The Muppets to be a vital component of its increasing popularity, providing an "effective and pleasurable viewing" method of presentation for the series' educational curriculum. In the early 1970s, the Muppets continued their presence in television, primarily appearing in "The Land of Gorch" segments during the first season of "Saturday Night Live". As his involvement with "Sesame Street" continued, Henson mused about the possibility of creating a network television series featuring the Muppets; as opposed to "Sesame Street", however, this proposed series would be aimed at a more adult audience and focus largely on sketch comedy. Two pilot specials, "The Muppets Valentine
The Muppets Primetime Emmy Award nominations during its run and won four, including Outstanding Variety Series in 1978. The success of "The Muppet Show" allowed Henson Associates to diversify into theatrical films centered on the Muppets; the first of these, "The Muppet Movie", was released in 1979. Following "The Muppet Movie" were "The Great Muppet Caper" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan", released in 1981 and 1984, respectively. Collectively, the three films received four Academy Award nominations. In 1983, Henson debuted another television series, "Fraggle Rock", which ran on HBO in the United States until 1987. In the late 1980s, Henson entered discussions