November 8

The Muppet Movie, 1979

Welcome back to another installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Blake and Dion are covering a classic that is turning 40 this year, Jim Henson‘s masterpiece, The Muppet Movie, from 1979!

The boys also unpack the ground-breaking Sesame Street program which is also sharing a birthday, turning 50 this year, and the backstory of getting the show on the air in 1969. They track Jim Henson’s journey through public television to the hugely successful Muppet Show, and to the 1979 Movie. So come on down as Dion and Blake jump into their 1951 Studebaker Commander and hit the road, on this all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Check out the hilarious 1978 Camera Test footage of Jim Henson and Frank Oz taking their characters to the English countryside!

Have a look at the extended scene at the El Sleezo Cafe!

Take a look at the extended chase scene!

December 21

Emmet Otter’s Jug~Band Christmas , 1977

Welcome to another Holiday Edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! To close out 2018 J. Blake and Dion Baia are showcasing a cult Christmas classic that is getting some much-deserved love in recent years. They’re tackling the Jim Henson holiday classic, Emmet Otter’s Jug~Band Christmas, from 1977!

The boys lovingly unpack this once lost holiday gem that is celebrating its 40th anniversary in ‘the states’ this year. Dion and Blake utilize the original 1971 source book by Russell and Lillian Hoban for reference, and can’t hold back their utter amazement at the technical prose of the Jim Henson team and the unbridled magic they are able to create. Mixed with the genius that is Paul Williams and his music, they layout a Christmas Special that may have more film cuts than Blade Runner. So come pull up a chair and a have a listen as the boys grab their Mom’s washtub and head down to Waterville and Frogtown Hollow, on an all new holiday installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Extras!

Please go listen to J. Blake‘s 2014 Blues album, When You Coming Home?, as discussed in this week’s episode. 

Here’s Dion with Paul Williams when they met at an Emmet Otter event in Queens, in December 2018.

Check out these hilarious outtakes from the 1977-78 Christmas Special!

Have a listen to this amazing soundtrack, which has been released for the first time this year, showcasing the genius that is Paul Williams.

Here’s an unused song from the special, written for the meek Music Store Owner, titled Born in a Trunk!

Lastly, take a look at this stirring rendition of the song “When the River Meets the Sea“, song by Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold at Jim Henson’s Memorial Service.