Referenced By / The Muppet Show

Statler: Oh no, we're getting bounced by security.
Waldorf: Well, at least we finally don't have to watch the show anymore.
Both: Doh-ho-ho-ho-ho!

Animated Films

• Ralph Breaks the Internet: A Muppets booth, featuring Kermit's head and the The Muppet Show logo, appears in Oh My Disney. A projection of Beaker also is seen as Vanellope flees from a pack of Stormtroopers.

Comic Books

• In Grandville Mon Amour, one of Madame Riverhorse's employees is drawn to resemble Miss Piggy.
• Marvel Team-Up: Issue #74 of the original series (which is about Spider-Man teaming up with the late 1970's cast of Saturday Night Live) features a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo of Statler and Waldorf when Peter and Mary Jane are making their way to their seats.
• Wonder Woman: When Huntress goes to the hospital to check on the baby she rescued from a human trafficking ring, a poster of Kermit the frog can be seen on the wall.

Comic Strips

• Off the Mark:
  • Carl has second thoughts about choosing the Swedish Chef as his GPS voice.
  • A chameleon empathizes with Kermit at a bar.
  • "That's one unsuccessful internet troll..."
  • This Strip features The Incredible Hulk listening to "It's Not Easy Bein' Green".
  • In this strip, Groundskeeper Willie soon has mixed feelings about tracking down his ancestry.
  • "All these years, I've been living a lie. I mean, Bein' Green? Easy Peasy".
  • A scene from the new Muppet horror flick, "It's Not Easy Bein' Gangrene".
  • Kermit's Doctor.
  • Spin-Off Failure #92 - "The Maggot Show".
  • Tragically, no one could hear the truck backing up.
  • Karma the Frog.

Fan Works

• The Kedabory Verse:
  • In Everyday Craziness in Pontypandy, Svetlana's Berserk Button is Swedish Chef jokes, because she is Swedish and a Lethal Chef.
  • In PreCure in a Nutshell, Godatz gets the parody name of Gonzo.
  • In Pretty Cure: Magic of the Rainbow, Hime gets an apron and chef hat akin to the Swedish Chef, and quips that she feels like she belongs on The Muppet Show.

Live-Action Films

• An American Werewolf in London: In David's nightmare, in which his family is murdered by werewolves, an episode of The Muppet Show (specifically, the Señor Wences episode) is playing on their TV; Kermit and Miss Piggy are credited as playing themselves. Coincidentally, Frank Oz appeared in the film as a customs agent.
• Argo: During Tony's meeting with Cyrus Vance and Stansfield Turner, his boss tells him "It's like talking to those two old fucks on the Muppets."
• Carry On Emmannuelle: Before peeking through Emile's bedroom door's keyhole, Richmond asks what he's going to see, to which Lyons replies that it certainly won't be The Muppet Show.
• Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022): Bjornson the Cheese Seller Muppet is an obvious Expy of The Swedish Chef.
• The Commitments: When Jimmy asks Billy, a drummer, who his influences are, Billy responds, "Animal from The Muppets".
• Girls Just Want to Have Fun: During Janey's argument with her father, she says "We made a deal when I was seven and a half, nightlife was The Muppet Show!"
• Meantime: Mark calls Colin "Kermit", and at one point he sings "Mana Mana" to him.

Literature

• Doctor Who Expanded Universe:
  • One of the signs of reality breaking down in the Faction Paradox novel This Town Will Never Let Us Go by Lawrence Miles is the existence of a Muppet Show episode with guest star George Orwell. Rizzo the Rat "stars" in a Nineteen Eighty-Four Room 101 sketch, and Miss Piggy in one based on Animal Farm.
  • In the Doctor Who New Adventures novel Night of the Living Dad by Kate Orman, the Doctor comments that the villain's outlook means "You must have hated The Muppet Movie."
  • In the short story "Incongrous Details" by Simon Guerrier in Short Trips: The Centenarian, the Sixth Doctor plays "Memory Lane" on the piano, specifically referencing Gonzo and Rowlf performing it in the Peter Sellers episode, and says Gonzo is his favourite character.
• Ready Player One: In chapter 0, a video message shows James Halliday wearing a muppet tshirt. In chapter 1, Wade Watts says he sang songs with Muppet characters during his childhood in the virtual reality OASIS. And in chapter 6, Wade Watts mentions he watched every episode of the Muppet Show.

