Favorite Non-Henson Puppets?

[Scooterforever]

Pretty self-explanatory, what are your favorite puppets that aren't Muppets or weren't created by Jim Henson's creature shop?

Mine:

1. The puppets of MST3K- The robots aboard the Satellite of Love are without question my fav puppets after the Muppets. Servo is my favorite.
2. Eureeka's Castle- I have not seen this show since I was a child, but I have very fond memories of watching it on Nickelodeon and the puppets looked excellent from what I remember. Batly was my fav.
3. Sifl and Ollie- I loved this show back when it aired on MTV. Who would've thought sock puppets could be so funny?

 

[KremlingWhatnot]

Mine:
1. The puppets of The Book of Pooh- Just the way there styled was great

 

[MrBloogarFoobly]

I really love Czech marionettes. Beautiful craftsman ship.

Most television puppets are just Muppet knock-offs. I appreciate originality, which is why the Muppets were so appealing.

 

[Slackbot]

I love Tom and Crow from MST3k. They look like they were cobbled together out of whatever was available, which is exactly what they were, and though their functionality was minimal they were still expressive.

Then there's Wayland Flowers' Madame. What a wonderfully dirty old broad! Watching her is a pleasure. I even enjoyed Madame's Place way back when it was on TV just for her.

 

[D'Snowth]

I'm pretty sure we have a thread for this already.

 

[Scooterforever]

Mine:
1. The puppets of The Book of Pooh- Just the way there styled was great

Those are pretty cool looking puppets. Good craftsmanship.

 

[Dominicboo1]

Wimzie's House! ALF-(great character) Does Audrey Two from Little Shop of Horrors count as it was made by Frank Oz?

 

[fuzzygobo]

Back in the early 70's there was a little troupe called the Ritts Puppets.
They were featured on an early-morning religious show called "Christopher Close-Up".
They had a five minute block where the host (whose name escapes me after nearly four decades) would open up a little puppet theatre and let them present their little skit.
Most skits focused on a koala named Brisbane, with his mother,father, and little sister.
Nice little morality tales, not nearly as heavy-handed or preachy as Davy and Goliath.
So it was very enjoyable to watch, provided you were up at the crack of dawn.

A couple of years later, they were commissioned to make a few commercials that aired on Saturday mornings, under the banner "A Junior Consumer Tip from your Better Business Bureau".

Here we got to see even more characters, including a giraffe named Geoffrey (I'm amazed Toys R Us never slapped an injunction on them!), a squirrel named Albert, and coolest of all, an Abominable Snowman!

This time around we were treated to 30-second spots advising us to eat a balanced nutritious lunch, save SOME of your allowance (don't blow it all on crap you really don't want!) and be sure to turn off the lights when you leave the room (back in 1973, we had a heavy energy crisis going on).

Once again, the puppets were attractively made and well-performed, the message got through, but you still had a fun time watching them. Perfect formula.

 

[Scooterforever]

Wimzie's House! ALF-(great character) Does Audrey Two from Little Shop of Horrors count as it was made by Frank Oz?

If it was created by one of Henson's closest associates and collaborators, I feel like it shouldn't count, but I dunno. Anyway, I watched the opening and closing for Eureeka's Castle on Youtube a few days ago and was surprised by how familiar it seemed, seeing how it's been 20+ years since I'd seen any footage of the show. The puppets look great and would make Jim Henson proud, which is why I'm surprised Henson wasn't involved with the show.

 

[FrackleFan2012]

My favorite Non-Henson puppets include Pee-Wee's Playhouse and Terry Fator's puppet characters such as Winston the Turtle, Emma, and Vickki the Cougar.