DefunctTV: The History of Fraggle Rock

what's up by 1981 the main group of Muppet performers had become a family following the lead of visionary Jim Henson they'd conquer television with five seasons of The Muppet Show and the ongoing Sesame Street Jerry Nelson a talented singer with an interest in multiple genres had found a place to perform every style of music known to humans and some known only to Muppets the shy puppet builder Dave goals had more than come out of a shell creating memorable and wild characters for the Muppet Show and recent additions Steve Whitmire and Kathryn Mullen have proven to be brilliant talents fitting right into the ensemble The Muppets had done a lot for the lives and careers of these performers but the performers had given the Muppets a lot in return for one the Muppet Show shot in London and Sesame Street shot in New York this meant a lot of extended travel for the performers and their families also many of them had dedicated a good portion of their lives to a profession that Jim Henson more or less had a monopoly on while Jim Henson was relying on them to make his ideas possible the performers were relying on him to always have an idea to work on with the Muppet Show ending the schedules of Nelson golez wittmeyer and Mullen would change dramatically working on Sesame Street Muppet features and various specials would most likely not fill the time or compensation void left by Jim's decision to end the Muppet Show as a result these dedicated performers were looking to their leader for a new idea and lucky for them Jim was never short of them what was next for his team of puppeteers I want to do a children's television show that will stop war Jim said sounds simple enough hello there my name is Jim Henson and I'm a puppeteer I'm called a puppeteer because I work with puppets okay you're gonna love this story greatest story in the world [Music] in 1980 the Muppets were at the height of their success it had been a year since the hugely successful Muppet movie and the international phenomenon The Muppet Show was going into its fifth and final season well only the more dedicated or observant fans of the show could list the talents of performers such as Jerry Nelson Richard Hunt and Dave goals Jim Henson had become one of the most recognizable and famous creators on the planet his name was synonymous with the Muppets and he couldn't stand it although he had come to acknowledge the art of puppetry and had come to grips with his career as a puppeteer Jim always viewed himself as an experimental filmmaker a tinkerer at heart when he was a young boy he and his brother tinkered with radios when he was a young man working at WRC TV he pushed the limits of the television camera throughout the 60s he tried his hand an experimental film and for the past two decades he had experimented with the Muppets improving their designs functionality skits setups and appeal he had more or less perfected the Muppets and the process of creating Muppet works there was nothing big left to adjust with Kermit and the gang which meant that Jim's mind was already running to the next thing Jim's always taking an internal clock obsessive creative personality and workaholic nature meant that he would not be content being known as the Muppet man forever and over the past few years he had been developing a plan in the little free time he had Jim was developing a fantasy film tentatively titled the Crystal with the help of illustrator Brian Froud he had created an entire world in his mind with a fantastical setting and wild characters he planned to use puppets for the film but not the cute and colorful Muppets it cast a more advanced and gritty puppets to bring frowns illustrations to life he had pitched the project to Paramount using the Muppets to get his foot in the door but when it became clear that the project was very different than the Muppets that audiences had grown to love the executives had rejected it Jim wouldn't give up on the project and he planned to pitch the new film to Lord Lou grade the producer that had made the Muppet Show and The Muppet movie possible before he could Jim was stopped by his producer David laser who explained a Jim that in order to do the crystal he would need to do a Muppet movie sequel first laser believed he could greenlight both films with grade at the same time but Jim would have to delay his pet project even longer Jim was anxious to work on the crystal but he agreed to the terms lasers instincts were correct and great greenlit a second Muppet movie with a budget of 14 million dollars and the crystal for a budget of 13 million the second Muppet movie would shoot until February 6 1981 and the Muppet Workshop in London was already hard at work on building creatures for Jim's fantasy film now named the Dark Crystal in March Jim held meetings with writers Geri Jewell and Jocelyn Stephenson and Muffet builder Michael frif to discuss his new Muppet TV show idea the show that was to end all war Jim wanted the show to focus on the challenges of life using different species of Muppets that would demonstrate topics such as cooperation friendship and problem-solving just to name a few the main species of Muppets would be named the Fraggles a play on the Muppet species of Fraggles first seen in the great Santa Clause which he assigned the team the task of building the world while he turned his attention to the Dark Crystal Jim had decided to be present