''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 encompas ...

that aired three episodes on CBS 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 Camille Bonora (also known as Camille Kampouris; born May 13, 1956) is a former Muppet performer, voice performer and actress. She currently serves on the board of BibleMesh online theological studies, as well as a member of the ''Kairos Journal'' ...

), and Boo (performed by David Rudman). 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 Penguin The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing from . Feathers of t ...

s as their music act.

Production

Storyboard director Scott Shaw 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 biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

, "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, 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 Entertainmen ...

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

as Molly Monster * David Rudman 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 as

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 Pamela Arciero (born May 8, 1954) is an American puppeteer and voice-over artist. She has performed for '' Between the Lions'' and '' Sesame Street'', playing Oscar the Grouch's girlfriend Grundgetta in the latter. In addition to performance w ...

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 * Kathryn Mullen as Penguin, Rat *

Martin P. Robinson Martin P. Robinson (born March 9, 1954) is an American puppeteer who works for the Jim Henson Company. He is best known for his work on ''Sesame Street'', having performed the characters of Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Oscar the Grouch's p ...

as Rat, Cow, Walrus

Animated segments voice cast

* Greg Berg as

Dr. Julius Strangepork 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 ...

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!'', ad ...

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is a Muppet character from ''The Muppet Show'', performed by Dave Goelz. He is a bald, yellow-skinned, bespectacled, lab-coated scientist who presented periodic science segments from "Muppet Labs, where the future is being mad ...

, Link Hogthrob * 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 Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

, 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 Michael Kingsbury Frith (born 8 July 1941) is a British artist and television producer. He is the former Executive Vice-President and Creative Director of The Jim Henson Company. His contributions to Muppet projects have been extensive and vari ...

* 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