Customer Reviews

Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series Collection

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(75)

 

 

So i broke down and bought this today. I had originally bought the first five single dvd's that came out (where it all began, dance your cares away, etc.), then rebought most of those epesodes with the first three season releases. I figured, "What the heck. I'll suck it up and buy it." Let me tell you that those of you who decided not too are better off. This is just awful.

First, the packaging is horrible. The binder like book that the dvd's are held in makes it very easy for them to fall out and come loose in the box. When first opened it, about a third of the discs were out of the sleeves.

Second is the Bonus material. there are some new on disc pieces that were not offered on the first three sets, but thats pretty much it. none of the extra little things that made the other sets fun (like the character art pages from season three). The only non-disc extra in the box is a poster sized concept art picture of "The fraggle rock universe".

And third, it even lacks the one sentence synopsis of the episodes that was included with the other season releases. It just lists the names of the episodes on the pages opposite the discs.

It seems that all the thought that went into making the first three season sets special went right out the door when they came up nwith the idea for this set. It's simply a plan to drain money out of fans, and i guess they got away with one here. I higly reccommend NOT BUYING THIS SET. rather wait and hope they release the fourth season by itself with some actual thought for the fans.

Hope this helps at least one person.

--- SEE EDIT AT BOTTOM ---

The first comment is correct: HIT Entertainment currently has no plans to release an individual box set of the fourth (and final) season of Fraggle Rock. Of all TV series to be released on DVD, this is the first to put out a complete series mega-set without finishing the season-by-season run.

Those of you (and there are MANY) who purchased the first three seasons since 2005 are stuck having to re-buy 75% of the series if you want to finish your collections.

If you want an individual Season 4 box set of Fraggle Rock, please let HIT know! Fan support (and consumer correspondence) is what convinced them to release season box sets in the first place. Your support CAN help change their minds.

HIT Entertainment's customer service number is:

1-866-405-7625

You can write them a letter at:

HIT Entertainment
Attn: Consumer Relations (Fraggle Rock)
P.O. Box 9000
Allen, Texas 75013

And you can e-mail them at:

[...]

--- EDIT 6/16/2009 ---

HIT Entertainment no longer distributes Fraggle Rock for the Jim Henson Company. If you wish to see an individual Season 4, the best bet would now be to contact Henson directly. They welcome consumer comments on their Twitter account, which is probably the most efficient way to get in touch with them:
[...]

I simply refuse to support such greed. The internet has ways around such things. And companies wonder why piracy is so rampant.

***EDIT***

I wound up purchasing this set since I found people to gift my old sets... I truly wish I hadn't. The packaging is HORRID!

13 of the 20 discs were floating free in the box. This will happen with nearly every set as the design has no way to lock the discs into notebook-style sleeves.

There are also no nifty trinkets such as Henson's notebook & pitchbook as found in 1 & 2 and Frith's sketches in set 3. There is a basic map of Fraggle Rock.... big deal.

For those being tempted to give away their old sets to pick this up... DON'T!!!

I defintely 100% agree with all the other Fraggle Rock Fans out there.... We have put our hard earned money into the first 3 seasons of our favorite childhood show... or even as older adults that enjoyed the show and wish to share the wisdom and laughs of the Fraggles with their children and grand children. This is definitely an act of greed of HIT entertainment. I cannot totally argue the fact that this is not a good idea for those who have none of the other seasons, but for those of us that have already spent close to $100 dollars on seasons one through three there is no point to purchase this. Why is it neccesary to buy something you already have. Then here we are with a copy of the 1st 3 seasons, what are we suposed to do with them now???
I love the Fraggles. I grew up with them. They taught me a lot and I would love to complete my set of childhood memories but I am not going to spend my money frivolously on something that is not needed....
It is outrageous!!!!

I refuse to buy the complete set!!!!
And I hope that all you other Fraggle Rock fans agree with this idea. Make HIT entertainment release it seperately!!!!!!
Or have them make a deal with us fellow Rockers to buy back our first 3 seasons to enable us to buy the whole set without spending our money wastefully and having duplicates!!!!

What would the Fraggles think of this???

I am going to the Trash Heap for advice -----

...this release - and the outright trick against us as consumers to force us to dig deeper into our pockets than is necessary - goes against the morals and ideals emphasized by Jim Henson and the characters of Fraggle Rock. HIT Entertainment - the honored Henson (and Gobo and the gang) would be ashamed of you! I too will not give in to this baloney. The more boxed sets that sit on HIT's shelf collecting dust, the better. Maybe they'll get it that what they're trying to pull is just plain wrong.

