Down in Fraggle Rock

Go here!

I loved this show. I remember being scared by the "Terrible Tunnel" and impressed that Wimbly insisted on returning to it to face his fears. I remember liking Gobo the most because he was the only one who volunteered to go to "outer space" (Uncle Travelling Matt is in his own league). I remember firmly believing that the Doozer buildings taste liked rock candy.

This site tells both the story of what happened in the show and also how it came to be. "[Jim Henson] made it clear that the task was to create a series that was going to stop war in the world. If you were going to change the world's ideas about how to resolve conflict, you had to start with children. Jim didn't delude himself into thinking he could create a television show that could actually prevent wars, but he did sincerely believe that he could produce a program that would help sow the seeds of pacifism in the minds of the world's children."

Jim Henson was awesome. He had me at "The Dark Crystal," one of my all time favorite movies. Like Lucas and Spielberg, even Warhol, he worked the system to change it from the inside out. That in turn, changed how our culture views entertainment (and created "edu-tainment)". He also performed the characters of Cantus the Minstrel (the creepy flute player that wanted Moke to join him) and "Convincing John" (you gotta remember him! Listen to Convincing John and all your troubles will be gone!).

It's crazy to think that I was one of those kids Fraggle Rock was trying to reach. I hope Jim Henson knows it worked, even though I love Ultimate Fighting. I hope he also knows that I'm going to have my own child watch the same shows he made for my generation. They messages he tackled are still as valid today as they were 25 years ago. What better compliment can you give to a piece of art?