WEBVTT - Selects: How Jim Henson Worked

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning everyone. I hope you are watching Saturday Morning

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<v Speaker 1>Cartoons or maybe the Muppets, because this one is all

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<v Speaker 1>about Jim Henson. I'm often asked what our favorite episodes

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<v Speaker 1>are when we do the Q and A at live shows,

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<v Speaker 1>and many, many times I go back to the ones

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<v Speaker 1>on the Muppets and Jim Henson because he was just

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<v Speaker 1>one of the best. This is from January sixth, twenty fifteen,

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<v Speaker 1>how Jim Henson worked American Hero. That's not part of

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<v Speaker 1>the title. That's just me. Welcome to stuff you should

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<v Speaker 1>know a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark with

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<v Speaker 2>Charles W Chuck Bryant. How do you and Jerry for

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<v Speaker 2>the last time this year? Yes, just informed us and

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<v Speaker 2>she's all smiles. She is not very nice, Jerry.

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<v Speaker 1>How'd you like that presentation earlier?

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<v Speaker 2>The sensitivity training?

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<v Speaker 1>Huh?

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<v Speaker 2>It was great.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, people, Because we worked for a corporation, we have

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<v Speaker 1>things like sensitivity trainings.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh huh.

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<v Speaker 1>And in those trainings you get shown video examples of

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<v Speaker 1>various forms of harassment and they are the best, most

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<v Speaker 1>fun things to watch.

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<v Speaker 2>Ever, they're pretty overt.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I could watch those all day. Long.

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<v Speaker 2>I was wondering how much that production company made from that. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>you know they did, but like five little vignettes. They

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sure they paid the actors like literal peanuts.

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<v Speaker 1>They were bad actors.

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<v Speaker 2>They were like, kid, there's the peanut bucket over there,

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<v Speaker 2>you can pay yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the old The one that really got me was

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<v Speaker 1>the Actually they were all really funny, but the one

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<v Speaker 1>with the old guy in the uh in the factory

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<v Speaker 1>loading boxes like a shipping warehouse, right, and they were

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<v Speaker 1>giving the old man a hard time about everything because

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<v Speaker 1>he was old. Yeah, because he's old, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they were given a hard time. So he and he

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<v Speaker 1>was out of work for a while and they had

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<v Speaker 1>to cover for him. The old man, and he had

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<v Speaker 1>the back brace on. Did you notice that? And he

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<v Speaker 1>just looked on his face. He just kept getting a

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<v Speaker 1>little more like Poudy the whole time. Yeah. I was like, dude,

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<v Speaker 1>that's good acting. Stick up for yourself. Tell these young

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<v Speaker 1>kids you know what to do.

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<v Speaker 2>The back brace prevents him from it.

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<v Speaker 1>Anyway. I just had to bring that up because I

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<v Speaker 1>just think that stuff is so funny. And what's funny

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<v Speaker 1>is people really do some of that stuff that you're like, what,

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<v Speaker 1>there's some creeps out there. That was a really weird

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<v Speaker 1>setup for Jim Henson, because he's the least harassing guy

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<v Speaker 1>he was probably ever.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, he certainly comes across that way.

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<v Speaker 1>He's a genuinely good dude. It's not one of these

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<v Speaker 1>stories you hear about, like maybe some of your favorite

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<v Speaker 1>children's books writers or cartoonists or something, maybe we're kind

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<v Speaker 1>of bad people.

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<v Speaker 2>No, apparently not at all. Yeah, he was not. Only

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<v Speaker 2>so there's a lot of in this article. John No, John,

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<v Speaker 2>I thought John Strickland wrote it. It turns out that's

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<v Speaker 2>not the case. I'm surprised because he's friends with or

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<v Speaker 2>down with at least one of Jim Henson's kids I

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<v Speaker 2>believe lives here in Atlanta.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh wow.

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<v Speaker 2>And but in this article, it's one of those things

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<v Speaker 2>where everybody who compliments Jim Henson, who worked with him,

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<v Speaker 2>they they go to the trouble of complimenting him in

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<v Speaker 2>a way that's not just like, oh, he was such

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<v Speaker 2>a great guy. They all back up just a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit because they're cognizant that that doesn't get it across sure,

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<v Speaker 2>and they want you to understand that they're talking about

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<v Speaker 2>more than just the great guy. Like, oh, he's dead

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm not gonna speak ill of the dead. And

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<v Speaker 2>he was a great guy. And that's a really thoughtless, polite,

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<v Speaker 2>inoffensive thing to say. Sure, So, like frank Oz said

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<v Speaker 2>something like he was a he was a great guy.

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<v Speaker 2>But at the same time, you know, he was a human,

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<v Speaker 2>but he was still a really great guy, right, So,

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<v Speaker 2>like what you're thinking of is a great guy. Get

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<v Speaker 2>rid of that and actually replace it with a genuine

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<v Speaker 2>human great guy.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, because as a filmmaker, he's a puppeteer obviously, but

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<v Speaker 1>he was a filmmaker first and foremost, which a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people kind of forget about. Yeah. Oh yeah, that's

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<v Speaker 1>a tough, tough job, super stressful, and you and I

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<v Speaker 1>have seen it can make good guys and good ladies

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<v Speaker 1>be real jerks and yell under stressful situations. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's it's a tough thing. There's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>money on the line each day, and uh.

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<v Speaker 2>It's like everybody, relax, it's just millions of dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>But frank Oz, I think that's the point he was making,

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<v Speaker 1>Like even when he would get frustrated and stress like that,

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<v Speaker 1>it was he was still a good guy behind it all.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and I read I read an I guess it

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<v Speaker 2>was a book review of a biography about him that

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<v Speaker 2>that showed that it was all somebody said it was

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<v Speaker 2>all just play to him. Yeah, like work was play.

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<v Speaker 2>Even though he worked really hard, he was able to

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<v Speaker 2>commit himself like that to his work because to him,

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<v Speaker 2>he was having the time of his life all the time.

