Jim Henson’s variety series from the '70s and '80s began streaming on Disney+ this past weekend.
However, in light of this nice little throwback in the form of 'The Muppets Show', eagle-eyed fans have spotted that some episodes have been omitted from the line-up, while others come with a disclaimer, or have been edited to remove a sequence.
The reason for the disclaimer appearing at the top of the 18 episodes is due to outdated depictions of people or cultures. Among the episodes which feature the text include those with Steve Martin, Johnny Cash, Spike Milligan, and Debbie Harry as special guests.
The disclaimer reads: "This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.
"These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together."
"Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe. To learn more about how stories have impacted society visit: www. Disney.com/StoriesMatter."
The episodes which feature a segment missing is mostly down to Disney not being able to secure the music rights to a particular song. A representative for Disney+ confirmed this with Entertainment Weekly. When it first aired during the '70s and '80s, 'The Muppet Show' was not able to make the transition over to home video for many years, due to the same problem.
One Redditor undertook the arduous task and went through each of the 118 episodes to note down the changes that have been made.
One episode from 'The Muppet Show' back catalogue has been removed entirely, however. The episode which features guest star Chris Langham, who was found in possession of child pornography in 2007, will most likely never see the light of day again.
Still though, there's a fantastic opportunity to head back down memory lane with the zany puppets on Disney+. The likes of Mark Hamill, Shirley Bassey, Gladys Knight, Julie Andrews, and Sylvester Stallone with many more feature throughout the variety series.
