Fraggle Reunion

[BlueFrackle]

Hey Guys,
With all the talk of a Fraggle reunion, And the state of the Fraggle puppets i thought id make a thread for it.

Then we can stop loading the Henson Buy Out thread with it.

I think we need some more word on the price of building the Fraggle puppets!

see ya

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by Warrick
I think we need some more word on the price of building the Fraggle puppets!

Yeah Warrick, if you stopped spending on merchandise for a few months you could probably afford to buy them a set !

 

[BlueFrackle]

Luke,

Hehe, I wish !
And if i had the money to back a Fraggle project, I WOULD !

I would like to know from someone 'in the know' how much those Puppets really cost.

I can believe a Gorg to go up in the thousands, But a Puppet like Boober ?

Foam Interior, Fur Fabric, Fleece, Clothing Material, Extras, Puppet Builders = $2,000 - $5,000 ?

I think that now the Henson's are back in charge, That we could very likely see something Fraggley coming. I should think its close to there hearts, Like it is ours.

Imagine we could still have Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober and Red do something new for a DVD, I heard that they still have some sets from the show too. And multiple Doozers are still around. Ofcourse Matt could make an appearance !

*Imagines seeing Travelling Matt looking at a Fraggle Rock DVD in a Commercial*

I wonder if the Puppet Patterns are the problem that they are having ?

see ya

 

[frogboy4]

The issue with Fraggle Rock is that the show was so expensive to make. The sets alone cost tens of thousands of dollars. I wasn't aware of that. It was just caves to me. LOL!

Also, any cable station who would run a new show would want a piece of it. It's not like the old days. I'm sure that Henson wants to hold onto the full rights of their characters. HBO wouldn't allow them to do that these days. Nick probably wouldn't either. That's where the issue comes in - where would these shows air and how would they be funded?

That's why I think they should make a few Fraggle Rock specials just like they are doing with the Muppets. They can shop the specials to cable outlets and I'm sure there would be heavy promotion, but the station would only have rights to the special and not the characters or the future of any shows.

Also, in this age of CG, I can see the possibility of several sets being created inside the computer and blue-screened in. It's not that wild becuase they used a lot of blue-screening in the television show. Not all of the sets should be that way, but it could help scale-down the expense and would be around for future projects. They wouldn't have to refurbish them from project to project. Who knows. Just ideas off the top of my head.

Also, an idea that would greatly cut down on set expense is if the Fraggle gang has to venture out into "outerspace" to save Uncle Traveling Matt. That would be monumental for the fraggle gang.

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Originally posted by frogboy4
The issue with Fraggle Rock is that the show was so expensive to make. The sets alone cost tens of thousands of dollars. I wasn't aware of that.

Jamie, are you sure about that? I was under the impression that it was a relatively low-budget show, which was a perk since everything came off so well and it looked so "real". I would swear to you I read that in a Muppety source...

 

[frogboy4]

The info came straight from Ms Prell. I was kind of boggled too, but apparently they spent more money on FR than people do now on what are considered children's projects. It was anything but low budget. Bear in the Big Blue House (good as it is) isn't anywhere near the production value of Fraggle Rock. Neither are any other puppet-related programs (with the exception of Sesame Street, but they don't have as many complex sets).

They had a lot of FX shots every week and they made it all look seamless. The same exact cave sets could not necessarily be used every week because of the need to cut holes in strategic places. It's all much more complicated than I ever imagined. Also, just a simple shot with the Doozers must be incredibly expensive to create and shoot.

You know, with the advances in technology, many of these problems could be solved. Puppet Doozer shots could be cut in with CG Doozers for more difficult actions. Plus, bluescreening wasn't perfected until the mid-90s. Many shots would look so clean and be easier to shoot today.

Oh, and the new Fraggles would need to have more Mokey! LOL!

 

[BlueFrackle]

Jamie,

I have to disagree, The thought of them using CG to animate a Doozer makes me feel sick.

Honestly.
I think it would totally ruin the idea of it being a Puppet show.

I would mind CG Backgrounds for when they walk down a cave tunnel or something, Because that would always happen on the original show.

And i think they have alot of the sets left in storage.

Also a few years ago here the Disney Channel had Fraggle Rock (and Muppet Babies straight after.) then NickJr ran it after it finished on Disney.

I dont think there was any trouble there.

see ya

 

[frogboy4]

Re: Jamie,

Originally posted by Warrick
I have to disagree, The thought of them using CG to animate a Doozer makes me feel sick.

I said that "Puppet Doozer shots could be cut in with CG Doozers for more difficult actions" not that they should replace the principle puppets. Just an alternative for wide shots and difficult/expensive motions. Puppets should never be replaced by CG, but it helps in some situations. I'm shocked that you'd mistake my intention. That's the last thing I would want.

And i think they have alot of the sets left in storage.

If the sets are in storage, it would probably take more money to refurbish them than to start from scratch.

Also a few years ago here the Disney Channel had Fraggle Rock (and Muppet Babies straight after.) then NickJr ran it after it finished on Disney.I dont think there was any trouble there.

I was saying that if a new show was made, the cable channel would want a piece of it. You're talking about re-runs. There's a very big difference.

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Originally posted by frogboy4
The info came straight from Ms Prell.

Oh, okay. Her, I believe---you, I wasn't so sure. LOL!

That's kinda insulting though, to say that to you it was "just caves, LOL!", unless you mean when you were a kid (cause ain't you not seen it in years?), cause then, of course, you wouldn't be as thoughtful about it then as you are now.

Personally, I find the sets breathtakingly beautiful, and now I know that cost tens of thousands of dollars to create 'em, it's obvious in the subtle beauty, and the way they perfectly integrate with one another. You have "reg'lar" cave rooms, like G&W's room, M&R's room, B's pad, and then you have "one-shot" rooms for special things---the Singing Cactus, Chimney Hole Cavern, Firefly Cavern, The Terrible Tunnel, The Invisible Bridge, etc...it just makes it all so realistic and perfect.

 

[Luke]

Jamie is right about everything he said, and yeah, those sets in storage and anything else they have would never be of broadcast quality now - TV cameras pick up just about anything right down to a speck of dust. I would NOT want Fraggle Rock to be re-made, and i think i'd probably be against them doing specials as well (not that i can see a TV company taking it with the Fraggles being gone for so long). It might spoil the original show if they used modern day production techniques, used CGI and other stuff. We don't know if they could even get all the original puppeteers back either. If they were to do a special i'd like it to stay very faithful to the old show and as Jamie said, that was expensive to make.

If the Fraggle puppets were cheap enough for them to remake i would be in support of them using them for some DVD extras or something, but i think a reunion or DVD release basically only needs the puppets they do have in good condition to do some kind of little intro, and then the original puppeteers to do a commentary, interviews, live script reading or something like that. At least it would retain the magic of the show rather than spoiling it by doing something of todays crappy kids tv standards.

I honestly don't see Henson remaking Fraggle Rock. It's not their style and i think re-runs of the originals would actually be much better appreciated by the nostalgic fans. It's just about getting those back out there on TV or on a DVD set. A reunion would be absolutely fantastic and if they can remake the Fraggles they don't now have for it that would be fantastic.

Saying all this - i think 'The Hoobs' concept has borrowed a lot from Fraggle Rock. There are some big similarities !