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<v Speaker 2>And apparently like there was just there was no line

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<v Speaker 2>between work and play, which now that we've seen that

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<v Speaker 2>sensitivity training could have gotten him in a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>big you know, a lot of trouble. But he he

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<v Speaker 2>just enjoyed the life that he had from what I understand,

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<v Speaker 2>love cars. Yeah, he had like a lotus that was

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<v Speaker 2>the same color as Kermit the Frog. He had a

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<v Speaker 2>Rolls Royce early on from his work. Yeah, let's talk

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<v Speaker 2>about let's talk about the guy.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean, if you haven't, I just need to

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead and say, if you haven't listened to the

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<v Speaker 1>episode on the Muppets, this is a what I consider

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<v Speaker 1>just a more in depth part two on the man himself.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's one of our favorite all time episodes and

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<v Speaker 1>from feedback, one of the great all time fan episodes.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was a great episode.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it was just a lot of fun. And so

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<v Speaker 1>I hope this augments that one. I hope we do

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<v Speaker 1>it justice.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's actually one of the reasons why we can

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<v Speaker 2>do this episode, because we already did a Muppets episode and.

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<v Speaker 1>They tweeted about us. Do you remember the Henson Company did? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>they did, which was they approve huge. It got their

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<v Speaker 1>actual approval. That's right, man, that was something the Muppets

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<v Speaker 1>episodes its own thing. It's about Muppets.

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<v Speaker 2>This is about Jim Henson, and it's appropriate that we're

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<v Speaker 2>doing this because he was more than just the Muppets.

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<v Speaker 2>Even though everybody pegs him with the Muppets and like

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<v Speaker 2>that is a huge thing. He was more than that.

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<v Speaker 2>And like you said, he was a filmmaker but originally

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<v Speaker 2>started out as a puppetsier, but kind of a reluctant one.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. He was born in nineteen thirty six September twenty fourth,

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<v Speaker 1>James Mauri Henson m A U R Y in Mississippi,

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<v Speaker 1>and his grandmother, maternal grandmother was a painter and a

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<v Speaker 1>quilter and a needle worker, and apparently it was a

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<v Speaker 1>big inspiration to him to seek out the creative in life, right,

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<v Speaker 1>which is pretty great.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and one of the one of the things he

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<v Speaker 2>got into. Well, he was originally a kind of a

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<v Speaker 2>fan of ventriloquism a little bit, but he said later

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<v Speaker 2>on in life that he was never he was never

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<v Speaker 2>like obsessed with puppets or anything like that like you

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<v Speaker 2>would have expected him to be. And as he went

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<v Speaker 2>to college, I think in Maryland, he he got into

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<v Speaker 2>He started out as a studio artist, that's what he

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<v Speaker 2>was studying.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, he loved television above all else, right, from the

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<v Speaker 1>time he was a little kid. He was just transfixed

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<v Speaker 1>by the tube.

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<v Speaker 2>He almost kind of made himself destined to be on

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<v Speaker 2>television by being obsessed with it. Yeah, but he kind

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<v Speaker 2>of stumbled into puppetry in college, and he started out

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<v Speaker 2>as a studio art major and ended up graduating with

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<v Speaker 2>a homech degree because homech was the only degree that

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<v Speaker 2>offered puppet making courses.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, he majored or he took a puppetry course at first,

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<v Speaker 1>and then a bunch of textiles and crafts courses, which

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<v Speaker 1>is a great way to you know, start building and

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<v Speaker 1>making your own puppets. Right.

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<v Speaker 2>So, but he graduated with a home ch degree, but

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<v Speaker 2>by the time he graduated, he was already extremely successful.

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<v Speaker 2>The Rolls Royce that I mentioned he bought in time

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<v Speaker 2>to drive to his college graduation. Yeah, because he'd already

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<v Speaker 2>created successful shows in his town.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I think he was in high school. He was

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<v Speaker 1>on the local TV station doing little guest spots, and

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<v Speaker 1>then in nineteen fifty five, the show Salmon Friends debuted,

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<v Speaker 1>and that you know, he also did work on the

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<v Speaker 1>side making money with them. I think he did some

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<v Speaker 1>of the like really cool concert posters of the day,

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<v Speaker 1>really colorful silk screen posters, and Salmon Friends did really well,

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<v Speaker 1>but he still wasn't quite sure, Like I still don't

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<v Speaker 1>know if I want to. You know, my filmmaker, I

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<v Speaker 1>did these short films, really sort of weird, abstract short films, live.

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<v Speaker 2>Action, experimental, so totally experimental. Did you see the time Piece?

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<v Speaker 1>Oh?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that one was pretty cool.

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<v Speaker 1>It was great in its way.

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<v Speaker 2>And did you see the Cube? I watched parts of

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<v Speaker 2>the Cube that was Did you see the end? No, Oh,

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<v Speaker 2>you've got to see the end. I skipped the middle

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<v Speaker 2>because I was like, Okay, I get where you're going

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<v Speaker 2>with this.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well we should just set it up real quick.

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<v Speaker 1>The Cube was a show on NBC. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>one hour.

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<v Speaker 2>Show in nineteen sixty nine.

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<v Speaker 1>The name of the show NBC did was called uh

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<v Speaker 1>Experiment in Television and it was a different thing each week.

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<v Speaker 1>And he had one week's installment called The Cube, which

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<v Speaker 1>was a guy just stuck in a white room but

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<v Speaker 1>other people could come in and out of the room,

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<v Speaker 1>but he could not, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, okay, and he starts to go kind of crazy,

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<v Speaker 2>and it has the look and feel of a color

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<v Speaker 2>TV ad, like all lots of over acting in like

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<v Speaker 2>Carol Burnett esque characters and stuff like that. But yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>the sentiment behind it and like that, everything behind it

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<v Speaker 2>is really neat and it really gives you a good,

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<v Speaker 2>an eye opening example of like what Jim Henson was

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<v Speaker 2>capable of, but also like what he was into, because

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<v Speaker 2>you know, when you think of him, you think of

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<v Speaker 2>muppets in Sesame Street in particular.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure, and these are weird abstract art films, not unlike

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you watch like a Jim Morrison art film

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<v Speaker 1>from film school and it's kind of the same style.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, that was what was going on back then. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and he actually got nominated for an Academy Award for

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<v Speaker 1>time Piece.

