Chris Langham was naturally funny. He looked funny and could use his looks successfully. On his radio/TV series "People Like Us" he's never seen but he's never less than hilarious.
Here, Langham is a messenger boy conscripted by Kermit when the scheduled guest star doesn't show up. And his rendition of "Hawaiian Cowboy" is enough to make this episode a classic.
I watched "The Muppet Show" regularly but never saw this episode on American TV. I suppose it suffered the fate of the English Music Hall songs few American know, which may have been cut for time or because they were too English. And that was before his legal problems.
One of the great lost episodes.
If I may take this moment to address his legal problems, it's been speculated that's why Season 5 isn't released intact. That's too bad. The nature of the complaint is pretty appalling. Conductor James Levine had to step down for similar accusations, and I've read where people want to deny themselves the joy of playing Levine's lovely albums because of it.
An estimated 1500 writers and their works disappeared forever in the Soviet Union. They can't all have been good, but undoubtedly some were. And they vanished forever for the crime of not being Socialist enough.
I hate seeing America go that route. Good is good, and playing the album or reading a book or watching a TV episode by someone who committed (or was accused of committing) a disgusting crime is not an endorsement of that crime. Separate the artist and the art, people. If charges are true and they've done time, or if the charges merely hang like a dark cloud, that person's life is ruined. But if the work is good, there's no crime in enjoying it. Though one may feel bad about what might have been if that person hadn't been an idiot.
One day charges may be laid against you, rightly or wrongly, that ruin your life. The Golden Rule in everything. Besides, we keep releasing movies and TV shows all the time that feature criminals.
Here, Langham is a messenger boy conscripted by Kermit when the scheduled guest star doesn't show up. And his rendition of "Hawaiian Cowboy" is enough to make this episode a classic.
I watched "The Muppet Show" regularly but never saw this episode on American TV. I suppose it suffered the fate of the English Music Hall songs few American know, which may have been cut for time or because they were too English. And that was before his legal problems.
One of the great lost episodes.
If I may take this moment to address his legal problems, it's been speculated that's why Season 5 isn't released intact. That's too bad. The nature of the complaint is pretty appalling. Conductor James Levine had to step down for similar accusations, and I've read where people want to deny themselves the joy of playing Levine's lovely albums because of it.
An estimated 1500 writers and their works disappeared forever in the Soviet Union. They can't all have been good, but undoubtedly some were. And they vanished forever for the crime of not being Socialist enough.
I hate seeing America go that route. Good is good, and playing the album or reading a book or watching a TV episode by someone who committed (or was accused of committing) a disgusting crime is not an endorsement of that crime. Separate the artist and the art, people. If charges are true and they've done time, or if the charges merely hang like a dark cloud, that person's life is ruined. But if the work is good, there's no crime in enjoying it. Though one may feel bad about what might have been if that person hadn't been an idiot.
One day charges may be laid against you, rightly or wrongly, that ruin your life. The Golden Rule in everything. Besides, we keep releasing movies and TV shows all the time that feature criminals.
