Muppet Babies ( TV Series 1984 - 1991)
Plot
Jim Henson's Muppet Babies (also known as simply Muppet Babies) is an American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984 to November 2, 1991 on CBS. The show portrayed childhood versions of the Muppets living together in a large nursery in the care of a human woman called Nanny (the whereabouts of their parents are never addressed). Nanny appears in almost every episode, but viewers never see her face, only the babies' view of her pink skirt and purple sweater as well as her distinctive green and white striped socks.
Muppet Babies was produced by The Jim Henson Company and Marvel Productions. The rights are now held by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. Although the episodes were 30 minutes (including commercials), it was typically shown in 60 and even 90 minute blocks during the peak of its popularity. Outside of the United States, the show was distributed by Walt Disney Television. The idea of presenting the Muppets as children first appeared in a dream sequence in The Muppets Take Manhattan, released two months before Muppet Babies debuted on CBS, in which Miss Piggy imagined what it would be like if she and Kermit the Frog grew up together.
The Muppet Babies live in a large nursery watched over by Nanny, the only human character in the show that appears on a regular basis. The babies have active imaginations, and often embark on adventures into imaginary worlds and perilous situations from which they are eventually returned to reality by some external event, such as Nanny coming to see what the noise was. They are constantly finding creative ways to entertain themselves and learn to work together to solve problems and survive their wild-imagined adventures.
Each episode included a single storyline. Usually the babies were confronted with a child-like problem, such as fear of the dentist, or a question, such as 'where do muffins come from?' Other times, they were simply finding ways to amuse themselves with old toys or video tape equipment. The babies would then enter into their imaginations, transforming their toys into everything from time machines to pirate ships. Nearly every episode contained one song, and occasionally more than one. After the credits, the episodes would end with Animal shouting out his catchphrase 'Go bye-bye!' usually while Gonzo blasted off into the sky due to some accident he or Animal had caused.
Although the program was a cartoon, live-action film sequences were added in unusual moments. When the babies opened a door, box or book, they were often confronted with anything from a speeding train to a space ship. Foreign landscapes in their imagination were usually photos or bits of stock footage which the babies would walk across, interacting indirectly with the films actors. Though much of the live-action came from stock footage and old black-and-white horror/monster films, more recent films such as Star Wars, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones were also played and parodied.
The show was drawn from the babies point of view, meaning the babies were always looking up to view the world. Objects like couches and doors were far larger than normal and more momentous obstacles for the babies. As a result of the upward view, the faces of adult characters were never shown. Nanny was only ever seen from the shoulders down as were the adults in the babies fantasies. Exceptions were made for Uncle Statler and Uncle Waldorf and a few Muppet style adults in the fantasy worlds.
Characters
The series stars Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Scooter, Skeeter, Rowlf the Dog, and Gonzo as the main muppets. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker made regular appearances as did Camilla in the form of Gonzo's stuffed baby chick. In the final two seasons, Bean Bunny and Statler and Waldorf began making regular appearances.
Several Muppets made guest appearances including Janice, and Kermits nephew, Robin, a young tadpole.
The Muppet Baby character Skeeter, Scooter's twin sister, only appeared in this series, and was never a live-action Muppet. This was done because the producers wanted another female character added to the cast. Despite this, Skeeter was always voiced by a male actor, who already voiced a different character.
Episode Guide
Season 1
1x01 Sep. 15, 1984 Noisy Neighbors
1x02 Sep. 22, 1984 Who's Afraid of The Big, Bad Dark?
1x03 Sep. 29, 1984 Dental Hijinks
1x04 Oct. 06, 1984 Raiders of the Lost Muppet
1x05 Oct. 13, 1984 Scooter's Hidden Talent
1x06 Oct. 20, 1984 The Case of the Missing Chicken
1x07 Oct. 27, 1984 9 Take Away 1 Equals Panic
1x08 Nov. 03, 1984 What Do You Wanna Be When You Grow Up?
1x09 Nov. 10, 1984 Close Encounters of the Frog Kind
1x10 Nov. 17, 1984 Gonzo's Video Show
1x11 Nov. 24, 1984 Fun Park Fantasies
1x12 Dec. 01, 1984 From a Galaxy Far, Far Away
1x13 Dec. 08, 1984 Good, Clean Fun
Season 2
2x01 Sep. 14, 1985 Once Upon an Egg Timer
2x02 Sep. 14, 1985 Piggy's Hyper-Activity Book
2x03 Sep. 28, 1985 Fozzie's Last laugh
2x04 Oct. 05, 1985 The Great Cookie Robbery
2x05 Oct. 12, 1985 Out-Of-This-World History
2x06 Oct. 19, 1985 Snow White and the Seven Muppets
2x07 Oct. 26, 1985 I Want My Muppet TV!
2x08 Nov. 02, 1985 Musical Muppets
2x09 Nov. 09, 1985 Who's Who at the Zoo?
