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 "The Muppet Show" ended its five-year run. "The Muppets Comic Strip" was printed daily from 1981 to 1986. By the end of its initial run, the comic strip was seen in over 660 newspapers worldwide. Special strips were also created in color, exclusively for issues of "Muppet Magazine". The only film in the franchise to see a comic book adaptation was "The Muppets Take Manhattan". The comic book series was adapted by Marvel Comics in 1984, as the 68-page story in "Marvel Super Special" No. 32, August. The adaptation was later re-printed into three limited series issues, released under Marvel's