Recap / The Muppet Show S 4 E 7

Dudley Moore guest stars, and brings his own accompaniment in the form of the M.A.M.M.A., the Music And Mood Managament Apparatus. Are The Muppet Show's musicians out of a job?

Songs and Sketches

• "She Loves You", sung by a band of beetles
• At The Disco Dance
• "Mama Don't Allow", sung by Dudley Moore
• Pigs In Space: The Swinetrek gets its own dramatic stings
• "Strictly For The Birds", sung by Dudley
• Gonzo's Act: Defusing a bomb while reciting the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley
• "How High the Moon?", sung by Dudley

This episode has examples of

• Credits Gag: The M.A.M.M.A. plays the music during the credits.
• Explosive Stupidity: Gonzo's bomb-act literally bombs when the M.A.M.M.A. can't help but play music near him, causing him to set off the bomb.
• Fun with Acronyms: Music And Mood Management Apparatus.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: By disrupting Gonzo's bomb-act, resulting in an explosion that blows up half the theater, the M.A.M.M.A ends up getting itself damaged, allowing the theater band to play the final act.
• Job-Stealing Robot: The M.A.M.M.A. is quickly resented by the Electric Mayhem because its presence endangers their livelihoods.
• Leitmotif: Invoked during the "Pigs In Space" sketch where M.A.M.M.A. provides leitmotifs for the characters: Dr. Strangepork gets a big, triumphant fanfare, Captain Link gets Losing Horns ("How come it always plays dumb music whenever I talk?"), and Miss Piggy gets burlesque music. Later, when Piggy gets angry and starts chasing after Link and Strangepork, M.A.M.M.A. starts playing music that would seem fitting for an old Keystone movie.
• Losing Horns: The M.A.M.M.A. plays pretty much any time Link speaks, much to his consternation.
• Running Gag: Dudley's crazed, robotic music machine M.A.M.M.A. manages to work its way into virtually every single sketch.
• Sting:
  • The M.A.M.M.A. plays four in a row of these, with increasing levels of drama, during Dr. Strangepork's and First Mate Piggy's exchange after Dr. Strangepork declares that it's there to provide the underscore for the sketch.
    Piggy: You mean we're stuck with that all through the sketch?!
    [sting]
    Strangepork: I'm afraid so!
    [sting]
    Piggy: Isn't there anything we can do?!
    [sting]
    Strangepork: Nothing!
    [sting]
  • Later in the episode, when Gonzo is disarming a bomb as part of his act, the M.A.M.M.A. plays another dramatic sting, startling him and causing him to blow up half the theater.
• Take Five: When Dudley tells the Electric Mayhem to "take five", they assume he means play the song by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, and they enthusiastically start to play it, until he clarifies that he meant this trope, so that M.A.M.M.A. can play.
• Who's on First?:
  • Kermit asks the bug band to find a name. One suggests The Grateful Dead; Kermit asks "the who?", and the bug says "it's been done already."
  • At the start of the "Pigs In Space" sketch, Link spots the M.A.M.M.A. through the spaceship window.
    Link: It looks like one of those things that scientists send up from Earth. What do you call them?
    Piggy: Satellite.
    Link: Of course it's a light. Looks like a lot of lights, but what do you call it?
    Piggy: [Aside Glance] Mon capitaine is off to a great start...

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Statler: So they blew up half the theater.
Waldorf: At least they blew up the right half.
Both: Theirs!