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  

 

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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

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​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