Monday, March 1, 2010

Favorite Episodes: Fraggle Rock

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Fraggle Rock
is easily my favorite children's show. And it has been, on and off since I was very young. A friend of the family used to tape episodes off HBO so I could watch them. Just shy of a year ago I presented a paper at a national conference examining Fraggle Rock and how it can be used to teach children all over the world. I'm working on owning all five seasons on DVD (only have season 1 so far), but it's been a slow process since those I normally count on to get me DVD gifts have switched to other formats, LoL. It's pretty hard for me to choose favorites on this series, since there are so many, many brilliant episodes, but here goes!

Season 1: (definitely my favorite season) "Let the Water Run." Red is excited about the big swim extravaganza coming up. She insists that she can do everything herself, until things get rough. Doc doesn't have water, so neither do the Fraggles. Uncle Traveling Matt's postcard reveals that umbrellas "bring" rain, so Red hopes to go out and find one. But she's terrified and learns to ask Gobo's help. Watch it in full here.

Season 2: "All Work and All Play." Cotterpin doesn't really like to build like all of the other Doozers, so she decides to "become" a Fraggle. But, it turns out that she's not cut out to be a Fraggle, either. Here's a short clip I found, just before Cotterpin realizes she's not happy with her future as a Doozer.


Season 3: "A Dark and Stormy Night." Gobo is bored, and finds out that the Gorgs are going on vacation, so he tells everyone he's going on an overnight trip there. Red decides to scare Gobo, but it turns out that Junior is staying home to watch over the castle so there's enough to be worried about. Junior is afraid of being alone, and the big misunderstanding isn't helping anyone, as Junior is convinced there's a thief afoot. No video.

Season 4: "The Gorg Who Would Be King." It's hard not to choose the final episode (it's very moving, literally), but I like this one a lot. Junior's gonna be king (or, more specifically, "ruler of the universe") soon, and he's dreading it. He also learns that Fraggles have names, and that three different species all use radishes. Then he has to defuse a bomb before going back home (oh yeah, he's been shrunk for most of the episode), and decides that the universe doesn't need a single ruler. No video.
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