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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Muppets’ Begins Summer Run With Shelved Episode

David Bianculli New York Daily News

On the one-year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, by sheer coincidence, ABC had scheduled an episode of “Muppets Tonight!,” featuring guest-star Sandra Bullock, in which a running gag was a bomb threat to the Muppet TV station.

Even though the jokes were tied to Bullock’s hit movie “Speed” and there never was an on-air explosion, ABC sensibly and sensitively decided to shelve the episode rather than risk offending anyone. Then the entire series wound up on the shelf, too, and is only now being resurrected for a summer run.

Having lost its titular exclamation mark while in storage, the ABC series returns Sunday at 7 (on Spokane’s KXLY-Channel 4) as “Muppets Tonight” and leads off with the episode starring Bullock.

Opposite a resurgent “60 Minutes,” the ABC series will have a tough go of it, but it’s very clear counterprogramming, and kids will love it. So will any adults who tune in, with or without their children.

ABC already has vowed “Muppets Tonight” will return next year at midseason, and its faith in the show is a commendable reaction to what has been a very funny and clever, though underwatched and underappreciated, first batch of shows.

In Sunday’s episode, for example, a Muppet variation of the Dennis Hopper character in “Speed” phones the security guard bear at the Muppets TV headquarters to warn of a bomb in the studio.

“I know,” the bear blithely replies. “I read this week’s script, too.”

Later, the caller phones again with a more specific threat. “If your ratings fall below 50,” he warns, “a bomb’s gonna go off in your studio.”

This time it’s Clifford, the “Muppets Tonight” host, who answers the phone, and he’s equally unfazed. “Are you from the network?” Clifford asks.