WMG / The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show

Waldorf and Statler are victims of a MST3K-style science experiment.

They hate every show, yet they watch them all and make snarky comments, and at more than one point, it's implied that they're not free to leave.

• They are critics, and if they leave they won't get paid for the write-up.
  • Hey hey HEY, Occam's Razor has NO place in Wild Mass Guessing! :)
• Disproven in the Danny Kaye Episode, when they choose to sit in the alley and not watch the show. Of course, that time they would have wanted to see it...
  • Why do they always go there? I guess we'll never know...

Muppets that aren't readily identifiable species are Patchwork Kids.

Scooter, according to his backstory, as at least part-bird since his mother was a parrot. If Interspecies Romance is so rampant in the Muppet universe, this could explain other Muppets, too. Maybe Gonzo is the offspring of a bird and an anteater. Maybe Bunsen Honeydew's parents are a human and one of those sapient fruit Muppets.

The Muppet Show is Purgatory for the guests.

Statler and Waldorf snark about the show but never directly participate. They are therefore Dante and Virgil. The show's "special guests" are people who have just died and have to go through the bizarre antics of the Muppets before being able to ascend to Heaven. This is why nobody cares to comment on the fact that the "guests" are human while the entire audience, cast and crew are Muppets. The Muppets are the spirits between Demons (in Hell) and Angels (in Heaven) responsible for putting the souls of the dead through their final torment. Kermit controls things from backstage, and declares when the show begins and ends. Kermit, therefore, is God.

• Well, this could go a long way toward explaining the events of the Alice Cooper episode...
• What about the episode at the train station?
  • Purgatory was being fumigated?
• Or the time Statler and Waldorf got on stage and did their Vaudeville act?
  • They thought they could escape Purgatory by making a better show than the regular performers did.
• What colour are the guests' tongues?

The gofer claiming to be Scooter is an impostor.

In the series Muppet Babies, there are two gophers: twins Scooter and Skeeter. By the time we get to the Muppet Show (filmed earlier but chronologically later) there is only Scooter; Skeeter is never mentioned. How can this be explained?

Obviously, Skeeter has stolen Scooter's identity and quite possibly murdered her brother. Her presence goes undetected because "Scooter" explained early on that Skeeter "moved away" or some other flimsy excuse.

• Jossed she appears in the Comic Series...

Crazy Harry and the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight are the same person.

Not only do they look alike and share a love of explosives, but their laughs are also eerily similar. Obviously, Crazy Harry went even crazier and moved to The City to try to make it as a supervillain.

It was the Swedish Chef's idea to use "Mah Na Mah Na" in that skit.

The Chef sometimes comes across as smarter than he seems, and the song originates from a Swedish soft porn movie. Thus, it seems like he was having a joke at Kermit's expense.

• This makes far more sense than it should. But this implies that Chef watches Swedish softcore pornography, which would require him to multitask.
  • He obviously rented a taped edition of Gyornen von Forinvoys's <Cooking English Food>, and caught on that the box had been returned with the wrong tape once the ingredients for the first recipe included two soft-core pornography actors, a comedian, and sexy music.

Scooter is Michael Grade.

...Because the Theater Owner (who allows them to do their show) is Lew Grade.

• It's kind of depressing to think that Scooter is the bastard who cancelled Doctor Who... maybe it's another Grade kid?

Statler and Waldorf's scenes in Sex and Violence is a Flash Forward to their final days.

Look at them! Not only do their voices sound weak and their attempt at their "DO-HO-HO-HO-HO!" ended up in a coughing fit, but these final line sums it up:

Statler: Waldorf?
Waldorf: Yeah?
Statler: Either that clock just stopped, or we've just died.

All Muppet movies that don't appear to line up with the canon of The Muppet Show are nothing more than actual episodes of the show itself

...Or rather special episodes

• Pretty much confirmed by Word of God. The Muppets are actors who play themselves (or sometimes other characters) in the movies. When they do interviews or appear on chat-shows and are asked about events of the movies, they always explain that the movies aren't real, they're just movies. (This happened a lot when they to promoted The Muppets (2011); they'd always be explaining that no, they hadn't actually broken up and gone their separate ways, and by the way, Walter wasn't really Jason Segel's brother.)
  • The one movie that can be said to be "canon" is The Muppet Movie, and even that is just based on the "real" story of how the Muppets got together and takes a lot of liberties in the name of entertaining the audience. When the Muppets settle down to watch the movie in the very beginning, there's this brief exchange between Kermit and Robin:
    Robin: Uncle Kermit? Is this about how the Muppets really got started?
    Kermit: Well, it — it's sort of approximately how it happened.

