The Muppet Show is the one show that The Muppets are perhaps most well known for so much so that just this year Disney+ did a Muppet Show special that gave rave reviews from both fans and critics alike. Therefore I thought that i'd take a look back at a classic episode of the show as let's be real here sometimes we all just need to watch an episode of this show for no good reason and so then join me as I review the episode that sees the guest star perform a song with someone other then his late wife with the episode in question being called simply just "Johnny Cash" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is when Kermit allows a country radio station to broadcast from The Muppet Theatre Kermit has to deal with the host of the show who is a bully. 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 really good. The episodes plot was alot more tighter then what it usually is for an episode of this show as nine times out of ten an episodes plot is usually nothing more then an excuse for jokes to happen and whilst this is still very much the case in this episode here it does feel like that the episodes plot is trying to be alot more focused. This is not to say that the episodes plot doesn't have room for moments that are just meant for jokes as alot of the stuff with Fozzy is exactly that but it's rather that the plot this time around is alot more focused with the episode being alot more plot driven then it is joke driven which was both kind of refreshing and yet at the same time it's not what you come to an episode of this show to see as you come to see this show to see some really good good jokes that are set up in smart ways but at the same time it was quite refreshing to see this more plot driven episode as it does show you that these characters can still work in a more plot driven project something which we would later find out to be exactly the case with The Muppet Movie with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is Jim Henson as Kermit The Frog , Rowlf , Waldorf and Wally Whoopie and Frank Oz as Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy. Also starring in this episode is Jerry Nelson as Pops , Big Tiny Tall Saddle , Lew Zealand , Slim Wilson and A Bearded Man , Richard Hunt as Scooter and Statler , Dave Goelz as Gonzo , A Singer , A Hillbilly and Beauregard , Steve Whitmire as Billy Boy and A Singer , Kathy Mullen as A Singer , Louise Gold as A Singer and Johnny Cash 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. The episodes acting was to be frank just as good as you'd expect it to be as alot of this episodes really do know there characters inside and out due to the fact that alot of them have been paying there respective characters since the sixties and in the case of Jim Henson had also created the characters with Johnny Cash doing a really good job of playing himself in this episode something which couldn't have been easy due to the fact that the he's not an actor he's a singer and yet here he is not only being asked to act but also doing a good job of it. With the best actor in this episode being Jim Henson as Kermit The Frog , Rowlf , Waldorf and Wally Whoopie due to the fact that he does get to play out alot of characters in this episode with even Kermit being a main character in the episode with Jim doing a good enough job of highlighting just how frustrated that Kermit is getting the further the episode goes along and heck even Rowlf gets angry in the episode and you do buy into due to how good Jim Henson was an actor. With the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes scr5ipt is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.
As was mentioned at the very start of this review the guest in this episode of The Muppet Show is Johnny Cash. With him to be frank not really making for the best guest as he doesn't join in with any of The Muppets chaos rather he just does his own thing which is something that does make it look like he was only doing the show just to either promote something or to make any little kids in his family happy and that's it whereas it would have been more fun to see him take part in the chaos that these characters do bring whereas if you compare it to the John Cleese episode he went all in even helping to write the episode and it is something that does come through in the final product as John Cleese does look like he was happy to be there. Where as with Johnny Cash his smile looks forced and rehearsed and while he is a good singer as that is afterall his job it felt like that the episode was relying on that a bit to much when it would have been nice if we got to see Johnny do something that we didn't know that he could do as that would have made his appearance in the episode alot more fun to watch, with the only thing that stands out about him in this episode is the fact that he gets to perform the song "Jackson" without his wife June Carter something which he never really did as he always performed that song with her and when she died he good as well retired from the performing the song all together which does make him performing the song here with Miss Piggy stand out all the more with Miss Piggy even sounding really good in the song altho you can tell that while Johnny is clearly performing life Miss Piggy clearly isn't as it does sound like her part of the song was recorded before hand and was played in during the filming of this episode.
The whole idea of a country and western radio show broadcasting this episode was actually a really good idea. With it being something that this episode really does lean into by having certain characters where country and western clothes and have one main set for all of the acts look like a barn on a farm but in saying this tho it is the only set that we get for all of the acts in the episode when it would have been more fun if we did get to see more country inspired sets even if they are generic like maybe we get a western set or maybe we get a farmyard set yes these are generic sets but it's better then just having the one main set as while yes that set does look really good it is a bit boring to just look at the same set for act after act. What really would have made this whole concept of having a radio host muscle Kermit out of hosting the show his way be alot more better was if they leaned into the country aspect with the Big Tiny Tall Saddle character as while we do get to find out that he has a horse that he has to pump up it would have been fun to see them lean in all the way with the fact that his character is meant to be a cowboy and yet we don't get to see any of that rather we just get to see him be this tough as old boots bully type of character which don't get me wrong is still fun to see but it adds nothing to the episodes idea and rather feels out of place in the episode whereas if the makers of this episode did something like have him challenge Kermit to a dual when Kermit stands up for Fozzy or have him perform this over the the top country song only to be cut off by Johnny Cash just something that played into the episodes idea of having this radio station be broadcasting the episode live rather then just having him show up a few times in the episode.
