History YMMV / TheMuppetShow

** While Kermit and the rest of Henson's non-''Series/SesameStreet'' Muppets were successful early on, it was this show (Alongside ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'' later on) that would completely solidify Kermit and the Muppets into the beloved and iconic household names they are now.

* NarmCharm: "'Bein' Green" (AKA [[RefrainFromAssuming "It's Not Easy Bein' Green"]]) is a deliberately awkward, disjointed little song in which Kermit reflects on the fact that, being a frog, he's quite literally green, and the troubles this causes him--but in the end, he decides that plenty of other nice things are green, so it's alright. It should, by all rights, be absurd, or at the very least comedic. Except Henson's delivery as Kermit [[HeReallyCanAct is so incredibly heartfelt]], it turned a silly little song about a frog's coloration into [[{{Applicability}} a beautiful message of self-love and accepting yourself]] and one of the ''the'' all-time classics of American folk pop.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOuDRViTGw The theme song]], of course! It's an incredibly catchy, jaunty and upbeat big band piece that is truly sensational, inspirational, celebrational and especially, Muppetational.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The show was Henson's attempt to prove that his craft could be primetime adult entertainment, not just early morning children's programming. ''The Muppet Show'' was initially viewed as a raunchy, all ages show but time has caused many of the skits to seem less mature than when they first premiered and the Muppets themselves have become much more skewed towards younger audiences. As such, reruns and home video releases pretty much market the program as a children's show. Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} even went so far as to rerun the show on Creator/NickJr, their block for ''preschoolers''.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: One of the big complaints among fans is that ''Series/MuppetsTonight'' had too much focus on new characters over the old characters. Some of the writers have defended this by pointing out that ''The Muppet Show'' introduced new characters all the time. The difference, however, is that while Muppets had been around for years, ''The Muppet Show'' is the show to establish and introduce a particular group of Muppets as The Muppets, many characters had appeared in earlier productions but aside from maybe the ''Series/SesameStreet'' Muppets (who were rarely a part of this show), there weren't many characters the general public would expect to see. Contrast to ''Muppets Tonight'', which came after the Muppets had not only done this series but also five feature films, [[Series/TheJimHensonHour another series]] (which also had more focus on new characters than old), and many specials and guest appearances, often with the same core cast.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible:
** HUGGA WUGGA!
** [[SelfDemonstrating/SwedishChef Elsu, zee Svedeesh Cheff's ect prubebly qooeleeffies, ispeceeelly vhee perffurmeeng mooseecel noombers oor oozeer uncunfenshunel ects. Børk børk børk!]]
** Early on, Gonzo's routines (like eating a tire to "Flight of the Bumblebee") straddled the line between dumb stunts and {{performance art|ist}}.

*** Belafonte's own passing in April of 2023 makes the song that much more bittersweet, but also somewhat comforting. Even a life as long as Harry's (96 years) may not be very long in the grand scheme of things, but in that time, with his music and activism (especially with his being such a major player in the civil rights movement), he did indeed do his part to turn the world around.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: One can learn a lot about late 1970s pop culture by watching this show. Although the show deserves some sort of award for managing to make the episode with "Mr. Topical Monologue" Creator/BobHope relatively timeless.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The show was Henson's attempt to prove that his craft could be primetime adult entertainment, not just early morning children's programming. ''The Muppet Show'' was initially viewed as a raunchy, all ages show but time has caused many of the skits to seem less mature than when they first premiered and the Muppets themselves have become much more skewed towards younger audiences. As such, reruns and home video releases pretty much market the program as a children's show. Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} went as as to rerun the show on Creator/NickJr, their block for ''preschoolers''.

* ToughActToFollow: This show was so well-made and so beloved that future attempts at a regular Muppet variety series (''The Jim Henson Hour'', ''Muppets Tonight'', ''The Muppets'') were all short-lived, with a strong TheyChangedItNowItSucks reaction from the public (and mixed reaction from diehard Muppet fans). ScrewedByTheNetwork (for the last two) was also a factor.

** Plenty of Swedish viewers love the Swedish Chef for just how over-the-top ridiculous of a stereotype he is.