15 Favorite Episodes

I wanted to make note of my 15 favorite Fraggle Rock episodes, in order of airing:

Iviii The Terrible Tunnel

Ixvi Capture the Moon

Ixviii The Minstrels

IIi Wembley's Egg

IIii Boober Rock

IIvi Boober's Dream

IIIi The Bells of Fraggle Rock

IIIxii Gobo's School for Explorers

IIIxiv The Great Radish Caper

IVii Wembley's Wonderful Whoopie Water

IViii Sidebottom Blues

Vv The River of Life

Vix Ring Around the Rock

Vxi The Gorg Who Would Be King

Vxiii Change of Address

Fraggle Blog - postscript

So that's it. I just finished watching all the special features on the fifth disc of the final DVD set.

Fraggle Rock was a really special show, and I'm so glad I took the time to watch it all. I've tried to be analytical as I kept this blog, and as usual I've tried to figure out -- no matter how great a thing is -- how it could be better. But somehow that final episode swept away all my critical thinking, and I feel there's nothing more to say but what a great, truly noble show it was. Watching it all has been a great experience, and I'm the richer for it.

Fraggle Blog - Change of Address

Episode Vxiii, written by Jerry Juhl.

Somehow I knew the final episode would be written by Jerry Juhl.

Gobo has brained himself on the Gorg well for the last time.

They're moving to the desert!

I guess if the Fraggles speak English, they can read English too!

Sprocket is hysterical.

Jerome Crystal is Doc's name?

Another human voice! That of the mover.

"You cannot leave the magic". So says Marjory.

Cheesy model airplane. But Sprocket as the grandfather on the plane: Hilarious. (Jerry Juhl in the background, too.)

"Everything's magic, if you see it that way." -- Gobo

A beautiful ending.

Magic.

Fraggle Blog - The Honk of Honks

Episode Vxii, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

"He's so ambiguously exact." Mokey about Cantus.

Nice episode. I like how decisively they set about ending the series. By golly, Doc's going to see a Fraggle! And he did. Clearly they're leading up to the final episode, entitled "Change of Address", with Doc having to move to be with his friend Ned Shimmelfinney. I see now that they were planting seeds for this; wasn't it in the previous episode that they were talking about Shimmelfinney's asthma? Maybe it comes off as just a bit contrived...a character we've never even met suddenly is spurring the "break up" of the entire show. It would be nice if it could be someone we cared about a bit more, like maybe Sprocket?

Still, this episode nicely brought out the series' overall, driving point: If we can all just get to know one another, we'll see that we're not so different from each other, and that we're all connected to and dependent upon each other. Nice too, as Muppet Wiki points out, that there are elements in this episode that consciously echo the shows from the first season.

Fraggle Blog - The Gorg Who Would Be King

Episode Vxi, written by Laura Phillips.

Camping! Outdoors!

I like the idea of a change in monarchs being tied to a natural phenomenon like a leaf falling.

What a pretty song Junior sang! It must be noted that the music seems to have gotten a lot better since the first season.

This is a neat episode. I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next! Junior just disappeared! What's next?

There's something very weird about the Junior Gorg hand puppet. Nice though that they even built blinking eyes into the puppet.

So...were the Gorgs really unaware of Marjory before? I wouldn't have said so.

Marjory quotes The Stones!

Junior's learning not to thump!

"We each lead ourselves and we all lead each other." Thus spake Wembley, summing up nicely the entire Fraggle way of life.

Wembley didn't know Doozer constructions were made from radishes? I hope they did their fact checking...

Nice idea, showing the bomb on wheels and showing it whizzing past.

Really great episode. Love how they tied it all together at the end, with Doc and Sprocket finding the discarded Gorg crown. Junior has always been such a dunderhead, but he got enlightenment just in the nick of time, and learned "first hand" about the Fraggles' lives, and the Doozers' too. His first and only act as King was to abolish the title, because the universe seemed to run pretty well all on its own. I'm not sure exactly what kind of a political statement that makes, or how practical it is in terms of maintaining civilization...but I do love the overall "global thinking" of this show, and this episode in particular.

Fraggle Blog - Inspector Red

Episode Vx, written by Jerry and Susan Juhl.

I like how that song of Red's adds a beat in there. Fun song!

Oh, another Matt in Outer Space segment!

Who were all those weird creatures who popped up and said "You've lost your toupee"?

Fun idea to have a Sam Spade-like episode!

Marlon Fraggle is a dark, dark soul.

Hmm, the Juhls were billed with Susan first on this episode. Is that standard for when they write together? At any rate, a fun, different episode. And an excellent performance by Karen Prell as Red. Much fun to watch.

Fraggle Blog - Ring Around The Rock

Episode Vix, written by Sugith Varughese.

The show's almost over, and the things (mistakes, really) that bugged me in the intro are still bugging me...Make sure to get your title segment perfect, folks!

Ma and Pa Gorg have been married 513 years. If Junior is 473 as he said, that means they were married 40 years before they had Junior.

Ooh, Junior can play that instrument!

Okay, Pa Gorg is a sexy beast. They way he just said "The honeymoon...", he was definitely talking about sex. And in a kids' show! Horrors!

And now "My passion hath no patience"!

Now, it's not clear why Gobo thinks the ring's gone for good, as he says to Junior. He's been to Outer Space before, why would it be out of the question for him to go again to retrieve the ring?

What a nice episode! While ostensibly about tradition, it was really an excuse for Varughese to get the Gorg's wedding ring passed around among every major group of characters in the show. The Gorgs, Fraggles, Doozers, Uncle Matt, and Doc/Sprocket all came in contact with the ring. I love a good concept like that.

Interesting also that they seem to have completely abandoned the idea of the Uncle Matt Outer Space segments. I wonder if there will be any more in the last four episodes?

Fraggle Blog - Mokey Then and Now

Episode Vviii, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

Boober has a stocking hat/shower cap thingee on, and he still doesn't have eyes.

Now, that was a weird episode. It was fun, I enjoyed it, but I can't say I detected any sort of "theme", "lesson", or "moral" in it. Kind of a nice change, actually! It just showed us how Fraggle society used to be. And it took Mokey to usher in the change to a more free and fun-loving way of life!

