The Jim Henson Hour

1989

The Jim Henson Hour

8.2 | en | Comedy

The Jim Henson Hour was developed as a showcase for the Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the popular Muppet characters. This hour-long anthology series was hosted by Jim Henson and generally included two segments. The first segment,"Muppetelevision," included comedy skits starring the Muppets, as well as frequent guest appearances by popular entertainers. The second segment often featured rebroadcasts of original, Henson-created productions, such as episodes from Jim Henson's "The StoryTeller" anthology series.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP12 Food

Jan. 01,0001

Part 1 (Mupppetelevision). Kermit has trouble keeping the show running because the entire staff is waiting for their lunch to be delivered. Part 2 (The StoryTeller: The Three Ravens): When the queen dies, a witch ensnares the king with a magical spell. She curses the king's three sons by turning them into ravens. The king's daughter escapes and is warned by her brothers that she must not speak for 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days in order to break the curse. After marrying a prince and discovering her stepmother has remarried to the prince's father, can the princess break the curse? From an early German folk tale.

EP11 Living with Dinosaurs

Aug. 07,1993

A socially awkward boy named Dom tries to deal with a new school, an unemployed stepfather, a pregnant mother, and asthma. The boy finds comfort in his favorite stuffed toy, a dinosaur named Dog.

EP10 Secrets of the Muppets

Nov. 29,1992

Jim Henson takes viewers on a behind the scenes look at the making of The Jim Henson Hour and many other Henson productions. Back at the control room, the Muppets all freak out that their secrets are being revealed.

EP9 Garbage

Jul. 30,1989

Part 1 (Muppetelevision): The Muppet studio is overwhelmed with animated garbage bags and Kermit can't find a way to get rid of them. Part 2 (The StoryTeller: Sapsorrow): A princess flees when she's forced to marry her father. She poses as a ragged servant in another kingdom, and then falls in love with a haughty prince.

EP8 Videotape

Jul. 23,1989

Part 1 (Muppetelevision): In order to be in two places at once, Gonzo decides to prerecord himself. Part 2 (The StoryTeller: The True Bride): A girl is freed from a troll's enslavement by the help the mysterious white Thought Lion. When she falls in love, she's kept apart from her beloved by the troll's daughter.

EP7 Fitness

Jul. 16,1989

Part 1 (Muppetelevision): Kermit wants the show to be all about being healthy and fit but does not have much luck with all the Muppets getting sick. Part 2 (The Song of the Cloud Forest): In this original story set in the rainforest, a golden toad named Milton worries that he may be the last of his species alive and may never find a mate. He eventually meets another golden toad named Ruth and has an encounter with the Uprights (the forest animals' term for humans) seeking to capture a golden toad.

EP6 Monster Maker

Jul. 09,1989

Teenager Matt Banting wants to work with a famous but eccentric creature/special effects man named Chancey Bellow. He gets more than he bargained for when one of the creatures, the giant dragon-like Ultragorgon, takes Matt under his wing. Matt is forced to confront his inner monsters while working out his issues with his father. Based on the novel by Nicholas Fisk.

EP5 First Show

May. 14,1989

Part 1 (Muppetelevision). Kermit struggles to keep the ratings up. Meanwhile, Digit experiences several malfunctions. Part 2 (Miss Piggy's Hollywood): Miss Piggy hosts a tour of Hollywood, with help from Gonzo. However, Piggy quickly learns that Hollywood is not quite what she thought it would be. Meanwhile, Fozzie auditions at The Comedy Store and is heckled by Statler and Waldorf.

EP4 Dog City

May. 05,1989

Part 1 (Muppetelevision): Kermit announces that it is "Muppet Night at the Movies" as they try to find the film to broadcast on the All Dog Network (ADN). Part 2 (Dog City): Rowlf the Dog hosts a 1930s gangster-type story in which a dog named Ace Yu travels to Dog City to investigate his uncle's murder. While there, he meets a homeless dog named Collien, and gets in trouble with a gangster named Bugsy Them.

EP3 Power

Apr. 28,1989

Part 1 (Muppetelevision): Gonzo and Leon convince Kermit to take a vacation so that they can have a chance at running the show. Willard Scott, Jane Pauley, and The Nylons guest star. Part 2 (The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death): A soldier returns from 20 years of war with only t three biscuits in his sack. Soon he must outwit devils, save a kingdom, and try to outwit death. From an early Russian folk tale.

EP2 Oceans

Apr. 21,1989

Part 1 (Muppetelevision): Kermit tries to run the show with several water-related issues interrupting. Part 2 (Lighthouse Island): A boy named Zeb Norman visits a strange small town to look for a gift for his fiancée Rosalie. He finds a pair of silver slippers in a local curio shop run by a witch who drags him to Hog Island to obtain a mysterious pearl once stolen from her rival.

