December 28, 1997 – The Muppets Tonight Episode “The Best of Muppets Tonight” Premieres on Disney Channel
“We’ve got a show for you, guaranteed brand-new. Here come the Muppets, tonight!”
On December 28, 1997, the best of episode of Muppets Tonight premiered on Disney Channel. The episode was the nineteenth episode of the second, and final, season, recapping memorable moments in the show’s history, and was hosted by Gonzo and Rizzo. The episode was directed by Tom Trbovich.
The episode begins with Rizzo having a nightmare about his mother getting caught in a mousetrap, when Gonzo walks in to calm him down. Although the cast has been given the week off, Rizzo did not run the tape of the show they’d recorded before the break, as monster Carl ate the tape machine. To help Rizzo, Gonzo suggests that they host a clip show, which Rizzo agrees only out of desperation. Gonzo soon takes the stage, although he bungles the introduction a bit. The first clip they run is of Michelle Pfeiffer, who is on a parody of the Love Connection called Muppet Match-Up. This is followed by a clip of Coolio, doing a parody of Milli Vanilli with host Clifford, Cindy Crawford doing a Mouseketeer skit, and Jason Alexander doing a disco dance. The clips continue with some Muppet-specific acts. After these clips, Gonzo promises something “exciting” – and proceeds to blow himself up; Rizzo plays some more clips while he tries to put Gonzo back together. The first clip is of special guest Garth Brooks, who doesn’t want to do country anymore, but switch to a mambo show. The clips follow with Sandra Bullock doing an interpretation of “Mahna Mahna,” Pierce Brosnan being treated like James Bond, Andi MacDowell on vacation with Bunsen, and Cindy Crawford being wooed by Bobo, including other celebrity clips. Rizzo introduces the musical clips with an original composition about not knowing what to say, and then it moves into clips featuring Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Coolio, and Prince; the show then moves in to a couple of television show parodies. The show ends with a section known as the greatest “hits,” featuring many examples of slapstick.
disneydetail 