by Karen Kalbacher

Created on: September 27, 2010

Fraggle Rock began in January of 1985. From Jim Henson, the show combined our world with an underground world full of colorful musical creature called Fraggles. The show ran for five seasons on HBO in the US. Like a lot of children’s shows in the 80s it was more than what it seemed. Taking the bright exciting silly world of Fraggle Rock, Jim Henson used it to show how to deal with real world issues like stealing, prejudice, jealousy, envy, sharing and exploring the world around them.

Three worlds were interconnected on the show. Our world, called Outer Space, is explored by Gobo Fraggle’s crazy and somewhat confused Uncle Traveling Matt who never quite understood what he was looking at and referred to humans as ‘silly creatures.’ It was also guarded by Doc and old inventor and his dog Sprocket. Sprocket spent most of his time trying to prove Fraggles exist while doc dealt with silly issues like how to sew a button on a fried egg.

Fraggle Rock itself was very musical. Fraggles only have thirty minute work weeks, crazy rules and secret societies and are constantly singing. They share their world with hardworking dour Doozers, little green construction people who create towers that Fraggles love to eat. The show often dealt with the difference between the happy-go-lucky Fraggles and the work obsessed Doozers.

The last world is the Garden where giants called Gorgs live. The Gorgs are constantly trying to catch Fraggles and the Fraggles are constantly stealing their radishes. Also the garden is where the Trash Heap lives, a mysterious garbage pile guarded by rats that dole out confusing advice that makes the Fraggle in question look inside themselves for the answers.

Songs litter the show along with fun, games, multiple personality disorders and crazy characters with magical abilities. Fun, funny and sometimes sad and touching, Fraggle Rock is as relevant today as it was when it first aired. Simple enough for the youngest child and yet thoughtful enough for adults, this touching series is a perfect example of the brilliance of Jim Henson. Subtly showing how different worlds are interconnected and how radically different cultures can learn from each other, it was a fine, clever show with songs that I still sing and characters that I still love twenty-five years later. Sometimes I still wish I could jump in the swimming hole with Red, go adventuring with Gobo, paint with Moki or even do laundry with Boober while wearing a pineapple and banana tree shirt.

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