Fraggle Rock: ritorno alla grotta

I grew up watching the original Fraggle Rock, and it's got a bit of a special place in my heart. I have the first 2 seasons on DVD and watch them sometimes as well. So when I heard they were rebooting it, I had mixed feelings - I was happy to think of seeing more Fraggles, but then again, there have been so many bad reboots lately! But it was well worth giving it a go. I still like the original better - the original is more episodic in nature (my preference) while the reboot had more of an overarching story, and I thought some of the messages were a bit on-the-nose for my tastes, lol. But they did a really great job with the reboot. The sets were lovely, the chara years were pretty faithful with some minor tweaks that I mostly liked, and I enjoyed seeing the new Doozer stuff. Junior and Sprocket were.adorable in this one as well, and the new Doc was pretty likeable. A good job all around.

Just watched the first episode and I've got happy tears. It's so good. They didn't reinvent the series, they revived it. The classic songs are back. Two of the original performers (Dave Goelz-Boober and Uncle Matt, and Karen Prell-Red) most of the same puppet designs (with a couple of exceptions). I'm so happy!

After so many failed reboots, remakes and re-imaginations of numerous programs in the past few years, I was so very skeptical about the new Fraggles, but there was no need. They are absolutely fabulous! The new Doc was wonderfully picked, the topics are hopeful and the music is catchy. The only thing I didn't like was the venture into real life rock music, which (to my ears) didn't quite fit. But that's one moment out of 12 or so episodes. The rest really enchanted me the way the original show did when I was a kid.

This new, updated series is a love letter to the original. The return of Karen Prell and Dave Goelz (understandably in voice alone) feels like home and the new cast breathes new, yet familiar, life into the characters. Some characters had some design changes (the Doozers, mainly Wrench and Cotterpin, are now technologically advanced; Junior has a new, more expressive, face mechanism), while Mokey has been updated from more of a hippy-spiritual Fraggle to more of a new-age-spiritual and younger Fraggle (which makes more sense). Old supporting characters make appearances, including Merples, Large Marvin, and The World's Oldest Fraggle. Also saw the puppets for Begooney and an Ink Spot. Doc is now a Marine Biology student and she has the same sweet, curious, welcoming demeanor as the late Gerry Parkes's Doc (and is still at odds with Shimmelfinney, now a off-screen vocal Mrs. Shimmelfinney).

Overall, a faithful continuation of the series and teaches the same messages as the original, just made for a modern audience. My daughter has seen all of the original and the Rock On series, and she loves this, too. And I love watching with her.

I grew up watching Fraggle Rock- it gave my childhood that spark of magic!

When I heard about the new series, I nearly cried tears of joy.

The return of Karen Prell (Red) and David Goelz (Boober and Traveling Matt) is greatly appreciated! The Doozers are still clever, hardworking creatures. The Gorgs are as goofy and bumbling as ever! The new Doc is cool- I honestly wouldn't want to see a Gerard Parkes imitation as it would only be disrespectful to him. I would like to see a bit more from her scenes with our beloved Sprocket- who my sister had once convinced me was a real dog. The music is just as wonderful as I remember with some classics from the original thrown in!

My biggest complaint, however, is the physical and personality change in Mokey. It's distracting, irritating and totally unnecessary.

Overall, this team has done a great job in capturing the magic of Jim Henson's vision while implementing modern capabilities.