Fraggle Blog - Gone, But Not Forgotten

Episode Vvii, written by Laura Phillips.

I like Mudwell's logic about scarcity. And he's got a nice, folksy, Burl Ives-y singing voice.

Ooh, but he's kinda schizo.

How frustrating it must be for Sprocket that he can't talk. He's somewhere between Pluto and Goofy on the evolutionary dog chain.

What the heck was that? Boober and Wembley and the blankets...?

Oh, I guess this is the many weird ways the Fraggles have of dealing with death...

"We'll meet again, someday/Just a dream away"...that's what we hear Mudwell singing at the end.

That was a strange but nice episode. A sensitive way to deal with grieving for someone who died. The whole "mudbunny" premise is pretty weird. So he lies down next to a pit of boiling mud to die, and then he turns into some sort of mudbunny-shaped mud lump, then a lizard pops out. Very strange. But really, nicely handled as far as the grieving part goes. Very nice, sensitive performance by Whitmire. And Mudwell was a very strong Richard Hunt character; he accomplished a lot in a very limited amount of screen time.

Fraggle Blog - Beyond the Pond

Episode Vvi, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

Hah! Doc to Sprocket: "And it's the tree where you...well, it's your favorite tree too."

Hmm...this, to me, is the unfortunate way that many Fraggle Rock episodes begin. Something that we've never heard of before -- in this case, knobblies -- suddenly presents a problem that the entire show will be about trying to solve. Not that I want to condemn the show in the first five minutes -- this could definitely get good. In fact, this whole Red swimming sequence is cool...

The Merggles are kind of fun...but why did they have to be so stupid as to lock up Red in a cage when she's their only hope for help? For the convenience of the plot, methinks.

A fun episode, and neat that there is a whole new race of people introduced so late in the series. I don't really want to rag on this episode too much, but yesterday's River of Life dealt with essentially the same theme, and handled it better. It didn't introduce a whole new group of people, it used what we already know, totally integrated the Doc/Sprocket storyline into the Fraggle one, and spun it all into something great. There need to be all different types of episodes, and this one was fun, but I don't think it was anything like the achievement of River of Life.

Something I suspect is that the many different "storylines" of this show -- Doc/Sprocket, Fraggles, Doozers, Gorgs, Uncle Matt -- made it difficult to write for. The structure kind of took over, and inhibited the writers with the need they felt to try to cover too many bases in each episode. It's possible to pull this off without an apparent strain, and the best episodes do just that. I dunno, it's a delicate balance, and of course the overall structure is one of the things that makes the show so special to begin with. But it must have been a challenging show to write for.

Fraggle Blog - The River Of Life

Episode Vv, written by David Young.

I don't suppose there's any sort of intentional wordplay on "Fraggle" and "Fragile"? As in, the balance of life is a very "fragile" one? I've never heard that mentioned. It just struck me.

Now this is a clever plot twist!

Boober is such a fully realized, totally believable character. Goelz plays his scenes with such interesting, delicate choices.

"We're talking science and facts!" says Doc. Interesting that they make science the enemy of truth here.

Marjory refers to Outer Space as "up there". Interesting.

Oh, Junior actually thumped Boober -- a finger flick to the nose!

A really, really great episode. What a fantastic script. There was so much going on, always crystal clear, perfectly motivated. I just loved it. Boober kneeling at the hole to Outer Space, it was like he was praying, praying to someone he wasn't sure was out there or was listening. And then he decided that that wasn't enough, and he needed to do something! An incredibly profound episode about life, interconnectivity, science, ecology, money, fear. Awesome. And all capped by an amazing, complex performance by Dave Goelz as Boober. Boober is one of the greatest Muppet characters ever.

Fraggle Blog - The Trial of Cotterpin Doozer

Episode Viv, written by Jerry Juhl.

That Tumbrell Doozer sounds like Marlon Brando.

Cool, Red is actually helping the Doozers build their constructions. That's something you wouldn't have seen at the beginning of the show.

Them Doozers got a corrupt court.

"So help you Doozerdom". The Doozers have no god!

Nice episode, featuring characters not often in the spotlight. And Doc and Sprocket outdoors again! I think if the show had continued on, we would have seen them in many other locations.

Fraggle Blog - The Voice Inside

Episode Viii, written by Laura Phillips.

Ooh, nice shot! This is amazing, Doc and Sprocket outdoors!

Wow, freaky weird fantasy (?) song sequence with Gobo doing a hat and cane dance number!

Sprocket gets a song! Or part of one, at least. Great to see him trotting along in the Rock with Gobo and Wrench.

Wrench was almost buried alive in a pile of Rice Krispies!

Now that's an interesting lesson...sometimes we have gut feelings about things, and we should trust them. Is that true? At any rate, a fun episode. Sprocket should have his own series.

Fraggle Blog - The Riddle of Rhyming Rock

Episode Vii, written by B.P. Nichol.

Herkimer's cool looking. I like the wrinkles.

The Storyteller has a falsetto voice not unlike Mr. Moose on Captain Kangaroo.

Hmm, I wonder if that entire shot was shot backwards. Would have been fun to lip sync backwards.

Kind of a weird episode. I felt like it should have been built around Da Vinci Code-like riddles (except actually clever), but it wasn't. It's always nice though when we discover a new area of the Rock that we've never seen before. Who created Rhyming Rock? What's its history? I wonder.

Fraggle Blog - Mirror, Mirror

Episode Vi, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

The Magic Mirror has an unusual-sounding voice.

So Doc's mirror is the twin of the mirror Red found?

So...what's Red's motivation for running into the Gorg's castle to try to save Mavis the Mirror? Mavis was being kind of an inscrutable jerk.

This is suffering from hazy motivation. Things seem to be working out well, so why is Red still so dead set on getting Mavis away from Ma Gorg?

Ooh, Fraggle, Doozer and Gorg all in the same shot! Is that a first?

Doesn't that glue need to dry?

Gobo kissed Red! Now Boober too! More firsts?

