Steve Martin, Carol Burnett, and Gilda Radner are the special guests in this delightful trio of episodes from the 1970s The Muppet Show. The Martin and Burnett installments are particularly interesting for their atypical formats. Instead of a variety presentation, the Martin show is organized as a series of auditions for new acts, including high-stepping rats, dancing cheese, and the extraterrestrial Four Fazoos. Into the mix comes Martin with his vintage balloon animals, banjo, juggling gear, and arrow-through-the-head prop. It's a truly original program, and even gets by without the series' usual canned laughter. Burnett's show is also built around a unifying concept: in this case, an episode-long dance marathon. Finally, Gilda Radner is paired with a snooty, 7-foot talking carrot (instead of the 7-foot parrot she requested) for a Gilbert and Sullivan medley, and later attempts to tap dance while unintentionally glued to Beaker. Priceless stuff. --Tom Keogh |