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<v Speaker 2>I think Jim Hooinson, Jim Henson had Jim Morrison beat

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<v Speaker 2>by a mile as far as experimental films went.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I agree with you there. So, like I said,

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<v Speaker 1>he wasn't quite convinced that puppetry was his future because

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<v Speaker 1>he was a filmmaker and he was like, puppets are

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<v Speaker 1>still kind of kids. But post college he did the

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<v Speaker 1>Old Tour of Europe, and in Europe, puppeteering is a

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<v Speaker 1>whole different business. It was a lot more serious and

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<v Speaker 1>a lot more I guess it was.

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<v Speaker 2>Treated as art.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, exactly, and he said, you know what, I Am

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<v Speaker 1>going to give this a shot. Came back to the US,

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<v Speaker 1>married Jane, and even though he and Jane separated, they

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<v Speaker 1>never divorced.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh really I thought they did.

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<v Speaker 1>No, they never fulfilled the divorce. They just stayed separated.

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<v Speaker 1>And then he started making TV commercials and formed his

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<v Speaker 1>own company in nineteen sixty three with I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>if he formed it with Frank Oz, but he hired

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<v Speaker 1>Frank Oz and Jerry Jewel, who ended up being obviously

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<v Speaker 1>legendary puppeteers.

0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:46.320
<v Speaker 2>And lifelong collaborators of his.

0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:46.760
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:50.720
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, But he started out making a basically a puppet

0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:55.400
<v Speaker 2>based commercial ad agency in New York, Yes, in nineteen

0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:56.360
<v Speaker 2>sixty three.

0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:59.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and they weren't making funny commercials back then. So

0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:01.480
<v Speaker 1>he was really pretty revolutionary right time.

0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:03.800
<v Speaker 2>And they, I mean, they did pretty well for themselves.

0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:06.640
<v Speaker 2>And one of the smartest moves he made early on

0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.080
<v Speaker 2>was all of his contracts said that he retained the

0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:13.720
<v Speaker 2>rights to any of the creations he made for these companies. Yeah,

0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:17.120
<v Speaker 2>so he was creating what some of the things that

0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.480
<v Speaker 2>would later become famous muppets, Like the Cookie Monster was

0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:24.880
<v Speaker 2>originally made for a chip maker. It was this puppet

0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:26.520
<v Speaker 2>that couldn't get enough of these chips.

0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:29.280
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. He was the wheel stealer and he stole cheese wheels.

0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:31.719
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Okay, that's what it was. Yeah, and he ended

0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:33.959
<v Speaker 2>up being the Cookie Monster. And the reason he ended

0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:37.640
<v Speaker 2>up being the Cookie Monsters because Jim Henson retained the

0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:38.720
<v Speaker 2>rights to that creation.

0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:40.839
<v Speaker 1>That was he was a very savvy business guy too.

0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:43.880
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and he was he was using somebody else's dime,

0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:49.680
<v Speaker 2>these advertisers, yeah, like budgets to kind of hash out

0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.920
<v Speaker 2>and form and make his muppets. Yeah.

0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:57.439
<v Speaker 1>Rocked the Dog started out on Purina commercials and was

0:12:57.520 --> 0:12:59.640
<v Speaker 1>later a sidekick on the Jimmy Dean Show in nineteen

0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:00.480
<v Speaker 1>sixty three.

0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:03.280
<v Speaker 2>Which I remember that from the Muppets episode Rolf was

0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.960
<v Speaker 2>the first big Muppet. Then he's such like a bit

0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.960
<v Speaker 2>character now, yeah that you know, it's just mind boggling

0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:12.720
<v Speaker 2>to think he was the one that started it all,

0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.320
<v Speaker 2>even before Kermit, before Big Bird. It was Rolf.

0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:16.560
<v Speaker 1>Kermit kind of stole the show.

0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.480
<v Speaker 2>I think, Yeah, we'll talk a little more about Kermit

0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:21.800
<v Speaker 2>and where he came from right after this.

0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:46.480
<v Speaker 1>All right, So it's nineteen sixty nine and a very

0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:52.040
<v Speaker 1>very big thing happens to Jim Henson. He was invited

0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.600
<v Speaker 1>to be on the pilot of a show created by

0:13:55.640 --> 0:14:00.839
<v Speaker 1>the Children's Television Workshop called Sesame Street. Not created, some

0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:05.080
<v Speaker 1>people think he did, but he did make his mark

0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:09.480
<v Speaker 1>by creating most of the iconic characters. And if you

0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:11.440
<v Speaker 1>were a fan of the old Sesame Streets back then,

0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:14.880
<v Speaker 1>all not all, but many of those little short films,

0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.800
<v Speaker 1>the little claymation ones or the live actions. He directed

0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:19.640
<v Speaker 1>those as well. Yeah, which is pretty cool. I never

0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:20.080
<v Speaker 1>knew that.

0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:23.040
<v Speaker 2>I think I knew that, did you. Yeah? He was

0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:26.840
<v Speaker 2>he was our Russ Vict, you know, he was their

0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:27.440
<v Speaker 2>Russ Vic.

0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:27.920
<v Speaker 1>That's right.

0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:33.760
<v Speaker 2>Russ Vic is ours, That's right, So, Chuck, the whole

0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:37.800
<v Speaker 2>thing that changed everything for him was Sesame Street. Yeah,

0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:40.200
<v Speaker 2>he's not a He wasn't a creator of Sesame Street.

0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.200
<v Speaker 2>They hired him on and they actually kind of won

0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:44.800
<v Speaker 2>him over because remember, one of the things that Jim

0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:49.520
<v Speaker 2>Henson always struggled with his whole career was he wanted

0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:55.680
<v Speaker 2>to explore places that puppets had never really gone to,

0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:59.320
<v Speaker 2>in themes that they hadn't gone to, at least not

0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:03.200
<v Speaker 2>in the modern age. Sure, but he was fighting against

0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:04.880
<v Speaker 2>them not being taken seriously.

