Sure. You can't blame them for stuff beyond their control, but maybe that wasn't the best time to attempt a series that was essentially presented to the audience as the new Muppet Show.

*increasingly befuddled*
Phenomena!

But they never would have known Bobo and Pepe were funny if they hadn't tried them out. The trick is to not forget about the classic characters while bringing in new ones, but at that time they were still adjusting to the deaths of Jim Henson and Richard Hunt and the sporadic availability of Frank Oz.

The Jim Henson Hour is unlikely because ownership of the various elements is split between Henson and Disney.

It was on TGIF at first, then it got pulled from the schedule, and they burned off the season one episodes on Sunday evenings that summer. The second season, as mentioned in the article, was on the Disney Channel.

I'm a big fan of Johnny Fiama as well. The Sinatra schtick wasn't quite like anything the Muppets had done before, and the episode where he gets nervous around Tony Bennett is one of the best of the series.

*Kermit squishy face*
Phenomena?

Kermit came to her office because strange creatures were appearing every time he said the word "phenomena."

Muppets Tonight was better and funnier than it gets credit for… but it was also strikingly sexist.

And they were all bad news for the Tanners!

Yeah, he was D.J.'s friend's cousin, and he gave Stephanie the speech about how glasses are cool. It was actually a different sitcom, Step by Step, that had the jetpack entrance.

They did that schtick in a fairly brilliant video Cookie Monster and Elmo did for Entertainment Weekly: https://www.youtube.com/wat…

And Emma Stone was only five years old.

That I've Got a Secret show is on the fantastic Marx Bros. TV Collection DVD set that was released last year. I was surprised the panelists didn't catch on quicker given how unprepared Chico seemed at communicating without speaking… but on the other hand, it's not like they had seen either brother's face on a movie…

Halle Berry… as a character named "Sharon Stone!" How many writers do you suppose that one took?

For whatever reason, a lot of those movies based on old TV shows are about a villain's attempts to take a large sum of money away from the protagonist. This one, The Addams Family, The Beverly Hillbillies, Richie Rich (if that counts)…

When you're a kid, you don't know how Berenstain is spelled. That's pretty much all there is to it.

The new show will reportedly feature Rowlf owning a karaoke bar across the street from the studio, so you could be on to something.

Forever.

I used to get him confused with Jay Thomas.