Fraggle Rock

Fraggle Rock—also called *Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock* or *Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets*—is a children's television series that blends puppetry, musical comedy, and fantasy. Created by Jim Henson, the show centers on several communities of Muppet creatures that are all connected to one another. Unlike *The Muppet Show* and *Sesame Street*, which were made for a single country and later adjusted for other markets, *Fraggle Rock* was designed from the very beginning as an international co-production. It was produced jointly by Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with the British company Television South (TVS), the CBC, the American pay-TV channel HBO, and Henson Associates all involved. To make the show work globally, at least four different versions of the human wraparound segments were filmed separately for different countries.

The series first aired in 1983 and was produced by Henson Associates, not Henson International Television (later HiT Entertainment). Filming took place on a soundstage in Toronto. The poet bpNichol contributed as a writer. During early development, the Fraggles were temporarily called "Woozles" until a permanent name was chosen. Henson described the show as a high-energy, silly musical romp that was also wonderful. Though aimed at children, it appealed to all ages, using its fantasy creatures to explore serious topics like prejudice, spirituality, identity, the environment, and social conflict. In 2009, the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta displayed many original *Fraggle Rock* puppets as part of a donation from the Jim Henson Foundation.

The international approach grew out of Henson's experience adapting *Sesame Street* for foreign audiences. The human wraparounds were produced separately in several countries so viewers could relate to the world of the show. The head producer was Wesley James Tomlinson.

In the North American version—filmed in Toronto—an inventor named Doc (played by Gerry Parkes) and his dog Sprocket appear. This version also aired in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scandinavia, Spain, Japan, and Eastern Europe, with dubbing used for non-English markets.

The British inserts were shot primarily at a studio complex in Maidstone, Kent, with earlier filming at the TVS Television Theatre in Gillingham, Kent (later closed and demolished).