So, I wonder if Doc's mirror is magical too? Can magical objects exist outside of Fraggle Rock, and into Outer Space? Of course, since Outer Space also contains a mystical land with golden apples and a blue dragon, I guess anything is possible.

Fraggle Blog - Boober Gorg

Episode IVxiii, written by Sugith Varughese.

Sprocket is one gorgeous puppet.

Amnesia! Has there ever been a TV show that didn't have an amnesia episode?

Gee, what was that Three Stooges move that Gobo just did to Boober? Tummy poke and nose twang?

This episode is all about brainwashing! Strange topic for a show, and carrying it through both the Fraggle and Doc/Sprocket storylines.

So, that's the end of what was broadcast as season 4, even though there was no break between the shooting of this episode and the next one. Wow, only 13 episodes to go!

Fraggle Blog - Space Frog Follies

Episode IVxii, written by David Young.

I feel like even if I hadn't read that Rob Mills was puppeteering Gobo to Jerry Nelson's voice, I would be able to tell that something's up. Things are really weird with Gobo. He's very subdued. But why wasn't Nelson doing the puppeteering? There must be a reason...

Okay, Wembley's "watch my lips" was a definite nod to Kermit and The Muppet Movie.

So how do Fraggles stick pickles to their noses?

The resolution of the Doc/Sprocket story was extremely farfetched. Ned Shimmelfinney likes for people to destroy his clothing! Of course!

A fun episode though. Neat to see a real life animal in Fraggle Rock. And they showed remarkable restraint in making only one Kermit reference!

Fraggle Blog - Wonder Mountain

Episode IVxi, written by Robert Sandler.

Okay, I guess Whitmire does show us Wembley running offscreen right in the opening, just before he's entirely out of the camera range. Which makes it a little more feasible that he could make that jump into the water.

Lanford is funny. How is it that two of the funniest characters on this show don't even have eyes? How do they do that?

Okay, those singing cacti were weird. A very Sid and Marty Krofft idea.

The Avalanche Monster looks like a demented gray Elmo.

Okay, Mokey and Red trying to work out their interpersonal relationship while they're hiding terrified from the Avalanche Monster just isn't working for me...

"We have got to think of a way out of this mess!" Yes, you certainly do...

All this talking about their feelings! Feelings! Feelings! Just do stuff, and let us figure it out!

Yeah, somehow this episode made me appreciate the writing of other episodes...the "moral" and "lesson" were just far too explicitly spelled out.

Fraggle Blog - Red's Blue Dragon

Episode IVx, written by Susan and Jerry Juhl.

Okay...so...why is Gobo retrieving a postcard from Doc's garbage when Matt has come back to stay?

Oh, okay...I guess they've accounted for the seeming discrepancy.

Now this is interesting...Red's "outer space" seems to be some sort of mystical fairy land!

Ooh, Red with a practical hand!

That was a fun episode. And it really revealed something interesting about the whole Fraggle Rock world..."Outer Space" isn't necessarily what we think of as "reality". It can also be a fictional place (fictional to us, anyway) like a fairy land where dragons live.

Fraggle Blog - Wembley's Flight

Episode IVix, written by Jerry Juhl.

Okay, so in the opening, don't we see Wembley standing there singing, and just as soon as he's out of the shot, he's jumping into the water? It doesn't seem as though he'd have enough time to get to wherever he's jumping from.

I think the Spiderfly almost went a bit Shakespearean on us. Something about "more things than are dreamt of in your...(philosophy)".

That Spiderfly (or "Odd Old Man") is a great looking puppet!

1986, and Doc's got a personal computer he uses to authoritatively prove things. I guess computers were just beginning to capture the public's imagination.

Marlon Fraggle! Yay!

Wembley's singing voice sounds really pinched and nasal this episode.

Weird that the shot of Wembley flying in his and Gobo's room was so slowed down. It really felt out of place in the sequence.

Aw, I wanted to see Sprocket fly!

Another Doc/Sprocket concluding sequence that felt like it needed a tag line or something.

Okay, really, this episode was pretty much exactly like the one that came before it. Wembley was motivated principally by jealousy, and he learned the lesson that you should do a thing simply for the pleasure in doing it, and not for less pure motives. It was a fun episode, and the Spiderfly was a fun and funny character and great puppet, but it was odd having two such similar episodes back to back.

Fraggle Blog - A Brush With Jealousy

Episode IVviii, written by B.P. Nichol.

Wow, I was definitely not wishing Mokey would break out into a ballad at this juncture in the plot. And...is she singing in a weird dialect?

Cool shot of Sprocket running!

Gee, I think that episode was all about jealousy. Not one of my favorite episodes, somehow it never "struck fire" with me. I did like how the quality of Mokey's paintings was never really called into question; they weren't noticeably better or worse than Pedley Fraggle's paintings. It was about the motivation for painting, not the end result.

Fraggle Blog - The Perfect Blue Rollie

Episode IVvii, written by David Young.

Ms. Ardath is only 39? Awfully young for Doc to be romantically interested...

Romances never go much of anywhere on this show, do they?

You know, Wembley rather favors Steve Whitmire in a way.

Wow, I love the way Dave Goelz is playing this scene...he's really pushing Boober's character with some pretty naturalistic acting choices. Very strong choices.

Haven't we already had an episode where a character was hoarding something that they were supposed to share?

Boober is all psycho and Gollum-like in this episode!

Wow, they just threw a Matt poser in the water!

They're all planning to steal from Boober?

Nice filming of that whole avalanche.

Very good episode. It seems they were exploring how far they could push Boober's character, and they never hit the wall!

Fraggle Blog - A Tune For Two

Episode IVvi, written by Laura Phillips.

"Lecherous"? That's the only word I can think of that rhymes with "treacherous".

So, I guess the writers really got tired of having to fit a postcard from Matt into each episode, hence having him move back to the Rock.

Wembley looks weird, different somehow. Are the pupils on his eyes too small, and too widely spaced?

Boober loves Tosh! Romance in the Rock! Whatever happened to the Mokey/Gobo romance?

Mrs. Raskolnikov! Doc had a teacher from Crime and Punishment?

