''Little Muppet Monsters'' is a Saturday morning

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

featuring

the Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

that aired three episodes on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in 1985. The first season of '' Muppet Babies'' did so well in the ratings, that CBS decided to expand the series from a half-hour to an hour, pairing ''Muppet Babies'' with ''Little Muppet Monsters''. They called the hour-long package ''Muppets, Babies and Monsters''.

Plot

The show was anchored by three young Muppet monsters: Tug (performed by Richard Hunt), Molly (performed by Camille Bonora), and Boo (performed by

David Rudman David Rudman (born June 1, 1963) is an American puppeteer, puppet builder, writer, director, and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and ''Sesame Street''. Career David Rudman has been a ''Sesame Street'' Muppet performer since ...

). The three have started their own basement show following an incident where Scooter has them put in the basement after Molly and Boo played water polo in the living room. They are joined by Nicky Napoleon (performed by James Kroupa) and his Emperor Penguins as their music act.

Production

Storyboard director

Scott Shaw Scott Shaw (born 23 September 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an American author, martial artist, and filmmaker. Career Scott Shaw is an advanced martial artist. He has written a number of books on the martial arts. Shaw has written a numb ...

discussed the show in MuppetZine issue #3 (Winter 1993). "The concept of this second half-hour was neither simple nor particularly well-developed," he said. "A trio of new (live-action) Muppet Monster Kids, working from the basement of the adult Muppets' home, create their own television station which broadcasts only to the TV sets in the house upstairs. Their 'shows' were such regular segments as "Pigs in Space: The Animated Series", "

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

, Private Eye", "Muppet Sport Shorts" with

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

, "Gonzo's Freaky Facts and Oddball Achievements," and "Fozzie's Comedy Corner", among others. Although thirteen episodes were produced (most of which were incomplete at the time of cancellation), only three of them ever aired. According to Muppet performer

Kathryn Mullen Kathryn Mullen is an American puppeteer, actress, and voice actress most closely associated with Jim Henson projects. History Mullen began performing on ''The Muppet Show'' in its third season, primarily as Gaffer the Backstage Cat. She also vo ...

, and the Henson Company archives,

Marvel Productions New World Animation Ltd., formerly known as Marvel Productions, was the television and film studio subsidiary of the Marvel Entertainment Group, based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It later became a subsidiary of New World Entertainment ...

failed to deliver the full season's animated segments in time for airing.

responded by rerunning episodes of '' Muppet Babies'' to fill the second half hour until Marvel finished the series' animated segments. Due to high ratings from the ''Muppet Babies'' reruns, the network decided not to pick up the remaining episodes of ''Little Muppet Monsters''. The three completed episodes never appeared on television after their initial air dates. Plans to officially re-release the three episodes have not been made. Despite its quick cancellation, the theme song to ''Little Muppet Monsters'' lived on; the instrumental version of the song became the closing theme for ''Muppet Babies'' and remained so until the show ended in 1991. In 1991, segments of the animated "Pigs in Space" and "Kermit the Frog, Private Eye" from the second episode of ''Little Muppet Monsters'' titled "Space Cowboys" were re-shown in the final episode of ''Muppet Babies'' titled "Eight Flags Over the Nursery".

Cast

Muppet performers

* Richard Hunt as Tug Monster, Scooter, and

Janice Janice may refer to: * Janice (given name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) * ''Janice & Abbey'', a reality TV series * Processor codename of the Samsung Galaxy S Advance Android smartphone * Janice, Łódź Voivodes ...

* Camille Bonora as Molly Monster *

as Boo Monster *

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

and Dr. Teeth *

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is one of the Muppet characters known for her breakout role in Jim Henson's ''The Muppet Show''. Since her debut in 1976, Miss Piggy has been notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, tendency to use French phrases i ...

Fozzie Bear Fozzie Bear is a Muppet character best known as the insecure and comedically fruitless stand-up comic on ''The Muppet Show.'' Fozzie is an orange-brown bear who often wears a brown pork pie hat and a pink and white polka dot necktie. The char ...

, and

Jerry Nelson Jerry L. Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012) was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on ''Sesame Street'', ' ...

as Floyd Pepper *

Dave Goelz David Charles Goelz (; born July 16, 1946) is an American puppeteer and puppet builder known for his work with the Muppets. As part of the Muppets' performing cast, Goelz performs Gonzo the Great, as well as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Waldorf (after ...

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

and Zoot * Pam Arciero as Penguin * Cheryl Blalock as Cow, Raggmopp * Michael Earl Davis as Penguin * Jim Kroupa as Nicky Napoleon *

Noel MacNeal Noel MacNeal (born September 15, 1961), sometimes credited as Noel McNeal or Edward Noel MacNeal, is an American puppeteer, actor, director and writer of children's television who has performed since the early 1980s. He was the voice and puppetee ...

as Rat, Cow, Magic Book *

as Penguin, Rat * Martin P. Robinson as Rat, Cow, Walrus

Animated segments voice cast

Greg Berg Greg Berg (born November 26, 1960) is an American voice actor, best known for his work in cartoons, video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input de ...

, Dr. Julius Strangepork *

Bob Bergen Robert Bergen (born March 8, 1964) is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted the children's game show '' Jep!'', ...

as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew,

Link Hogthrob The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...

* Richard Hunt as Beaker, Animated Muppet Shorts Narrator *

Hal Rayle Hal Rayle (born January 4, 1955) is an American voice actor. He has done many roles for both animated series and live action movies. Career Rayle has had a number of voice acting jobs over his career. Rayle's animated series roles include Miss Pi ...

* Frank Welker as

, Chicken Who Crossed the Road, Banana Nose Maldonado (episode 1), Milo Sockdrawer (episode 3)

Episodes

Crew

* Hank Saroyan – Producer, Voice Director

Creators

* Characters designed by: Michael K. Frith * Tug built by: Ed Christie * Molly built by: Joanne Green * Boo built by: Rollie Krewson

References

External links

* * {{Children's programming on CBS in the 1980s 1985 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings 1980s American children's comedy television series American television series with live action and animation American television shows featuring puppetry American television spin-offs CBS original programming The Muppets television series Television series about children Television series about monsters Television series by The Jim Henson Company Television series by Marvel Productions Television series by Claster Television