0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:07.840
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it wasn't like he was anti puppet by any

0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:11.720
<v Speaker 1>means he was or anti kids because one of the

0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.240
<v Speaker 1>big reasons he signed on with Children's Television Workshop was

0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:17.560
<v Speaker 1>their goal to educate kids meant a lot to him.

0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.480
<v Speaker 1>But like you said, I think to merge those worlds

0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:25.320
<v Speaker 1>successfully was a big part of his goal and struggle

0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:26.080
<v Speaker 1>for a little while.

0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:30.320
<v Speaker 2>Russ Vick, by the way, made the little interstitial things

0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:32.880
<v Speaker 2>for the stuff you should know, televisions, Yeah, the animations,

0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:34.000
<v Speaker 2>which is why I reference him.

0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:34.640
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.920
<v Speaker 2>So the Children's Television Workshop, which is now called the

0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.920
<v Speaker 2>Sesame Workshop. Yeah, from what I understand, they won them

0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:43.520
<v Speaker 2>over big time. He makes all of these characters from

0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:47.680
<v Speaker 2>like Big Bird, and I think Kermit came before Sesame

0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:50.400
<v Speaker 2>Street and he started out I think we talked about

0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:52.400
<v Speaker 2>this in The Muppet episode two. He started out looking

0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.160
<v Speaker 2>really weird, Yeah, like a lizard on this Yeah, not

0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:57.640
<v Speaker 2>cool at all, like really kind of freaky.

0:15:57.800 --> 0:15:59.160
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, which is something.

0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:00.840
<v Speaker 2>That I now that I know a little more about

0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.280
<v Speaker 2>Jim Henson, I think maybe he might have even been

0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:07.240
<v Speaker 2>going for. But one of the things that Sesame Street

0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:12.720
<v Speaker 2>allowed him to do was to really kind of explore

0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:17.040
<v Speaker 2>something that he'd long been obsessed with, which was television

0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:22.239
<v Speaker 2>and where it converged with puppets, which was all new territory,

0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.000
<v Speaker 2>and Jim Henson was at the bleeding edge of it

0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:27.120
<v Speaker 2>because if you think about it, when you go to

0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:31.360
<v Speaker 2>a puppet show live, you know, you're you're looking at

0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:35.400
<v Speaker 2>what's essentially a mechanism for hiding the human and there's

0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:38.880
<v Speaker 2>just a little area that the puppet can move.

0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:41.400
<v Speaker 1>Around in tiny fixed age.

0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:44.680
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Yeah, So Jim Henson stepped back and said, Okay,

0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:48.360
<v Speaker 2>the television is that little tiny area that the puppet

0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:52.400
<v Speaker 2>can stay, can move around in, but it also opens

0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:54.920
<v Speaker 2>up the whole world for a puppet because you're using

0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.040
<v Speaker 2>camera angles and there's editing and it's not in person.

0:16:58.280 --> 0:16:59.560
<v Speaker 1>Just frame out the people.

0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.440
<v Speaker 2>So and again we talked about this in the Muppet episode.

0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.440
<v Speaker 2>He created something called platforming up, Yeah, to where the

0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:12.439
<v Speaker 2>puppeteers no longer had to like crouch down and to

0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:13.520
<v Speaker 2>maneuver the puppets.

0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:14.680
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, because he was a tall guy.

0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.160
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, tall and lanky man. He was skinny.

0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:19.520
<v Speaker 1>Oh, those running shots and time piece exactly because he

0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:20.520
<v Speaker 1>was in it. They were hysterical.

0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:24.119
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and he weighs about seventy pounds somehow, big lanky legs.

0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:27.960
<v Speaker 2>But so Yeah, the performers could stand up, which was

0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:30.120
<v Speaker 2>a huge weight off.

0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:30.919
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:33.520
<v Speaker 2>But at the same time, because you're working with cameras

0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:35.320
<v Speaker 2>and stuff like that, and they have the whole universe

0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:38.000
<v Speaker 2>to move around in and Jim Henson wanted him to

0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.719
<v Speaker 2>move around as much as possible. It also put him

0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:41.879
<v Speaker 2>in some weird positions.

0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:45.840
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, if you ever well, some people might think it's

0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:48.160
<v Speaker 1>like kind of ruining the thing, but I think it's

0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:51.600
<v Speaker 1>really neat. If you just look up on Google images Muppets,

0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:54.760
<v Speaker 1>Muppet Show behind the scenes pictures, yeah, and it'll show

0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:59.439
<v Speaker 1>the stage sets you know, like six feet off the ground, right,

0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:03.240
<v Speaker 1>all the people standing beneath. I think it's awesome to

0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.320
<v Speaker 1>look at. But some people don't, like you know, they

0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:08.159
<v Speaker 1>want to keep that illusion alive. So depending on what

0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:10.200
<v Speaker 1>kind of person you are, either seek that out or don't.

0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:12.800
<v Speaker 2>And we gave that warning in the Muppets episode too,

0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.159
<v Speaker 2>did we. Yeah, Yeah, I think they're really cool pictures.

0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:17.040
<v Speaker 1>I agree, because you know, a lot of times they're

0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:21.640
<v Speaker 1>looking at uh, they're looking at video monitors standing there

0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:30.159
<v Speaker 1>contorted using both hands right. Like the way puppeteers work together,

0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:34.840
<v Speaker 1>to me is just a miracle because they're acting as

0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:38.000
<v Speaker 1>the puppets, but they're moving still moving among one another

0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:41.680
<v Speaker 1>as humans right underneath, which can be really complicated. In fact,

0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:45.480
<v Speaker 1>we know some really really talented puppeteers here in Atlanta.

0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:48.800
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, the Center for Puppetry Arts is yeah, I think

0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:51.360
<v Speaker 2>the nation's largest puppet puppeteer organization.

