The Sam and Friends Script Book

Written by	Craig Shemin
Published	August 29, 2025 (hardcover) September 24, 2025 (paperback)
Publisher	BearManor Media
Pages	284
ISBN	979-8-88771-505-6

The Sam and Friends Script Book by Craig Shemin reprints 61 archival scripts from Sam and Friends. It is a followup to his 2022 book Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show.

The book was intended for release on September 24, 2025 to coincide with Jim Henson's birthday; the hardcover was released nearly 4 weeks earlier with the September 24 date reserved for the paperback edition.

Contents

• Foreword by Dave Goelz
• Introduction
• The Sam and Friends Cast of Characters
• A Reader's Guide
• The Sam and Friends Scripts

• Chapter 1: Getting to Know the Characters
  • “The Big Introduction”
  • “National Mushmellon Day”
  • “National Yorick Day”
  • “The Coming Season”

• Chapter 2: Intros and Bits
  • “Eye of the Hurricane”
  • “Back in Baltimore”
  • “Lemonade”
  • “Tick-Tock-Sick”
  • “There's a New Sound”

• Chapter 3: Fun with NBC
  • “Huntley and Brinkley”
  • “Beat the Press”

• Chapter 4: The World of Politics
  • “Yankee Doodle / Spirit of the Crystal Ball”
  • “The Spirit of the Crystal Ball”
  • “Khrushchev Questionnaire Bit”
  • “Sam for President: Part 1”
  • “Sam for President: Part 2”
  • “The Great Debate”

• Chapter 5: Making (Up) History
  • “Olympic Report: Part 1”
  • “Olympic Report: Part 2”
  • “Rocket Ship”
  • “Space Launch”

• Chapter 6: The Poet’s Corner
  • “The Poet’s Corner”
  • “Birds and Flowers and Soft Summer Breezes and Stuff”
  • “Limericks”
  • “Organ on Wheels”

• Chapter 7: Parodies
  • “The Three Little Pigs”
  • “Punsmoke (Powderburn)”
  • “Open Ing”
  • “The Unmentionables”
  • “The Sam and Friends News Report”
  • “Tex”
  • “The First Annual TV Whammy Awards”

• Chapter 8: Muppety Stuff
  • “Ghost Interview”
  • “The Drain Dweller” (Revised Version)
  • “The Marination”
  • “Fisby the Robot”
  • “Words of Wisdom”
  • “The Geranthymum”
  • “Public Opinion Poll”
  • “Hammer Bit: Part 1”
  • “Hammer Bit: Part 2”
  • “Moldy’s Clock”
  • “Bird Watching”
  • “The Weather Warehouse”

• Chapter 9: The Jokebook Nook
  • “The Laugh Meter”
  • “Fixing the Laugh Meter”
  • “The Committee for Honest Programming”
  • “Fisby and the Jokebook Nook”

• Chapter 10: Technical Stuff
  • “Camera Number Two”
  • “Videotape”

• Chapter 11: Brought to You by Esskay
  • “Esskay 1959 Sales Meeting”
  • “Esskay Super Sales Meeting”

• Chapter 12: Holidays
  • “Christmas”
  • “Omar Buys a Puppet”
  • “A Poet’s Corner Christmas”
  • “Washington’s Birthday”
  • “Easter Bunny Bit”

• Chapter 13: Jerry Juhl Scripts
  • “The Dancing Donnellys”
  • “Pachalafaka”

• Chapter 14: Goodbyes
  • “1960–1961 Season Finale”
  • “The Last Show”

• Acknowledgements
• About the Authors
• Photo Credits