What if Fraggle Rock could have been seen by all?

[beaker]

What if instead of just the lucky few who could afford HBO on top of cable; every kid in America could have had the chance to see Fraggle Rock? Imagine how many more fans there'd be, heck the Weinstein movie would probably have more juice behind it given EVERYONE would have remembered Fraggle Rock.

No telling how many potential fans and kids were denied the magic, because their families couldnt afford super premium cable.

Growing up ultra poor in the 80's, I had no cable let alone HBO on top of that. So from the early to late 80's my exposure and love of the world of Fraggle Rock mostly came from reading Fraggle books at Walden Books, collecting the merchandise, etc. But then came the late 80's, with the brief Fraggle Rock cartoon; so this was my only real exposure to Fraggle Rock and I loved it(until 1993 when the vhs episodes came out and 1994 when I got cable and Disney Channel was running FR reruns)

NBC, PBS and other networks did a bad thing by turning down Fraggle Rock, forcing the show to only be seen by a very small select few on HBO at a time when most Americans could afford HBO and thus defeating the purpose of being seen by all for its messages of peace, understanding, song, sillyness and togetherness.

Again I understand *why* the decision was made to have it on HBO since noone else was willing to give it a chance...but can you imagine had it been simply shown every week or saturday morning on regular tv?

Luckily in the UK and Canada it was free for all to see, but I think a lot of people forget that the reason Fraggle Rock is so unknown and obscure is because hardly anyone got to see it or was exposed to it. I grew up in the early, mid and late 80's(err, as well as the early 90's, mid 90's, late 90's and early 2000's...what can I say, Im a big kid!) and never got to be exposed to the live action show until the vhs tapes and Disney Channel reruns when I could afford cable.

Also on a side note, will we ever see as much Fraggle merchandise in the modern era as 2003? 2003 seems like it was about it.

 

[dwmckim]

It sure would have been nice if more people in the US could have seen it when it first aired. I was lucky - i lived in Ohio growing up on the border of Lake Erie so among our regular non-cable stations was CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) so i got to see Fraggle Rock on that. (As well as The Muppet Show which was a treat because they usually showed the UK sketches and took out a different act so between the US and UK airings i got to see the whole episodes). Of course i still always looked forward to the occasional "Free HBO Week" when the UHF station showed HBO as an incentive for people to like it and subscribe to it. And when we did get a cable box - but not the premium channels - i would still tune in to HBO and hear it with a scrambled visual. Finally my family clued in (they thought my watching HBO like that so much would damage the tv or the box) that they finally gave in and subscribed.

And yes i do think there will be more Fraggle merchanding pushes for no other reason that since Henson sold the Muppets, Fraggle Rock remains their biggest family property so they'll want to capitalize on any Fraggle Rock stuff they sell -- when the movie does get made eventually, expect a flood of merchandise. The question is not even so much of if but will there be merchanding pushes that are reasonably priced as the current Dr. Doozer stuff is just outrageously ridiculous.

 

[Super Scooter]

I wasn't born until Fraggle Rock's last season, so I didn't have this issue exactly... but I still never actually saw Fraggle Rock til I was 16!

But, I'd like to add that it's also a shame that the show isn't CURRENTLY on tv anywhere. I think reruns of the show would generate interest in it again and help the film along.

 

[bazooka_beak]

It would've been great. The only way I knew about the Fraggles was from the Muppet Family Christmas, and until the season sets came out I still didn't know much about them.

 

[Drtooth]

What if instead of just the lucky few who could afford HBO on top of cable; every kid in America could have had the chance to see Fraggle Rock? Imagine how many more fans there'd be, heck the Weinstein movie would probably have more juice behind it given EVERYONE would have remembered Fraggle Rock.

I dunno.. that piece of dog crap Marmaduke movie has plenty of Juice behind it, and no one under the age of 50 knows or cares about who he is.

NBC, PBS and other networks did a bad thing by turning down Fraggle Rock, forcing the show to only be seen by a very small select few on HBO at a time when most Americans could afford HBO and thus defeating the purpose of being seen by all for its messages of peace, understanding, song, sillyness and togetherness.

PBS was the only place I'd see it working for as long as it did on HBO. It really stinks that they could only sell it to a premium cable network.... but maybe they were the only ones with the vision to let it stay on for 5 years or so. I may or maynot have seen any of the live action series before, and only fell in love with it seeing the animated series and reading the books and stuff... it took me until it hit DVD to see it. I REALLY should have invested in the VHS's during the great Buena Vista video clearance of 98-2000... but I was too busy getting Disney Afternoon, Bullwinkle, and Super Mario 3 videos at the time. Worst part is I had the videos in my hands at multiple times and never actually bought them.

 

[Quazimoto]

I suppose one might call me a bit naive for saying it, but I really believe that if more people had been able to see Fraggle Rock (particularly in their childhood developmental stages) the world would be a little better place and their wouldn't be so much personal hate, anger, and depression floating around. I know the show taught me a lot and really made (and still makes) me view the world in a much different way than many people I know (most of whom have never seen Fraggle Rock or The Muppet Show (*GASP* I know, that's like... a terrible shame or something). To me, even though he didn't work on it all that often, Fraggle Rock was really Jim Henson's crowning achievement (professionally speaking).

 

[Magic Mara]

In the 80s, my friend who lived next door was the only one around whose family had cable. I was over at her house constantly watching the episodes she had taped, and we were the only ones at school who even knew what it was! Obviously the show reached a lot of people around the world in the 80s, but I agree that it deserved more!

 

[Drtooth]

Obviously the show reached a lot of people around the world in the 80s, but I agree that it deserved more!

Hmm... internationally, wasn't it shown on regular networks or something? Someone's gotta know.

Makes me wish I rented FR videos from Blockbuster when I was younger... But I don't remember if they had any. They had the Muppet show compilations, sure....but I can't remember if they truly had FR or not.

 

[Yorick]

I suppose one might call me a bit naive for saying it, but I really believe that if more people had been able to see Fraggle Rock (particularly in their childhood developmental stages) the world would be a little better place and their wouldn't be so much personal hate, anger, and depression floating around. I know the show taught me a lot and really made (and still makes) me view the world in a much different way than many people I know (most of whom have never seen Fraggle Rock or The Muppet Show (*GASP* I know, that's like... a terrible shame or something). To me, even though he didn't work on it all that often, Fraggle Rock was really Jim Henson's crowning achievement (professionally speaking).

Everything about Fraggle Rock is just WONDERFUL. When one thinks about the point of the series, and the lesson in each episode (which they incorporate without being preachy) I have to agree with your entire post!

 

[Quazimoto]

Everything about Fraggle Rock is just WONDERFUL. When one thinks about the point of the series, and the lesson in each episode (which they incorporate without being preachy)

Indeed... I actually was lucky enough to grow up with the show (we had HBO for about six year and they just so happened to coincide with the original run). As much as I enjoyed it then, I actually enjoy the show more now that I can understand and appreciate it on a deeper level.