory, it's a fresh look at a classic show.

Pete and Ben talk about an episode where Cheryl Ladd and Miss Piggy demonstrate their martial arts skills, and then go hammer-and-tongs against each other about their wildly divergent opinions about a classic novelty song from the 1950s. They also establish two or three new pieces of head-canon for the show, stretch five moments out to seven, and — once again! — try to work out the application of physics in a real House of Leaves situation.

Ben and Pete find themselves curiously in sync: enjoying the same moments, speaking in unison, and finding aspects of the episode wholesomely enjoyable — is this a spooky fraternal synchronicity or are they merely following Fozzie's exhortations to find something nice in the show? 

When last we left Pete and Ben, they recorded an extra-long examination of an episode with unusual structure, and asked trivia questions based on a cinematic biopic. It's all happening again! Is this the new normal for both the show and the podcast? Does the House of Leaves situation extend to train platforms now? Tune in next time after you've tuned in THIS time!

Ben and Pete are astonished by the unconventional structure of this episode, in which Liberace gets the lion's share of the running time to perform a concert "for the birds". Will a performer doing schtick ruffle Pete's feathers, or will he be hypnotized by Liberace's glitz and glamour? A larger than normal episode to encompass a larger than life personality!

Anna and Ben sit down to visit the third most successful film of 1972, the slapstick comedy "What's Up, Doc?" They discuss how the film compares to its obvious antecedents and whether Streisand's character is more manipulative and callous than either Hepburn in "Bringing Up Baby" or any of Groucho's schemers, and whether Bugs Bunny's life has to be endangered to justify his actions. Of course you know that this means war...

Anna and Ben lie back on the psychiatrist's couch and delve deep into the challenges facing the "classic paranoid" behavior of a man who believes he's Sherlock Holmes and the woman who violates professional ethics for him. They also discuss how cavalier language about sensitive topics can be hurtful, and how they probably aren't equipped to do no harm, but at least they have trivia questions about candy!

Pete corrects Ben's assumptions that James Coco was a sketch comedian and that most sketch comedians are indistinguishable, balding brunets. They weigh whether the episode is constructed of re-used bits or just joyfully chaotic, and are interrupted by what might be sirens announcing The Rapture. But considering this whole episode has been replaced with an extended stream of silence, you won't hear any of that. How rude.

Ben and Pete squabble over this episode, which Ben thinks might be one of the best introductions to the Muppet Show, while Pete finds the vibe — and millennials are all about vibes — lacklustre. But they can find common ground in their problems with Kermit, who Ben thinks is undercutting his own show, while Pete is astonished that he somehow doesn't understand the jokes he's hosting on his stage.

Pete and Ben add two new items to track over the course of Pete's statistical analysis of this new season, and keep a look out for them during Roy Clark's visit to the Muppet Theatre. They also examine if there's a reason why only Frank and Jim seem to be present during the episode's backstage sequences and why the trumpeter in the Muppet pit band seems to be replaced on every possible occasion.