Holy crap, Whitmire is a good puppeteer. So endlessly inventive, thinking up funny things Wembley can do.

This is cool, Wembley and Cotterpin are like a mixed race couple who want to get married, in the face of prejudice from authorities!

It's frustrating when characters don't say the simple things that anyone would say in a given situation. "Sorry Cotterpin, I want to sing in the Duet-a-thon with you, but Gillis Fraggle won't let you be in it!" Instead, Cotterpin is left to feel somewhat rejected by Wembley, simply because he won't say those words.

I thought this was a Duet-a-thon. Why is everybody singing?

Why was that weird Fraggle singing with that Doozer in that shot before Junior Gorg's?

A show about the powers of music. Very nice!

Fraggle Blog - Junior Faces the Music

Episode IVv, written by Bob Sandler.

Yay, Cantus!

So why isn't Junior tempted to look behind the sheet and see who's there?

Cantus singing sounds a lot like Dr. Teeth.

Muppet Wiki tells us Bob Stutt is puppeteering Boober to Dave Goelz's voice in this episode...but it doesn't tell us why.

It's a kazoo, Junior...you gotta hum!

Now that episode wasn't nearly as well plotted as some recent ones. The depth to which these plots have been thought through is incredibly important to the overall success of the episode. In this case, the whole thing felt sort of "trumped up". There's some ritualistic rite of passage that Gorgs have to go through, and we've never heard of this before, but suddenly we're all supposed to really care whether or not Junior can play the mystical kazoo. The structuring seems haphazard at best, and the stakes are pretty nebulous. Not one of the best.

Fraggle Blog - Uncle Matt's Discovery

Episode IViv, written by Jerry Juhl.

What the heck was Wembley doing? Bonking his nose? Hilarious and weird.

Oh, so that's why the garden gnomes were so big...so Doc could mistake Matt for one!

Why is Matt's mic so hot? Crazy! How could no one notice that?

Did they really need to rhyme "bawl" with "all"?

Wow, a location shoot! We got to see the Captain's Inn! Doc, Sprocket, Matt and Gobo all outside in Outer Space!

You know, there was such a sense of amazement and relief in seeing the characters in a different environment. It makes me wonder about the scenic design choices for the show. The entire show is very brown. Even Doc's workshop is pretty brown. It's so nice to get some color into the settings, I wonder if there wasn't a way, in hindsight, that they could have made the Rock more colorful.

At any rate, a really neat episode. I felt that Matt's cowardice was played up a bit too strongly though. It was as if he suddenly had a huge, debilitating character flaw that hadn't really manifested itself in the previous 70 episodes. Matt has been more bumbling and stupid than actually terrified. But that quibble aside, it was a good one.

Fraggle Blog - Sidebottom Blues

Episode IViii, written by David Young.

So is the name of this episode "Sidebottom Blues" as Muppet Wiki says, or "Sidebottom's Blues", as the DVD says? At any rate, I like these DVD screens on season 4 much better than on the other three sets. Take that, HIT!

Great opening of this episode. Perfectly set up with Wembley and Boober.

The whole Sidebottom thing is pretty weird...the fact that he can come out into reality, complete with a unique costume, and take over for Boober! Weird. But I love Sidebottom.

Great the way Boober and Sidebottom keep melding and splitting apart.

But the Fraggles won't go out into the Gorgs' garden because Junior Gorg is there. Why are they still afraid of Junior? Maybe I'm making too much of it, but it seems like sometimes the progression of the show gets ignored.

Wow, I think Dave Goelz is performing both Sidebottom and Boober in separate passes. Some really complex choreography.

Ooh, Wembley had different trick eyes for the bonkleberry shot!

Okay, that was a really great episode, one of the best. Incredibly well plotted, shot, and performed. Getting all those kinks out of the storyline makes all the difference in the world in terms of enjoyment.

And as that was the last episode shot for season 3, from this point onward we are firmly into season 4.

Fraggle Blog - Wembley's Wonderful Whoopie Water

Episode IVii, written by Jerry and Susan Juhl.

Wow, Whitmire is really working Wembley's rolly eyes!

Wembley's voice is especially high-pitched and squeaky this episode.

Hmm...how are they doing that effect where Wembley is digging and repeatedly throwing dirt from his shovel? I guess they're somehow quickly loading it when it's offscreen?

Some really beautiful puppeteering by Whitmire as Wembley. Like watching good animation.

What the heck was that deep deep voice down in the crack that said "Wup" or something like it? That was truly bizarre.

That was a really good episode, very tightly plotted. I suppose the moral might be "Even the best of intentions can give birth to serious problems". Good stuff.

Fraggle Blog - Sprocket's Big Adventure

Episode IVi, written by Sugith Varughese.

Okay, I like how this episode began unambiguously by showing Gobo and Sprocket getting along with each other.

"This Way": Cool song! Great segment! Awesome to see Sprocket in the Rock!

The Doozers are upset Sprocket destroyed their construction, but they're happy when the Fraggles do it! I guess it's the destroying without eating that they mind...

That was a fun episode! It was the first new episode they shot for season 4, even though it will be followed with two leftover episodes from the season 3 shoot. Muppet Wiki points out that it seems designed to serve as an introduction to the series, and I think that's true. Except interestingly, there was no Traveling Matt segment, even though we saw Gobo retrieve the postcard.

I've been wondering how much of the evolution of the series was actually planned out in advance. Was it the plan from the beginning that the characters would gradually befriend and come to appreciate each other? In hindsight, I think that evolution could have been planned better (if it was planned at all). For instance, there was an episode not too long ago where all the Fraggles, including Gobo, seemed to regard Sprocket with fear. And this was after Gobo and Sprocket had seemed to be friends.

At any rate, it has been a pleasure to experience the evolution of the show. We stand now on the cusp of season 3 and season 4. Looking forward to the rest!

Fraggle Blog - Gunge the Great and Glorious

Episode IIIxxii, written by Laura Phillips.

Wow, they really went out of their way to get in Uncle Matt's postcard this episode!

It seems that more characters dislike than like Matt's postcards! Were the writers regretting having to place one in each episode?