but more hands-off with the show putting his trust in his team to complete his vision they would not disappoint Jules Stevenson Frith and others spent months building and fleshing out the show's universe with detailed species characters and settings they placed everything in a binder with jewel and Stevenson's notes and all Fritz concept drawings the show using the working title Fraggle Hill would feature a human character living above ground and various species of Muppets living in caves and tunnels the Fraggles were written to be curious about the humans on the Earth's surface or as they called them the silly creatures from outer space and to continue this premise into the writing room itself the binder was titled things we know about the Fraggles the team wrote as if they were discovering a world instead of writing a story and when Jim checked on the progress he couldn't be more pleased still his mind was elsewhere shooting on the Dark Crystal had started in April of 1981 and Jim was fully immersed in his fantasy world both Jim and his friend and fellow puppeteer Frank Oz were directing the film Jim had tried his hand at directing with the second Muppet film just three months prior and it went well although directing a film with an established cast of characters and a familiar staff made for a safe to rec toriel debut oz who seemed to be staying with the Muppets mostly for his friendship with Jim rather than his love for the work was eager to get other credits in his filmography the two would make for a fair team of directors although oz had a harder time adjusting to the role the film would shoot throughout the summer of 1981 while pre-production on Fraggle Hill now renamed to Fraggle Rock continued on June 26 1981 the second muppet feature named the great Muppet Caper premiered the film saw Kermit Fozzie and gonzo playing reporters and investigate a series of jewel heists the musical was given original songs from Sesame Street songwriter Joe Raposo and the film was well received by critics and audiences unfortunately the film was not nearly successful as the Muppet movie with caper bringing in less than half of the Muppet movies box office gross Jim seemed unfazed from the lukewarm financial outing and he continued with production on the Dark Crystal until September of 1981 after production was complete Jim spent time checking in on the Fraggle Rock team jim's agent Bernie Brillstein began shopping the show around two networks any home for the show would it please Jim but Brillstein knew exactly what Jim and the Fraggles needed he reached a deal with the small subscription-based Network HBO which had premiered Henson's Emma daughters jug-band Christmas in the u.s. just a few years prior HBO's business model was unorthodox at the time and the company had plans to become even more unique HBO wanted to produce and distribute Fraggle Rock as their first original weekly series the peculiar business strategy meant that the company was eager to have a creative mind such as Henson to assist in their new direction the deal would come with its positives and negatives for Jim and his team the main goal of Fraggle Rock was to provide a moral baseline for children across the world an HBO subscriber base at the time less than 10 million was far from Universal and nowhere close to the over 200 million viewers Jim had grown accustomed to with the Muppet Show the main positive of the deal would be Jim's team being granted more creative control than would be allowed with typical Network productions the setup was reminiscent of the initial Muppet Show deal with Lord Lou grade in which Jim was allowed to make the show that he wanted with the risk of the limited audience due to the show being produced independently it had worked once before and Jim believed it could work again Brillstein closed the deal between HBO also reaching deals with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and British television South the show was to premiere as early as late 1982 and Jim had already relocated members of his team to Toronto to set up shop in preparation for filming The Muppet Workshop had begun building Muppets using for its designs in the world that Jewel and Stevenson had been building now consisted of four species the humans were silly creatures the harmonious and playful Fraggles the workaholic Doozers and the dim-witted and large gorgs the advanced robotics technology developed for the Dark Crystal would bring both the Doozer and the gorks to life while the Fraggles would be traditional Muppet characters Jim was thrilled with the work that his team had completed and was particularly impressed with their ability to fulfill his vision without his involvement although his praise would be translated into his typical nod hum and an occasional meet the regular Muppet performers not including Henson Oz and Richard Hunt were assigned the main Fraggle characters gobo Fraggle the brave Explorer would be performed by Jerry Nelson Wembley Fraggle the non-confrontational naive and energetic best friend of gobo would be performed by Steve Whitmire red Fraggle the confident athlete would be performed by frequent performer Karen prowl mokey Fraggle the calm dreamer would be performed by Catherine Mullen and Boober Fraggle the cautious Debbie Downer would be performed by Dave goals fools would also perform Gil Bo's uncle uncle travelling Matt the bravest Fraggle that explores earth or as the Fraggles call