So RTD is stepping down as Who producer after 2009, and Steven 'Are you my mummy?' Moffatt takes over. This is pretty much what everyone was expecting and, with a few sexism issues aside, I think most people are pleased. It will be interesting to see how things develop - especially regarding the ever-present specter of Rose that hangs over the series atm.

Got my Muppet DVD, and watches the Spike Milligan episode. It's utterly hilarious, and could never, ever be made today. The premise is that, because they found the Muppet Show is broadcast in 108 countries, they're doing a tribute to internationalism. But this isn't the modern kid-friendly Muppets, this is Henson's true Muppets. So we get the nations all trying to kill each other, and casual unconscious racism like the African Muppet with the bone through the face and the Japanese version of Oklahoma with the L-R reversals. (We know we berong to the rand!). And the Swedish Chef playing an accordion.

Into all this wanders Spike, who basically does his usual insanity. They pair him with Sam the Eagle for much of the show, which works great. Sam tries to praise Britain, but Spike's 'true Englishman' is not up to his standards. The Muppet Newsman tries to do a news broadcast with Spike translating into foreign, which involves a lot of mime and a lot of Newsman abuse. Spike's 'Intergalactic Brotherhood of Man (Including Things) skit defies description, and I found it hilarious that Spike was monumentally cruel to Lew Zealand and got away with it.

Then the finale. It's a Small World. With Iraqi girl Muppets covered head to toe in black, with French Muppets standing around the Eiffel tower, and just every stereotype known to man. And Spike, getting shoved off stage by Sam but coming back as a different stereotyped nationality. The most boggling is his Chinaman, complete with buck teeth and Fu Manchu mustache. When Sam throws him off the stage, Spike hits him with a boxing glove (Boxer Rebellion, get it?) Then he pulls out a tam-o-shanter, puts it on, and gives a Nazi salute. While wearing a T-shirt that says 'Kuwait' in Arabic (Spike's BBC series at the time was 'Q8'.) The chaos continues into the closing credits, with Spike laying on the stage and sleeping, after one brief Native American parody, as they hadn't been offended yet.

It's the most un-PC Muppet show ever. I love it to bits.

The Muppet Show: Season 3 is out on DVD next week. We've gotten our first review, and it would seem that the episodes are uncut once more. :D

We get some nice extras here. The 1968 documentary Muppets on Puppets, hosted by Jim Henson and Rowlf the Dog. Several modern-day interviews with the puppeteers. Some old ads with Rowlf for Purina Dog Chow.

And the following episodes:

* Episode 301: Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge
* Episode 302: Leo Sayer
* Episode 303: Roy Clark
* Episode 304: Gilda Radner
* Episode 305: Pearl Bailey
* Episode 306: Jean Stapleton
* Episode 307: Alice Cooper
* Episode 308: Loretta Lynn
* Episode 309: Liberace
* Episode 310: Marisa Berenson
* Episode 311: Raquel Welch
* Episode 312: James Coco
* Episode 313: Helen Reddy
* Episode 314: Harry Belafonte
* Episode 315: Lesley Ann Warren
* Episode 316: Danny Kaye
* Episode 317: Spike Milligan
* Episode 318: Leslie Uggams
* Episode 319: Elke Sommer
* Episode 320: Sylvester Stallone
* Episode 321: Roger Miller
* Episode 322: Roy Rogers & Dale Evans
* Episode 323: Lynn Redgrave
* Episode 324: Cheryl Ladd


My personal favorites of these are Spike (of course), Danny Kaye, Sylvester Stallone (who is hilarious), Harry Belafonte (brilliant final song), and Alice Cooper, trying to sell Muppet souls to the devil. Also, not as bad as season four but still bad, this is where the Muppet obsession with country music guests begins. Hope you like country.

Recommended for adults and kids alike.

Much shorter wait time between sets, as Season 3 of The Muppet Show is coming out 5/20/08, right before Anime North! Extras include an all-new documentary, as well as the 1968 documentary 'Muppets on Puppets'. The third season features Gilda Radner dancing with a giant carrot, Alice Cooper being... well, Alice Cooper, Danny Kaye misunderstanding Statler and Waldorf and getting quite upset, my hero Spike Milligan being very silly indeed to Sam the Eagle, Sylvester Stallone singing, and much, much more.

As always, we likely won't know till it comes out whether any musical numbers were chopped. Season 2 was totally unedited, though, so I'm hoping for good things. You should get it anyway, classic Muppets are hysterical.

I have been leafing through THe Muppet Show Season 2 DVD, and it reminds me even more why this season is my favorite. The guests were really, really famous - Nureyev especially brought in a lot of people who thought it was 'too kid-show' before - and the writing was top notch, with Miss Piggy and Fozzie finding their character and Gonzo emerging even more.

Disc Two is probably going to be my most-watched, with Edgar Bergen, Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, George Burns, Dom DeLuise, Bernadette Peters, and Rudolf Nureyev. It's got Gonzo singing The Wishing Song and Bernadette singing Just One Person to Robin, two of my favorite sappy Muppet moments. (We have to wait for Season 4 for my favorite - the Lola Falana show where Gonzo quits to become a movie star and sings My Way - I *still* cry when I see this scene.)

I also picked up an odd book called Schulz's Youth. This is a collection of one-panel comics Schulz did for a religious magazine in the 50s and 60s. They mostly feature teenagers - the magazine was geared to religious teens - and are far more religious than even Peanuts got. (Linus was pretty Bible quoting, but I doubt even he mentioned the seven towns the word was spread to in the Book of Revelations, the way one strip does here).

It's actually pretty well done - the Peanuts humor shines through even with older kids, and we're used to heavy Bible humor from Peanuts anyway. Definitely worth a read provided you don't mind a heavy dose of Protestantism in your comics. :)