Featured TV on DVD Review: Fraggle Rock: Scared Silly

September 10, 2010

Fraggle Rock: Scared Silly - Buy from Amazon

Dance your cares away, (clap clap!)
Worry's for another day
Let the music play, (clap clap!)
Down at Fraggle Rock!

I love that theme song. Moving on... The latest DVD release from the Fraggle Rock franchise is a themed disc with five spooky episodes, just in time for Halloween. Okay, it's a little early for Halloween, but not so much so that it hurts the value of the DVD.

The Show

There are five episodes from three Jim Henson shows starting with three from Fraggle Rock...

  • Scared Silly
    Boober is performing an important duty by checking everyone's belouviouses... What's a belouvious? It's the end of a Fraggle's tail and it is supposed to flare up when they are scared. (I guess it's there to make them look bigger to scare away the threat.) If a Fraggle has a working belouvious, it is impossible for them to be scared to death. However, when Boober tests Wembley's belouvious, twice, Wembley is less than pleased and decides to get revenge. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a talent for scaring people, so he goes to the Trash Heap for advice, but she warns him against revenge. On the other hand, her two assistants, Philo and Gunge, help him by giving him ideas on how to frighten him. But was Trash Heap right about revenge?
  • The Terrible Tunnel
    While Gobo, Wembley, and Boober try to get a postcard from Traveling Matt, Sprocket, Doc's dog, is blocking the way. Boober taps his lucky flower pot, saying it will protect them from Sprocket. By the time they make it back to Fraggle Rock, Boober's seen all sorts of bad omens and all of the weird rituals Wembley has to keep the bad luck away. Gobo will have none of these superstitions and tries to convince Wembley his superstitions have to go.
  • The Dark and Stormy Night
    Thinking he has explored all of Fraggle Rock, Gobo starts looking for new places to explore. He's in luck when the Gorgs go on vacation and he decides it is the perfect time to explore their castle. When he tells the other Fraggles where he is going, everyone thinks he's the bravest Fraggle ever. Of course, they don't realize the Gorgs will be gone. Of course, what Gobo doesn't know is while Ma and Pa will be gone, Junior will be there alone.
Next up is an episode from the Animated Series...
  • Wembley and the Bemble
    Most episodes of The Animated Series were split into two 12-minute shorts, and this one is no different. It starts with the Storyteller telling the gang about the Bemble, a monster that terrorized Fraggle Rock in the past, but of course it is just a story, right? When Wembley encounters a strange beast, he thinks it is the Bemble. The rest of the gang figure the only way to get Wembley over his fears is get one of the Fraggles to dress up as a Bemble and allow Wembley to "scare" him away.
And finally an episode from Jim Henson's Animal Show with Stinky and Jake...
  • Tarantula & Mole
    This show is a preschool show that is set up like a talk show, but one done by animals that interview other animals. Here the two guests are animals that burrow underground, starting with a tarantula. I guess for most people, these spiders are scary enough that this show fits with the Scared Silly theme.

The Extras

Besides the two bonus episodes, there is a sing-along version of "The Ballad of Sir Blunderbrain and the Terrible Tunnel".

The Verdict

While reviewing this DVD, I get the feeling that if you've never seen the show, I might as well be speaking a different language. Gorgs? Boober? Wembley? Fraggle Rock certainly has an abundance of creativity behind hit. On the other hand, of the five episodes on Scared Silly, four have already been released on DVD. The double-dipping and the small amount of extras hurts the value enough that I would call it a rental. On the other hand, if you are a fan of the show, the Megaset is absolutely worth picking up.


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