Gerard “Gerry” Parkes (October 16, 1924 – October 19, 2014)
This week Gerald Parks passed away. Parks acted in many TV shows and movies for both kids and adults, but he’s most well known for two Boondog Saints movies and the HBO Muppet series Fraggle Rock. I have never seen Boondog Saints and I’m not even sure what they’re about. But I know Fraggle Rock. Parks wasn’t just the only regular human character, but outside of Uncle Traveling Matt’s travel logs he was the only one we ever saw. Parks played “Doc”, an inventor whose workshop had an entrance to Fraggle Rock, home of the Fraggles and Doozers, itself an entrance to the world of the Gorgs and the Fraggles advisor, the living trash heap Marjorie. The show ran for five seasons and had an animated spin-off on NBC. While Parks’ scenes were replaced with other actors in various countries, this Doc also appeared in one of the Muppets’ Christmas specials.
Since I didn’t get to edit a video this week, I wanted to pay tributes to Parks with the final episode of Fraggle Rock, where he finally learned about the Fraggles just before moving away. In the same season his Muppet dog, Sprocket (performed by Steve Whitmire), had finally made friends with Gobo and the others when he fell into another entryway to the Rock in a rare episode where Doc and Sprocket actually left the workshop for a location shoot walk. It would have been a good episode to show, and one of the best final episodes of kids television. However, Hulu has that behind the Hulu Plus wall, which means even if I could see it I couldn’t show it to you.
In its place I will present the first episode, since the first five are the only free ones. It’s the introduction of the Fraggles, Doozers, Gorgs, Doc, and Sprocket in the episode entitled “Beginnings”.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/518982
As the series went on, the Fraggles would befriend the Doozers and even the Gorgs. Then in the final episode, Doc would finally learn about the Fraggles…just as he was about to move away. And yet another tunnel would lead right to them. I don’t know how the international versions ended or how well their “Doc”s did but here in the US Doc will remembered by the generation who grew up down at Fraggle Rock.
So long, Mr. Parks. You may have left us but you will never leave the magic.
BW Media Spotlight 