Customer Reviews

Fraggle Rock - Complete First Season

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fraggle Rock has been one of my favorite shows since I first saw it on the Disney Channel back in the 1980s. I have seen most of the shows over the years and have watched them numerous times on video tape. I am thrilled that the first season is finally scheduled to come out on DVD. I have enjoyed the DVD releases of the Fraggles, but I prefer to have season collections. Hopefully this first season will sell well enough for all 5 seasons and 96 episodes to be released, as well as the various Fraggle Rock specials - such as Down At Fraggle Rock.

I love the fact that the stories are entertaining, but also have a good moral to each story. With the different worlds shown with different creatures, there's a world and creature for everyone - whatever their tastes. Since each episode usually contained at least 3 storylines about the different creatures, I'll concentrate on the Fraggles in my below description of the shows.

The first 3 shows have appeared on DVD under the title "Where It All Began" and show #11 (Catch The Tail By The Tiger) on the DVD "Live By The Rule Of The Rock", but the other 20 shows of the first year have not appeared on DVD as far as I know.

The 24 shows of season 1 are as follows:

1. Beginnings (or "The Beginning") - the different creatures of the show are introduced, beginning with the human inventor Doc and his dog Sprocket (a Muppet-type dog) discovering a large hole in the wall of an old room Doc is converting into a workshop. Gobo (one of the main Fraggles) has the scary task of entering the workshop in order to retrieve the postcards his Uncle Matt sends as Matt explores "Outer Space" (the human world).

2. Wembley and the Gorgs - Wembley causes trouble for himself when he agrees with everyone - especially the giant Gorgs, who decide to make Wembley their own personal loyal subject.

3. Let The Water Run - The Fraggles try to get the water running again when the pool goes dry due to Doc turning off the water while he's doing repairs.

4. You Can't Do That Without A Hat - Boober loses his lucky hat and loses his courage along with his hat.

5. The Thirty-Minute Work Week - Wembley has trouble making up his mind what job he wants to do.

6. The Preachification Of Convincing John - Mokey gets Convincing John to help her convince the other Fraggles that eating the Doozer constructions is wrong.

7. I Want To Be You - Because Mokey is so popular, Red decides to be just like Mokey.

8. The Terrible Tunnel - The Terrible Tunnel is just a legend ... until Wembley accidentally finds it.

9. Treasure Of The Fraggles - Red and Gobo find a map to the Treasure of the Fraggles.

10. Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk - Doc boards up the hole in the wall, trapping Gobo inside the workshop.

11. Catch The Tail By The Tiger - Gobo, although scared to death by the idea, decides to leave Fraggle Rock to look for his Uncle Matt when Gobo hasn't received a postcard for weeks.

12. The Finger Of Light - Mokey has lots of trouble being in charge when she is made Ruler of the Rock.

13. We Love You, Wembley - Everywhere Wembley turns, someone wants him to do something for them - except Lou, who likes Wembley without wanting something from him.

14. The Challenge - Red is tired of Gobo being the leader and challenges his leadership.

15. I Don't Care - No one respects Boober's feelings and he is sick of it.

16. Capture The Moon - During the Festival of the Moon, Gobo is the Moon Greeter, but Junior Gorg steals the moon!

17. Marooned - No surprise to Boober ... his birthday is interrupted by a disaster!

18. The Minstrels - Cantus and his wandering minstrels tells the Fraggles that everyone must find their own song, but Red is having a diffucult time finding her song.

19. The Great Radish Famine - The Trash Heap makes all the radishes disappear to teach everyone a lesson.

20. The Garden Plot - Fraggle Rock is being attacked from two sides - by Sprocket trying to smash his way in with a mallet and Junior Gorg trying to pulverize it from his side.

21. Gobo's Discovery - Gobo loses faith in himself and decides not to be an explorer anymore.

22. Mokey's Funeral - Mokey tries to deal with the Gorgs' trap by herself because everyone thinks she's no good at doing practical things.

23. The Beast Of Bluerock - Wembley is afraid to go with Gobo to Bluerock.

24. New Trash Heap In Town - Although the message is to think for yourselves, Mokey becomes the new Trash Heap due to a misunderstanding of the message.

Rejoice, you children of the eighties, your day is here at last! Fraggle Rock, Season One, is finally out on DVD. After years of buying stray episodes on VHS for outrageous prices, we can all sit back and enjoy what was arguably the greatest children's show of all time.

