Fraggle Rock brings back nostalgic feelings for the kids of the 80s and now they can either relive those feelings or introduce their kids to the wonders of Fraggle Rock. Fox brings out Season 2 of Fraggle Rock in this 5 disc set.
Fraggle Rock is a magical place located below the workshop of Doc and his dog Sprocket’s (well, depending on which country you happen to be in at the time, more on that in special features) workshop that is inhabited by the energetic little creatures called Fraggles.
The five main Fraggles are Gobo (the leader), Wembley (Gobo’s roommate), Red (energetic and one for sports), Mokey (plant loving hippy), and Boober (Mr. Pessimism). The other inhabitants of Fraggle rock include the small, green Doozers (who build) and the rather large Gorgs. The three Gorgs think they are rulers of the universe. All the while, Gobo is getting postcards from his Uncle Traveling Matt who is exploring “outer space” (aka our world).
Episode 1: Wembley’s Egg: A giant egg from the Gorg’s garden lands in the middle of Fraggle Rock, and Wembley decides to hatch it.
Episode 2: Boober Rock: Boober gets tired of all the noise and activity of Fraggle Rock and runs away to find peace and quiet.
Episode 3: The Trash Heap Doesn’t Live Here Anymore: The Gorgs move the Trash Heap, and the Fraggles discover their source of wisdom is not quite the same anymore.
Episode 4: Red’s Sea Monster: Red discovers a giant sea monster living in Fraggle Rock, but no one believer her.
Episode 5: Uncle Matt Comes Home: Uncle Traveling Matt comes back from Outer Space to spend some time with his nephew Gobo.
Episode 6: Boober’s Dream: Boober dreams about a strange Fraggle called Sidebottom, who turns out to be more than just a dream.
Episode 7: Mokey and the Minstrels: The Minstrels return to Fraggle Rock and Mokey leaves her friends to join them as their guest.
Episode 8: All Work and All Play: Cotterpin Doozer decides that she’d rather be a Fraggle, like Red, then spending the rest of her life building with the Doozers.
Episode 9: Sir Hubris and the Gorgs: The Fraggles play a trick on the Gorgs and it works perfectly – until the whole thing backfires.
Episode 10: A Friend in Need: Sprocket gets stuck in the hole between Doc’s workshop and Fraggle Rock and Gobo has to help him escape.
Episode 11: The Wizard of Fraggle Rock: The Wizard comes to Fraggle Rock and convinces Wembley to switch places with him.
Doc and Sprocket
Episode 12: The Doozer Contest: An argument between Flange and Modem Doozer turns into a Doozer duel and causes a crisis in Fraggle Rock.
Episode 13: Red’s Club: Red decides to start a club of her own, but the only other member that she can find is Cotterpin Doozer.
Episode 14: The Secret of Convincing John: Wembley can never make up his mind about anything, that is until he meets Convincing John (Jim Henson) and becomes the most decisive Fraggle on Fraggle Rock.
Episode 15: Manny’s Land of Carpets: A transistor radio finds its way to Fraggle Rock and the Fraggles thinks that the places that it talks about (advertisements) really exist and they want to go there.
Episode 16: Junior Sells the Farm: Junior Gorg meets a fast talking salesman who offers him some magic peas for the family farm.
Episode 17: Fraggle Wars: Mokey discovers another tribe of Fraggles who live in a far corner of Fraggle Rock.
Episode 18: The Day the Music Died: Gobo is trying to write a song commemorating his Uncle Traveling Matt.
Episode 19: The Doomsday Soup: Boober invents a soup that makes Fraggles invisible, but it can also blow up Fraggle Rock!
Episode 20: A Cave of One’s Own: Red and Mokey decide to share a cave, but find that they’re not very good roommates.
Episode 21: Wembley and the Great Race: Wembley and Gobo’s friendship is strained when they find themselves competing in a big race.
Fraggles in the round
Episode 22: Doozer is as Doozer Does: Wrench Doozer wants to be part of the best Doozer squad around – no matter what the danger.
Episode 23: Boober’s Quiet Day: Boober tries to have a quiet day, but his alter ego Sidebottom shows up to make sure that he doesn’t.
Episode 24: The Invasion of the Toe Ticklers: The cute Toe-Ticklers come to Fraggle Rock and Mokey decides to make them stay, that is until they start to change and the Fraggle panic.
Fraggle Rock was the show to watch in the 80s and is somewhat lesser know than their more famous cousins the Muppets. Fraggle Rock is a cute show that has lessons for kids hidden within the lives of the mischievous little creatures.
I cannot recall watching the show, but the show has a sort of infectious likeability. My kids seemed to be enjoying themselves. Fans of the Fraggles are many and they’ll be most happy with the package that Fox and HIT Entertainment has assembled.
Fraggle Rock is presented in fullscreen as it was originally shown. Special features include a reproduction of Jim Henson’s pitch book. The back of the package makes it look like it’s going to be a rather big spiral notebook, sadly, it’s just a paper reproduction. It is still fun to look through though.
The next special feature is located on disc 5 and is the 35 minute “Special Tribute to Jerry Juhl.” It is a tribute to the late Fraggle Rock creator and has interviews with producer Jerry Nelson, wife/script editor/writer Susan Juhl, associate producer Martin Baker, Muppet performer Dave Goelz, producer Lawrence S. Mirkin, co-creator/writer Jocelyn Stevenson, writer David Young, performer (Red Fraggle) Karen Prell, writer Sugith Varughese, composer Phil Balsam, co-creator/international producer Duncan Kenworthy, writer Robert Sandler, and performer Steve Whitmire.
The Gorgs - Rulers of the Universe!
The next item is several featurettes and can be watched separately or the play all function produces over an hour of material. The section include a Season 2 Overview, Docs and Sprockets, Traveling Matt, Steve’s Home Movie, 20 International Traveling Matts, and All Around the World Music Video. The ones that interested me the most was Docs and Sprockets. To sell the show internationally they redid the Doc and Sprockets segments with performers from England, Germany, and France.
It was easy to re-dub the Muppet action, but they thought that the particular audience needed a Doc and Sprocket from their own country. It’s interesting to see this different side of things. There are also 20 “postcards” from Traveling Matt that feature international locales. Steve’s Home Movie is from a videotape that Steve Whitmire found that shows a recording session of one of the Fraggle’s songs. Very nice stuff for the Fraggle fan.
I found Fraggle Rock still entertaining after all these years. The special features are also very nice (though I was expecting a spiral bound book, boo hoo.) and are sure to please fans of the show.
I thought the tribute to the late Jerry Juhl was very moving and nice to see something about the man who was potentially eclipsed by Jim Henson’s shadow (I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just I bet more people could identify Henson).
Fraggle Rock - The Complete Second Season is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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