theoriginalmovieeveryweektomakesurehe
wasnotstrayingfromitstone,cametoembody
thatsamespiritoffranticcreativityandcheery
perfectionismthatHensonhad.“Thebest
momentsarewhenyou’vefinishedsomething
justbeforeshootingandLouissaysit’snotquite
right.Thenyou’vegot 24 hourstofixit.That’s
what’sexciting!Thatrush.That’sLouispushing
it andreallygoingforit.”
It’snotsurprisingthatBrianFroudis
extremelypro-puppets,buthesayswalkingonto
thatsetcreateda magicyoucan’tgetwithany
othermedium.“Iknowthesecharactersarejust
‘stuff ’,”hesays,“Butthefirsttimeit moves,you
gasp.Theycometolife.It’suncanny.You’re
nevergoingtogetthatwithCG.”A QUESTFULFILLED
ThepassionofeveryoneinvolvedinAgeOf
Resistanceis notinanydoubt.Walkingaround
theproductionfacility,people—puppeteers,
sculptors,set-dressers—stoptosaythatthereis
nothinglikethisbeingmadeanywhere.Thefact
thereis nothingelselikethisis bothsellingpoint
andtheshow’sbiggestpotentialobstacle.There
is aninbuiltaudienceforthisshow,butnot
necessarilyanenormousone.Whenaudiences
areusedtoCGslicknessandseepuppetsasthe
stuffofkids’TVshows,howdoyouconvince
themtotakea puppetdramaseriously?
LisaHensonis realistic.“Idon’tthinkyou
canmakea generalstatementthatpeoplewill
acceptpuppetsdoingdrama,butI thinkthey
willinthecaseofthis,”shesays.“Thelevelof
detailandtrueemotionthepuppeteersbrought
totheperformanceis justthatgood.”
WillMatthewsofthewritingteamis more
bullish.“Themostimportantpartofourjobis
thatwe’renotseenassomesortofspecialty
projectorsomesortofnicheprojector
whatever,”hesays.“Nobodyasked[GameOf
Throneswriters]DavidBenioffandD.B.Weiss,
‘Howareyougoingtomaketheshowrelatable?’
You’regoingtotakeanemotionaljourneyand
thefactthecharactersarecreaturesshouldn’t
enterintotheequation.”Plus,headds,“the
visualexperienceis unlikeanythingelse.”
Thesizeoftheaudienceis outofeveryone’s
hands,buttheyhopethey’llgettocontinuethe
journey.Theyhavestoryplannedforatleasttwo
moreseasons.Whateverhappens,though,Lisa
Hensoncansayshefinallymanagedtorealise
a continuationoftheprojectherfathercalledthe
proudestachievementofhiscareer.
“I’mnotsurehewouldhaveevermadea
sequelbecausehewasa bitofa restlessspiritand
alwayswantedtobeontosomethingnew,”shesays.
“Thatgavemea freedomonthisandeverysingle
personworkingonthiswasdedicatedtolivingup
totheoriginal.I believethatwouldhavebeen
enoughformyfatherandI’mprettyconfidenthe’d
beproudofit.Thatis enoughforme.”THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE IS ON NETFLIX
FROM 30 AUGUSTCREEPY PUPPETS
IT WASN’T ONLY THE DARK CRYSTAL THAT TOOK
PUPPET SHOWS TO DARK PLACESNEW ZOO REVUE
(1972-1977)
Let us be thankful that, of all the
trash TV that oozed across the
oceans to our shores, A&E’s New
Zoo Revue never made it here.
A well-intentioned, educational
kids’ show, it featured a trio of full-
bodied puppet characters —
Charlie the Owl, Freddie the Frog,
Henrietta Hippo — who lolled
about the ersatz woodland-cum-
suburbia set with unseeing, rolling
eyes and disconcertingly sagging
limbs. They might have been
discussing such matters as the
importance of patience or the
miracle of childbirth, but we knew
what they were secretly screaming:
“Kill me. Kill me. Killll meee...”FRAGGLE ROCK
(1983-1987)
On the surface, this Muppets
spin-off is nothing more than a
bit of fluffy, fantastical fun: the
googly-eyed Fraggles mess
around and have adventures in
a secret, subterranean world
beneath a lighthouse. But scrape
the candy-coloured veneer and
you have something rather
disquieting: the Fraggles’
carefree, work-shy lifestyle
involves the unthinking
exploitation of the diligent
Doozers, whose sprawling
structures they like to eat (being
made out of radishes and,
apparently, sugar), while their
oracle is a hideous, sentient pile
of compost called Marjory.
It just feels so wrong.DINOSAURS
(1991-1994)
A little bit Flintstones, a lotta
bit The Simpsons, this puppety
sit-com was all fine and mildly
funny for the most part. But
then came the unexpectedly
shocking finale. Kids tuned in
perhaps expecting a fond
farewell. What they got was
a depiction of ecological disaster
leading to the destruction of
the dinosaurs’ world through
the creation of an Ice
Age (dismissed by idiot-
businessman character B.P.
Richfield as a “fourth-quarter
problem”), and the family
huddling together as they await
their impending, icy deaths. Good
message, though.
DAN JOLINTERRAHAWKS
(1983-1986)
Gerry ‘Thunderbirds’ Anderson’s
belated return to puppet action
brought back the vehicle-heavy
action of his Supermarionation
classic, but this time there was an
added, monster-alien element
which, despite the LWT series’
tongue-in-cheek tone, often sent
latex-fuelled shivers down kids’
spines. Take MOID, for example,
the Master Of Infinite Disguise,
whose forever-staring, featureless
visage makes Lon Chaney’s
Phantom look cuddly. Or, even
worse,Yuri, a golden-eyed,
smirking teddy bear that would
clearly strangle every audience
member in their sleep if it could.Clockwise from
top left: Ancient
nature god
Aughra; Gelfling
matriarch
All-Maudra;
Drenchen clan
member Gurjin;
Evil Skeksis The
Chamberlain and
The Scientist.
Centre: The Dark
Crystal itself.