Farced Perspective

Ben and Pete return, somewhat belatedly, to examining the 45th anniversary of the original TV broadcasts of The Muppet Show, and they examine Helen Reddy's accent, Doctor Bob's lasciviousness, and just how busy the Muppet studios were in 1978. With new characters, newly credited actors, and new Lego minifigs to vie for, why does the show seem weirdly negative, and will that continue? Speculate wildly!

Anna and Ben visit one of Anna's favorite genres — the comedy Western — and arrive at very different responses to James Garner's non-sequel sequel to 1969's "Support Your Local Sheriff". So much so that they instead end up talking about the 1994 film "Maverick", the fairness of quiz shows, and Ben's obsession with "Charade".

Pete and Ben wrap up their coverage of the Muppets' second season with a look at the celebrated career of Cloris Leachman. They also sum up the cumulative statistics from the entire season, and Pete's rankings of the guests generates disbelief on the part of both hosts.

Ben and Pete are both mildly unprepared for this episode, not knowing enough about the cultural weight of the Muppets' guest-star, bunraku puppeteering, or the potential offensitivity of Noel Coward. Pete's excuse is that he fell asleep during the episode, whereas Ben has to hide behind distractions, puns, and other [merdlidop]s. Roll 1d6 to find out how they get out of this one...

Carve out about three hours for Pete to quiz Ben about English songstress Petula Clark, her relationship with other Muppet guests, and his research on her chart-topping status. Ben takes Pete to task about his dislike of apparent cue-card use and presents his own "Pet" theories about Ms Clark's lip-synched performance.  

Ben and Pete practice a percentage of being persnickety this episode, riffing on P words, debating the use of the term "podium" and generally paying peculiar partial attention to the guest-star's middle initial, to no particular purpose. Press play to participate!

Thrill to the unexpected, as Pete and Ben look things up on the Internet while broadcasting! Join them to discover whether Muppet special guest Lou Rawls has deliberately smuggled bird imagery into many of his lyrics, and whether a bonus question can earn Ben yet another victorious Lego minifig!

Ben and Pete take the content warning on Disney Plus to heart, but is it about Beaker's abrupt teleportation — which had previously been edited out by Nickelodeon — or Peter Sellers' cultural depictions? And is Fozzie secretly torturing his boss to force him to break down publicly and perform one of the Muppets' most well-known songs? The answers to these questions and many more can be discovered if you just BLOOP!

Pete and Ben go bullish and steak their reputations on some prime cuts of cow-based punnery that you'll calf to heifer yourself to believe. Somehow in the midst of all that, they manage to talk about Julie Andrews' career and how she was able to naturally interact with the Muppets in a way to which other guests could only aspire.  Pete also watches a clip from the infamous Muppet Movie test footage, and Ben remembers a favorite childhood book.

Ben and Pete come to very different conclusions about the underplayed demeanor of Bob Hope as he enters his last quarter-century of comedy on The Muppet Show. They also discover that Ben is racist against pigs, that Pete might want a cat for a sleep mask, and — against all expectations — that Kermit might be a well-modulated stage manager after all.