0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:53.840
<v Speaker 1>Yep. And that is where we had our TV show

0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:58.680
<v Speaker 1>debut party, premiere party. Yeah, Like it was a really

0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:00.840
<v Speaker 1>cool experience. Like Auto in the Gang are right there

0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:03.480
<v Speaker 1>on display. I think the Hinson and Kermit cut the

0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:06.600
<v Speaker 1>ribbon for the grand opening back when it opened and

0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:12.480
<v Speaker 1>ended up donating like five hundred puppets and muppets to

0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:14.760
<v Speaker 1>the Center for Puppetry Arts. So if you ever visit Atlanta,

0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:16.920
<v Speaker 1>people always email us and say what should we do?

0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:19.320
<v Speaker 1>I highly recommend going and checking out the Center for

0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:19.960
<v Speaker 1>Puppetry Arts.

0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:22.040
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because they have a museum with, like you said,

0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:27.080
<v Speaker 2>Emmitt otderxy stuff, like a full sized life size sketchy

0:19:27.280 --> 0:19:30.040
<v Speaker 2>yeah behind glass, scary as you can imagine.

0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:32.320
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, But I was talking about Raymond Carr, our friend

0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:34.720
<v Speaker 1>who I hate to keep bringing up the TV show,

0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:36.320
<v Speaker 1>but it all kind of overlaps. He was a production

0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:40.080
<v Speaker 1>designer for Stuff you Should Know on Science Channel, and

0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:43.960
<v Speaker 1>he and his friends Brandon and the gang are amazing

0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:47.439
<v Speaker 1>puppeteers and they're doing some really really leading edge, like

0:19:48.119 --> 0:19:50.920
<v Speaker 1>cool stuff here in Atlanta. Yeah, like these giant puppets

0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:54.720
<v Speaker 1>operated like, you know, fifteen foot tall puppets operated by

0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:57.119
<v Speaker 1>like six and eight people. Have you ever seen the

0:19:57.119 --> 0:20:00.880
<v Speaker 1>spaceman that they do. No, man, it's unbelievable. It's really cool.

0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:02.280
<v Speaker 1>It's like, I don't know how tall he is, he

0:20:02.280 --> 0:20:05.240
<v Speaker 1>seems like he's twenty feet tall. And they know do

0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:07.400
<v Speaker 1>these at parades and stuff, and it's just really really

0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:08.000
<v Speaker 1>cool stuff.

0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:08.560
<v Speaker 2>That's awesome.

0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:11.360
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, but Henson is a huge inspiration to them obviously.

0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:13.920
<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah. I think anybody who works even remotely in

0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:17.920
<v Speaker 2>puppets has gotta be inspired by Jim Hinton. One of

0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:21.320
<v Speaker 2>the other things that he came up with was that

0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:25.199
<v Speaker 2>was based on putting muppets or puppets on TV. Was

0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:30.199
<v Speaker 2>using softer materials. Yeah, everything else was like up to

0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:35.440
<v Speaker 2>that point, stiff Wood, Marionette's Ventriloquist dummies, that kind of stuff, right.

0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:40.399
<v Speaker 2>He used like foam, and it allowed the puppets themselves

0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:44.480
<v Speaker 2>to have more expressive faces, which was great for close

0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:48.240
<v Speaker 2>up on TV. Yeah, absolutely, And it also I mean

0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:51.640
<v Speaker 2>now looking back, you just are like, well, yeah, of course,

0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:53.040
<v Speaker 2>it's what puppets do.

0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:54.240
<v Speaker 1>That's what I know.

0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:56.840
<v Speaker 2>But that was Jim Henson that came up with that,

0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:00.880
<v Speaker 2>and it changed everything because it took something like, I mean,

0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:03.600
<v Speaker 2>imagine Howdy Doty. He was like, yeah, it's cool, you know,

0:21:03.640 --> 0:21:05.879
<v Speaker 2>it's Howdy doty or whatever. But yeah, whether close up

0:21:05.960 --> 0:21:07.959
<v Speaker 2>or far away, he looked exactly the same. It was

0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:11.680
<v Speaker 2>like a woodhead with like a moving lower jaw. And

0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:15.280
<v Speaker 2>you know, he gave you nightmares with Kermit the Frog

0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:17.120
<v Speaker 2>or something like that. The fact that he could have

0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:22.640
<v Speaker 2>different expressions and react differently, and his emotions could be

0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:26.240
<v Speaker 2>shown on his face. That made him that much more popular,

0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.840
<v Speaker 2>that much more approachable, sure to people who were into

0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:32.040
<v Speaker 2>him absolutely, which is everybody.

0:21:32.560 --> 0:21:35.320
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, show me someone who doesn't like Muppets in

0:21:35.359 --> 0:21:38.040
<v Speaker 1>any form. I get it. If you don't like it anymore, maybe,

0:21:38.080 --> 0:21:43.080
<v Speaker 1>but your heart is cold and dead inside for a while.

0:21:43.200 --> 0:21:45.840
<v Speaker 1>And this is something I don't think I knew. He

0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:49.359
<v Speaker 1>dabbled on Saturday Night Live in season one. Lord Michael's

0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:54.560
<v Speaker 1>got him a deal to perform some sketches, and ultimately

0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:57.200
<v Speaker 1>it wasn't a huge success, and it wasn't the greatest marriage,

0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:01.240
<v Speaker 1>but it was pretty cool that he was seeking out,

0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:04.919
<v Speaker 1>you know, different avenues to get those puppets on television.

0:22:05.000 --> 0:22:09.600
<v Speaker 1>It was, And his big break came in nineteen seventy five.

0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:12.560
<v Speaker 1>He wanted to make The Muppet Show and he had

0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:14.600
<v Speaker 1>a lot of trouble in the US still, yeah, even

0:22:14.640 --> 0:22:17.080
<v Speaker 1>though he had his various successes on commercials and stuff.

0:22:18.000 --> 0:22:20.440
<v Speaker 1>So he had to go to London and a TV

0:22:20.560 --> 0:22:24.679
<v Speaker 1>producer named Lord lou Grade gave him a deal with

0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:27.520
<v Speaker 1>grades ATV Studios. Said, you know what, you can make

0:22:27.520 --> 0:22:31.800
<v Speaker 1>your show. And the Muppet Show was born, Oh yeah

0:22:31.840 --> 0:22:33.040
<v Speaker 1>about it being about a boom.

