Fraggle Rock – The Complete Second Season
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episodes: B
After the
tremendous success of Sesame Street
on PBS and then The Muppet Show on
syndicated TV with a feature film series, it seemed the Muppets were everywhere
and unstoppable. Even Yoda in the
original (and original prints of) the Star
Wars sequels used the “force” of Muppetmania to propel him and that
franchise to new heights. Then, Henson
decided that his next creative endeavor would be the TV series Fraggle Rock, but it would appear in
the early days of cable and satellite TV on HBO in effect abandoning the
majority of children who did not live in the suburbs and/or have the money to
get cable TV. Without knowing it, Henson
may have created a charming new show, but it was at the cost of the children’s
community that made the Muppets a phenomenon in the first place. A sort of trust had been broken that may have
extended to the likes of The Dark
Crystal and other innovative projects not doing well financially.
Long
after his untimely death and with multi-media all around us, time, technology
and accessibility has caught up with Fraggle
Rock and the series is now coming out in full seasons on DVD which can be
rented cheaply or purchased outright.
The show was a hit for HBO and Henson, but one has to wonder how much
further it would have went than the four seasons and 96 half-hours that were
produced, especially in how they hold up and have the unmistakable mark of
Henson’s knack for infusing heart, soul, child-like (versus childish) basics to
his characters and underappreciated sense of comedy since the first Muppets
arrived in the 1960s.
This Complete Second Season features 24
decent shows focusing on the split worlds between characters smaller than and
larger than The Fraggles, plus how they do and do not co-exist with each
other. There is Doc the workman and his
dog Sprocket, who is more aware than his master that a hole in the wall of the
main workroom leads to the title location.
In there, not unlike the Platypuses from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, they live inside the rock except that it
is an entire separate world. Also, there
is a world of larger creatures called The Gorgs (ala New Zoo Revue (reviewed elsewhere on this site) or H.R. PuffNStuf) that are aware of the
Fraggles and co-exist with them.
The main
Fraggles are Gobo, Wembley, Red, Mokey and Boober. They are best friends and are full of
energy. Smaller creatures called The
Doozers live among them with no problem.
The show is essentially designed as a world of globalism as a microcosm
without fascism or communism, though later rip-offs of the show and especially
its approach have hijacked and mutilated the better ideas with more anger and
shallowness that could qualify for leaning to extremism if not being that way
outright. Think of the characters in
other shows who are only separated by colors or something equally shallow. In Fraggle
Rock, the characters are more three-dimensional and the show is aimed at
that developmental 7 – 12 year-old age group.
In that respect, the show is ultimately a success, but had it been
available to as many children in the 1980s as Sesame Street had in the 1960s and 1970s, I will never be able to
shake the feeling that we’d be in a better world with healthier adults and
children than we have now.
The 1.33
X 1 image was shot on analog NTSC videotape and shows its age a bit, but looks
good here, though the superimposed analog visual effects are showing their age
the most. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is
passable and is lucky it sounds as good as it does for its age. The combination is good enough to enjoy and
just guarantees to have enough replayability for fans and children. Each episode has two songs, and though they
are not always memorable, they are relevant to the narrative and should bring
back memories for older fans. Extras
include a tribute to Jerry Juhl, a multi-part interviews section that also
offers a rare old tape of singing & recording of voices for the show and a
reproduction of Jim Henson’s original pitch book for the show is also included
inside the elaborate folding DigiPak slide case.
- Nicholas Sheffo