it outer space Richard Hunt and Jim Henson would perform signed characters are regularly and many more characters would be introduced throughout the show there was said to be 10,000 Fraggles in total living throughout Fraggle Rock although the series only had time to meet a few of them in December of 1981 news of the Fraggle Rock HBO deal broke the report announced 36 episodes of the new show listening some of the show's characters and describing Fraggle Rock as a small place existing just beyond everyday reality the next month as Fraggle rocks first episode production date neared and post-production on the Dark Crystal hit full swing unexpected news would distract him from the former and shake his confidence in the latter producer Lord Lou grade had been ousted from his own production company by a ruthless entrepreneur named Robert Holmes a court this not only meant that Jim would no longer be working with his friend grade but it also meant that his passion project was in the hands of a billionaire who couldn't care less about it while the situation was out of his hands Jim attempted to find a solution to the problem when it was time to shoot the first episode of season 1 of Fraggle Rock in March of 1982 the fun show was a welcome distraction from the issues developing with the Dark Crystal [Music] dan at Fraggle Rock since the show was greenlit without a pilot HBO wanted to see what the show would look like so the first episode would begin production on March 10th in 1982 with almost a month break before the second episode shoot to give time for any necessary adjustments Jim would be present for the shoot although he would not direct or perform in the episode a testament to just how autonomist the Fraggle Rock team had become it was Jim's concept ambition and name that had made the production possible but it was jewel forth Stephenson and the rest of the team that had made the show possible the first episode entitled the 30-minute work week when nailed to shows format and tone right out of the gate and the drastic changes needed to make Sesame Street and The Muppet Show work would not be necessary with Fraggle Rock the episode began with the silly creature doc played by Jerry Parks entering his workshop and greeting his dog sprocket a muppet formed by Steve Whitmire the episode focused on decision making and how to support friends when making decisions the theme began with sprocket not being able to decide with her teenage jelly doughnut or a custard doughnut as doc waits for his decision gobo sneaks into the workshop to grab a postcard from his uncle Matt thanks for breaking my fall red after this gobo and red make their way back into Fraggle Rock blue screen was used for many shots in the show this included moving characters throughout the expanse of caves of Fraggle Rock and making the Fraggles appear smaller next to the gorgs the blue screen technique known in the industry as a travelling Matt gave uncle travelling Matt his name after returning to Fraggle Rock the main part of the show was set up Wembley is having a difficult time choosing a job to do at Fraggle Rock you're going to do I just don't decide well and all this friends sing a song about how great working is although their definition of work is much different than that of the silly creatures and of the Doozers the characters then help Wembley with his decision mokey shows him her job which is gathering radishes from the home of the gorgs this introduces the only three gorgs to appear on screen PAH gorg voiced by Jerry Nelson mah gorg voiced by Myra freed and junior gorg voiced by Richard Hunt and one of the semi-regular roles on the series pas and ma gorg believed themselves to be the king and queen of the universe with junior gorg being the prince of the universe junior gorg is the guard of the kingdom protecting the gate and attempting to capture the Fraggles who keep stealing their radishes back in Fraggle Rock gobo reads the postcard from his Uncle Matt who has recently tested out one of the silly creatures modes of transportation which in reality is just a rollercoaster the sequence filmed on Canada's Wonderland wild beast coaster featured a cameo appearance by Dave goals operating uncle travelling Matt in the seat next to him with a false arm draped over the back of the car Wembley eventually appeals to Marjorie the trash heap performed by Jerry Nelson the all-knowing Oracle to the Fraggles Marjorie lives with two small creatures Philo performed by Dave goals and gunge performed by Richard hunt Marjorie gives Wembley the idea to become a fireman and Wembley's thrilled to have come to the decision when we asked to join the volunteer firemen and they accept him immediately the episode ends in the workshop with sprocket still having a difficult time making his decision the episode was endearing warm and funny the songs composed by Philip balsam with lyrics by Dennis Lee were fun and catchy the duo would continue to write original songs for the show and the music would be one of the strongest aspects of the program the writing was also hilarious with great segments and bits and the tone was just right work is an enriching experience yeah tedium and drudgery are good for the song unlike the Muppet Show which was loud and explosive Fraggle Rock was soothing a tranquil although characters did yell and chaos sometimes ensued they had a different intensity with the group of Fraggles the Fraggles were problem solvers