0:22:33.080 --> 0:22:35.480
<v Speaker 2>That was it. That was it. And you can really

0:22:35.520 --> 0:22:39.480
<v Speaker 2>see Jim Henson's love of variety shows and just kind

0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:46.040
<v Speaker 2>of well, just the stage in The Muppet Show, because

0:22:46.040 --> 0:22:47.840
<v Speaker 2>if you think about it's set the whole thing set

0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:50.200
<v Speaker 2>backstage at a variety show.

0:22:50.240 --> 0:22:52.399
<v Speaker 1>It's such a great idea. When you look back at it,

0:22:52.359 --> 0:22:53.840
<v Speaker 1>it's like we take it for granted a little bit

0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:56.600
<v Speaker 1>because we were kids, but now as an adult, it's like,

0:22:56.840 --> 0:23:00.960
<v Speaker 1>what a perfect way to frame this world. It's basically

0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:04.640
<v Speaker 1>like thirty rock or thirty Rock was the Muppet.

0:23:04.280 --> 0:23:07.240
<v Speaker 2>Show right with the Muppet Show started all that? Yeah,

0:23:07.280 --> 0:23:11.520
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if Carol Burnett was before the Muppet Show.

0:23:12.040 --> 0:23:13.159
<v Speaker 1>Yeah it was before, was it?

0:23:13.240 --> 0:23:15.359
<v Speaker 2>Yeah? So she did a lot of backstage stuff, didn't

0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:18.120
<v Speaker 2>she U. I wonder who started that.

0:23:18.359 --> 0:23:20.960
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. Hers was more sketch, Yeah, but some.

0:23:20.920 --> 0:23:24.000
<v Speaker 2>Of it was like backstage, was it? I believe? So

0:23:25.000 --> 0:23:27.640
<v Speaker 2>I don't remember that. Thus I'm hallucinating right now.

0:23:27.920 --> 0:23:30.639
<v Speaker 1>They need to have a good old fashioned variety show again.

0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:33.080
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they don't have those anymore.

0:23:33.119 --> 0:23:35.000
<v Speaker 1>Those were big back in the day, you know, like

0:23:35.240 --> 0:23:38.160
<v Speaker 1>the host comes out and then there's sketches and singing.

0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:41.359
<v Speaker 2>And remember our cabaret, No, it wasn't cabaret. What was

0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:42.520
<v Speaker 2>it the episode we did?

0:23:43.840 --> 0:23:44.920
<v Speaker 1>Oh uh burlesque?

0:23:44.960 --> 0:23:48.600
<v Speaker 2>Burlesque? Yeah, yeah, how that started out in vaudeville and

0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:52.240
<v Speaker 2>burless cad that's where stand up comedy came from. That

0:23:52.359 --> 0:23:53.560
<v Speaker 2>was an interesting episode.

0:23:53.680 --> 0:23:55.879
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I miss those variety shows though, like the Kenny

0:23:56.040 --> 0:23:59.520
<v Speaker 1>Rogers and Dolly Parton and yeah Cal Burnett all that,

0:23:59.600 --> 0:24:00.040
<v Speaker 1>the band.

0:24:00.320 --> 0:24:03.280
<v Speaker 2>Sisters, Although Kenny and Dolly could just sit on a

0:24:03.320 --> 0:24:05.159
<v Speaker 2>couch and stare at the camera for an hour and

0:24:05.200 --> 0:24:09.120
<v Speaker 2>I'd watch that. Yeah, jer the best great entertainers. Yeah,

0:24:09.160 --> 0:24:09.920
<v Speaker 2>I love those two.

0:24:11.400 --> 0:24:13.280
<v Speaker 1>All right, So where are we in our timeline?

0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:16.960
<v Speaker 2>Well, Chuck, the Muppet Shows just hit.

0:24:17.119 --> 0:24:17.680
<v Speaker 1>Oh that's right.

0:24:17.720 --> 0:24:20.400
<v Speaker 2>Things are going pretty well. They happened going pretty well

0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:25.160
<v Speaker 2>already for Henson. Apparently in nineteen seventy, Rubbert Ducky hit

0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:28.920
<v Speaker 2>number sixteen on the Billboard charts. And for those who

0:24:28.960 --> 0:24:33.320
<v Speaker 2>don't know, Ernie is voiced by Jim Henson. So Jim

0:24:33.359 --> 0:24:36.240
<v Speaker 2>Henson sang a song Rubbert Ducky that made it to

0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:40.200
<v Speaker 2>number sixteen on the Billboard charts, and that was nineteen seventy, a.

0:24:40.200 --> 0:24:42.720
<v Speaker 1>Year after The Cube, before.

0:24:42.720 --> 0:24:46.040
<v Speaker 2>The Muppet Show even happened, before Sesame Street even right,

0:24:46.280 --> 0:24:49.400
<v Speaker 2>Nomestreet was sixty nine out. Okay, yeah, same year as

0:24:49.400 --> 0:24:52.680
<v Speaker 2>The Cube. Wow, that's great, Sey. That the new touchstone

0:24:52.720 --> 0:24:54.240
<v Speaker 2>for his life. The Cube.

0:24:54.359 --> 0:24:58.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, PC and BC. So the Muppet Show it was

0:24:58.320 --> 0:25:01.600
<v Speaker 1>a huge hit. It won, you know, a lot of awards,

0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:05.600
<v Speaker 1>It garnered critical praise and won the hearts of children

0:25:05.760 --> 0:25:06.520
<v Speaker 1>all over the world.

0:25:07.240 --> 0:25:09.919
<v Speaker 2>But it was also for adults too. Oh yeah. I

0:25:09.920 --> 0:25:11.920
<v Speaker 2>think that's why he was able to pull it off

0:25:11.920 --> 0:25:14.359
<v Speaker 2>in Great Britain, because they have better senses of humor.