2x10 Nov. 16, 1985 The Great Muppet Cartoon Show
2x11 Nov. 23, 1985 The Muppet Museum of Art
2x12 Nov. 30, 1985 By the Book
2x13 Dec. 07, 1985 When You Wish Upon a Muppet
Season 3
3x01 Sep. 13, 1986 Pigerella
3x02 Sep. 20, 1986 The Best Friend I Never Had
3x03 Sep. 27, 1986 The Weirdo Zone
3x04 Oct. 04, 1986 Muppets in Toyland
3x05 Oct. 11, 1986 The Muppet Broadcasting Company
3x06 Oct. 18, 1986 Kermit Goes to Washington
3x07 Oct. 25, 1986 Fozzie's Family Tree
3x08 Nov. 01, 1986 The Daily Muppet
3x09 Nov. 08, 1986 Scooter's Uncommon Cold
3x10 Nov. 15, 1986 Treasure Attic
3x11 Nov. 22, 1986 Around the Nursery in 80 Days
3x12 Nov. 29, 1986 Polly Wants a Muppet
3x13 Dec. 06, 1986 Muppet Goose
3x14 Dec. 13, 1986 Bad Luck Bear
3x15 Dec. 20, 1986 Of Mice and Muppets
3x16 Dec. 27, 1986 Back to the Nursery
Season 4
4x01 Sep. 19, 1987 Muppetland
4x02 Sep. 26, 1987 Water Babies
4x03 Oct. 03, 1987 The Incredible Shrinking Weirdo
4x04 Oct. 10, 1987 Where No Muppet Has Gone Before
4x05 Oct. 17, 1987 Journey to the Center of the Nursery
4x06 Oct. 24, 1987 This Little Piggy Went to Hollywood
4x07 Oct. 31, 1987 My Muppet Valentine
4x08 Nov. 07, 1987 Invasion of the Muppet Snackers
4x09 Nov. 14, 1987 Twinkle Toe Muppets
4x10 Nov. 21, 1987 Weirdo for the Prosecution
4x11 Nov. 28, 1987 Muppet Island
4x12 Dec. 05, 1987 The Frog Who Knew Too Much
4x13 Dec. 12, 1987 Beach Blanket Babies
4x14 Dec. 19, 1987 Old MacKermit Had a Farm
4x15 Dec. 26, 1987 Adventures in Muppet-Sitting
4x16 Jan. 02, 1988 The House That Muppets Built
4x17 Jan. 09, 1988 Masquerading Muppets
4x18 Jan. 16, 1988 Nanny's Day Off
Season 5
5x01 Sep. 10, 1988 Muppets Not Included
5x02 Sep. 17, 1988 Beauty and the Schnoz
5x03 Sep. 24, 1988 The Pig Who Would Be Queen
5x04 Oct. 01, 1988 Is There a Muppet in the House?
5x05 Oct. 08, 1988 Slipping Beauty
5x06 Oct. 15, 1988 Muppet Baby Boom
5x07 Oct. 22, 1988 Scooter By Any Other Name
5x08 Oct. 29, 1988 It's a Wonderful Life For Kermit
5x09 Nov. 05, 1988 Elm Street Babies
5x10 Nov. 12, 1988 Plan 8 from Outer Space
5x11 Nov. 19, 1988 Junkland Muppets
5x12 Nov. 26, 1988 The Air Conditioner at the End of the Galaxy
5x13 Dec. 03, 1988 Bug-Busting Babies
Season 6
6x01 Sep. 16, 1989 This Old Nursery
6x02 Sep. 23, 1989 And Now a Word From Our Muppets
6x03 Sep. 30, 1989 Six to Eight Weeks
6x04 Oct. 07, 1989 The Green Ranger
6x05 Oct. 14, 1989 Not Necessarily the Muppets
6x06 Oct. 21, 1989 Comic Capers
6x07 Oct. 28, 1989 Faster Than a Speeding Weirdo
6x08 Nov. 04, 1989 Skeeter and the Wolf
6x09 Nov. 11, 1989 Romancing the Weirdo
6x10 Nov. 18, 1989 The New Adventures of Kermo Polo
6x11 Nov. 25, 1989 Goosetown Babies
6x12 Dec. 02, 1989 It's Only Pretendo
6x13 Dec. 09, 1989 Quoth the Weirdo
6x14 Dec. 16, 1989 Operators are Standing By
6x15 Dec. 23, 1989 Babes in Troyland
6x16 Dec. 30, 1989 Puss 'n Boots 'n Babies
6x17 Jan. 06, 1990 Muppets of Invention
6x18 Jan. 13, 1990 A Punch Line to the Tummy
Season 7
7x01 Sep. 15, 1990 Muppet Babies: The Next Generation
7x02 Sep. 22, 1990 Buckskin Babies
7x03 Sep. 29, 1990 Sing a Song of Superheroes
7x04 Oct. 06, 1990 Gonzee's Playhouse Channel
7x05 Oct. 13, 1990 Kermit Pan
7x06 Oct. 20, 1990 Whose Tale is it Anyway?
7x07 Oct. 27, 1990 At The Movies
7x08 Nov. 03, 1990 In Search of Bronze Beatle
7x09 Nov. 10, 1990 The Transcontinental Whoo-Whoo
7x10 Nov. 17, 1990 Get Me to the Perch on Time
7x11 Nov. 24, 1990 Bearly Alone Babies
7x12 Dec. 01, 1990 Remote Controlled Cornball
7x13 Dec. 08, 1990 Nice to Have Gnome You
7x14 Dec. 15, 1990 Happy Birthday Uncle Piggy
7x15 Dec. 22, 1990 Hats, Hats, Hats
7x16 Dec. 29, 1990 Eight Flags Over The Nursery
