A question about Fraggle Rock UK version

[anathema]

Interesting. I wonder if Henson has tried contacting the remnants of that company. According to Wikipedia:



If TVS did have the masters, stopped showing Fraggle in 1990 and vacated in '92 while leaving their program archive behind, it's possible the tapes are still at the Maidstone Studios in Kent, which is still in operation today.

Unfortunately it's equally likely, if not more, that the archive was destroyed. Bizarre though it may seem, TV programmes were still being junked as late as the 90s :-(

 

[Traveling Matt]

Unfortunately it's equally likely, if not more, that the archive was destroyed. Bizarre though it may seem, TV programmes were still being junked as late as the 90s :-(

Jeez, I hope that's not the case here. I understand Henson wasn't very diligent in retaining overseas material during this time so, if they still exist, those tapes could really be anywhere.

 

[BlueFrackle]

I asked someone who works at Maidstone studios about them and they said that they imagine CENTRAL in Manchester would have the tapes.

 

[anathema]

Another possibility: IFE bought TVS after its close-down at the end of '92. Six years later their archive went to Fox, and in turn was bought in 2001 by...Disney.

 

[Traveling Matt]

I asked someone who works at Maidstone studios about them and they said that they imagine CENTRAL in Manchester would have the tapes.

Warrick, is Central a different studio or do you mean a central office for Maidstone? Can you attempt to contact them?

 

[anathema]

Different company. Central Independent Television was the company created when Muppet Show producer ATV was restructured in 1982. Now called ITV Central. It's quite possible that they might have acquired the archive from a defunct ITV franchise-holder.

 

[CensoredAlso]

This looks like a good place to bring this up...I volunteer at The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of TV and Radio), and recently I was able to read a copy of Television & Radio 1984 - Guide to Independent Broadcasting. Published by the Independent Broadcasting Authority, which was the regulatory body in the UK for commercial TV. There's a nice little blurb on the UK's Fraggle Rock:

The Colourful Underworld of the Fraggles

Fraggle Rock is a fairytale world just beyond everyday reality. Devised by Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets, the series is aimed primarily at children aged between 7-12 years and is made for British television by TVS, in its Television Theatre at Gillingham in Kent.

You can recognize a Fraggle anywhere--froths of feather-like hair on an unproportioned body just eighteen inches high. Gobo, Mokey, Wembley and their Fraggle friends share this underworld with Doozers, and the bad guys who are the big bumbling Gorgs, whose greedy appetites are only satisfied by a Fraggle--if only they could catch one.

Fulton MacKay is the Captain, the only true 'human' in the series, who lives in a lighthouse above Fraggle Rock.

Life in this fantasy land is fun, and the Fraggles behave accordingly. But what appears as lighthearted froth does not prevent the inhabitants from becoming involved in real-life moral dilemmas involving all human emotions and values such as courage, responsibility and frienship."

Included is the photo that you see now in some of the recent Fraggle DVDs when you get a question right on the trivia quiz. The caption reads, "Fraggle Rock. The Fraggles share their colourful underworld with Doozers, an army of tiny creatures in hard hats whose sole aim is to build structures for Fraggles to eat. TVS"

 

[johnpeters999]

Unfortunately, paper work is also in a terrible mess, which has to the misery of this saga
Back in the good old days BEFORE 1993, ITV was made of up of 15 Separate companies all serving there local area. ATV/Central: being one and only having offices in the operation area the Midlands. TVS: covered the south of England, Manchester has never been part of Central, and is in fact part of Granada.
Since 1993 till today most of the companies that are in operations from 1993 onwards merged to create a new single company for all of England and Wales. And all achieve is held ether at Leeds, Manchester of London. This is where there is a connection between them
With TVS, it gets FAR FAR worse,
On 1st Januray 1993, TVS was sold to Family channel, along with most programmes, ( expect local and news) Somewhere along the lines around 1998, the company split into two operations, Flextech: took control of the actual UK channel and FOX, got hold of the most of the programmes and USA operation. The only reason I can think of why the USA took the TVS programmes was because it held MTM.
Fox sold the family channel etc to Disney, thus LEGAL owner’s controller of TVS Fraggle rock is DISNEY.
Disney has made NO EFFECT what so ever to go looking for the other tapes, I do believe there still exist. I do know there not in Maidstone, but some TVS tapes were still there in the late 90s.
There is talk there are in warehouse in Ashford KENT, but the paper work is in such a mess it anyone guess what will happen.
If TVS never brought MTM, I dare say it would have ended up like Thames tv and become a independent production company.................. and all of UK fraggle rock would have been out on DVD years ago.

 

[BlueFrackle]

Does anyone have ANY UK episodes that werent released on DVD?

 

[Drtooth]

On 1st Januray 1993, TVS was sold to Family channel, along with most programmes, ( expect local and news) Somewhere along the lines around 1998, the company split into two operations, Flextech: took control of the actual UK channel and FOX, got hold of the most of the programmes and USA operation. The only reason I can think of why the USA took the TVS programmes was because it held MTM. Fox sold the family channel etc to Disney, thus LEGAL owner’s controller of TVS Fraggle rock is DISNEY. Disney has made NO EFFECT what so ever to go looking for the other tapes, I do believe there still exist. I do know there not in Maidstone, but some TVS tapes were still there in the late 90s.

That is the WORST, really. That same sale left Disney literally sitting on a trunk of Saban licenses as well, even if they were just international anime dubbing rights. And so far, the only thing they bothered with is Power Rangers, and the small amount of The Tick they released on DVD (missing episodes and only 2 of 3 seasons). Among other things Hakushon Daimaō had to literally be taken out of the US version of Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, and various other Saban and Fox Kids shows will never EVER see the light of day again. And the worst part is that they won't sell any rights back to anyone, and they don't even acknowledge they have them. So NO Mad Jack the Pirate, NO Eek! the Cat, and No Samurai Pizza Cats will EVER be released either. And to think, this was all politicking on Fox's behalf.