Jim Henson was born on September 24, 1936 in Leland, Mississippi. His father, Paul, a research biologist for the Department of Agriculture, brought home the family's first television in 1950. ìI loved the idea that what you saw was taking place somewhere else at the same timeî, Henson recalled. ìI immediately wanted to work in television.î On TV, Jim was inspired by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and the puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie. In 1954, Henson and a friend landed a gig at local station WTOP, as puppeteers on their morning kid's program The Junior Good Morning Show. They earned ten dollars a day. Henson's twisted sense of good-natured humor was already developing at WTOP; one of the puppets on The Junior Good Morning Show was called Pierre the French Rat.

The next year, Henson and schoolmate Jane Nebel (who would become Henson's wife) created Sam and Friends, a live, five-minute program that aired on WRC-TV, a local NBC affiliate. With Sam and Friends, Henson's creations began to assume the look that would become recognizable worldwide. The show featured an early version of Kermit, made from a green coat and Ping-Pong balls. After the success of Sam and Friends, the offers snowballed for Henson and his puppet creatures (now called Muppets, a combination of marionette and puppet). They appeared on talk shows like The Steve Allen Show and The Jack Paar Show and hawked Wilkins Coffee.

In 1969, Joan Ganz Cooney of the Children's Television Workshop asked Henson to create Muppets for a new children's series called Sesame Street. More than up to the task, he cranked out memorable characters like Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster. But Henson's dream was to create a primetime, family-oriented variety program based on his ever-more popular creations. And he found the opportunity, not in America, but in England. Lord Lew Grade, a London-based producer, bankrolled Henson's dream show, which was shot at Grade's own ATV studios. The show, whose loose concept involved Kermit the Frog (the only Sesame Street holdover) running a weekly vaudeville show from the rented Muppet Theater, included characters like Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and The Great Gonzo. Ultimately, no single network picked up The Muppet Show. It was syndicated throughout the country.

Each episode featured a guest star and in the first season, most of them were friends of Henson or his manager. A quick glance at Buena Vista's fantastic Muppet Show: Season 1 DVD is like taking a trip down Cheeseball Lane. The live action luminaries include Jim Nabors, Avery Schreiber, Vincent Price, Sandy Duncan, Paul Williams, Florence Henderson, Twiggy, and (God help us all) the Mummenschanz. I loved the show as a kid, but hadn't watched it in many years, until this DVD set hit my front door yesterday. And putting in the disc and hearing the theme song and watching Kermit introduce the guest star, man it was like being a kid again. I was mesmerized. I had forgotten that The Muppet Show was a true variety program. Performance numbers were lengthy and sometimes serious. When dancer Juliet Prowse performs, there's no irony or humor. Even when a series of graceful, green Muppets provide backup, it's a beautiful, real-deal presentation. And I had also forgotten about Kermit's role as manager of the troupe and producer of the stage show. In one episode, he and Fozzie Bear get into a contract dispute and Fozzie brings in his agent to negotiate a new deal (the agent negotiates ten times Fozzie's current salary. Of course, since Fozzie was doing the show for free, the new deal seemed awfully similar to the old deal). Season one was great, but as the show became popular, it attracted better guest stars, who we'll be seeing in subsequent DVD sets. But fans of the show should just drop everything and pick up season one. It's just fabulous. It's funny, nostalgic, and, for lifelong fans who now have kids, your children will love it, too.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The new Dolby Digital mono track is certainly not as impressive as the new video, but it does the job in every way possible. Bass action only becomes prominent when the band plays and even that isn't much. Still, it sounds fine. The upper registers threaten to tear, but never do. I expected some shrillness whenever the laugh track kicked in, but it never quite happened. Dialogue is 100% understandable. The musical numbers show some nice depth, especially considering the show's age and TV origins. Very good for what it is.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

At first blush, I was hoping for more supplements. But giving it further thought, I'm not sure what those supplements would be. Jim Henson died in 1990 and I doubt his son would have much to say about the making of such an old show. An occasional audio commentary by a guest star would have been nice, but really, what are the odds? A documentary would have been perfect, but Buena Vista didn't want to put the time or money into such a project. Lord knows how much they spent to have the front of the DVD covered in green and yellow felt (it is pretty cool, though) However, Buena Vista did manage to scrounge up a couple of sweet supplements that further justify purchasing the set.

The most interesting extra is the Original Pitch Reel. When Henson pitched The Muppet Show to CBS, he created a three-minute pitch reel to sell the concept. Very inside-baseball, it's a rare peek into the mysterious process that results in televisions programs being bought. Hosted by a Muppet sitting behind a news desk, his remarks begin in standard pitch style (ìit is time for a revolutionary new look in variety, prime-time televisionî). Then the host starts to get more and more excited about the show, until he starts hyperventilating, while ìGlory, Glory, Hallelujahî, plays in the background. It ends with the host promising immortality to the execs who buy the show. Having seen many pitch reels in my career, it's funny, daring stuff. The video and audio are surprisingly well maintained.

Also included is the show's Original Pilot, which aired on ABC in March 1975. The pilot, which came to be known as Sex and Violence, didn't have Kermit and took place not in a theater, but in a ìconference room.î It also didn't have a guest star. Although ABC passed on picking up the show, it did attract the attention of Lord Lew Grade, who allowed Henson to make a second pilot with total creative control. Watch the pilot and you'll witness the seeds of greatness being planted, as well as some very clever bits. It's an important and very watchable step in the show's evolutionary process.

Muppet Morsels is a text track that provides facts and information about the five episodes on disc four. In a clear and readable font, they tell you when the episode was taped and when it aired. Most of the information is biographical and can be found on the Internet. Gossip tidbits are scarce. Here's one funny fact: before Henson's first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Sullivan introduced him as ìJim Jenson and the Muffits.î

Season One Promo Gag Reel is a bit of a misnomer. To me, anything that says ìgag reelî is filled with bloopers. But this is really just a one-minute compilation of show promos (ìthis is Kermit the Frog reminding you to watch The Muppet Show.î). They're cute and worth throwing in, but call it a Promo Reel, not a Promo Gag Reel. The audio and video quality has some 70s fade, but otherwise look great.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

No DVD-ROM content has been included.

Final Thoughts

The nostalgia knob gets turned to 11 with the release of The Muppet Show: Season 1. Fans of a certain age will glow with excitement watching these episodes. And thankfully, the charm and the vaudeville shtick remain intact and as fun as ever. This is a great DVD for parents and their children. The transfer is very nice and the extras, while not plentiful, are historically valuable and great to watch.

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