Awesome Jim Henson

The 1990s TV show Dinosaurs was a breath of fresh air from other sitcoms, imagining a prehistoric world where dinos lived in a modern civilization. Secret Galaxy looks back at the show, its origins, the depth of its messages, and how it ended with one of the darkest finalés of all time… mass extinction.

There’s much more to acting in a full-body puppet than just wearing a costume. During a visit to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Adam Savage met with creative supervisor Peter Brooke and performer Morgana Ignis for a look at what’s involved in bringing one of these jumbo-sized characters to life.

Musician Leo Moracchioli has always had a thing for puppets, so it’s only natural that he’d expand his repertoire to include a song from a puppet show. His heavy metal cover of the theme from Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock will have you dancing your cares away and saving your worries for another day.

Need to take the edge off of a hard week? Put on your headphones, take a sip of your favorite spirit, and listen to some smooth jams from the Monster Quintet. This series of easy listening musical interludes was produced for the Sesame Place theme parks back in the 1980s and is a must-watch Muppet fans.

Not only was Kermit the Frog one of the first Muppets, but he’s also their de facto leader. We know a lot about how the character came to be, but there’s one feature of Kermie that has eluded fans in terms of its origin. Puppeteer Adam Kreutinger dives deep in a quest to find the origin of the frog’s familiar eyes.

Thanks to Disney+, we’re in the midst of a The Muppet Show binge watch. One thing we don’t remember seeing was the part where Kermit the Frog blasts Carl Weathers in Predator. Thanks to Pixel Riot, we can now share this never-before-seen footage. You saying that Blain and Hawkins were killed by a f**king frog?

River Horse and writer Ben “Questing Beast” Milton present an adventure game inspired by Jim Henson’s classic fantasy movie, Labyrinth. The game book plays out over 100+ scenes, and includes both a basic rule set for beginners, or can be played with your favorite RPG rules. Ben has an in-depth look at the game here.

Most of us had our first encounter with Muppets on Sesame Street. But it turns out that wasn’t Jim Henson’s first television show. Long before The Muppet Show, Henson created a quirky little show called Sam and Friends. Defunctland’s excellent miniseries explains how Henson – and Kermit the frog – got their start.

The first full trailer for Netflix’s follow up to Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal is here, and it looks amazing. The story is set many years before the movie, as three Gelfling set out on an adventure to save their world after discovering the source of the evil Skeksis’ power is draining the life from their universe. Premieres 8/30/19.

Fans of Jim Henson’s and Frank Oz’s 1982 classic The Dark Crystal will be thrilled by the teaser for this 10-hour series, which is headed to Netflix this August. Like the original, it’s filled with fantastical creatures and settings, and uses puppetry and practical effects wherever possible.

A charming classic interview from The Arsenio Hall Show featuring the late, great Jim Henson, in which he, Kermit the Frog, and Rowlf the Dog all answered Hall’s questions. We love his explanation about Rowlf’s broken arm.

Jim Henson & Frank Oz’s The Dark Crystal, is a masterpiece. Funko’s retro-style ReAction line is offering a series of figures inspired by the film, including The Chamberlain, Ursol the Chanter, Jen, Aughra, and Kira (with Fizzgig.) There’s also a Landstrider collectible from SDCC 2016.

Mental Floss shares trivia about the multitalented Jim Henson and his creations, such as why he kept his beard, his dream of ending the Cold War and how he arrived at his college graduation in a Rolls-Royce that he purchased with his puppet show earnings.

The founder of Marvel goes up against the creator of The Muppets, slinging powerful superhero insults against the soothing, but still vicious words of the puppet-master. The winner? The Walt Disney Company, of course.

In Jim Henson’s cult-classic Labyrinth, David Bowie likes to twiddle around his crystal orbs. But Bowie never played with his balls, it was juggler Michael Moschen manipulating them on his behalf. Balls.