Live-Action TV

• In the Doctor Who episode "Tooth and Claw", one of the things the Doctor likes about 1979 is that The Muppet Movie came out.
• The Eric Andre Show:
  • The 2012 New Years special has Andre compare his looks to that of his guest Demi Lovato. He says "Next to you[...] Hannibal looks, at best, like Bunsen from The Muppet Show if he was in blackface."
  • The Season 5 finale ended with a parody of the ending to The Muppet Movie.
• Full House:^note (it's worth noting that Dave Coulier voiced various characters, including Animal, in Muppet Babies)
  • In "Our Very First Show", Joey briefly impersonates Kermit to try to cheer baby Michelle up.
  • In "Cutting It Close", Stephanie is playing "Pretend Beauty Parlor". Imitating gossipy conversation, she asks, "So, did you hear who Miss Piggy has been dating?".
  • In "El Problema Grande De D.J.", Joey mentions knowing different languages. When Jesse asks him to clarify, Joey says (in Kermit’s voice), "I’m fluent in frog."
  • In "Bye Bye, Birdie", Joey is beginning a bedtime story for Michelle, talking about a "beautiful little princess" (referring to Michelle). He asks her, "Can you guess the name of the beautiful little princess?" She replies, "Miss Piggy."
  • In "Nice Guys Finish First", in one brief scene, Joey and Michelle perform a pretend conversation between Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. Joey does Kermit and Michelle does Piggy.
  • In "Tough Love", Joey has a pajama-clad Baby Gonzo doll. When Danny replied that Nicky and Alex should learn to put away their toys, Joey says that it is his doll, and then he imitates the adult Gonzo’s voice, saying "The big guy sat on my nose" before squeezing Baby Gonzo’s nose and imitating a honking sound.
  • In "The Bicycle Thief", Michelle mentions that her bicycle has a Kermit sticker on it (and the sticker is later shown when the bicycle is found).
  • In "Under The Influence", Joey is cooking in the kitchen and imitates the Swedish Chef.
• Fuller House: In "Funner House", Kimmy attempts to compliment Macy Gray by saying "I love your music and your Thanksgiving Day Parade." Gray replies with "You know, it takes me all night to blow up that Kermit balloon."
• During the iCarly/Victorious crossover special "iParty with Victorious", Sam calls the ventriloquist dummy Rex a rejected Muppet.
• MADtv (1995): Statler and Waldorf appear at the end of a sketch parodying Sesame Street where Big Bird catches the Avian Flu and spreads it to everyone on the street, where they give this exchange:
  Waldorf: We're gonna get letters on that one!
  Statler: As if anyone who watches this show can write!
  (Statler and Waldorf laugh)
• The Nanny: In "Lamb Chop's on the Menu", it is revealed that Lamb Chop has a rivalry with Miss Piggy.
  Lamb Chop: Miss Piggy? That ham?!
  Fran: Honey, she's the new white meat.
• Sister, Sister: In one episode, Tamera and her friend Denise get nervous over having to dissect a frog. Denise says "I can't hurt Kermie."