Wow, that Doc/Sprocket final scene really could have used a nice tag line. Neither character really seemed to know when it was over.

So with this episode we come to what ended up being the end of the third season, even though they produced two more episodes for season 3 which got rolled into season 4.

This was a fun episode, the moral of which might be "It's bad to be the king". The dental differences between Philo and Gunge were pointed out with great clarity, and it was interesting to see the rat-like creatures interact with the Doozers, about whom we learned a lot more than we knew before. Nice for Marjory to have an appearance as well!

Okay, on (sort of) to season 4.

Fraggle Blog - A Dark and Stormy Night

Episode IIIxxi, written by Sugith Varughese.

Red's eyeballs might pop right out of her head? Um...where are they now?

A complexly plotted episode! But I like how it showed Junior and the Fraggles working together, once they got over being scared of each other.

Fraggle Blog - The Incredible Shrinking Mokey

Episode IIIxx, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

Yay! Puppets doing puppets! (But not in an Avenue Q kind of way...)

Aw, Red's head got in the shot.

Ooh, I love how Boober goes all psycho-cuckoo with the puppets!

Hmmm...isn't the song Sprocket was listening to with headphones at the very end of the show the same song that was featured in the show? That's very weird.

And it was a weird episode! Jocelyn Stevenson seems to want to explore the repressed and hidden aspects of the Fraggles' personalities. And it seems she likes to invent new and weird characters, too. The Begoony? That's pretty weird. I guess Stevenson figured that she needed a character with magical powers, so it couldn't be just another new Fraggle that Mokey befriends.

An entertaining, if a bit "random", episode.

Fraggle Blog - The Cavern of Lost Dreams

Episode IIIxix, written by B.P. Nichol.

Okay, Sprocket's Swedish Chef impersonation was classic. "Bark bark bark!"

Both songs this episode have seemed pretty grafted on. What does "Eye to Eye" really have to do with the current situation?

The idea of Gobo being intimidated by a couple of ancient Doozers with spears, and the subsequent "overthrow" of the situation, was a bit hard to believe.

Somehow this episode seemed to suffer from some implausible concepts. So, Doozer structures taste better when their design is original? Aren't they all made of the same stuff? Really, the idea that Doozers wouldn't mind at all that Fraggles came along and destroyed structures while the Doozers were in the middle of admiring them is hard to believe. Not one of the best.

Fraggle Blog - Bored Stiff

Episode IIIxviii, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

Wow, that was a bit racy! "Kissing Rock" is where Ma and Pa first...well, Junior will understand when he's older! So I guess it wasn't kissing...

Hmmm...it is kind of hard to frame up five Fraggles in the same shot. No wonder one of them is frequently absent.

Okay, Sprocket is still pretty barky around the Fraggle hole, but he seems not to want Doc to hurt them, as if he's fond of them.

Okay, "It's a presence to be in your pleasure" is pretty racy too! Then of course there's the episode's title itself...

Well, that was a nice episode, and maybe the most everyone's-starting-to-get-along episode yet. Sprocket made it clear that he was fond of the Fraggles in the wall, and Fraggle/Gorg relations really seemed to make a major advancement as well. Although Junior still professed that he wanted to "thump" the Fraggles, and what exactly "thumping" means is far from clear. But it probably doesn't feel very good.

Fraggle Blog - Playing Till It Hurts

Episode IIIxvii, written by Jerry Juhl.

"Chase the Wind" is another fun production number!

The scene between Gobo and Feenie Fraggle was weird, as Jerry Nelson voiced both characters. Why wouldn't they assign Feenie to someone else, if he's a new character who starts with a lengthy dialog scene with Gobo?

Nice that the Doozers are interested in watching the Fraggles play rock hockey.

Interesting what Muppet Wiki says about Whitmire breaking his hand...yet Wembley is in this episode a bit.

Of course, Whitmire performs Sprocket too...but in this episode, Sprocket can't move his mouth because he hurt his nose! So, is this entire plot line based on Whitmire being hurt? I'll have to go look up that interview with Karen. But it was a fun episode.

Fraggle Blog - The Battle of Leaking Roof

Episode IIIxvi, written by Robert Sandler.

Just beautiful puppeteering on Sprocket. Whitmire and Prell working together beautifully.

This "I'm Not Scared of Anything At All" song really needs a better backing track. Really cheap sounding, atypical for the show. Cheesy synth horns. Yucch.

An almost all-Gorg show, and an enjoyable one! I think they are a little bit too stereotypically loud and coarse, but this show seemed to overcome the disconnect between the voice/face performers and the guys inside the costumes. Good one.

Fraggle Blog - Born to Wander

Episode IIIxv, written by B.P. Nichol.

Gerry Parkes is so, so, so great.

So is Matt's Uncle Gobo still alive?

It just occurred to me, but I guess they tried hard to leave all visible writing of any sort out of the Fraggle parts of the show, so that they could be dubbed and work internationally.

A fun episode. Neat to have a flashback about how things were when Matt was a kid.

Fraggle Blog - The Great Radish Caper

Episode IIIxiv, written by Sugith Varughese.

So they made a gigantic Junior Gorg hand to be in scale with the full-size Fraggles!

Mokey is wearing a pull top from a can. Is that new?

Junior's farewell letter writing speech sounded weird, like it was recorded at two different times and edited together.

Mokey thinks she can make everything right by returning Geraldine to Junior Gorg...but of course, by picking the radish, the Fraggles have killed Geraldine, who was after all a living thing.

Also...why does Geraldine have a regular human-type name? Well, I guess there are a few Fraggles with regular names. Like Marlon Fraggle.

"What are friends for?", is what Mokey asks at the end. And that's one of the very best things about this show: The aversion to overt moralizing. There's no one moment when Junior and Mokey realize that they have become friends. No bonding moment. It happens, and we realize it, but it seems that the characters themselves never quite do. That, of course, is a bit more difficult to write and play successfully than the obvious, hit-em-over-the-head type moment most shows would have.

Fraggle Blog - Scared Silly

Episode IIIxiii, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

Now that's nice consistency. It was just an episode or two ago that Doc installed Sprocket's doggie door, and Sprocket just used it.

