The Jim Henson Hour

[BlueFrackle]

Cory,

Digit, Leon and the Jim Henson Hour gang all have a special place in my heart ! But i really think with the new 'edgy' style that the Mupptes want to portray, Digit and Leon, Leon especially could help it work !

Up until Leon i dont think there was any Muppet that kept on pushing for the ladies in bikinis and naked Chickens ! So i would also love to see atleast Digit and Leon return, Uboo was actually a good looking Muppet too, Its a shame he didnt have a bigger role.

If there is a 50th Anniversary special, like A Celebration of 30 Years then i shuld think that all the 'groups' from different shows would turn up.

Man, just thinking about that makes me feel so happy !

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I loved the Jim Henson Hour. It was probably the most interesting thing done on TV in the late 80s. I don' think there has ever been anything before or since with quite the same level of quality, variety and creative energy.

Sure, it had it's problems. The structure of the show was uneven, the format was erratic week to week. You never knew what you were going to watch when you tuned in (a bad thing if you want a regular audience - they like to know what to expect). There didn't seem to be a clear vision of what it was supposed to be, except a personal creative playground for Jim Henson - and I think that was the point.

The story behind this show is kind of glossed over in the official Henson histories but you kind of get the feeling NBC was never 100% behind it. I think the show failed because A) NBC scheduled it in the summer, B) they never really promoted it properly and C) it was waaay to expensive.

One thing that seems to hurt Henson projects on network TV is cost. The shows are top quality and top quality doesn't come cheap on Network TV. The Muppets have never had a truly successful network show. All the best projects from "The Muppet Show" to "Bear in the Big Blue House" were successful on cable, in syndication or on Public TV. I think JHH would have thrived on cable (it at least would have gotten a full run!).

It was successful on CBC here in Canada - they even repeated it a couple of summers in a row I think.

Makes me start to think a Fox show is a bad idea...