and the main five were specifically designed to have skills and flaws that played well with the others for instance gobos adventurous nature clashes with goobers cautious personality Wembley's and securities clash with Reds confidence these clear differences do not drive the group apart but instead hold them together as they appreciate and recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses and even use their varying traits to help them solve problems the vision of togetherness was a core piece of Jim's pitch for the show the other was delivering that message to an international audience and the team had designed the format to do just that the segment's with Doc and sprocket were made to be wrap arounds or as Jim called them home bases in North America viewers would see doc and sprockets but children in other countries might see a different character their dog and a hole to Fraggle Rock the core puppet segments of the show would remain the same but international markets were given the option to create their own doc and sprocket segments making the series a co-production with the country or region only the UK France and Germany would take this option in the UK the character of Doc was changed to the captain a retired sailor living in a lighthouse who's a bit harsher than doc not even addressed to us in France the character would still be named doc but was instead a chef working in a bakery with his dog croque het gaat i didn't know me go boo alligator no good finally in germany doc and sprocket remained the same as in north america with the same scenes reshot in german and other countries decided to simply dub the entire show rather than create their own segments but the fact that the brand-new show already had a chance at the international market was a victory in its own right the week after the first episode of Fraggle Rock finished filming Jim was already back at work on the Dark Crystal the film's story was typical of fantasy a young boy Jen would attempt to heal the powerful Dark Crystal where the evil Skeksis would rule forever the story was nothing extraordinary and screenwriter David O'Dell was handcuffed to the world that Jim had created in his head in March 1982 the first cut of the film was complete and Jim was confident in his work the confidence was misplaced the scene in which the Jim was most proud the Skeksis banquet scene saw the grotesque creatures slopping on various foods and talking in a made-up language this scene was a production designers dream but it was an editor's nightmare it did nothing to progress the plot and without subtitles or recognizable dialogue it came across as gibberish Jim Saud is an experiment in filmmaking but after a heartbreaking cut screen which the executives were stunned at how bizarre the film was it was clear that Jim needed to make changes it was one thing to make a 10 minute experimental film packed full of symbolism but it was another to make it 100 minute experiment and visual storytelling and billed it as a fantasy adventure Jim made the changes but after Holmes a court and the new executives demanded Jim change bigger parts of the film Jim took it as an attack on the underlying idea of his work Jim had been worried about the scenario for some time and he had concocted a plan he was going to buy the Dark Crystal back from Holmes a court for fifteen million dollars a move that could only and would only be pulled off by someone like Jim Henson Jim obtained the rights to the film now only having to convince it's worth to its distributor Universal Pictures while Jim was fighting one of the most unique financial and creative battles ever fought in the entertainment industry the Fraggle team was having a great time singing and dancing in Toronto in mid-april 1982 production went into full swing on season 1 they were supposed to get 12 episodes completed by August which meant that they had to work at an episode per week pace similar to that of The Muppet Show it wouldn't be long until Jim took a break from the Dark Crystal drama to join his friends in Toronto he would direct four of the show's first 12 episodes including an episode titled beginnings which would be the first episode to air and would introduce audiences to the world of Fraggle Rock the episode featured doc entering the worn down room that he would build into his workshop moving a box along one of the walls revealing a large hole behind it on the other side was uncle traveling Matt who've used his new passageway to outer space he returns to his nephew gobo to explain the he will be leaving to explore outer space and the he needs gobo to pick up messages from him the to sing the suite follow me as Uncle Matt embarks on his adventure [Music] and me away Jim would also perform two characters in the show convincing John a charismatic manipulative faux priest Fraggle and Kansas the minstrel a relaxed wise musician I say one two lay me do let me sound as sweet as you after filming wrapped on the first half of Fraggle rocks first season the Muppet team remained in Toronto to film the fantastic Miss Piggy show a star-studded special starring the Muppets resident star Miss Piggy without the Muppet Show it was important for Jim to create specials and make appearances with the main cast of Muppets to keep attention on the characters in between films Jim was already planning for a third Muppet feature and although he did not want to take attention away from the Dark