In the long history of children's programming, there have been shows that taught language skills, shows that taught math, geography, history, whatever, but "Fraggle Rock" was unique in that it focused specifically on morality. The tiny Fraggles (knee-high to a human) were mirrors of ourselves. This season addresses such issues as the real meaning of slavery ("Wembley and the Gorgs"), personal identity ("The Minstrels"), the value of natural resources ("Let the Water Run"), what makes something truly priceless ("The Treasure of the Fraggles") and, in one of my all-time favorites, the balance of ecosystems and the dangers of persuasion ("The Preachification of Convincing John").

Sound like heady stuff for kids? It was actually hilarious, sweet, and totally unforgettable. When Jim Henson died he left a void that no one has filled, a world where laughter was based not on ridicule but on goofy bizarreness, where friends were loyal and enemies usually just misunderstood, and where joy was always tinged with a touch of melancholy. "Fraggle Rock" (along with the little-seen "Storyteller") was one his most brilliant creations.

Great songs, magical sets, many of the most legendary Muppet performers, and important things to say. What more do you want? You know you belong to the song...
GRADE: A+

(For a complete list of the episodes on this 4 disc set see reviewer Jerry Edwards' review below, and give the dude his kudos for all that typing!)

From the wonderful world of puppet pioneer Jim Henson, creator of the "Muppets" comes his most successful TV work of the 1980s "Fraggle Rock". This fantasy series that had huge mass appeal across cultural groups, started with a simple premise, a workshop where inventor named Doc spends his days coming up with new ideas and his Dog, Sprocket, as curious as his master, peering into a large hole in the baseboard - there is something that lives behind the wall I tell you! Sure enough there exists a beautiful land bound together by Magic called Fraggle Rock. Through the hole and down the tunnel are the brightly lit caves filled with wonderful creatures, far removed from the world as we know it, were reality ends & fantasy begins. Front and center are the Fraggles, furry, fun loving, brightly colored creatures spending their days having a whale of a time singing, playing games, telling jokes in their simple care-free existence where the entertainment never stops!

More than 20 years after the series first aired on HBO, the word on the street is that all 5 seasons are planned for release, starting with Season 1 - All 24 episodes is set to hit the shelves with this 5disc set loaded with extras (as announced & possibly more might be added)

Fragglefantastic extras!

- Replica of Jim Henson's "Fraggle Rock" notepad
- Behind the scenes documentary narrated by Jim Henson
- New interviews with "Fraggle Rock" cast and creators
- Deluxe embossed collector's box
- CD-ROM with fun Fraggle things, like including wallpaper, games, and more

Complete Episode list: Season 1
1. Beginnings
2. Wembley and the Gorgs
3. Let the Water Run
4. You Can't Do That Without a Hat
5. The 30 Minute Work Week
6. The Preachification of Convincing John
7. I Want To Be You
8. The Terrible Tunnel
9. The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles
10. Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk
11. Catch the Tail by the Tiger
12. The Finger of Light
13. We Love You Wembley
14. The Challenge
15. I Don't Care
16. Capture the Moon
17. Marooned
18. The Minstrels
19. The Great Radish Famine
20. The Garden Plot
21. New Trash Heap in Town
22. Gobo's Discovery
23. Mokey's Funeral
24. The Beast of Bluerock

This fall... something furry comes this way!

We-Baa We-Baa, Wa-pa Wa-pa, Garbage, Gumbage, Whoo-Pee!!
We've been writing petitions, making noise, and basically begging for this for almost a decade. It looks like someone finally heard us, and understood.

We are not just shopping for an episode or two for our kids. We are a generation of "Jim's Kids". We grew up on these shows, and even as children some part of us knew that Henson's (creator of the Muppets) Genius was only outweighed by his Wisdom..... and Fraggle Rock is where both meet in an wondrous philosophical party for you brain and your heart! We *will* show them to our children, and our children's children, but we will be right there by their side reliving every moment of the laughter and warm glow we felt the first time we encountered Jim Henson's amazing perspective of the world, and knew that (if no where else) we were at home in Fraggle Rock.

I am pre-ordering this RIGHT NOW, to make sure my message gets sent loud and clear in the cooperate executive language... here's my money, take it, please!
...just keep them coming, every season!.. right up until the end when all the races of Fraggle Rock finally discover that we are all interdependent, and none of us are "silly creatures"... or at least not too silly to look at each other and completely understand that "you're a you!"
.... Or at the very least, can I just have the Mud Bunny episode? ;P

Even if you have never seen this series, if you have children and are struggling to communicate an open-minded, non-religious-but-very-spiritual, value based, ethical, soically aware, fun loving World View...This is a MUST Have!! Given that it is Henson, the production quality easily rivals what is produced today, and the content has no rivals.

If you have seen the series, make sure you check out the amazon customer review that lists the episodes included in the first season. Right now it's the last one in the list.

First thing I have to say is - wow. I can't believe I forgot how much I love the Fraggles! Ok, that's out of the way.

Henson/Disney have struck gold in the last few weeks, first releasing The Muppet Show (See Review) and now Fraggle Rock. Between the two of them, my time has been pretty much occupied by those lovable creatures known to the world as Muppets.

Fraggle Rock's first season consists of twenty-four episodes that deal with the issues of the five major Fraggles, Gobo, Red, Mokey, Wembley (my personal favorite), and Boober, ranging from working and chores all the way up to near-death experiences, nothing you would normally expect from a typical children's television programming. The Fraggles live day-to-day lives of singing, dancing, eating doozer sticks, stealing radishes, and asking the Trash Heap and her two guards, who look like anteaters, for usually very unhelpful advice. The songs they sing are original, catchy, and are things you probably would find me singing as I walk down the street listening to my iPod.

As for special features, this set delivers just what I was asking for in my review of The Muppet Show. You get interviews with the muppeteers, as well as a walkthrough documentary showing how they do it. There is also a CD-ROM that came with the set that had desktop themes, wallpapers and screen savers. It is worth it just to see the Doozers walk on my screen building things.

Although I am a little too young to have first watched the fraggles back in the 80s, I grew up watching the episodes on tape, and they will always have a special place in my heart. So finally owning all of the episodes from the first season (and hopefully all the box-sets after that) is brilliant.

Since there has already been a good summary of all the episodes posted, I'm going to do a general review of the series so far...

Fraggle rock is a wonderful, musical slice of fun for anyone, regardless of whether or not you're a fan of jim henson's muppets (although it probably helps if you are). Although its storylines and morals are technically aimed at under 10s, it rides along with a very witty, thoughtful script that adults should be alble to enjoy and relate to as much as kids. Nothing is "dumbed-down" the way things so often are in kids shows; the characters deal with some rather complicated issues and they themselves are deceptively complex. However, this is all played over a fuzzy, colourful, and downright cute fantasy underground world where everyone eats radishes and sings all day.

The story sets off with young Fraggle Gobo's uncle leaving the underground safety of Fraggle Rock to explore the human world (or "outer space" as it has been christened by the fearful Fraggle community), and he leaves Gobo with the task of collecting his postcards every week in order to learn more about the strange outside world. But in each episode the real action takes place not in our world, but the colourful fantasy world of the Fraggles, full of wonderful and terrible creatures, massive caves, and lots of music. And this action mostly revolves around five young fraggle friends and their relationships and adventures.

The main character, Gobo, never appealed to me at first, since at first glance he comes accross as the standard "brave, does-everything-totally-right leader" cutout type, but as the episodes progress, it becomes obvious that even he has doubts about himself and his abilities, and his difficulties with overcoming these problems give his character a great deal more depth. Gentle, thoughtful, and empathetic Mokey is the most mature of the fraggle characters, and usually acts as the parent/sister figure to the younger fraggles. Red, the other female fraggle, will probably prove alot more popular with younger veiwers because of her childish energy, and her brashness makes for some very entertaining episodes as well, as do her turbulent relationships with her fellow fraggles. These characters are all very likeable once you get to know them, and they are played with a great deal of energy and obvious enjoyment by their puppeteers (who also provide their voices with great skill), but the spotlight really has to go to the fraggles Wembley and Boober; if it wasn't for their respective "wembling" (Fraggle for "indecisiveness") and worrying, FR just wouldn't be the same. They provide the majority of the comic relief, and the episodes involving them usually prove the most absorbing. Other great recurring characters worth a mention are Marjorie the tash-heap-oracle-who-isn't-really-an-oracle and her two wisecracking shrew-like assistants, Gobo's Uncle Travelling Matt who wanders the human world outside Fraggle Rock in what seems to be a permenant state of confusion and wonder, and of course the human Doc and his amazingly human-like dog Sprocket, whose problems often mirror the problems faced by the Fraggles beneath them.

Since this is an episodic, Saturday kids show, with another four seasons to go, the characters don't develop a great deal across the episodes, but within each story they each learn important lessons about life and prove again and again just how close they are and how much they care for each other, and this makes for some sweet and even genuinely emotional moments such as in the episodes "marooned", "I don't care", and "catch a tail by the tiger". But it never becomes preachy or melodramatic, and there's always enough comedy, colour and music to keep the series very lighthearted.

Since Fraggles love to sing, the songs featured in the series are very important. Although sometimes I did feel the writers just shoved a song in rather awkwardly at the last minute, all the music is of a very high quality considering there's generally more than one song per EVER episode. This will delight younger kids, but older veiwers may find themselves skipping the songs so they can get on with the cute, funny storylines uninterrupted.

The Gorgs, the "bad guys" of the series, are also certainly very well-done (a mix of people in costumes and animatronics that can be seen the the later Jim Henson production DINOSAURS) but I found the episodes centered around them just weren't as fun or interesting, but thats just my opinion. Its ironic that the basic puppets managed to keep my attention far better than the technically advanced, more over-the-top gorgs, but thats just the way it is.

This DVD boxed set is of very good quality, with a few extra goodies such as an original Documentary, new interviews with the cast and writers (one of whom, Jerry Juhl, tragically died shortly after filming these interviews), which should please all the die hard fans that cult success has brought this excellent show.

Fraggle Rock is genuinely smart and funny, with wonderful, well-played, throughly likable characters, catchy music and a large, diverse world that both reflects and opposes our own. Okay, so it never really captures Jim Henson's original vision of being a show that "creates world peace", but lets face it, nothing could have done that really, and why complain when the end result is so good anyway?

Good bits:

+ A colourful puppet-world that is still showing very few signs of age over two decades on
+ Tons of songs that the little'uns will sing and dance along to
+ Surpisingly three-dimensional characters and a disarmingly sweet storyline that can be very moving at times.
+ Its just downright funny, more so than so many "adult comedies" out there

Bad bits:

- The gorgs probably just won't prove as interesting to older veiewers as the Fraggles and Doc will
- Could have done with a bit more character development across the whole series. I KNOW the writers could have done that if they'd tried.
- A few plot inconsistencies, but you'll spot them if you're careful
- A little too many songs, and not always at the right moments

Bear in mind all these bad points aren't particularly important at all, and Fraggle Rock definately adds up to more than the sum of its parts. I give it a very deserving 5/5.

My childhood (actually, teenage) memories of Fraggle Rock were of a fun entertaining show, with some great fantasy concepts, and some happy little songs.

Well, my memories underrated it by a huge amount - this show is brilliant! The characters are hilariously funny and wonderfully sweet. The songs are amazing, beautiful and incredibly catchy. The stories are sometimes heartwrenchingly touching. In the episode "Marooned" when Red and Boober are trapped after a rockfall, there's some truly touching acting that really made me quite solemn and introspective.

I'm just stunned by this show's excellence.

sure I too grew up on the fraggles, but what I forgot about these funny little creatures is how easily they relate to me, and to you others i'm sure. there's so many different levels of humor in the fraggles, that anyone from a child to a elderly person can enjoy watching them. Truthfully I think now that I'm older (and with a BA in film production) the fraggles are even MORE enjoyable to watch than they used to be! Even if you're on a budget, try to get the cash for this box set. The digital mastering is the best it can be, considering what technology was used to originally make these little gems of entertainment. The packaging is excellent, and Jim Henson's included notepad reproduction is an interesting bonus.

Fraggle Rock is the single greatest children's show ever produced. Every episode is full of subtle messages of tolerance and understanding without being preachy. The puppetry of Jim Henson is impeccable,with each character fully realized and no two puppets alike. This show is more than a wonderful memory; recapturing it brings back the most loved times of my youth. I am a Fraggle Rock fan. I will always be a Fraggle Rock fan. Fraggle Rock, for every single thing it is, taps into my soul an intravenous spirit of love, caring, intelligence and friendship. May you too relive the Rock days as well.

(Actually, I guess the title is Down At Fraggle Rock, I guess I've been mishearing it all these years...)

I used to watch this show when I was very young, and I loved it then, but I think I love it even more now. There's just nothing else like it. The stories, the characters, and the music are all energetic, upbeat, and positive, but there are real messages about tolerance and empathy behind them (Jim Henson's goal, when creating the show, was to promote peace on earth).

And everywhere you look there's something new and fascinating to discover in this world. The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles. The Terrible Tunnel. The Festival of the Fraggle Moon. Fraggle Rock is a richly detailed and layered environment, and it's easy for me to lose myself in it, even twenty years later (and older).

And lastly, the music in this show was fabulous. Beautifully written and performed, and it doesn't sound like "children's music." I wish more of it had been released on CD.