Seriously...how the heck does Wembley's eye mechanism work?

Marjory speaks out against revenge. Good for her!

Goelz is Philo, Hunt is Gunge. Not sure I knew that.

A Traveling Matt postcard with no intro. (Only an outro.)

I love the way Goelz makes Boober walk, especially towards the camera. Very funny.

Okay, Boober just kissed Wembley. Wow.

Hmm, this "Very Scary" song has great staging and cutting too. It's a trend!

Is it quite, quite perfectly in character for Boober to be such a connoisseur of scaring people?

Um...Wembley is being pretty stupid. Not that he was ever a font of intelligence...but he's being really dumb.

In all, an enjoyable episode.

Fraggle Blog - Gobo's School for Explorers

Episode IIIxii, written by David Young.

Okay...Sprocket's barking at Gobo. And he and the other Fraggles seem to regard Sprocket as a scary creature. I thought that was a communication barrier that had been eroded. Isn't that what's supposed to be happening as the show evolves? All the characters grow to understand each other? Disappointing.

Sure had been a while since we saw Gobo retrieve a postcard.

A couple of good songs in this episode. And the last one, "Face Facts, Pack Snacks, Make Tracks" had some very clever, well thought out staging and editing. Very nicely done.

Matt is really sort of a Cantus-like character. I love that about this show, that the authority figures are very questionable.

Wow, some really great staging in this episode in general. Great camera shots. Kudos to George Bloomfield.

Maybe part of the pleasure of this episode is that we're getting some brand new sets?

Wow...couldn't they have lowered that parachute a little more smoothly?

Okay, this was a really neat episode, the lapse in Fraggle/canine relations notwithstanding. Think for yourself! Throw away the rules! Of course, this thinking could get you into a lot of trouble too. But this was definitely one of the best episodes. Seems like it had a bigger budget than most, and we got new sets and elaborate staging. Yay!

Fraggle Blog - The Beanbarrow, the Burden, and the Bright Bouquet

Episode IIIxi, written by B.P. Nichol.

Okay, the Traveling Matt introduction by Gobo and Wembley seemed to actually be ironically aware that the segment was being shoehorned into the episode.

Lanford is funny. The timing seems right that he might be inspired by Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, who was of course designed and built by Marty Robinson.

Not an especially distinguished episode, but I enjoyed the evolving relationship between Red and Lanford. It's great that there are off-the-wall characters in Fraggle Rock like Lanford.

Fraggle Blog - The Secret Society of Poobahs

Episode IIIx, written by Jerry Juhl.

I like the Fraggle in the opening with the mustache. Not many Fraggles have mustaches.

I think that Sprocket is never right-handed when he's in his bed. Hole must have been too small for two puppeteers.

Well, that was a fun episode, and yay for Convincing John making an appearance! "Don't take life too serious son; it ain't nohow permanent" would seem to be the moral. The Poobah costumes were really neat and elaborate. Will we ever hear of the Poobahs again?

Wikipedia tells us that "poobah" stems from "The Mikado", and has come to mean a self-inflated person, perhaps fond of titles. Odd that the Fraggles would use this term, and not have their own word. Kind of like them having a genie in the last episode.

Fraggle Blog - Wembley and the Mean Genie

Episode IIIix, written by Robert Sandler.

I wonder if there will be any more new writers?

Interesting how important the subplot with the inn is in the Doc/Sprocket segments. It's almost like they ran out of things for Doc and Sprocket to do, and so they had to create this new environment for them to talk about...but we never get to actually see it.

Wembley's nose seems to have gotten dirty...

Interesting that such a human, "real world" concept like the "genie in a bottle" is playing out inside Fraggle Rock. I thought they had their own myths and magic.

So the overall concept of this one seemed a bit labored. Why a genie? And I'm sitting here, trying to remember what exactly the genie was supposed to prove, or teach, or make clear. Why wasn't it granting wishes? That kind of slipped by me. Not one of the best.

Fraggle Blog - Believe It or Not

Episode IIIviii, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

An interesting episode. I suppose Skenfrith represents the power of our minds to create our own realities. If we believe something is a problem, then only then does it become one.

I'm not sure exactly how true all that is...but there's at least a grain of truth to it!

Only two Fraggles in this episode, Red and Wembley!

Fraggle Blog - Home is Where the Trash Is

Episode IIIvii, written by Sugith Varughese.

Yay, Philo and Gunge get an episode!

According to Muppet Wiki, this would be the first episode shot after the break in production. Pure hindsight, but things do have a slightly different feel to them. And the "Home" song, which was very catchy, seemed to have different instrumentation than typical Fraggle Rock songs.

Why does Wander McMooch seem like a visitor from the world of Sid and Marty Krofft?

Wow, they sure didn't know how to end the Doc/Sprocket storyline for this episode!

A nice episode. Marjory is dependent upon Philo and Gunge, the Fraggles are dependent on Marjory, so the Fraggles go help Philo and Gunge. And so it goes.

Fraggle Blog - Pebble Pox Blues

Episode IIIvi, written by Laura Phillips.

Gobo's teeth feel ticklish. Gobo has teeth?

Wembley's got the roll-y eyes again. I really think there was just one Wembley puppet with those trick eyes, or Whitmire would use them more often.

Wembley's so sick, he has eyelids! Is that a symptom?

Traveling Matt is attracted to cows? He just said "Hubba hubba" to one. Are all of Dave Goelz's characters attracted to farm animals?

Wow, incredible and cool how far they pulled back from Boober and Wembley in that shot towards the end.

A fun episode. I liked that Boober came to a self-realization about his tendency to exaggerate bad things.

Fraggle Blog - Blanket of Snow, Blanket of Woe

Episode IIIv, written by B.P. Nichol.

Did Ma Gorg just say of her mother "May she shed in peace"?

Wow, Philo and Gunge have feet!

A decent episode. It started out being about "not overextending yourself", but sort of degenerated into a wide-ranging story about Gorgs and soup. And there were some things in it that were pretty hard to believe, like that the Gorgs would just happen to have a set of Fraggle-shaped salt and pepper shakers. And the sequence with Junior sliding around on the ice was kind of hard to believe as well. Not one of the greats, but not without its pleasures.