Crystal the world still wanted more Kermit and it especially wanted more Miss Piggy the characters would also film another special with John Denver entitled Rocky Mountain holiday in late 1982 Jim and oz made the rounds in the press promoting the Dark Crystal which was set to release in December he spent a good portion of the interviews explaining what the film was and even more time explaining what it was not it was not another Muppet movie when the film finally premiered on December 17th of 1982 critics and audiences were split some loved it some hated it and most felt it was just okay what seemed to be anonymous was that Jim Henson and Brian Froud creative mind was on the screen but as had been expected the story fell flat for many viewers luckily for Jim's gamblin buying the film the Dark Crystal performed well at the box office making over sixty million dollars worldwide just a month later on January 10th 1983 Fraggle Rock premiered in North America and the response was overwhelmingly positive the characters the themes the music the puppetry everything about the show seemed to work right away this was great news for the team and as the first episodes of Fraggle Rock began to air the cast and crew returned to Toronto to film the remaining episodes of season one Jim would stop by on occasion directing three more episodes in the season the performers were integral in the show success and nelson singing skills and wit myers performance sold the friendship between gobo and Wembley in their performance of the catchy wembling fool would be one of the most memorable moments of season 1 [Music] the final episode of season 1 would air on July 4th 1983 just two months after the season had wrapped filming in total 24 episodes had been produced the team would be back to work in September with the entire team returning with the exception of Myra freed who was replaced by Cheryl Wagner for the voice of Maude for season 2 would premiere on January 2nd 1984 the series was steadily securing the international audience that Jim had hoped and eventually would be shown in over 90 countries as the series progressed the mythos deepened with many episodes revealing different unique things about the fraggles doozers and gorgs season 2 would also notably introduce cotterpin doozer performed by Katherine Bowen and one of the rare episodes directed by Jim in the episode cotterpin is not content with her life as a Doozer and would much rather be a Fraggle through the series the Fraggles have viewed the Doozers as workaholics while the Doozers have viewed the Fraggles as lazy hippies this episode bridges the connection between the Doozers and the Fraggles and the story revealed much more about the Doozers species than originally known for one most of the Doozers are named after construction equipment also all of the Doozers were believed to be the exact same doing nothing but construction this was a belief held by cotterpin as well who did not want to take her construction hat through the episode cotterpin knew she couldn't be a Doozer and later realized that she couldn't be a Fraggle either it wasn't until the end of the episode that she found her true calling architect Doozer the head of construction for the Doozers revealed to her that he also didn't want to take the Hat you know isn't necessary for all Doozers to take the helmet a few of us take the drawing board cotterpin continued to appear throughout the series and the Fraggles and Doozers began to interact more the Fraggles and the gorgs particularly junior would also develop a relationship proving the show's theme of unity among differences season 2 of Fraggle Rock would consist of 24 episodes with the final episode airing on June 11th 1984 by this point the team was already at work on season 3 completing six episodes before taking a break in production the first episode of season 3 would air in Canada on December 24th 1984 and it would be the show's Christmas episode the Belles of Fraggle Rock always up for a good Christmas special Jim appeared as Cantus the minstrel in the episode season 3 of Fraggle Rock would air until May 27 to 1985 the was the seasons 22nd episode despite 24 being produced HBO had decided to split the fourth and final season of the show in half which would have made four to 12 episode seasons but they instead took the final two episodes of season three and held them for season four resulting in two standard 13 episode seasons instead season 4 of Fraggle Rock would air until March 31st 1986 similarly season 5 would air from January 5th to March 30th 1987 in a second-to-last episode of the series Cantus returns for the song of songs but in order to perform the number he must create the honk of Honk's he assigns gobo to find the honk of Honk's and gobo goes to everyone that he knows Marjory the trash heap the Doozers and even the gorgs trying to assemble the pieces for the honk of Honk's when it's still not enough Cantus pulls him aside and tells him that everyone must be included and then he must touch the silly creature from outer space gobo ventures out into outer space just as doc gets a call from his neighbor Ned who's going to have to move because of health problems gobo touches Doc's hand and comforts him doc looks down and sees the Fraggle for the first time Polly you you can see me can't I doc gives him the swoop boomer the party favor he had given a name in the show's first season this completes the honk of Honk's