Another review here saying DO NOT BUY THIS. Horrible packaging renders all its discs damaged and scratched. Save yourself a lot of trouble by buying seasons 1-3 separately and just wait for Season 4. I'm sure it'll come out eventually.

As if it wasn't bad enough that HIT decides to try to milk fans who already have Seasons 1-3 by only releasing Season 4 in the complete set, but the set sucks. It's poor design is right up there with the complete Stargate collection SG-1. You won't get a set that isn't scratched. Do yourself a favor and order from Australia. You'll save yourself a lot grief. Hopefully Amazon doesn't have to pay for all the returns they are sure to get for this set.

Yes, I bought the three previous season sets.

And yes, not releasing season 4 separately is a huge marketing mistake, because the last thing any company should do is piss off loyal customers.

I gave it a lot of thought and decided to still buy this set, eBay-ing off the first three volumes. And guess what, I sold the sets for only roughly $20.00 less than the cost of the complete series. So, for me it was a good deal after all. (Not so much for the people who bought them. But hey, I started the auctions at 1.00, so it's really the bidders fault, not mine.)

Now, to the set...

The box is wonderful to behold. The big Fraggle Rock logo inside the transparent packaging is actually three-dimensional and looks like a real piece of the Rock. Simply gorgeous, the pictures on Amazon don't do it justice.

The logo is actually the frontpiece of a sturdy binder that holds ten fold-out cardboard panels. Each of the panels contains wonderful artwork and promotional photos as well as two discs. (Yes, two discs slid out during transport, but there's no big danger of scratching in this set.)

The discs are consecutively numbered 1 to 20, and the different seasons are color-coded.

Even though the printing on the discs is different, the first 15 are exactly the same as the original releases - same menu screens and everything.

And here's the deal: When you pop in the season 4 DVDs, the menu doesn't say 'disc 16' but rather 'Season 4 - Disc 1'. Which means that HIT can sell these as a separate release without having to re-author anything. I guess that's a ray of hope for those that are waiting for a standalone season 4.

I don't have to say anything about the episodes themselves. Especially the last few are absolutely brilliant television, wrapping things up beautifully.

Picture and sound are on par with the first three sets, meaning as good as it can get for a series from the 80s that was recorded on video rather than film. Good job indeed. Still no subtitles though.

Disc 20 holds the bonus material, and this time they have outdone themselves. You get more than 100 minutes of different featurettes: the Gorg puppeteers discussing their roles, puppet design, an overview of season 4 (discussing among other things the final story arc), a small piece about the directors, and 15 minutes about the show's music.

The real gold is yet to come, though: a ten-minute piece on the evolution of the theme song, as well as more than 20 minutes footage from the last day of shooting and the wrap party. The party has the Fraggles appearing live onstage for a song and a speech by Henson.

Almost forgot: The packaging also includes a large print of a Michael Frith illustration showing the Fraggle world (Outer Space, the Rock and the Gorg's castle). Gorgeuos, I'll definitely frame and hang it.

Bottom line: Crappy marketing stragegy... But a gorgeous set, with season 4 it has the best episodes Fraggle Rock has to offer, and a bevy of brilliant bonus material. All in all, a definite five-star product.

So if you can sell the first three sets for a good price, or have them be a gift to someone you like, or even want to donate them to your library - go for this set. Worth every penny.

I hope whatever genius came up with this release plan gets thumped by a Gorg (or a pink slip) for alienating Henson's fans this way.

I'd grumble a bit if they released the boxed set first and *then* the 4th DVD set a couple of weeks later. It's still a slap in the face to everyone who bought the first three seasons, but it makes a certain amount of marketing sense. To not release the final seasons for individual sale *at all* is pure highway robbery, and a clear indication that HIT Entertainment believes Muppet fans are so stupid they'll cough up $140 for anything with the Jim Henson logo (even if it's something they already own)

There's no way I'm buying this boxed set when it comes out, which breaks my heart, since I missed the last two seasons of Fraggle Rock during their original transmission, so these episodes are brand new to me.

I won't be buying the Fraggle Rock series until Season 4 is released individually. Hell, there are plenty of great episodes from the first three seasons to keep me entertained until then. I'm with you all.... don't buy this product.