Puppet Shows

• Allegra's Window: At the beginning of the episode "Stop Making Sense", Allegra is playing with a toy pig and pretending it's a movie star. The pig has blonde hair and purple gloves, making it resemble Miss Piggy.
• As mentioned on the show's trivia page, the 80's French satirical series Le Bébête Show was basically a cross/hybrid between this show and French politics at the time.
• Fraggle Rock:
  • One Traveling Matt segment has him surveying some children going out for Halloween, two of whom are dressed as Kermit and Miss Piggy.
  • "The Cavern of Lost Dreams" has Sprocket doing a Swedish Chef impression.
• Sesame Street:
  • In Episode 1257, Olivia asks Telly to name some words that start with M. Telly instead lists TV shows that start with M. Included is "Muppet Show".
  • In Episode 3518, Bob tells Renata Scottie that he will get her in touch with a certain dog piano player he knows.
  • In Episode 3960, Rosita and Baby Bear find the spinning part of a pinwheel. As they try to think of what it could be, Baby Bear puts in on his neck, thinking it may be a bow tie, and says, "Wocka Wocka", Fozzie Bear's catchphrase.
  • In Episode 4054, Papa Bear reads from a book of bear names when trying to come up with a name for their new baby. One of those listed is Fozzie, which Baby Bear calls a terrible name for a bear.
  • A sketch with a lavender Anything Muppet, a set of teeth and a brush features a framed photo of Miss Piggy on the wall. Another sketch taking place in the old west features the same photo on the wall.
  • In the Monsterpiece Theater sketch, "Upstairs, Downstairs", a picture of Dr. Teeth can be seen on the wall.
  • At the beginning of the Detective Grover sketch, a photo of Dr. Teeth can be seen by the bookshelf.
  • In a News Flash sketch featuring Old MacDonald, Kermit begins by talking to a pig on the farm. "You remind me of somebody, I just can't figure out who."
  • On their way to Earth, The Martians encounter three "pigs in space" wearing spacesuits.
  • The "Worms in Space" segment featured a voice-over introduced by Jerry Nelson in the same way he used to introduce "Pigs in Space" on The Muppet Show.
  • At the end of the "Skin" episode of Elmo's World, a chameleon asks Elmo if he can play "Rainbow Connection" on his piano.
  • In the "President" episode of Elmo: The Musical, the penguin and chicken team images seen on the scoreboard are based on the models used for The Muppet Show and subsequent productions.

Radio

• In several rounds of "One Song to the Tune of Another" on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, the show's theme tune has been used for both the lyrics and tunes of various combinations. Some of the best-remembered examples include:
  • Tony Hawks sings the theme to the tune of "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
  • ... and vice-versa, sung by David Mitchell
  • Rory Bremner sings "Imagine" to the tune of the Muppet Show theme (which was so popular he reprised it for the live stage show). Bremner later went one better by doing the same thing, but with the words to "Sexual Healing" instead.
• An episode of The Now Show discussing the subprime mortgage scandal referenced reports that Goldman-Sachs stockbrokers called their investors "muppets" by taking offence on behalf of the Muppets, and included a pastiche of the theme song.
  It's time to push up profits,
  It's time to keep back tax,
  It's time to fleece the muppets,
  Who invest with Goldman-Sachs!
  It's time to lobby Congress,
  To keep regulation lax,
  Must not put off the muppets
  Who invest with Goldman-Sachs!
  
  We laugh at them discreetly,
  We sneer at every sale.
  We sell them toxic assets,
  Then bet on them to fail!
  Doh-ho-ho-ho!
  
  It's time to turn the thumbscrews,
  It's time to oil the racks,
  It's time to squeeze some pennies,
  (Why don't you squeeze some pennies?)
  Let's go and squeeze some pennies,
  From the asperational,
  Ostentational,
  Desperational,
  Destitutional,
  Muppets who invest with Goldman-Saaaachs!

Video Games

• In Animal Crossing, one of the villagers is a rat named Rizzo.
• In the Double Dare Licensed Game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, one of the incorrect answers to the "In 1987, which TV star gave birth to twins whom she named Ariel and Zachariah?" question is "Miss Piggy".
• Infinite Craft: Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Beaker, and others can be crafted.
• Puggsy: A Secret Level is titled "Puggs in Space".
• One of Globox's skins in Rayman M resembles Kermit◊.

Webcomics

• Girl Genius: When Agatha first enters Gil's laboratory on Castle Wulfenbach, we see Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's gorilla detector. Fittingly, there is a note attatched to it that reads, "NEEDS WORK".
• In Skin Horse, Unity refers to Muffin, the uplifted Spitz medic, as "Dr Bob".

Web Video

• Athena P: During Athena's lore video on Nanalan', she quips that the titular Nana looks more like Beaker's grandmother than Mona's, and uses a clip of Beaker's Season 5 performance of "Feelings" as a reference.
• Mickey Mouse Reacts: Mickey watches a video with a frog in it and refers to the frog as Kermit.
• The Nostalgia Critic: In "War of The Commercials", one of the commercials the Critic reviews is a Muppet-themed advert for Warburtons Giant Crumpets.
• Philosophy Tube: In introducing Charles Dickens in her Capital Punishment video prior to quoting his disgust at a public execution he attended Abigail makes the amusing aside that Dickens is the author of Oliver Twist and The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Western Animation

