Jim Henson should be known for more than the Muppets, as much as we love Kermit, Big Bird, and the friends who remain with Jim Henson Productions. The “show Muppets” are now the prisoners of Disney while the Sesame Street Muppets are now owned by Sesame Workshop, the former Children’s Television Workshop.
The show Muppets used to be part of another show on NBC, The Jim Henson Hour. Hosted by Jim Henson and his lion friend, Muppet Television took the Muppet Show concept to a TV show. However, this was only one half of the show. The other half was usually filled by The Storyteller, originally a series of specials on NBC, the show followed the tales told by the titular Storyteller, portrayed by John Hurt in heavy makeup, as he told tales based on lesser known European folklore to his talking dog, simply known as Dog. Originally the Storyteller was going to be a puppet as well, but the makeup apparently looked better. The show had been inspired by Jim’s daughter and his son performed the dog, making this a family affair.
The was less like the Muppets, with the wacky comedy, and more like other works he tried to push the boundaries of puppetry with, like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. It’s a shame such productions are rare as he really showed how a well told story would make you forget these aren’t people, but are still operated by people. There was another story that I thought was part of this series, but apparently Monster Maker, a modern day story of a boy inspired by one of the puppets his mentor made, was not part of this series, but a stand-alone tale for The Jim Henson Hour. I’d like to see that again.
While I usually start with the first episode, I’m going to the third, as it gave Hurt a chance to do more than narrate. “A Short Story” is a tale from the Storyteller’s own life…allegedly. A beggar who made a living telling stories, a bit of con artistry gets him in trouble with the chef. Becoming the king’s storyteller for a year was his only chance at salvation…but what to do when you run out of stories on your last day? The Storyteller would also have a cameo appearance in story for the episode “Hans My Hedgehog”, but while that’s the first episode I thought this would be more fun. Enjoy.
A sequel would be produced with a new Storyteller (but somehow the same Dog) telling Greek myths. I haven’t seen it. There are also novels and comics in the franchise in that style, which I also haven’t checked up on but it’s not the same as having the Storyteller himself tell those tales to the audience.
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