A few key things unite my generation of nostalgic pop culture devotees: a fondness for early '90s Nickelodeon series that played in reruns until the latter part of the decade; firm opinions about which season of The Real World is best; and an absolutely feigned remembrance of Fraggle Rock, the '80s HBO series that replayed for a short time on the Disney Channel, and now makes you look cool if you reference it right.
Many of you probably remember the series quite well, but I'm telling you there's a collective lie festering in the iPod generation, and it has to do with this show. That's my anthropological insight. So anyway! After numerous delays, it's going to be a movie! And it just may be better than Jason Segel's Muppets romp. Here's why.
1. Hip factor
In the early 2000s when novelty tees began to fester on mall shelves, you couldn't enter a Hot Topic (if you dared, anyway) without seeing multiple Fraggle Rock t-shirts. While sharing a racks with Spongebob boxers and Nirvana: Unplugged in NYC posters doesn't mean you're the coolest brand ever, it does mean there's a niche, post-millennial appeal to the Fraggles.
2. No tepid cinematic past
Surely The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan are resilient film classics (and surely "The Rainbow Connection" is one of the great movie songs of the '70s), but the Muppets' more recent forays into film have proven less enduring. The grim 2002 TV movie It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and the 2005 dud The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (starring Ashanti) have added nothing to the franchise but an air of cloying irrelevance. Meanwhile, the last time the Fraggles received much exposure was in a cameo appearance in A Muppet Family Christmas, where they stole screentime away -- rightfully -- from Kermit the Frog's milquetoast nephew Robin.
3. The theme song is still awesome.
Need I say more? I've been waiting for "The Fraggle Rock Theme" to find its away back into radio rotation for years, since its melody and goofy instrumentation are as indelible as any two-time chart hit like "Stand by Me" or "La Bamba." (The song charted in the UK in the '80s.) Careful, if you click this, you will re-watch it at least 35 times.
4. The summoning of the Scissor Sisters
Every time the Scissor Sisters come out with an album, you have to sigh and mutter, "This is too cool for the Billboard 200." You figure if George Michael can release a stateside blockbuster album with a picture of an ass in tight pants on its cover in 1988, Jake Shears's band could do the same in the considerably more ass-addicted year of 2010. While the Sisters remain critical darlings, their brand of rambunctiousness and delirium feels a bit like a novelty in the U.S. -- and yet, it's a perfect match for Fraggle Rock's freewheeling pep. The band has signed on to make music for the film, and their inclusion qualifies the movie for doubled-up hipster cred. I feel like dancin'!
5. Oh, and Fraggles rule
Like all the best Muppets (and I assume we all agree those are Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie, and, on Sesame Street, Grover), the Fraggles display cute, ho-hum self-deprecation. They're self-aware, but they remain totally silly, which is a divine mix. Here are Mokey, Red, and Boober enjoying a self-deprecating dialogue. Love. Me. Some Mokey.
ยท Scissor Sisters to write for 'Fraggle Rock' [MusicWeek]