0:25:14.960 --> 0:25:18.440
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. And speaking of adults, he got into some more

0:25:18.480 --> 0:25:23.359
<v Speaker 1>serious themes with his next great show, Fragle Rock. Yeah,

0:25:23.400 --> 0:25:24.440
<v Speaker 1>in nineteen eighty three.

0:25:24.600 --> 0:25:26.640
<v Speaker 2>I never saw a second of that show. Oh man,

0:25:26.760 --> 0:25:28.280
<v Speaker 2>really it wasn't it on HBO?

0:25:28.480 --> 0:25:31.200
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. It was one of the first HBO original series.

0:25:30.880 --> 0:25:32.720
<v Speaker 2>We either had showtime or we didn't have.

0:25:34.640 --> 0:25:37.879
<v Speaker 1>It was awesome. Fragle Rock was great. And the idea

0:25:37.920 --> 0:25:41.959
<v Speaker 1>there is you had the fragle Gang and then you

0:25:42.040 --> 0:25:45.560
<v Speaker 1>had well, you had three different groups. You had the

0:25:45.600 --> 0:25:48.160
<v Speaker 1>Home of Doc who was an inventor, and his dog's Sprocket.

0:25:49.640 --> 0:25:54.080
<v Speaker 1>You had the Fraggles who shared caves underground of Fragle

0:25:54.160 --> 0:25:58.280
<v Speaker 1>Rock with their neighbors, the Doozers and the Gorgs and

0:25:58.320 --> 0:26:01.960
<v Speaker 1>these gigantic creatures that are in Gorg's garden, And the

0:26:02.000 --> 0:26:05.399
<v Speaker 1>whole point of that show was to show how different

0:26:05.480 --> 0:26:09.439
<v Speaker 1>types of people can live together and work together in peace. Right.

0:26:09.600 --> 0:26:11.359
<v Speaker 1>It was really cool. Didn't know it at the time

0:26:11.840 --> 0:26:14.760
<v Speaker 1>when I was, you know, twelve years old, but what

0:26:14.800 --> 0:26:18.400
<v Speaker 1>I was learning about was acceptance. And he won three

0:26:18.440 --> 0:26:21.960
<v Speaker 1>kble Ace Awards five International Emmys in frag O Rock

0:26:22.119 --> 0:26:24.600
<v Speaker 1>was one of the first big hits for HBO as

0:26:24.680 --> 0:26:27.119
<v Speaker 1>far as TV goes. Yeah, great, great show, lots of

0:26:27.160 --> 0:26:29.960
<v Speaker 1>great songs that I mean, he had every kind of

0:26:30.040 --> 0:26:33.680
<v Speaker 1>like reggae, rock, country, bluegrass. Really he was all over

0:26:33.720 --> 0:26:35.240
<v Speaker 1>the map with the music on Fragle Rock.

0:26:35.600 --> 0:26:37.520
<v Speaker 2>And he I mean he wrote a lot of songs too.

0:26:37.520 --> 0:26:39.640
<v Speaker 2>I think he wrote Rubbert Ducky. I'm sure he wrote

0:26:39.640 --> 0:26:41.199
<v Speaker 2>a lot of the stuff on Fragle Rock. It was

0:26:41.200 --> 0:26:43.080
<v Speaker 2>just yet another thing he did was.

0:26:43.119 --> 0:26:45.000
<v Speaker 1>Right music renaissance Man.

0:26:45.800 --> 0:26:48.280
<v Speaker 2>The other show that he came out with in the eighties,

0:26:48.880 --> 0:26:52.000
<v Speaker 2>in the mid eighties that I was big time intwo

0:26:52.119 --> 0:26:52.959
<v Speaker 2>was Muppet Babies.

0:26:53.040 --> 0:26:54.159
<v Speaker 1>I never saw one second of that.

0:26:54.240 --> 0:26:55.280
<v Speaker 2>Man, I love that show.

0:26:55.400 --> 0:26:57.520
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we're just enough of part in age where like

0:26:58.520 --> 0:27:01.000
<v Speaker 1>certain things I saw you I was you were too

0:27:01.000 --> 0:27:03.080
<v Speaker 1>young for, and then certain things I was too old for.

0:27:03.240 --> 0:27:05.199
<v Speaker 2>You know, it's weird, though, I'm just gonna say this.

0:27:05.680 --> 0:27:08.680
<v Speaker 2>So you, me and I are the same age. Her

0:27:08.760 --> 0:27:11.920
<v Speaker 2>sister is like five years younger than us. U and

0:27:12.000 --> 0:27:14.600
<v Speaker 2>I used to love Muppet Babies. Yeah, you and me's

0:27:14.640 --> 0:27:17.679
<v Speaker 2>sister used to watch Muppet Babies, so you may was like,

0:27:17.720 --> 0:27:20.639
<v Speaker 2>why were you watching Muppet Babies if my younger sister was.

0:27:20.640 --> 0:27:23.359
<v Speaker 1>Watching babies and Yummy didn't watch Muppet Baby.

0:27:23.440 --> 0:27:26.560
<v Speaker 2>No, she watched like Donahue or something like that. I

0:27:26.640 --> 0:27:29.240
<v Speaker 2>watched Muppet Babies, And I'm not ashamed anymore to say.

0:27:29.160 --> 0:27:31.400
<v Speaker 1>Well, when was that nineteen eighty four. I was thirteen,

0:27:31.520 --> 0:27:33.080
<v Speaker 1>so yeah, I was just I was starting to be

0:27:33.080 --> 0:27:34.720
<v Speaker 1>a teenager. Muppet Babies didn't appeal.

0:27:34.760 --> 0:27:36.840
<v Speaker 2>I think it was on for like four or five seasons,

0:27:36.880 --> 0:27:38.919
<v Speaker 2>so maybe I was watching it at the beginning of

0:27:38.960 --> 0:27:41.880
<v Speaker 2>the series. Anka was watching it. That's what I've been

0:27:41.880 --> 0:27:42.280
<v Speaker 2>telling you.

0:27:42.359 --> 0:27:45.880
<v Speaker 1>Me and eighty four, you would have been what eight, Oh, yeah,

0:27:45.880 --> 0:27:47.480
<v Speaker 1>that's perfect age for Muppet Babies.