Look to be frank whilst this episode does have alot of things going against it does also have some things working for it. With the idea of Kermit being forced to not host his own show while someone else muscles his way being one of them as that is something that we haven't seen Kermit and while the episode doesn't fully explore that idea all that much it explores it enough to the point where we do know what's going on and where we do know how Kermit is going to react and seeing getting pushed to that point is something that does make the episode be all the more entertaining but it is something that oddly makes you feel sorry for Rowlf as while Fozzy was essentially getting heckled by someone that he is meant to be sharing the stage with it was no worse then what Statler and Waldorf do to him on a weekly basis whereas Rowlf had his act cut from the show and Kermit was nowhere to be found when that happened. One of the other things that the episode does gave going for it is the fact that we do get to hear some pretty decent songs all of which are sung by Johnny Cash and all of them are some really good songs with even one of them being a song about a dog that kills chickens which is made funnier by the fact that we have Rowlf not only performing the piano during that number but also getting offended by it which is a smart thing to have in the episode with it being a good way to showcase Johnny's talent as a singer as we do get to hear that famous voice of his and yet we also get to see that he was quiet the entertainer not only in that part of the episode where he was cracking jokes with pops all of which does on paper make him seem like a good fit for this show but due to the fact that he doesn't get to do much outside of alot of singing he does feel like a third wheel to everything else in the episode.
The episodes main villain if you will Big Tiny Tall Saddle did make for a decent enough villain for this show to have. As he does bully Kermit throughout the entire episode changing the acts that Kermit has booked for the shows for the ones that he prefers but in saying this this isn't something that makes him an outright villain as the character is just trying to do what Kermit is trying to do and that's put on the best show possible and while yes how he and Kermit go about doing that with Big Tiny using fear and intimidation and Kermit using loving and kindness it doesn't change the fact that that they are one in the same as it where as they both want the same thing with the only difference being that Big Tiny is abusive towards Kermit's friends. Big Tiny is someone who could have made for a great minor villain in one of the muppet movies like maybe he's working with Doc Hopper in the first movie or with Tex Richman in the 2011 movie which is something that might have been well within his character to do so as Doc Hopper is doing everything that he can do to get rid of Kermit which is something that Big Tiny tries to do and Tex Richman is just a greedy oil baron which is something that might have worked with Big Tiny and if it did then it would have allowed for Tex to have more of a country villains song and not a rap number but in saying this tho there is only so much that you could have done with Big Tiny as a villain and as a character and therefor maybe it is for the best that the character only appeared in this episode despite the fact that he does have a really good look to him with him looking like the stereotypical cowboy complete with sideburns.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty six minuets and forty one seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this show and to be fair this is something that does work for this episode as the episode does have alot of plot to cover when compared to the rest of the series which mainly has alot of acts to cover and very little plot and therefor this episode does work it's best within it's running time and to do this episode even just five minuets shorter would do a huge disservice to the episode as it would mean that something would end up falling threw the cracks be it a good joke that could have been great or a character or plot moment with the episode having more then enough plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place. Yet in saying this tho this episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as this episode really doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot with the episode not really being all that focused on giving us things that add to the episodes plot this is despite the fact that the episode does have things that could have been added like showing Kermit getting more and more angry before the big blow up or even showing other Muppet character reacting to there acts getting cut just something would have been nice with the makers of this episode putting more and thought into making sure then we now that Johnny Cash is a singer then they did into giving this episodes plot some much needed plot development. This is something that does also effects the episodes character development as none of the episodes characters get any kind of development which is something that is fine for the regular Muppet characters but it is something that both Big tiny and Billy Boy really could have used as we know as much about them coming out of this episode then we did coming coming into the episode with the makers of this episode putting more thought and effort into making sure that we don't like Bug Tiny then they dud into giving the characters some character development 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 then 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. To be honest here the episodes comedy whilst it is still funny as it does still have that typical Muppet chaos to it but at the same time it does feel oddly more tame when compared to earlier episodes of the show like for example when Fozzy hurts his throat on the wire backstage earlier episodes would have gone the whole way by having Fozzy speaking with a different voice but here they just have him rubbing his throat which is still funny but it is something that could have bee alot more funnier. With the best joke in the whole entire episode being when after Fozzy has just been heckled on stage by Wally Whoopie Kermit finally snaps and comes out to defend his friend and while he's defending Fozzy on stage in front of Big Tiny and calling him all of these nice things Fozzy is just there in the background hoping that Kermit will call him funny which is just such a sweet joke with it feeling like something that Fozzy would do with even the fact that Kermit really does call him funny being something that does tell you that Kermit really is a good friend, even the fact that for alot of that scene Fozzy is just hiding behind the certain being a really good character moment as well as being a really funny visual as really everyone except for Big Tiny and Kermit can see and hear him with the rest of the episodes jokes being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst this episode did have alot of fun moments in it the fact that they didn't really do anything with the special guest star and just had him d what he's known for doing is something that does make this episode a hard but fun episode to watch as there is a good episode in here it just needed to make better use of the guest start t make it be as good as it possibly could have been 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 a 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 Amazon . Co . Uk , 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 post being the really great Google Images 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 really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.