The Jim Henson Hour is a television series that aired on NBC in 1989. It was developed as a showcase for The Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the Muppet characters.
Nine of the twelve episodes produced aired on NBC before the program was canceled. Two episodes later aired on Nickelodeon in 1992 and 1993, and the final episode never aired in the US, but did air in the UK in 1990.
The Jim Henson Hour was modeled after the Walt Disney Presents specials, in which every week Disney would show off the latest innovations and creations of his production company. At the beginning of each episode, Jim Henson would enter an oddly-decorated set (alongside the Thought Lion puppet from his series The Storyteller) and introduce the evening's show. Beyond that, the series never had a set structure. The room where Henson and the Thought Lion performed their introduction was computer animated.
Three of the thirteen installments were hour-long mini-movies:
- The faux film noir "Dog City", narrated by Muppet Rowlf the Dog
- "Monster Maker", in which an alienated teenager begins secretly working at a special-effects company
- "Living with Dinosaurs", in which a young boy's stuffed Dinosaur comes to life and helps him deal with a troubled family life.
Other shows like "Secrets of the Muppets" went behind the scenes at Henson studios, showing how the Muppets are built and operated.
Ordinarily, however, the hour was split into two thirty-minute segments. These shows would always start with a modernized variation of The Muppet Show, titled MuppeTelevision. That would often lead into more serious and sometimes darker content, such as a rerun of The Storyteller. Occasionally, a light-hearted story or more Muppet antics would close out the hour in the second half.
The first episode produced —Sesame Street… 20 Years & Still Counting— was aired as a stand-alone special. Henson's series officially premiered a week later.
MuppeTelevision regularly occupied the first half of The Jim Henson Hour. It was an updated version of the classic series The Muppet Show, the new twist being that the Muppets were now running an entire cable television network rather than a single variety show. The Muppets broadcast their network's programming from a unique control room called "Muppet Central". Regulars included past favorites Kermit the Frog, The Great Gonzo and Link Hogthrob in addition to new characters Digit, Leon the Lizard, Lindbergh the Kiwi, Vicki, Clifford, Waldo C. Graphic, and Jacques Roach. Also appearing as a series regular was Bean Bunny, who had previously starred in the HBO TV special The Tale of the Bunny Picnic.
Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy appeared only intermittently, as their performer Frank Oz was busy with a directorial career. Miss Piggy did get her own thirty-minute special in one show, called Miss Piggy's Hollywood, in which she and Gonzo tried to interview unwilling celebrities.
The house band for MuppeTelevision was called Solid Foam, taking the place of the psychedelic Electric Mayhem band that had appeared in most previous Muppet projects. The band included:
- Digit on keyboard
- Flash on saxophone and vocals
- Clifford on bass guitar and vocals
- Beard on guitar and vocals
- An unnamed female drummer
Electric Mayhem regulars Zoot and Animal did eventually creep into Solid Foam in the episode "Food." Only Clifford would sustain any existence outside of MuppeTelevision. Dr. Teeth also appeared in the background of a few of Solid Foam's music videos.
MuppeTelevision also tends to get interrupted on some occasions by an illegal TV station called Gorilla Television run by Ubu the Gorilla, Chip, and Zondra.
Continuing in The Muppet Show tradition, every episode had a celebrity guest star. Louie Anderson, Ted Danson, Smokey Robinson, Buster Poindexter, and k.d. lang were among those who got a chance to appear in the show's brief run.
Cast[]
| Image | Character | Actor |
|---|---|---|
|
The Thought Lion | N/A |
|
Kermit the Frog | Jim Henson |
|
Digit | Dave Goelz |
|
Lindbergh | Gord Robertson |
|
Waldo C. Graphic | Steve Whitmire |
|
Bean Bunny | Steve Whitmire |
|
Gonzo | Dave Goelz |
|
Vicki | Fran Brill |
|
Link Hogthrob | Jim Henson |