Fraggle Blog - The Grapes of Generosity

Episode IIIiv, written by Jerry Juhl.

Hmmm...is Sprocket having a dream? The way we transitioned out of Sprocket sleeping in Doc's chair, it was almost like a setup for this episode to be a dream.

Interesting...Gobo just used "gorg" as a verb, saying the other Fraggles would "gorg out" on the grapes.

Gobo's eye focus seems a bit off...noticed it in the last episode too. His left pupil is a little bit too far left.

A fun episode. The floating effects were pulled off well, and the script had a fun "spin" on it that is typical of Jerry Juhl's writing.

Fraggle Blog - Boober and the Glob

Episode IIIiii, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

"Why did the radish kiss the banana?" Is there an answer to that? I guess because it had "a peel"?

Boober can't tell the Doozers apart. They all look alike to him!

Kind of hard to buy Cotterpin standing so close to the Glob, talking to her mother, after she knows it's eating Doozers...

A nice episode, which really showed the Fraggle/Doozer relationship evolving. And any episode that spotlights Boober already has something going for it!

Fraggle Blog - Red-Handed and the Invisible Thief

Episode IIIii, written by Robert Sandler.

A very good episode. Well told and fun. Lots of good character building for Red.

I do believe that this episode didn't go back to the Doc subplot until the very end. Usually they check back at least once to see how Doc and Sprocket's story is progressing. Did this have anything to do with my feeling that this episode was so well-told?

Fraggle Blog - The Bells of Fraggle Rock

Episode IIIi, written by Jerry Juhl, Jocelyn Stevenson, and Susan Juhl.

Three writers!

And so, season 3 begins. Although apparently, these first 6 shows were shot immediately after season 2 wrapped. So it's kind of a continuation.

Annoying that the season 3 DVD release has this episode out of order, on disc 4. I'm trusting that Muppet Wiki has the airing order correct, rather than HIT.

Man, I love Cantus, and how he seems simultaneously profound and full of crap. Brilliant.

So when Fraggles freeze, their pupils disappear? Except for Wembley's?

A very interesting episode, clearly intended to be a religious parable. Everyone believes in the Great Bell. Gobo challenges this, and goes out looking for concrete proof of the Great Bell's existence. When he gets to where the Bell should be, the cave is empty. But when he returns to his friends, they've all frozen because the Rock has stopped moving. Cantus explains that the Great Bell isn't at the center of the Rock, it's at the heart of the Rock, and that heart is within each of them.

So, assuming the Great Bell stands for the core of a religious belief, does this mean that if you look for concrete proof, you won't find it, but the religion is nonetheless true? Or does it mean that the religion isn't true (the Great Bell wasn't actually there), but it's our relationships and celebration of life itself that makes the world keep turning? And are these mutually exclusive? I'm beginning to sound like Cantus myself. But I like the latter option, and I think it's a mark of a well-written show that it can leave itself open to interpretation, yet still "ring true".

Fraggle Blog - The Invasion of the Toe Ticklers

Episode IIxxiv, written by David Young.

Hmm, Mokey writes right handed. Did she earlier in the show's run?

Mmph, Gerry Parkes is a good actor.

A very nice episode. Mokey thought she was being a good conservationist when she rescued Agnes, but it set off a chain of events that caused havoc. A nice lesson in how difficult it is to maintain the balance of nature, and how the best of intentions can have negative, uncontrollable consequences.

So, that wraps up season 2...although according to Muppet Wiki, they went ahead and shot the first 6 episodes of season 3 before breaking. I must say, things improved a great deal in this season. Looking back at my end-of-season-1 comments, I'm not sure the Gorgs are that much better defined, but we at least have gotten to know them better.

A couple of other thoughts: It seems that absolutely nothing came of what seemed to be a budding Gobo/Mokey romance. It also seems that Sprocket has indeed stopped barking at Gobo, although he hasn't had much opportunity to, since it's been quite a while since we saw Gobo actually fetching Traveling Matt's postcard.

Best of all though, I think the situation with the music has improved a lot. It's been a while since we had a real "stop-the-action" song; the songs have seemed much better integrated into the plot, and better overall. Everyone connected with the show seems to have a firmer grasp on what the show is and how it works best.

On to season 3!

Fraggle Blog - Boober's Quiet Day

Episode IIxxiii, written by Jerry Juhl.

Okay, this is beautiful, Boober floating around in the teacup. Awesome.

Wow, Boober without his hat! Don't think we've ever seen that.

A very, very fun episode. Dave Goelz is awesome. I did feel this episode had a more conventional resolution than the first Sidebottom episode. It was like Boober and Sidebottom reconciled, whereas I'd rather think Boober was locked in an eternal struggle with his fun side. Still, lots of fun. Sidebottom was a brilliant invention.

Fraggle Blog - Doozer Is As Doozer Does

Episode IIxxii, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

Okay, so this was not my favorite episode. I just don't find the Doozers that involving. Kind of cute, I guess, but the puppets aren't nearly as expressive as the Fraggles, and the characterizations aren't nearly as developed. And the plot was such an obvious "don't succumb to peer pressure", "kids, don't do drugs" metaphor that I just couldn't get with it.

There must be Fraggles.

Fraggle Blog - Wembley and the Great Race

Episode IIxxi, written by Robert Sandler.

A new writer!

Ooh, we actually heard the mumbling of Ned Shimmelfinney over the phone!

I love that old Apple computer gear Doc has...wonder what it all is?

Why does Red have that bandage on her face? Did I miss something?

Wow, some incredible running shots! How did they do that?

A nice episode. Some nice character development for Wembley, and a fun performance by Steve Whitmire.

Fraggle Blog - A Cave of One's Own

Episode IIxx, written by Susan and Jerry Juhl.

This is the first time I've had a strong feeling about the direction of a particular episode, and I don't feel like this one is being handled especially well. These scenes with Mokey and Red at cross purposes seem pretty sloppy and confused...I don't think it's the writing, I think it's the direction.

