Your Thoughts: The StoryTeller

[SeanC]

I picked up the DVDs of 'The Storyteller' last year ( imported them from Germany as they were deleted at home ) and I was wonderfully impressed by the overall quality of the episodes. Aside from some great performances, not least of which was John Hurt as The Storyteller himself, the creature effects were absolutely wonderful. In particular I loved the giant sized gryphon that turned up in 'The Luck Child'. This gryphon has to be one of the greatest monsters the Henson Creature Shop ever put together. It's certainly an amazing feat when something initially so scary turns out to be so cute. Loved his constant desire for 'itch scritch scratch' and his 'snoozy woozy' comment just before falling asleep. Quite endearing, actually... despite the fact that he'd eaten several people
On a similar note, I also loved the Gryphon that turned up in the movie 'Dreamchild'. There's nothing quite like a good monster achieved through physical effects. I'm not a CGI hater ( and good CGI can be wonderful in its own way ), but there's just a certain sense of magic when you see a creature come to life via physical, hands on means. Wonderful to watch.

 

[Mystic Master]

Storyteller is amazing - its as simple as that. The Greek Myths were also good, but they dont really compare to the original. Its a shame there arent more episodes - John Hurt was fantastic, and could even play the same role, if it were ever brought back on a modern show. Its too bad the creations of the 80s are long gone - if a show like the Jim Henson hour were on, I'd watch it as an adult. But shows like these were part of the magic of the 80s, and not something we really see anymore...

 

[minor muppetz]

I like The StoryTeller. I feel like the best episodes are the ones that aired as part of The Jim Henson Hour (I guess that's a coincidence... As far as I know, they were all made in 1987, before The Jim Henson Hour was on the air). The Greek Myths series is a bit harder to pay attention to.

My favorite episodes are The Heartless Giant, The Soldier and Death, Sapsorrow, A Story Short, and The True Bride.

 

[SeanC]

I like The StoryTeller. I feel like the best episodes are the ones that aired as part of The Jim Henson Hour (I guess that's a coincidence... As far as I know, they were all made in 1987, before The Jim Henson Hour was on the air). The Greek Myths series is a bit harder to pay attention to.

While the Greek Myths aren't quite as good as the earlier episodes, they're still utterly superb. Michael Gambon makes for a fine substitute to John Hurt and I particularly like the Icarus episode. The Gorgon one is also great, which tells the same story as 'Clash of the Titans' in a quarter of the time yet ten times better

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

I got the DVD a couple years ago for my birthday, I absolutely love this show for a number of reasons, partly cause it got me more interested in John Hurt. The Luck Child and Fear Not are probably my favorite.

 

[muppetfan89]

I really like The Storyteller. All the performances are great, as well as the effects. More importantly though, the stories are fantastic. I see these episodes more as mini movies than anything else. I can't bring myself to call them episodes, because each one is so well made and they didn't treat it as just another episode.

I also like this show because it shows the true colors of Jim and what he wanted he really wanted to do. I think he could've made stories like these into feature length films and do really well. To me, he's underrated as a filmmaker. I think he could've well, if he made more films.

 

[Mystic Master]

Thats a good point, I could see some of these as full features, and if not that, perhaps an hourly show, rather than just 30 minutes. It would be cool if his son created a similar series - if you've seen the amazing work on shows like Farscape, its clear that the potential is still out there.

 

[SeanC]

I got the DVD a couple years ago for my birthday, I absolutely love this show for a number of reasons, partly cause it got me more interested in John Hurt. The Luck Child and Fear Not are probably my favorite.

'The Luck Child' would certainly be my favourite, mainly for that fantastic gryphon. 'The Heartless Giant' would come in second for me. The ending of that one is particularly good with The Storyteller explaining about how when the kid grew older and told the tale himself, the giant survived in his version. It was a great way of showing how often traditional tales are retold with the darker elements removed or altered.

 

[SeanC]

Thats a good point, I could see some of these as full features, and if not that, perhaps an hourly show, rather than just 30 minutes. It would be cool if his son created a similar series - if you've seen the amazing work on shows like Farscape, its clear that the potential is still out there.

I have to say that for me, the 30 minute running time seems exactly right. It kind of fits with the style of the show - a tale told in front of the fire before bedtime. Perhaps if stretched out over an hour or 90 minutes, part of the magic might be lost?

 

[Monstermaster]

Well I first got into it via Werekatt's old archive, they were screencaps from the episode Hans My Hedgehog. I've been looking into the series since then.