The Muppet Show "Roger Moore" Review

It's been well over a year now since anything to do with the classic The Muppet Show has been covered and well I thought that now was the right time to delve back into the world of The Muppets. As i'm also a huge mega James Bond fan it really only made sense that the episode that I review also feature the actor who has been in the most James Bond films with this review even being one that's proven to be very difficult to get off the ground as well and so then join me as I review the episode that sees James Bond team up with Kermit The Frog with the episode in question being called simply just "Roger Moore" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is with this episodes guest star being Sir Roger Moore himself Kermit The Frog wants to make sure that this episode goes off without a hitch which includes hiring hiring real spies for the episodes final sketch. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad as this episodes plot was a simple plot which is something that really does work for this show as thew main attraction of this show is never the plots it's always either The Muppets themselves or the sketches and having a deep thought provoking plot would get in the way of the characters just being there wonderfully chaotic themselves and the sketches as well as now they would have to fit in a deep plot which is something that you really don't need for The Muppet Show as while yes it is great that some of this shows do have plots in them there usually just something related to what's going on backstage and that's really it and that's all they need to be as here the plot of Kermit getting real spies for the episode is wonderfully absurd and as something that could only work in an episode of the show and while it would have been better if this episode did have more of an plot as the whole getting real spies was one of the more entertaining aspects of the episode it's not rally something that was needed as this episode was also pretty entertaining in it's own right with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and a swell as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Starring I'm this episode is Jim Henson as Kermit The Frog , Rowlf , Villager , Waldorf , Link Hogthrob , The Newsman and The Swedish Chef and Frank Oz as Miss Piggy , Fozzie Bear and Boo Mortmorkinson. Also starring in this episode is Jerry Nelson as Pops , Lew Zealand , Louis Kazagger , Purple Spy , Viking Pigs,  Quongo and Gnu , Richard Hunt as Scooter , Janice , Statler , Bruno , Otter, and Viking Pig , Dave Goelz as Beauregard , Pink Spy , Mackerel , Baskerville , Viking Pig , Handcuff Salesman and Figurehead , Steve Whitmire as Viking Pig , Rizzo The Rat , Green Spy , Deer and Rabbit , Louise Gold as Annie Sue Pig and Villager , Kathy Mullen as Gaffer and Villager , Betsy Baytos as Singing Fish and Cow and Sir Roger Moore as Himself.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. As while of course Sir Roger Moore is really good in this episode with him playing a more debonair version of himself it's the shows regular actors that really god turn in the best performances in this episode as all of them have alot of moments that make you remember why these characters are so well beloved in the first place be it either Miss Piggy trying to flirt with Sir Roger or Scooter and Beauregard confusing Kermit's request for spies with pies there are alot of great acting to be seen in this episode which makes it all the more shocking that people just don't straight up recognize the actors in this episode as actors as they have to go through all the things that regular actors go through only these actors not only have to to invent the character but they also have to all the emotions for the character through either their voices or their own hand movements all of which comes into great effect in this episode with it being painfully hard to tell just who the best actor is in this episode as they could all make that claim but if push does indeed come to shove then it would have be either Jim Henson , Frank Oz or Sir Roger Moore as while playing a character is easy work playing a version of yourself is always going to be harder work to do and in the case of both Jim and Frank they are both just so good in this episode with the acting that's in this episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written that all this episodes have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of the naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode. 

Speaking of Sir Roger Moore he really was a joy to watch in this episode as while it does come across as him playing up to The Muppets. He is still quite clearly enjoying himself in this episode with even this more fictional version of him just as much char and charisma as Sir Roger himself is known to have with the only thing that let down this take on the man himself being the fact that they don't play up to the fact that he's also kind of a goofball as he was known on various James Bond film sets for pulling harmless practical jokes something which would have fit in right at home with the more chaotic nature of The Muppets and while he does make for a very natural guest star for this show to have as he is quite possibly the biggest if not one of the biggest names to ever appear on this show in the first place he's not really used all that well in the episode as while he does rather rightfully get alot of screen time alot of it is just spent mugging for the camera which is something that does feel out of place with even Sir Roger himself looking very awkward in those moments and while Brain Henson did describe him as being very debonair something which was true for him even in his real life as well he was also someone who wasn't afraid to standup to what he believed in which was why he got involved in charity work in his later career something which the makers of this episode might have been able to use for material depending on when he first started to do his charity work with really the only aspect of the real Sir Roger Moore that was translated over to this more fictional version of him being the fact that he was kind of a ladies man something which we see in his opening sketch. 

Given that his episode has perhaps one of the most well known classic James Bond actors in it and the fact that they mention spies quite alot during the episode you'd think that they'd do a James Bond spoof at least once during the episode. However they oddly don't which might be because of the fact that the creature of The Muppet Jim Henson hated violence but given just how well known the character of James Bond was back then it would have made sense for them to give the character a Muppets twist and while it could be argued that films like Ocotopussy and A View To A Kill help to make the Sir Roger Moore version of the character a parody anyway it would have made sense for The Muppets to do there own take on James Bond lest we forget they also spoofed Star Wars when that film was out even down to using some of that films original actors and yet here here they don't do it now granted there's not really much of a way that you could spoof it outside of doing a very badly done sketch with someone like Link Hogthrob playing a version of Blofeld and Miss Piggy playing a Bond Girl but that's really it and even then there's no way that you could have a Bond Girl in the sketch due to the fact that they usually have very innuendo laden names but even so it still would have been nice to see what the world of James Bond would like through the world of The Muppets as that's a take on the character that really hasn't been seen before and given the franchise already did have a parody film released in the sixties it wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility either as it would have been quite fun to see Sir Roger Moore spoof the role that arguably made him even more well known then what he already was at the time.