Hmm...Red can pick up a dumbbell with her tail! I didn't know they were prehensile!

Geez, both Mokey and Red are just talking and shouting at each other at the same time...wasn't there a better way to handle these scenes?

And only Red and Mokey are singing, so why do I hear more than two female voices?

Wow...Mokey getting violent with Red there! Such aggression!

Okay, this was not my favorite episode. So clamorous! The conflict between Mokey and Red wasn't presented cleanly, it was a big mess with both characters screaming at the same time.

Fraggle Blog - Doomsday Soup

Episode XXxix, written by Sugith Varughese.

Boober just broke out into a plot-oriented song, and Gobo and Wembley congratulated him on the great song!

That's rather a nice effect with the disappearing Fraggles!

Hey, Junior's rapping! And in 1980-whatever!

A fun episode, with some nice Gorg/Fraggle interaction.

Fraggle Blog - The Day the Music Died

Episode IIxviii, written by B.P. Nichol.

This morning there are birds singing outside Doc's door. I swear I heard gulls just a couple of episodes ago.

I think Whitmire just flubbed a line. Instead of answering Gobo with a "Me?", he said "You?". And then "Me?", quickly. But they kept going and finished the take.

The dying Ditsies are not only making the lights go out, they're making all the Fraggles grow eyelids!

Interesting episode.

Fraggle Blog - Fraggle Wars

Episode IIxvii, written by Laura Phillips.

Ooh, freaky Fraggles in Fraggle Cave!

Did we hear seagulls outside Doc's workshop when the door was open?

That was an excellently plotted episode. If you told me that within a half hour span, I'd accept that Fraggles were going to go to war against other Fraggles, and then the whole thing would be resolved, I wouldn't believe you. But the motivations and escalation were perfectly believable, something that isn't always the case on this show. Plus, there was still plenty of time for funny stuff, with some really great bits from Goelz and Whitmire. Excellent episode, one of the most tightly written yet.

Fraggle Blog - Junior Sells the Farm

Episode IIxvi, written by Jerry Juhl.

Junior is 473!

Wow, Wander McMooch is weird!

Okay, I'm feeling like I know the Gorgs a bit better after that episode. Nicely done, Mr. Juhl.

Fraggle Blog - Manny's Land of Carpets

Episode IIxv, written by David Young.

Hmm...wasn't there a better way to get the radio into the Fraggle hole than for Sprocket to get scared and put it in there?

Wow, that Santa was the worst actor I've ever seen.

The "Goodbye" song was boring.

I believe this is the first episode where my old Bear Wranglin' buddy Fred Buchholz was credited!

This was a really good episode, with a great premise. I loved the Fraggles having a relic from another civilization and completely misinterpreting what it means. Good one!

Fraggle Blog - The Secret of Convincing John

Episode IIxiv, written by B.P. Nichol.

Yay, Convincing John returns!

Well, Sprocket did bark at Gobo, but perhaps it was only because Gobo fell into the hole.

A fun episode, but then any episode with Convincing John is going to be fun! A nice exploration of Wembley's personality.

Fraggle Blog - Red's Club

Episode IIxiii, written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

Rowlf! Doc mentioned Rowlf!

After Pa Gorg caught the four Fraggles, he went to get his "blunderbuss". This seems like proof positive that he wanted to kill the Fraggles. And he apparently wanted to kill Red, even though she had just helped him.

I wish I hadn't read in the Muppet Wiki that Karen Prell was sick during this taping and Steve Whitmire had to puppeteer Red, with Karen dubbing the lines afterwards. I wonder if I would have had an inkling that something like that was going on. It seemed easy to detect Whitmire's puppetry style with the knowledge in hand, but would I have known? I wish I knew!

This episode was a significant step forward in the evolution of the show. Red and Cotterpin Doozer interacted a good deal, further eroding the barrier between Fraggles and Doozers. But apparently the murderous, bloodthirsty Gorgs are beyond hope. We'll see!

Fraggle Blog - The Doozer Contest

Episode IIxii, written by Sugith Varughese.

Hmm, the Doozers have some odd ideas about what "taking credit" means! They say it means that you think your work is better than everyone else's.

I like this exploration of the Doozer temperament. It seems that they're so used to working together for the good of all Doozers, that when more selfish, competitive feelings surface, they have no understanding of how to control them.

I wonder what building that is that Matt is trying to climb? Looked a bit like the Space Needle in Seattle, but that doesn't make sense if the show was shot in Toronto.

Nice to have another episode that gives us insight into the world of the Doozers. Not a very musical episode! But I guess Doozers aren't as musical as Fraggles anyway.

Fraggle Blog - The Wizard of Fraggle Rock

Episode IIxi, by Jocelyn Stevenson and John Pattison.

Neat, they let a puppeteer co-write an episode! And there isn't even a good part for him in it!

I wonder who that was in the photo as "The Great Doc"?

A fun episode. The Wizard was certainly a Convincing John-type character. But I feel a bit bad for the Poison Cackler. How did it ever get out of that deep pit at the end?

Fraggle Blog - A Friend in Need

Episode IIx, written by Laura Phillips.

Okay, Gobo's pretty stuck on himself this episode...

I really liked Wembley's Piglet-like frightened word-scrambling.

Hmm...this is basically the first Fraggle/Gorg conversation, isn't it?

Okay, this "Count on Me" song is really stopping things in the tracks. Can Sprocket count on you to stop singing and help him get unstuck?

Okay, at least now he's working while he's singing...

Wow, what a beautiful shot of Sprocket spiraling through the air!

Well, that was a very significant episode in terms of the evolution of Fraggle Rock's storyline. Gobo and Sprocket made friends, and Gobo and Ma Gorg had a sympathetic conversation. I guess Sprocket didn't initially chase Gobo back into the hole because he was supposed to be sad about not getting his dinner, but I think it would have been a stronger choice to have him chase Gobo as usual, and then get stuck. That would have given him a longer way to go emotionally, from the usual outrage/anger all the way to sadness and then gratitude.

So will Sprocket not chase Gobo anymore? We'll see!