and the song of songs commences at the end of the episode doc decides that he and sprocket need to be with their friend Ned even if he's moving in the final episode of the show gobo travels to outer space once again to talk to doc and sprocket as they prepare to move with net gobo explains that the Fraggles call the humans silly creatures don't apologize I think it's a very good name for it doc invites gobo to move with them and explore outer space but gobo declines the offer disappointed that he didn't have the courage to leave Fraggle Rock he goes to Margery for advice and she tells gobo that he needs to tell doc that the message gobo and the rest of the Fraggle 5 run back to outer space to find that the workshop has been emptied and Doc and sprocket have moved gobos friends comfort him saying that they would never leave him he then realizes the trash heap didn't say the doc shouldn't leave the magic she said he couldn't gobo then discovers a new tunnel in Fraggle Rock just as doc moves into his new home finding a box leaning against the wall as he begins to wonder whether another Fraggle hole could be behind that wall the box begins to move and gobo comes out telling him that he couldn't lead the magic the entire cast come together to sing the refrain to the Fraggle Rock theme as the credits roll down at Fraggle Rock Fraggle Rock was unlike any children's show ever created and its target age demographic was difficult to decipher like most Muffet productions there was something for everyone but Fraggle Rock in particular had a few moments that were so deep in nuance for production of its kind that it was almost surreal it's not important now everything is important either that or nothing is I prefer the former Fraggle Rock never attempted to teach letters or numbers like Sesame Street and it didn't tackle everyday issues children encounter as directors shows the followed Attwood the characters weren't just a colorful group of friends that were always nice and got along gobo was Moody red was egocentric and Boober was negative but they found ways to communicate and overcome these issues to have deeper friendships the show did exactly what Jim intended it gave children around the world a baseline set of morals acceptance problem-solving diversity and unity and then challenged the young audiences to think about bigger topics such as friendship life and existence Jim wanted to create a show that would end war and in 1989 the Soviet Union aired an episode of Fraggle Rock who was an immediate ratings success and it would become the first Western series to air on Soviet television just over six months later the Berlin Wall fell sure it was a coincidence at the end of the Cold War began around the same time the Fraggle Rock began airing regularly in the state but Jim would take it everyone is magic the silly creatures are just sometimes too silly to remember that you cannot leave the magic back in 1983 Jim and his team prepared to shoot a third Muppet feature at the same time fraud and Henson began developing a second feature film together at the same time Jim was planning a new mini series showing puppeteers from around the world and at the same time Jim was still helping on Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street although his team had proved that they could deliver his vision just fine without him the rate that he was coming up and executing new ideas seemed unsustainable as much as Jim believed in the nature and spirit of the Fraggles it was clear that Jim was no Fraggle he was a Doozer at heart he worked every day worried that he would have enough time for all of his plans as if his time were running out and although he didn't know it it was this episode of defunct TV is sponsored by Squarespace yes Cody and the bosses website is blowing up and it's because Cody finally used Squarespace thanks to Squarespace is SEO optimized website templates tons of traffic is flowing to their site and now Squarespace is offering a free trial and 10% off your first purchase just go to squarespace.com slash defunct land and use the code defunct land or click the link in the description to sign up and start designing your website that's squarespace.com / defunct land code defunct land

Channel: Defunctland

Views: 483,265

Rating: 4.960238 out of 5

Keywords: defunctland, kevin perjurer, theme park, extinct, abandoned, defunct, history, disney, disneyland, disney world, previous, attractions, on ride, lights on, muppets, muppets history, jim henson, jim henson history, fraggle rock, fraggle rock history, fraggle rock full episodes, fraggle rock season, gobo wembley uncle traveling matt red mokey boober, dark crystal, dark crystal history

Id: Rl4mlq6zAxw

Length: 29min 40sec (1780 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 12 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Penguinscanfly44]

Dark Crystal bonus! IMO Dark Crystal had a lot of problems, for sure, but it was also visually stunning and a technical marvel.

[u/[deleted]]

I'm a much bigger fan of the ride videos than DefunctTV but these Jim Henson videos are on a whole nother level.

[u/SixteenthRiver06]

“YouTube savior, Defunctland, blesses the internet forever with another video.”

I fixed the title for you.

[u/LunarxSeven]

It's here! I'll curl up under my covers and watch it just before bed.

[u/mimitchi33]

I've only seen the Christmas special and liked it. It had a very Mister Rogers-esque feel.