EP1 Outer Space

Apr. 14,1989

Part 1 (Muppetelevision): Kermit cancels the boring parts of the show when Digit discovers he can tune in cable channels from other worlds. Part 2 (The StoryTeller: The Heartless Giant): An imprisoned giant who terrorized the land tricks young prince Leo into freeing him. After rampaging the kingdom, Leo's older brothers attempt to recapture the giant but are never heard of again. Leo must use his gifts of kindness to save his brothers and free the kingdom from the giant's wrath. From an early German folk tale.

8.2 | en | Comedy , Family | More Info

Released: 1989-04-14 | Released Producted By: Jim Henson Productions , The Jim Henson Company Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

Stream Online

The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Jim Henson , Dave Goelz , Brian Henson

Director

Jim Henson

Producted By

Jim Henson Productions , The Jim Henson Company

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Cast

Jim Henson

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Gumby II: Dead by Dawn I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story Jim Henson: Behind the Seams Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey Paul Williams Still Alive Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal' Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

Dave Goelz

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Dear Earth Muppets Haunted Mansion Fraggle Rock: Rock On! Muppets Now Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched Inside Out The Muppets Muppets Most Wanted

Brian Henson

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Muppets Haunted Mansion Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas! Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal' Journey Through the Labyrinth Best Ever Muppet Moments The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

Reviews

wermuth601 The Jim Henson Hour was broadcast in 1989. It was a mix of The Muppet Show and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Jim Henson always introduced and closed the show in a room with a white lion. The first half hour for most shows was MuppeTelevision, which was similar to the Muppet Show but also different. It had many characters from The Muppet Show, but some were main characters (Kermit, Gonzo, and to a lesser extent Link Hogthrob), some made a few appearances (Fozzie Bear, Rowlf), and some only made special appearances (Miss Piggy, Bunsen, Beaker, The Swedish Chef). This was partly due to the facts that Frank Oz (Fozzie bear, Miss Piggy) and Richard Hunt (Scooter, Janice, Beaker) had limited availability on the show.However, the new characters on this show were great. They included Bean Bunny, who was only hired to be cute, Leon, a purple lizard-like character, Digit, an android technician who also played in a band called Solid Foam, Waldo C. Graphic, a computer-animated bird who later appeared in Muppet*Vision 3D, and Clifford, the bass player for Solid Foam who would later host Muppets Tonight. MuppeTelevision also took place in a room full of monitors and usually featured a guest star (Bobby McFerrin, K.D. Lang) and even a theme (Science Fiction, Garbage).The second half hour for five of the shows was The Storyteller, starring John Hurt. There were also half-hour specials, including Miss Piggy's Hollywood, Songs of The Cloudforrest, and Lighthouse Island. Some shows had specials for the entire hour, including Dog City (although that did have a 20-minute pre-show with the Muppets), Monster Maker, and The Secrets of The Muppets. After the show was canceled, all of the second half-hours have been shown on their own, and the hour-long specials have been shown without The Jim Henson Hour openings.In 2004, The Walt Disney Company bought the rights to The Muppets, and unfortunately this is the only production where ownership is split up between companies. Disney owns MuppeTelevision, Miss Piggy's Hollywood, most of The Secrets of The Muppets, and the pre-show to Dog City, while The Jim Henson Company owns the rest. I hope that Disney releases the MuppeTelevision portions on television or DVD soon, as I have't seen those since the shows original run. I also hope that more of the shows original characters (especially Digit) come back someday.

tigera2001 I was only six or seven years old when this show was on, but I remember making sure I watched it. I still have some of the old episodes on videotape, and after rewatching them, I have realized that this would have been a classic TV show had it survived. The first half consisted of Muppet comedy sketches, and it usually had a guest star, like Ted Danson. Some sketches were one-shot deals (like a monster telethon), and some were series (like Bootsie, a spoof of the lives of Barbie and Ken-very funny sketch, I might add). The second half was usually devoted to the Storyteller, whose tales included Lighthouse Island and The Soldier and Death (You can still buy some of these stories on video). This was a very enjoyable show, and it's a shame that it didn't last very long.

bigdaddyjeffc Jim Henson was right up there with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. It's a real shame that this innovative show had to end so quickly, because I think that it could have gone on for a really long time. I only remember five or so episodes, but they were all great. This is one of those great shows whose segments could be culled for DVDs and such, as there were many Making-Of type segments. I wish I could watch it now that I could appreciate it.

GrouchoFan The Jim Henson Hour was what happened when Jim Henson took the Muppet Show and the Dark Crystal and cross-bred them. It was split into two halves. The first half was the Muppet Show of the 80's. It featured both old (Jim Henson, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Steve Whitmire) and new (Dan Redican, Gordon Robertson, Fran Brill, Kevin Clash) puppeteers. Therefore, it also featured both old (Kermit, Gonzo, Link Hogthrob, Rowlf) and new (Digit, Lindburgh, Vicki, Leon) characters. The second half was sometimes serious (Lighthouse Island, The Storyteller) and sometimes funny (Miss Piggy's Hollywood, Dog City). Sometimes it was all one hour-long show. And it was great every time. I seriously suggest this to anyone who likes Henson.