At the start of the episode it's stated by Brian Henson himself that the "In The Navy" sketch is one of the best things that The Muppets have ever done with this coming down to the fact that it took a day to film. Which might not seem like much but when you take into account that the average episode of the show usually took three days to film it now seems like quite alot of time to spend on a sketch that whilst it is yes ambitious it's also not that funny or crazy it's just sort of there and heck even the opening skit with Pops being revealed as a spy is more funny as that's something that you don't really see coming where as with this episodes opening sketch it's just not that funny to watch with what could have made that sketch even funnier was if they had The Swedish Chef come im to try and convince the audience that The Vikings weren't all that bad which is something that they do set up as a possibility when he outright attacks Kermit at the Sketch when he says all of these horrid things about them and therefor having him come in to interrupt the sketch just to try and defend there actions during the sketch would add an extra layer of chaos to the sketch and while the idea of them using the Pigs for that sketch was a good idea it would have been funny if they had a rather disinterested Miss Piggy be one of the characters in that sketch like there all just singing the song and she's doing anything that they she can do to either move the sketch along and make it alot more faster then what it already is or just to get out of the sketch itself as she deems to be beneath her just anything would have made it funnier then what it already is as right now whilst it is a good idea for a sketch it's also one that does feel like it's rather undercooked as well.

To give this episode some credit it really does know how to use it's more established characters as even tho characters like Gonzo and Fozzie don't really make an appearance outside of appearing in the shows opening. All of the other more established Muppets characters do work really well and while they could have done with them being in more of the backstage skits as these are usually where The Muppets shine there brightest the fact that we do still get all of the things that made us love these characters in the first place and that still makes kids today love these character in the first place does show that the makers of this episode really did know how to use there characters as it would have been very easy for them to appear just with Sir Roger Moore and that's really it and it would have sense for them to do that as well as the very idea of seeing James Bond appearing in a scene with Kermit The Frog would be more then enough to get people to want to watch this episode but what gets them to watch the next episode is seeing how these characters interact with each other and seeing Kermit get a little bit frustrated with both Scooter and Beauregard over a simple case of mixing up his orders for the final sketch is something that does work as it then leads to a scene that carries on the traditional Muppet chaos something that would have been lost if we didn't have the traditional Muppet characters being there lovable selfs but at the same time there is quite a clear love for Miss Piggy in this episode as she's the one that appears in the most sketches which is fine as she's a funny character but at the same time it would have been funny to see Sir Roger trading bad jokes with Fozzie or even talking about stunt work with Gonzo.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty six minuets and twenty nine seconds. Which is a perfectly solid running tie for this episode to have as it's pretty much the bogstandard running time for this as while this episode really doesn't have the right amount of plot there to cover that running time in this case that isn't really a bad thing as you don't really come to the Muppet Show for it's plot you come for it's sketches and therefor not having a plot that justifies being in an episode that's this long in the first place isn't really an issue as is the fact that the episode doesn't really use it's running time all that wisely in the first place as it doesn't matter if the plot is that well developed due to the fact that it doesn't need to be that good in the first place it just needs to be passable enough to get to the next sketch and that's really it and the episodes characters don't really need to be that well developed as all of the more established characters have the several dozen episodes and movies to get there character development and therefor they don't need it in every single episode of the show and it could even be argued the fact that there characters don't really get any character in the show let alone this episode is something that adds to there charm as they are meant to be these characters who are just trying their best to put on the best show possible with the thing that makes the show as a whole work being the chaos that goes on around them and that is something that doesn't really require character development as all it does is require the character to be fun and charming and that's what they are both in the show as a whole and in this episode as well but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well the in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With this show having some really moments in it all of which feel true to who The Muppets are as characters with even alot of this episodes jokes doing a good job of showing of just how fun and goofy that Sir Roger Moore was as even he's blantly playing up to The Muppets it is something that does make his scenes all the more fun to watch as it would have been very easy to have his scenes be flat and boring and have no jokes but the fact that the makers of this episode when the extra mile by having be this kind of goofball type of character does show that the makers of this episode really did know how to make him a funny person with the best joke in this episode being the fact that when Kermit is introducing the first sketch of the episode he says that the vikings where these horrible people which causes The Swedish Chef to come out and argue with Kermit which ends with hi hitting Kermit across the back of the head with his pans which causes Kermit to suddenly say that the vikings where nice and forgiving people which is just a really good joke with the episode being filled to the brim with really good jokes as well like the fact that Miss Piggy not only can't speak French but also gets stood up by Sir Roger Moore but also the fact that the person he's standing her up for also looks exactly like her which is just a really good joke in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Overall whilst this episode might not be the best episode it is one that is still pretty funny as it shows us just how funny not only The Muppets can be but also how funny that Sir Roger Moore was as well and while the episode could have been alot more better it also could have been alot more worse as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official The Muppets fandom wiki page , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very review being the really great the official The Muppets fandom wiki page really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them being better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on the official The Muppets fandom wiki page are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.