You may have heard that the actor Gerard Parkes just passed away. That name may not mean much to you until you hear that he was the actor who portrayed Doc on the 1980s children’s show Fraggle Rock.
Doc was an inventor who worked in an old building inventing things with his dog, Sprocket. Unbeknownst to Doc, until the last couple of episodes, his workshop was next to the caves in which the Fraggles lived.
This was the backdrop for many fun, imaginative, and moral imparting episodes of Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock - a show that continued to impact generations after its cessation, as evidenced in the picture included here of Nicky Hilton and Red at a toy drive in 2009.
Parkes spent the last few years very ill. Only four days after his 90th birthday, he passed away, leaving a legacy of five seasons and a total of 96 episodes of one of the most iconic children’s shows for those of us growing up in the 1980s. In honor of Parkes, here is a top 10 list of Fraggle Rock episodes.
image courtesy of INFevents.com
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10. “The Thirty-Minute Work Week”
In this episode from the first season, the Fraggles explore career opportunities. Wembley is the focus as he can’t decide what he wants to do. We also get to see Uncle Matt, the explorer, ride in a roller coaster.
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9. “The Preachification of Convincing John”
The next episode that aired focused on the interdependence between the Fraggles and the Doozers. In order to persuade the other Fraggles to agree with her, Mokey asks Convincing John (a character played by Jim Henson himself), for help, but things don’t always go the way they seem.
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8. “The Challenge”
Competition is the theme of this episode. The Fraggles compete for a leadership role. Their competition gets them caught by the Gorgs and they have to work together in order to escape. Also, Doc and Sprocket have their own competition playing video games.
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7. “Boober’s Dream”
As you may have guessed by the title of this episode, it is about Boober’s dreams. In this case, he is having nightmares of temptation. Is it OK for Boober to have a little fun? Well, you might if you watch this episode.
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6. “A Friend in Need”
This episode has a good moral lesson of helping those in need. In this clip, we see that in an attempt to go to Fraggle Rock, Sprocket gets stuck in the wall. It is up to Gobo to help him.
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5. “Fraggle Wars”
Who wouldn’t love an episode entitled “Fraggle Wars”? Within this episode, we are presented with two factions of Fraggles that evidently haven’t gotten along in many, many years. Now, it appears they will go to war, unless Red can stop it. In this clip, the other Fraggles are holding Mokey prisoner.
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4. “The Day the Music Died”
Sometimes you just want some peace and quiet, especially if you’re trying to compose something. This is just what happens to Gobo in this episode. However, when he finally gets everyone to be quiet, all the lights go out.
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3. “Sprocket’s Big Adventure”
Doc might not know about the Fraggles, but Sprocket does, and he’s always trying to figure out how to get to them. In this episode, he finally gets into Fraggle Rock and meets Doozers, Fraggles, Gorgs, and the Trash Heap before returning home.
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2. “Sidebottom Blues”
Wembley’s fun loving alter ego, Sidebottom, comes out to play when he thinks his friends don’t like him anymore. The best part of this episode is when Wembley hypnotizes Junior into thinking he’s a Fraggle.
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1. Boober Gorg
So, you’ve seen a Gorg think he’s a Fraggle, now see a Fraggle who thinks he’s a Gorg! In this episode, Boober has a bout of amnesia after being hit on the head. While in the Gorg’s garden, Boober overhears Pa talking about how to be a Gorg, and thinks he must be a Gorg also. He convinces Ma and Pa that he’s a Gorg, so they think he’s Junior somehow turned into a Fraggle.