John (who Halle dubs a “walking encyclopedia of Fraggle music”) wrote the scripts, then presented them to the group. “We have an incredible team,” explains John (who also performs Gobo, originated by the late Jerry Nelson). “Dave Goelz and Karen Prell would give notes on how Traveling Matt would say a line. It was very collaborative. We laughed a lot.” The director, music, light and sound design team would give their input in meetings they call “Fraggle Gaggles.” Apple provided iPhone 11s for recording, and then it was up to the puppeteers to deliver. Puppets, lights, microphones, and blue/ green screens were sent to Karen Prell and Donna Kimball (now performing Mokey) to perform in their homes, while Dave Goelz and Frankie Cordero (as Wembley) recorded their voices so that John could puppeteer their characters at his home. “If you told me a year ago I was going to be recording 30 minutes of content in my living room, I would have thought you were crazy,” shares John, but there was something comforting about returning to his childhood roots, building props and sets at home in such a time of great fear. “I wrote all sorts of crazy things, like dishes dropping off the counter, and then I’d realize wait, how am I going to shoot this myself? But that’s what we do as puppeteers. We figure it out.” Putting a mattress on the floor to catch the dishes, and adding a dab of tuna so that his dog would lick the puppets’ nose were just some of John’s discoveries. “Squeezed into Karen Prell’s little studio condo, the screen wasn’t tall enough so that I could stand. The phone’s selfie camera shows a mirror image instead of the re- verse images we are used to working with to see our performance. For the episode where Red is lifting weights, I tried to figure out how to perform by myself, then presented it to the team in LA to determine how rods and arms and heads could be removed. I got into a good flow once I figured it out, then the shows got more complicated, with more guests. I was amazed by what we ended up putting together.” Using old production photos as virtual back- drops and with teams working independently around the clock, they produced and released one episode per week, a turnaround time practically unheard of before now. With a mix of old and new, the Fraggles are still as relatable


today as ever. “We allow the characters to be flawed,” shares Karen. “Often the challenges and problems come from the char- acters themselves. They make mistakes. Because human beings know what it’s like to make mistakes, everyone can identify.” As the world was discovering Zoom, the Fraggles were discovering Doozer tubes, a new way to connect with each other and (spoil- ers) the outside world. Celebrities like Tiffany Haddish were pitching themselves to be a part of Fraggle Rock. “Whenever John and I would meet with a celebrity, I’d say ‘bring out Gobo,’” shares Halle. “The show meant so much to people as a child.” But would a new generation connect to the characters in the same way? With feedback from all over the world, the answer is a resounding yes. “In an episode called ‘The Talent Show,’ we had real kids showing their talents,” explains Halle. “All would get a Zoom call with Gobo. One said, ‘where’s Uncle Traveling Matt?’ Gobo said ‘he is exploring around,’ and the kid ran to look out the window.”


Now picked up for a full series, there is no better time to expose the world to new adventures that create empathy and under- standing. “We talked to experts and asked people who worked on the original series what made it work and what they wished they could have done more of,” explains Halle, who is excited to see puppet Doozers in action. “Getting to see the look of joy on Karen Prell’s face when we told her that we got picked up was one of the greatest moments of my life,” shares John. Karen is “excited to continue the ideas of connection explored in the original series. It’s a garden that needs constant tending.”


Wembley, Red, and Gobo from Fraggle Rock. Images courtesy of The Jim Henson Company. TM and © 2020


Junior Gorg from Fraggle Rock. Images courtesy of The Jim Henson Company. TM and © 2020


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