Tag: #SomethingElseSunday

Lastly, this #SomethingElseSunday, we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! Here’s a character you’ve seen many times, but you may really only remember from one particular sketch. From the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s Link Hogthrob!

While Link was first seen as part of the expanded cast during The Muppet Show Theme from the beginning of The Muppet Show season two onward, his speaking debut was on Episode 203 (Milton Berle) where he was featured as the captain of the Swinetrek on the reoccurring Pigs in Space sketch.

Unlike his resident scientist pig, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Link was featured in dozens of sketches over the last four seasons of the show, on top of the dozens of Pigs in Space bits. The character and voice were usually a play on a stereotypical male bravado, but I have to think Captain Kirk was also an inspiration for at least the Pigs in Space segments.

In the Palisades toy line, Link made his debut with series 4 along with Dr. Julius Strangepork. This seemed like a risky choice to me at the time, considering the First Mate Piggy included with the Pigs in Space Playset didn’t come out until wave six. The figure is a pretty excellent likeness of the character in a shiny purple suit with a silver cape. Accessories include a ray gun, a ‘Starhog’ magazine, and a miniature model of the Swinetrek ship.

#TheMuppets70

Recommended video: The Muppet Show Episode 307 Pigs in Space Sketch

For this #SomethingElseSunday, we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! You surely recognize this drummer and know his name. From the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s Animal!

Animal (with The Electric Mayhem band) made his debut on The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, which aired FIFTY YEARS AGO this month! In Animal’s first appearance, he was so wild that he was chained up when in-between musical acts. While his chains have been visible from time to time throughout Animal’s history, he has broken free of just being a freaky part of the band and is now used nearly as much as any character in the Muppets roster.

Unlike the rest of the Electric Mayhem, Animal’s popularity garnered his inclusion in the animated Muppet Babies series. Also, for the 1998 Winter Olympics, Animal was the mascot of the U.S. snowboarding team.

In the Palisades toy line, Animal made his debut with series 2 when included in the Electric Mayhem Playset. The figure is pretty unique as it is the only one in the line (besides the much larger Sweetums figure) with movable parts on his face featuring an articulated jaw. For Animal fans unable to pick up the playset, he was also available as a retailer and convention exclusive in a handful of different shirt styles.

#TheMuppets70

Recommended video: Animal Compilation

On this #SomethingElseSunday, we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! You likely recognize this saxophone player but don’t always remember his name. From the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s Zoot!

Zoot (and the rest of The Electric Mayhem band) made his debut on The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, which aired FIFTY YEARS AGO this past week. When The Muppet Show started in full the following year, he continued to perform with The Electric Mayhem as well as The Muppet Orchestra.

The character is notable for playing the final note of “The Muppet Show Theme” in the closing credits on all but two episodes of The Muppet Show. The only exceptions were episode 123 when the band was on strike and episode 514 when Beaker clones replaced the band. Despite his skin tone changing from gray to blue to green, and his nose going from green to yellow, Zoot has remained a cool character in dozens of Muppet projects over the past 50 years.

For the Palisades toy line, Zoot was released in wave three in a blue hat, rust-red shirt, and a gold saxophone, which depicted his Muppet Short season two look. He also had a chase version with a brown hat, tan shirt, and silver sax which is more akin to his look from season three (though he did wear the blue hat during the end credits for seasons 3-5).

#TheMuppets70

Recommended video: Zoot End Credit Montage

For this #SomethingElseSunday, we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! Today, we’re getting spooky with the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s a Muppet Ghost!

Ghosts popped up a few times on The Muppet Show starting with a trio of ghosts in season one that haunted both Fozzie Bear and Gonzo. Slight variations have shown up with male and female ghosts appearing as recently as the Muppets Haunted Mansion special in 2021. The character is typically filmed against a black or blue background. Then, they are composited into the final show to make them appear floating and semi-transparent.

For the Palisades toy line, a white Muppet Ghost was included on a clear stand as an accessory with the Uncle Deadly figure. It was then repainted as a glow-in-the-dark version and released in clear plastic. I have yet to pick up those two variants, so I also repainted mine to GITD.

#TheMuppets70

Recommended video: Muppet Ghosts- I’m Looking Through You

So, this #SomethingElseSunday, we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! I know that you’ll recognize this guy from the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s The Swedish Chef!

The Swedish Chef debuted on The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence special in early 1975 which served as the second pilot for The Muppet Show. From this December 1974 taping all the way until The Muppets at Walt Disney World in 1990, Chef was performed by Jim Henson himself.

The character appeared in over 30 episodes during the initial run of The Muppet Show with sketches from his kitchen and has made dozens of other appearances since whenever anything culinary related comes into play for a Muppet project.

For the Palisades toy line, Chef in his blue striped shirt was included in the pictured Swedish Kitchen Playset and nearly 40 other accessories to fill out the set piece. The figure was repainted twice for single releases with new accessories based on additional Muppet Show episodes.

#TheMuppets70

Recommended video: Swedish Chef Montage