• 6teen: In "Boo, Dude", Jen dresses as a pig to work and someone calls her "Miss Piggy".
• American Dad!:
  • In "Haylias", Stan and Hayley dance with each other at the latter's wedding; Stan, knowing that Hayley's become a super-solder bent on killing him, awkwardly tries to lighten the situation by comparing the scenario to the "At the Dance" sketches from The Muppet Show.
  • In "Gernot and Strudel", Klaus uses CIA tech turns the Smiths into the puppet characters from his favorite childhood TV show. When Jeff asks if the CIA really has puppet technology, Stan mentions that Fozzie Bear was the Shah of Iran for seven years.
• Animaniacs (1993): In "Video Revue", Kermit and Miss Piggy appear on the cover of A Muppet Family Christmas as the Warners sing about the various movies in the video store. When Yakko sings "The Muppet Family Christmas is about a pig and frog!", Kermit is seen working as a Mall Santa until Miss Piggy jumps into his lap.
• Family Guy:
  • In "Brian Does Hollywood", Stewie interrogates a Kermit doll and makes out with a Miss Piggy doll to make him talk.
  • A cutaway from "Jungle Love" has Peter working for Dr. Honeydew and resembling Beaker.
  • In "Deep Throats", Kermit is the Mysterious Informant that tells Brian and Stewie dirt about Mayor West.
  • A cutaway from "Petergeist" shows the time Peter installed a balcony in the living room; Statler and Waldorf are up there commenting on an episode of Lost.
  • In "Mother Tucker", Kermit appears on the show Round Table with Al Michaels, Harold Ramis and Ray Romano (for those of you who don't get the joke, they all have the same voice).
  • A cutaway from "The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou" parodies the death of Jim Henson by having Kermit and Swedish Chef talk in different voices. They reappear at the end, with Fozzie now speaking like Michael Clarke Duncan.
  • A cutaway from "Jerome is the New Black" shows Statler without Waldorf, and he comments that the show is better without him.
  • A cutaway from "And I'm Joyce Kinney" has a bruised-up Kermit telling Fozzie that the Bears in Space sketch has been reworked into Pigs in Space.
  • A cutaway from "Yug Ylimaf" shows that Statler and Waldorf were present at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; Statler also gets shot.
  • A cutaway from "Brian's Play" shows Stewie as the Muppets' HR director, questioning Beaker for allegedly swiping ingredients from the lab to make crystal meth.
  • In "Herpe the Love Sore", Peter and Lois watch a Behind the Music special about the Electric Mayhem.
  • A cutaway from "The Boys in the Band" shows Miss Piggy telling Scooter that she called in sick because she had a "frog in her throat".
  • In "Veteran Guy", Peter compares an Aiwa double-tape deck to Statler and Waldorf, and they proceed to snark about their music selection. Later, when Peter and the guys are busted for posing as veterans aboard a plane, a pair of overhead bins also talk like Statler and Waldorf, calling themselves gay for having "bags in their mouths".
  • In "You Can't Handle the Booth!", Peter gets his head stuck between the stair railings and begins singing "Halfway Down the Stairs". In the audio commentary, Peter says that the scene was directly inspired by Robin's performance on the show.
  • In "The Marrying Kind", after watching The Muppet Show with Stewie, Peter finds himself leading a large part of the Family Guy cast in singing The Muppet Show theme song. The song is also involved in an Inception scene of Peter's.
• Garfield and Friends:
  • In "Flat Tired", the director needs someone to fill in for Garfield, who is too tired to star in the episode. When Odie tries to meet the director's requirements, the director jokingly says "I know who we can get! Get me Kermit the Frog on the phone!"
  • In "Mistakes Will Happen", Jon refers to Garfield as "Kermit" as one of many mistakes made deliberately.
• Gravity Falls: The Stinger for "Sock Opera" is puppet versions of Grunkle Stan and Old Man McGucket on a balcony criticizing sock puppets of Dipper and Mabel.
• MAD: The sketch, "Ribbitless" ends with a parody of The Muppet Show theme song.
  "We don't need Ryan Seacrest,
  that show is past its prime,
  It's time to leave the airwaves,
  or the judges lose their minds!
  We all can sing and dance now,
  We've become super smart,
  Our voices still sound goofy,
  but at least it is a start.
