The Jim Henson Company

[Dacey]

I'm loving the production values on this. And I think I even kind of like female Doc (probably not her name).

[EricJ]

I’m still not entirely sure who this is for…

Well, gotta remember, in 1983, the Dora/Sophia/Paw Patrol world of kiddy-cable as we know it today barely even existed--
We saw another Henson series, and thought it was the next cult-TV followup to the Muppet Show.

(And those of us who didn't have emerging HBO yet in the suburbs, in the primordial pre-1984 days of cable, would have sold plasma to get a peek. I remember, when I would go on vacation, deliberately checking to see whether the hotels had HBO, and whether I'd be there on a Monday night.)

By the time Hulu finally did that made-for-streaming "Doozers" spinoff a couple years ago, actually as a Disney Jr. style "fourth-wall problem-solving" series, it was lost in an already glutted industry.
If it helps kids to remember what WE grew up with, that's educational TV.

[Ben]

Well yes, yes and yes, obvs.

But that's also exactly why I’m wondering who this is for…!?

(BTW, in the UK, where Henson already had many ties due to his whole production outfit basically being here since the early-mid 70s, we got the "English" version of Fraggles — various countries had tailored Docs, ours was a Scot — on the same regular channel as carried The Muppet Show, albeit in morning and after-school afternoon kids slots as opposed to the primetime Muppets, so we got quite good, lots of exposure to it here.)

[Randall]

With Fraggle Rock's main production being located in Toronto, as a co-pro with the CBC, we Canucks got to see it on CBC, coast-to-coast-to-coast. (Same with Emmett Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, which was on HBO in the States.) Fraggle Rock was heavily promoted in all media. It was shown on Sunday, at 5:30pm. I only watched a little of it, feeling it was aimed at a younger audience, though that didn't stop me from getting the series on Blu-ray to enjoy it with new appreciation.

Seriously, FR got a huge push here, even on CBC's hard-hitting journalism show:
https://www.vidoevo.com/video/b3NRZmNPc ... l-cbc-1983

[Dacey]

I guess this is an obvious question, but why isn't this on Disney+? Heck, Disney had a Fraggle Rock movie in development hell for several years. I assumed they had the rights.

[Randall]

Fraggle Rock is still a Henson property. They could have chosen to work with Disney on it, but didn't.

[EricJ]

Lisa Henson(?) HAD the Rock at Disney in the 00's, ever since the Henson deal was made re-official, and was trying to make a "The Search for Uncle Matt" movie for about as long as they were trying to do that Dark Crystal sequel movie. And similarly, I'm guessing the options expired.

So, Netflix got Dark Crystal's project, and Apple got Fraggle Rock's.

various countries had tailored Docs, ours was a Scot

From what I saw on one making-of, the French had a chef in a restaurant kitchen, with his dog--wait for it--Croquette.

[Dacey]

Some strong early praise…


https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/features/ ... ock-reboot

[James]

Henson TV Enlists ‘The Walking Dead’ Star Norman Reedus to Create New Creature-Filled Adventure Series

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/norman ... 235177257/

(retitled the subject line since we've apparently made what was originally a conversation about a McDonalds commercial into our de facto Henson thread!)

[Daniel]

Theme song comparison:



Neat!

[ShyViolet]

[Ben]

Less a "comparison"l though, and more a mash of all three versions…

[droosan]

The Henson studio has partnered with General Mills for this year's 'Monsters Cereal' ad campaign. Here's a first look ..



The characters' designs mesh so well with the Muppet aesthetic, that it's amazing no one had thought of doing this before.

It'd be nice to also see muppets of Fruit Brute, Yummy Mummy & Carmella Creeps .. but it seems they're sticking with just the original trio of 'Monsters Cereal' characters, for now.

[Randall]

Very fun! It does work really well.