When Jim Henson brought Fraggle Rock to CBC
Muppet creator invented Fraggles, Doozers and Gorbs for 1983-87 show
Jim Henson was already well known to TV and movie viewers as the creator of the Muppets when he stopped by CBC on Dec. 3, 1981.
On this occasion, he brought a new friend — a Fraggle named Gobo. The pink-haired, goggle-eyed creature was among the "marvellous new characters" on a show coming to CBC called Fraggle Rock, said reporter Cathy Legedza.
The show was due to begin taping in Toronto "in the new year," said the reporter.
"The Fraggles are sort of this cute, silly group of characters," said Henson, while animating a subdued Gobo. "He's being quiet right now. If I were doing Gobo, he'd be yelling and jumping up and down."
'Peopled with ... Fraggles'
"They have tails," Henson went on. "We're just coming up with this whole world. It's going to be a world peopled by a lot of these Fraggles."
Legedza noted that The Muppet Show had been taped in England for five years, and asked why Fraggle Rock would be taped in Toronto instead.
"When we first came up with this show ... we came up with the idea of doing it in Canada," said Henson, who said his company had had "real nice relationships" in the past while taping specials.
"It seems right for the program," he went on.
According to an item in the Calgary Herald dated Nov. 24, 2020, a reboot of Fraggle Rock is set to begin taping in the Alberta city in mid-January 2021.
CBC co-production
Jack Craine, the CBC's director of programming, said Canadians would compose over half of the "creative element" of the crew and technicians on Fraggle Rock.
"There will be employment for Canadian musicians," he said. "The shows will feature original music each week."
Canadian poet Dennis Lee, known to generations of kids for Alligator Pie and other works, wrote the lyrics for the songs on the show, according to the Toronto Star.
The deal with Henson's company offered more than music for Canadians.
"As part of the deal, the Muppet staff will hold workshops to teach Canadian performer puppeteering techniques," reported the Globe and Mail on Dec. 3, 1981, noting Fraggle Rock was to start airing in the 1982-83 TV season.
According to the CBC catalog, the show aired on CBC between January 1983 and February 1987 for a total of 96 episodes. It was simultaneously broadcast on HBO in the United States.
"Hooray for the magic of Fraggle Rock," wrote Rick Groen of the Globe and Mail, who had admitted to previously being a "hopeless puppet bigot," shortly after the show's debut. "I'm enchanted, I'm hooked, I'm redeemed."