• Muppet Babies (1984): "The Incredible Shrinking Weirdo" features a scene where a live-action adult Kermit interacts with an animated Baby Gonzo. A clip from The Muppet Show (Episode 223: John Cleese) was used, with Frank Welker dubbing new lines for Kermit and with Baby Gonzo matted into the scene. This fantasy sequence also featured a shot of the audience that was frequently used on The Muppet Show.
• OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes: In "Parent's Day", Enid's mom makes a stew that has a little Kermit in it.
• Robot Chicken:
  • A sketch from "Plastic Buffet" goes behind the scenes of the Electric Mayhem band, revealing that they got fired after Kermit was unable to pay the rent for the Muppet Theater, Janice having gotten Hepatits C from Tommy Lee, Animal having been put down for attacking Ed McMahon, and Zoot having been arrested in Tokyo for smuggling 37 pounds of hash.
  • A sketch from "Federated Resources" has the Swedish Chef walking through New York City, seeing various things that rhyme with "Bork".
  • A sketch from "Schindler's Bucket List" has a murderer killing Gonzo and Fozzie. The murderer is revealed to be Scooter, who wants revenge on the Muppets for killing Skeeter when they were kids.
  • A sketch from "Terms of Endaredevil" has Kermit getting a prostate exam.
  • A sketch from "Poisoned by Relatives" has Miss Piggy compete on The Fattest Fat Loser, along with Mario, Garfield, and Winnie the Pooh.
  • A sketch from "Papercut to Aorta" features Statler and Waldorf watching a movie from their box. Statler gives one of their usual remarks, while Waldorf provides some insightful criticism on the cinematic elements.
  • A sketch from "Colateral Damage in Gang Turf War" has various Swedish Chefs compete in Top Chef: Sweden.
  • A sketch from "The Unnamed One" has Gonzo and Camilla upset that they were unable to have a child together, but determined not to give up, and make breakfast from their unborn child.
  • A sketch from "Your Mouth is Hanging Off Your Face" has the Swedish Chef being denied entry through airport security due to his immigrant status. Crazy Harry, brandishing two lit sticks of dynamite, passes through without question.
• The Simpsons:
  • In "A Fish Named Selma", the Simpsons are watching Troy McClure in The Muppets go Medieval.
  • In "Bart the Fink", Krusty fakes his own death, and at the resulting funeral, one of the Simpsons writers is seen holding a smoking Kermit puppet.
  • In "Papa Don't Leech", Lurleen serenades Kermit on TV. She suggests bunking with him, and before Kermit can make a rebuttal, Miss Piggy shows up, kicking him off the fence and strangling him like Homer.
  • In "Mona Leaves-a", Lance Armstrong (playing himself) appears with Fozzie at the ESPY awards. When Fozzie makes a joke about Armstrong, the latter throws the puppet across the room, revealing the puppeteer's hand underneath.
  • "The Fight Before Christmas" has an entire puppet-based pastiche of the show, complete with Abe and Jasper as Statler and Waldorf. Katy Perry guest stars, in an appearance that was ironically filmed before controversy erupted over her Sesame Street appearance.
  • In "The Food Wife", Marge's dream sequence features multiple famous chefs following Homer on inflatable bouncy balls. One of them is the Swedish Chef.
  • In "The D'oh-cial Network", Rev. Lovejoy plays a "Which Muppet Are You?" quiz on SpringFace. He ends up getting Beaker.
  • In "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson", Kermit makes a brief cameo during the "liberal straw man's" song.
  • In "Pulpit Fiction", several of the frogs going into Springfield pass by Kermit on a rock. In the midst of the chaos, Jim Henson and Frank Oz break character and run off with Kermit still on Jim's hand.
  • In "Let's Go Fly a Coot", Milhouse complains to Kirk that he wanted the cheese at his party to be shaped like Pokémon characters. Kirk rebuttals thinking he wanted "Disney's Muppets".
• SpongeBob SquarePants:
  • In "Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture", Sandy is the boom operator of SpongeBob's movie. She says "Did somebody say boom?!" and pulls down on the plunger to cue an explosion, much like Crazy Harry's trademark gag.
  • In "ChefBob", recycled footage from The Muppets Take Manhattan appears when ChefBob gets a TV show.
• Teen Titans: In "Bunny Raven, or How to Make a Titananimal Disappear", Mumbo versions of Statler and Waldorf make snarky comments from the balcony.
• Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: In "Cloak and Swaggert", an employee of the local TV Station resembles the Muppet Theatre Gopher, Scooter.

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