Rudolf Nureyev guest stars, and Sam the Eagle is elated to have someone to bring culture to the show. But with the Muppets, that may be hard for anyone to do.
Songs and Sketches
- "Minuet In G Major"
- "La Ci Darem La Mano"
- "Swine Lake"
- UK Spot: "Something's Missing"
- Veterinarian's Hospital: Hamlet.
- "Baby, It's Cold Outside"
- "Clair de Lune"
- "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails"
This episode has examples of
- Ballet Episode: Rudolf dances "Swine Lake" with an oversized pig ballerina.
- Call-Back: Sam's worry about the Electric Mayhem playing "Minuet in G Major" harkens back to the Zero Mostel episode, where they played a rock version of "Polonaise in A Flat". To be fair, the band tries to do it properly this time, but Animal couldn't handle the restraint.
- Dainty Little Ballet Dancers: Played with. The pig ballerina Rudolf dances with is feminine-looking, but huge.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Piggy's reaction to seeing Rudolf in a Modesty Towel. "Holy maracas!"
- Ham-to-Ham Combat: Piggy and Link spend their duet trying to upstage each other.
- Historical Longevity Joke:Statler: That really offended me! I'm a student of Shakespeare.
Waldorf: Ha! You were a student with Shakespeare. - Horny Vikings: Miss Piggy and Link Hogthrob dress as Vikings and sing a love duet from an opera by Wagner (that is, it's announced as being from Giuseppe Wagner's The Barber of Die Fledermaus, but actually it's from Mozart's Don Giovanni).
- Impact Silhouette: Rudolf leaves one trying to get away from Miss Piggy at the end of "Baby, It's Cold Outside".
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All:
- Sam proves here that, for all his claims of being cultured, he has very little knowledge of high culture. He thinks Rudolf Nureyev is an opera singer instead of a ballet dancer, and even fails to recognize him in his street clothes and throws him out.
- Also, Kermit mistakenly refers to Piggy and Link's duet as from a opera by Wagner. It's actually from an opera by Mozart.
- Not So Above It All: Rudolf tells Sam he doesn't mind the craziness, and even enjoys it.
- Recognition Failure: When Rudolf enters the backstage in his street clothes, Sam mistakes him for a "punk kid" and tosses him out. He is thoroughly embarrassed when Kermit informs him that he just threw out the guest star.
- Shirtless Scene: Played entirely straight in a long scene featuring Rudolf Nureyev wearing nothing but a towel.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: For his opening number, "Swine Lake", Rudolf dances with an oversized pig ballerina.
- What Have I Done: Sam says this and Face Palms when he realizes he just threw out Rudolf Nureyev.
- [Waldorf is asleep.]
Statler: Now, wasn't that a cultural show?
[Waldorf snores.]
[Statler shrugs, then falls asleep.]
