Written by Jon Williams
Jim Henson
was a pioneering figure in the world of puppetry, bringing it to the forefront
of entertainment, particularly for children. His sudden passing in 1990 at the
young age of 53 left an enormous void. Although his companies and his beloved
creations have carried on, Henson’s voice (both literal and figurative) has
been sadly missing these last 25 years.
Thanks to a
chance discovery, that’s about to change, at least for one more TV special. In
2009, a new partnership sent Lisa Henson into her father’s archives, where she
found a treatment for an unproduced feature themed for Thanksgiving. Jim Henson
had gone so far as to put some puppets together, and then the project was
apparently abandoned for some reason. Looking it over, she knew it was
something that should see the light of day—and now it will. This Saturday, November 21,
Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow will air on
Lifetime, and it will be
available
on DVD the following Tuesday. This will follow the
graphic novel version
(available on hoopla) that was made last year.
The original
treatment for the show dates back to the late 1960s, and Lisa suspects it got
shelved when her father got involved with
Sesame Street. As his previous
experience had been with a local show in the Washington, D.C. area, the wildly
popular children’s educational show was the rest of the world’s introduction to
Henson and his style of puppetry. Most of the iconic puppets that did so much
to draw children’s interest to the show were designed by Henson—including
Kermit the Frog, arguably his most famous creation.
Not wanting
to known as a purveyor only of entertainment for children, Henson then began
developing
The Muppet Show, which, after
struggling to find a TV home in the United States, made its debut in Great
Britain in 1976. While the show’s humor may have been aimed at a more grown-up
audience than
Sesame Street,
obviously, its colorful and lovable Muppet characters (such as Kermit) ensured
that the show would appeal to children as well (as I can attest from personal
experience). And he never stepped fully away from the world of children’s
entertainment, bringing
Fraggle Rock to life in 1983, among
others.
Needless to
say, Jim Henson created a vast wealth of imaginary worlds that have captured
the imagination of generations. And the thirst for his characters and his brand
of entertainment didn’t stop with his passing. Five more Muppet movies have
been made since 1990, including the recent iterations (
The Muppets in 2011 and
Muppets Most Wanted in 2014) that
led to the new
Muppets TV show that’s
currently airing. There’s also a new
Fraggle
Rock movie in development, to star Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Obviously,
interest in Mr. Henson’s work remains high, even more than 25 years later.
SmartBrowse his name on our website for plenty more material both from and
about this wonderful entertainer.