×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Friday
06
Mar 2026
weather symbol
Athens 14°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Culture

How a 1980 episode of “The Muppet Show” nearly spoiled “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”

That was close...

Newsroom April 23 03:57

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a bunch of Muppets showed up on television screens across America and enchanted an entire generation of kids (and adults, and kids who are now adults). Then, the original 1978 show all but disappeared from public view.

But as of Feb. 19, “The Muppet Show” is back on screens across the country — as long as you’ve got a Disney+ subscription.

In its heyday, “The Muppet Show” was broadcast in more than 100 countries, according to the Television Academy Foundation. It’s hard to imagine another platform so powerful that it could convince a 67-year-old Gene Kelly to recreate his iconic “Singin’ in the Rain” dance, let alone with puppets.

But there’s one episode that stands out, not just because it combined two of the most popular cultural phenomena into one super phenomenon, but because it managed to unknowingly showcase spoilers for one of the biggest film releases of the century.

I am, of course, talking about the “Star Wars” episode.

In season four of “The Muppet Show,” there’s a February 1980 episode that opens on a puppet named Angus McGonagle, the Scottish “argyle gargoyle,” who is hosting the show. Out of nowhere, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO and R2-D2 burst through the wall. “They’d make much better hosts than McGonagle!” Scooter says, pushing McGonagle out the dressing room door.

“It seems we’ve landed on some sort of comedy variety show planet,” says Skywalker, on a quest to rescue a kidnapped Chewbacca. “Help,” the SOS telegram from the Wookiee reads. “I am being held prisoner by a bunch of weird turkeys”.

See Also:

EU blasts Turkey about provocations against Greece and Cyprus in report

FBI “aware” of pilot UFO sighting in New Mexico, however, FAA shoots it down (audio)

“It does rather sound like your show,” C-3PO says.

“Yeah, it does,” Kermit responds.

>Related articles

“We warn that a similar incident must not be repeated,” says Erdogan on the missile launched from Iran

The Revolutionary Guards claim they struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with drones

Between two homelands: “I’m afraid for my children,” says Israeli-Iranian Efrat

Luke’s busy searching for Chewie, so he can’t host the episode, but offers up his “cousin” Mark Hamill to handle the hosting duties. What follows is what official Disney fan club D23 calls “comedic chaos,” boasting “some of the only new Star Wars material created between the first movie in 1977 and the release of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ on May 21, 1980”.

“The Empire Strikes Back,” of course, features the first appearance of Yoda, who is himself a Henson Company puppet. Jim Henson and George Lucas were friends — Lucas actually offered the role of Yoda to Henson, who was too busy working on “The Great Muppet Caper,” and passed the offer along to Frank Oz, who voiced many of the original Muppets like Miss Piggy. But beyond that, timing and circumstance made the crossover possible.

Read more: sfgate

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#art#cinema#culture#Disney#film#movies#muppet show#spoiler#Star Wars#TV#world
> More Culture

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

“We warn that a similar incident must not be repeated,” says Erdogan on the missile launched from Iran

March 5, 2026

The Revolutionary Guards claim they struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with drones

March 5, 2026

Between two homelands: “I’m afraid for my children,” says Israeli-Iranian Efrat

March 5, 2026

From the Hamas attack to the Iran war: The order from an underground tunnel in Gaza that changed the history of the Middle East and rewrote it in blood

March 5, 2026

Tehran’s war games: Are its missile stockpiles running out, or is it conserving them for a prolonged conflict? What experts say (videos)

March 5, 2026

C-130 lands in Elefsina with 91 Greeks repatriated from Abu Dhabi

March 5, 2026

Trump: I must personally get involved in choosing Iran’s next leader – Khamenei’s son is insignificant

March 5, 2026

Mitsotakis communicates with the President of Egypt regarding developments in the Middle East

March 5, 2026
All News

> World

“We warn that a similar incident must not be repeated,” says Erdogan on the missile launched from Iran

The Turkish president sent a message that Ankara is fully prepared to face the risks arising from escalating tensions in the region, and that the government’s priority is the protection of the country’s and its citizens’ security

March 5, 2026

The Revolutionary Guards claim they struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with drones

March 5, 2026

From the Hamas attack to the Iran war: The order from an underground tunnel in Gaza that changed the history of the Middle East and rewrote it in blood

March 5, 2026

Tehran’s war games: Are its missile stockpiles running out, or is it conserving them for a prolonged conflict? What experts say (videos)

March 5, 2026

Trump: I must personally get involved in choosing Iran’s next leader – Khamenei’s son is insignificant

March 5, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα