Fraggle Rock, my take on this
After consulting with Galen on whether or not Fraggle Rock would count for this series, I was advised that it having been geared towards kids, added to the fact that there was an animated version of it produced (more on that later) as well, that it would count just fine to be posted on.
Fun fact: Jim Henson, of Muppets fame, was the creator of Fraggle Rock, and it came on HBO here in the states up to and through syndication. I was 4 years old at the outset and 8 when it "ended" and remember intently (after we moved in with my grandmother at age 5) getting up to watch it when we got cable.
What we had in this show was a message more wholesome than we have come to expect from an HBO show of any kind. Brilliant in the depiction of differing groups working together for the greater good of their 'world' in the face of their fundamental differences, despite their not knowing what they contributed to one anothers' existences. Facing things without dumbing them down, while still maintaining a presentation that was entertaining to children at the time.
[Phlip note - and to adults right now, to be dead assed honest with you]
That is not to say it is not without silliness, not in the very least. Hell, the first point of silliness comes with the very premise of big-nose multicolored "things" living underground and singing songs and shit.
It was kinda like what I might imagine an acid trip to be like if I was into drugs like that.
The group seemed to do not much more than just chill out and have adventures, and it is yet unclear how many Fraggles there actually were outside of the main characters. We DO know that they lived on radishes and Doozer Sticks -- the structural parts of the building projects the 1/3-sized when compared to a Fraggle were always building -- with no particular reason other than to be eaten by the Fraggles...
Think on this for a second, people. The Doozers would build the structures, which I imagine were something like a candy to the Fraggles, made of the Radishes somehow and they INTENDED on them to be arbitrarily destroyed and eaten by the Fraggles. AND THEN THEY'D DO THE SHIT AGAIN!
Jim Henson, though... He was no dummy... One episode, one Fraggle gets a conscience about them fucking up the Doozers' work as they had always done... Well, when this happened, the Doozers kept fuckin working as they did, eventually running out of space to build any more because their work was not being eaten. In an especially weird exchange, the Doozers decided that they would move to another area where their work will be eaten again... I cried into my beer, Bruiser looked at me as if something was wrong with me and if my supervisor was reading this, I would be piss tested immediately upon my return to work.
The Fraggle who initially got all soft about eating the Doozers' work heard one of the Doozers explaining to her child the problem and why they were moving, had a moment of Zen, and told the rest of the Fraggles, they all pigged the fuck out and the Doozers stayed. I was happy again, Bruiser was no longer looking at me funny and I am pretty sure I could STILL be piss tested for having typed that shit.
You know what? I am 30 damned years old and in the face of my hangups, I have and will keep RIGHT on watching this shit like I did when I was 5.
The Fraggles can share dreams if they're touching heads before they go to sleep.
The Fraggle Gobo has an uncle named Matt who travels into "outer space," which we find out frequently is the regular human people world, and it seems that the whole of Fraggle Rock is contained under some old man, Doc's, shop at one exit and from a well near the home of some human-like Gorgs at another. How Doc can live that close to some 22-ft tall humanoids is beyond me...
Hilarity ensues when Doc's dog tries with all he has to alert him to the Fraggles' existence which is met with Doc's obliviousness. Similarly hilarious is how Junior Gorg catches a Fraggle from time to time "LOOK MA, A FWAGGLE!!!" and she nearly shits her pants every time.
The Fraggles and Gorgs BOTH depend on the radishes, which the Gorgs grow and tend to for the Fraggles and Doozers take for reasons previously named. Also, despite apparently living in what SEEMS to be conveniently close to humans, the Gorgs have apparently not seen anyone other than one of their own in several years.
Make sense yet? No?
Good!
Because we have not even gotten INTO the singing and shit, yet and I am not going into that yet right now either.
The aforementioned "outer space" (the world outside of Fraggle Rock), inhabited with so-called "silly creatures" (humans) represents one exit to Fraggle Rock, while another comes in some seemingly far-off land where Gorgs live and their castle is infested with what is understood to be thousands of Fraggles, yet none of these 3 worlds is ever fully introduced to one another, despite what seems to be small degrees of separation?
Never mind that, we'll just suspend disbelief and move on to the next element here.
[Phlip note - or get high and move on to the next element... You know, if you're like IN to that kinda thing]
Let us not forget the Fraggles' guidance if you will, Marjory the Trash Heap located near to the Gorg's garden:
She was always introduced by Philo and Gunge, who did so with corny-ass dry humor
Every episode had an original song or 3, sometimes solo, sometimes a huge group of Fraggles would team up and sing on the song, performing with instruments and everything.
[Phlip note - y'all don't know how many times I have typed the word "smurf" in this damned post and had to fix it]
The thing with the music, though, is that is was generally pretty good most times and was all original. I am to understand that Koch released a 3-disc set containing this music and when I take a break from typing on this post, I will scour the Googles for it to make a part of my collection.
As of 10:48pm on 02/09/2010, I have not yet realized the downloadification of that set, but I will continue to look for it.
At the end of this all, I TRIED to present something to qualify as "disassembly" of this show for the posting of this blog, but I honestly just couldn't do it. Sure, sensory overload renders it with the beauty of an acid trip, but simplicity renders it enjoyable to a child. Silly shit makes an adult laugh. The fact that I typed most of this post from memory should say something, considering that I am a drunkard with a shitty memory.
In my life, I have encountered TWO childrens' shows possessing the brilliance of Fraggle Rock, and deductive reasoning leads any clear thinking individual to see that Fraggle Rock is one of them. The other is Pee Wee's Playhouse.
One must disconnect themselves from the physical to see what is intended and presented to make it come together, but it gets no better once you let it.
Fun fact: Jim Henson, of Muppets fame, was the creator of Fraggle Rock, and it came on HBO here in the states up to and through syndication. I was 4 years old at the outset and 8 when it "ended" and remember intently (after we moved in with my grandmother at age 5) getting up to watch it when we got cable.
What we had in this show was a message more wholesome than we have come to expect from an HBO show of any kind. Brilliant in the depiction of differing groups working together for the greater good of their 'world' in the face of their fundamental differences, despite their not knowing what they contributed to one anothers' existences. Facing things without dumbing them down, while still maintaining a presentation that was entertaining to children at the time.
[Phlip note - and to adults right now, to be dead assed honest with you]
That is not to say it is not without silliness, not in the very least. Hell, the first point of silliness comes with the very premise of big-nose multicolored "things" living underground and singing songs and shit.
It was kinda like what I might imagine an acid trip to be like if I was into drugs like that.
The group seemed to do not much more than just chill out and have adventures, and it is yet unclear how many Fraggles there actually were outside of the main characters. We DO know that they lived on radishes and Doozer Sticks -- the structural parts of the building projects the 1/3-sized when compared to a Fraggle were always building -- with no particular reason other than to be eaten by the Fraggles...
Think on this for a second, people. The Doozers would build the structures, which I imagine were something like a candy to the Fraggles, made of the Radishes somehow and they INTENDED on them to be arbitrarily destroyed and eaten by the Fraggles. AND THEN THEY'D DO THE SHIT AGAIN!
Jim Henson, though... He was no dummy... One episode, one Fraggle gets a conscience about them fucking up the Doozers' work as they had always done... Well, when this happened, the Doozers kept fuckin working as they did, eventually running out of space to build any more because their work was not being eaten. In an especially weird exchange, the Doozers decided that they would move to another area where their work will be eaten again... I cried into my beer, Bruiser looked at me as if something was wrong with me and if my supervisor was reading this, I would be piss tested immediately upon my return to work.
The Fraggle who initially got all soft about eating the Doozers' work heard one of the Doozers explaining to her child the problem and why they were moving, had a moment of Zen, and told the rest of the Fraggles, they all pigged the fuck out and the Doozers stayed. I was happy again, Bruiser was no longer looking at me funny and I am pretty sure I could STILL be piss tested for having typed that shit.
You know what? I am 30 damned years old and in the face of my hangups, I have and will keep RIGHT on watching this shit like I did when I was 5.
The Fraggles can share dreams if they're touching heads before they go to sleep.
The Fraggle Gobo has an uncle named Matt who travels into "outer space," which we find out frequently is the regular human people world, and it seems that the whole of Fraggle Rock is contained under some old man, Doc's, shop at one exit and from a well near the home of some human-like Gorgs at another. How Doc can live that close to some 22-ft tall humanoids is beyond me...
Hilarity ensues when Doc's dog tries with all he has to alert him to the Fraggles' existence which is met with Doc's obliviousness. Similarly hilarious is how Junior Gorg catches a Fraggle from time to time "LOOK MA, A FWAGGLE!!!" and she nearly shits her pants every time.
The Fraggles and Gorgs BOTH depend on the radishes, which the Gorgs grow and tend to for the Fraggles and Doozers take for reasons previously named. Also, despite apparently living in what SEEMS to be conveniently close to humans, the Gorgs have apparently not seen anyone other than one of their own in several years.
Make sense yet? No?
Good!
Because we have not even gotten INTO the singing and shit, yet and I am not going into that yet right now either.
The aforementioned "outer space" (the world outside of Fraggle Rock), inhabited with so-called "silly creatures" (humans) represents one exit to Fraggle Rock, while another comes in some seemingly far-off land where Gorgs live and their castle is infested with what is understood to be thousands of Fraggles, yet none of these 3 worlds is ever fully introduced to one another, despite what seems to be small degrees of separation?
Never mind that, we'll just suspend disbelief and move on to the next element here.
[Phlip note - or get high and move on to the next element... You know, if you're like IN to that kinda thing]
Let us not forget the Fraggles' guidance if you will, Marjory the Trash Heap located near to the Gorg's garden:
She was always introduced by Philo and Gunge, who did so with corny-ass dry humor
Every episode had an original song or 3, sometimes solo, sometimes a huge group of Fraggles would team up and sing on the song, performing with instruments and everything.
[Phlip note - y'all don't know how many times I have typed the word "smurf" in this damned post and had to fix it]
The thing with the music, though, is that is was generally pretty good most times and was all original. I am to understand that Koch released a 3-disc set containing this music and when I take a break from typing on this post, I will scour the Googles for it to make a part of my collection.
As of 10:48pm on 02/09/2010, I have not yet realized the downloadification of that set, but I will continue to look for it.
At the end of this all, I TRIED to present something to qualify as "disassembly" of this show for the posting of this blog, but I honestly just couldn't do it. Sure, sensory overload renders it with the beauty of an acid trip, but simplicity renders it enjoyable to a child. Silly shit makes an adult laugh. The fact that I typed most of this post from memory should say something, considering that I am a drunkard with a shitty memory.
In my life, I have encountered TWO childrens' shows possessing the brilliance of Fraggle Rock, and deductive reasoning leads any clear thinking individual to see that Fraggle Rock is one of them. The other is Pee Wee's Playhouse.
One must disconnect themselves from the physical to see what is intended and presented to make it come together, but it gets no better once you let it.
.jpg)
Comments