Statler and Waldorf are actual employees of the muppet show

Im pretty sure this was just waiting to be said. As a matter of fact, im probably just saying out loud what everyone else was allready thinking. In my opinion, the only way to explain the duo's random appearances on stage from time to time, The appearance of them in the various movies (read previous WMG), Them being allowed to see the first screening of The Muppet Movie, them living with all the Muppets in Muppets from Space, etc., is to say that they actually work for the Muppets. And that their role as grouchy hecklers is just the characters Kermit has them play just for kicks and giggles.

• Not to mention how the opening and closing themes have parts specifically for them- particularly in season 5, when they get their own verse.

Astoria, Waldorf's wife, is Statler's twin sister, therefore making Statler and Waldorf brothers-in-law.

This has been discussed before, but think about it! Astoria, Waldorf's wife, looks exactly like Statler, just in drag! If Astoria and Statler are indeed twins, and since Astoria is Waldorf's wife, Waldorf and Statler would be brothers! By marriage, of course...

Animal is an adult Elmo

.This explains it...
(This link is not working. Leaving it there in case someone wants to fix it...)

(Fixed.)

Lew Zealand is related to Ernie.

Same hair style and color, similar skin tone, same nose, really it couldn't be any more obvious.

Uncle Deadly's real name is Benny Vandergast (as in Benny Vandergast Memorial Theater).

When he was killed by his critics, J.P. Grosse renamed it in Benny's honor. It would have been nicer to name a new building in Benny's honor, but this is J.P. Grosse we're talking about.

Bunsen Honeydew is actually an anthropomorphic melon.

Honeydew is a Species Surname.

The Swedish Chef is not allowed to take part in job interviews.

He'll just bork-bork-bork too many applicants.

Kermit can change sexes.

We know, from Dr. Grant, that certain species of frog can change from one sex to another. We also know that, during his appearances on Sam and Friends, Kermit would often have not only women's hair and clothing, but women's voices, too. It's possible he's sometimes a woman. Why he never did this during his time as host of The Muppet Show could be due to his boss' well-documented prejudices.

Gonzo is a Frackle.

The special “The Great Santa Claus Switch” introduced a series of bird-like monsters called Frackles. One of them, named Snarl, was purple with drooping eyelids and a long, curled nose. This puppet would later be reused as the first Gonzo. Clearly, this means Gonzo is a Frackle.

Gladys is somehow related to Janice.

Both are tangerine colored. Both have prominent teeth and big red lips. Both have obscured eyes. They were both even performed by Richard Hunt! Gladys probably isn't Janice's mom. Her name is Daisy and she doesn't like the idea of Janice going to a nude beach. Gladys is likely an aunt of hers.

Statler and Waldorf are an old double act who used to work in the theatre.

It's been established that the Muppet's theatre is quite an old building. Statler and Waldorf are also quite old. In the Steve Martin episode, Statler and Waldorf even did a vaudeville style dance number. Their style of humour, relying on one-liners and playing off one another, is reminiscent of an old vaudeville act. They appear to still be quite happy to interact with the performers, enjoying audience attention where they can get it. It's possible they had an act together when they were young, possibly even in this theatre. It's not unusual for someone, once retired, to want to hang around somewhere they used to work and be reminded of the glory days (and complain about how their replacements aren't as good as they were), particularly if the they've got a comfortable seat to sit in while doing it. They do seem to genuinely enjoy some of the acts and to enjoy complaining about the other acts, which would make it perfectly sensible for them to keep returning.

Fozzie Bear is half Jewish

As his entry on the Ambiguously Jewish trope page points out, his comedy style evokes the classic Borscht Belt comedians, and he once pulled a rabbi instead of a rabbit out of his hat during a magic act. Yet he and his mom celebrate Christmas. Most likely explanation? His Disappeared Dad was Jewish, while Emily Bear isn't. As it happens, this is Frank Oz's real-life background: Jewish father, Catholic mother.

Waldorf and Statler are a gay couple

The only time we see Waldorf's wife, it's the Statler muppet in drag, and Waldorf outright says that Statler still has the dress he wore to sneak onto a lifeboat during the Titanic's sinking. The two are actually in love with each other, but the times being what they were they couldn't get married, so Statler put on the old dress and pretended to be his twin sister.

---