0:27:47.520 --> 0:27:49.159
<v Speaker 2>So I think I think we just saw it on

0:27:49.240 --> 0:27:51.280
<v Speaker 2>different ends of the series, is what it was? Is

0:27:51.320 --> 0:27:53.520
<v Speaker 2>that what it is? But have you ever heard of

0:27:53.600 --> 0:27:57.280
<v Speaker 2>Ron Funches, Uh yeah, the comedian. Yeah, yeah, he has

0:27:57.320 --> 0:27:59.880
<v Speaker 2>a little bit about Muppet babies. It's pretty hilarious. Really,

0:28:00.160 --> 0:28:03.040
<v Speaker 2>he's awesome. I love that guy. Yeah, we saw him live.

0:28:03.119 --> 0:28:05.639
<v Speaker 2>He's just a beautiful human being.

0:28:07.520 --> 0:28:10.240
<v Speaker 1>Muppet Babies was cartoon though, right right, it was not

0:28:10.400 --> 0:28:11.920
<v Speaker 1>live puppets correct at all.

0:28:11.920 --> 0:28:12.920
<v Speaker 2>No, it was cartoon.

0:28:13.040 --> 0:28:13.359
<v Speaker 1>Okay.

0:28:13.400 --> 0:28:14.359
<v Speaker 2>It was so cute.

0:28:15.920 --> 0:28:18.960
<v Speaker 1>Were they just the regular muppets as babies? Yes, Oh

0:28:19.040 --> 0:28:20.280
<v Speaker 1>well I have to watch that sometime.

0:28:20.400 --> 0:28:24.640
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and they like us their imagination, Like Gonzo had

0:28:24.680 --> 0:28:27.399
<v Speaker 2>a thing for Indiana Jones, so he was frequently like

0:28:28.000 --> 0:28:31.640
<v Speaker 2>exploring caves and like swinging on vines with the Indiana

0:28:31.720 --> 0:28:33.639
<v Speaker 2>Jones fedoran and that kind of stuff.

0:28:33.720 --> 0:28:37.520
<v Speaker 1>Well, see, I would probably enjoy that, now you would, Yeah, definitely.

0:28:37.760 --> 0:28:40.400
<v Speaker 1>All right, I'm gonna go get Muppet Babies, Chuck.

0:28:40.720 --> 0:28:43.080
<v Speaker 2>He did even more TV that we'll talk about in

0:28:43.120 --> 0:29:08.840
<v Speaker 2>a second. Okay, okay, okay, and we're back and we're

0:29:08.840 --> 0:29:10.000
<v Speaker 2>still in the eighties.

0:29:09.680 --> 0:29:12.880
<v Speaker 1>That's right. And you were talking about other TV, as

0:29:12.920 --> 0:29:16.680
<v Speaker 1>we said, the man loved television and filmmaking, and so

0:29:16.760 --> 0:29:19.239
<v Speaker 1>he got away from the Muppets and puppets every now

0:29:19.240 --> 0:29:25.400
<v Speaker 1>and then collaborated with Raymond Scott, who was an electronica pioneer,

0:29:25.440 --> 0:29:29.120
<v Speaker 1>actually on shorts called Ripples and Wheels that Go, and

0:29:29.160 --> 0:29:31.440
<v Speaker 1>he did that for the Montreal Expo in sixty seven

0:29:31.800 --> 0:29:33.440
<v Speaker 1>and I know we're jumping around in time, but we're

0:29:33.480 --> 0:29:35.400
<v Speaker 1>just trying to paint the full picture here, not going

0:29:35.480 --> 0:29:38.120
<v Speaker 1>necessarily in order. And then he also did this cool

0:29:38.160 --> 0:29:41.160
<v Speaker 1>thing called the Floating Face, which was a sketch that

0:29:41.240 --> 0:29:42.840
<v Speaker 1>was on the Tonight Show, on the Mike Douglas Show

0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:45.960
<v Speaker 1>in the sixties, which did you see any of.

0:29:45.880 --> 0:29:46.960
<v Speaker 2>That a little bit?

0:29:47.040 --> 0:29:49.080
<v Speaker 1>It was a little weird. It was like two eyes

0:29:49.320 --> 0:29:52.520
<v Speaker 1>and a mouth and there were like these invisible wires

0:29:52.600 --> 0:29:57.040
<v Speaker 1>and background images. It was definitely a little more on

0:29:57.040 --> 0:30:00.920
<v Speaker 1>that surreal tip, the hints and surreal tip, not kid

0:30:00.960 --> 0:30:04.760
<v Speaker 1>oriented necessarily. But he got into the movies with the

0:30:04.840 --> 0:30:07.840
<v Speaker 1>Muppet Movie, which was a big hit, so good it

0:30:08.000 --> 0:30:10.160
<v Speaker 1>still holds up, man, it's still so great.

0:30:10.320 --> 0:30:12.680
<v Speaker 2>If you want to know more about that movie into

0:30:12.760 --> 0:30:15.360
<v Speaker 2>some of the cool facts from it, go again listen

0:30:15.360 --> 0:30:17.560
<v Speaker 2>to the Muppet episode Yeah, as a matter of fact,

0:30:17.720 --> 0:30:21.040
<v Speaker 2>pause this, go listen to the Muppet episode and then

0:30:21.040 --> 0:30:23.280
<v Speaker 2>come back to this one. Yeah, well it will probably

0:30:23.360 --> 0:30:26.480
<v Speaker 2>enhance your experience. Agreed, Or listen to them both at

0:30:26.520 --> 0:30:27.040
<v Speaker 2>the same time.

0:30:27.720 --> 0:30:30.600
<v Speaker 1>But he followed the Muppet in nineteen eighty two, he

0:30:30.640 --> 0:30:34.520
<v Speaker 1>made The Dark Crystal, Yeah, which was puppets and it

0:30:34.600 --> 0:30:38.840
<v Speaker 1>was based on some drawings by fantasy artist Brian Froud,

0:30:39.600 --> 0:30:43.240
<v Speaker 1>And there were no humans. It was all puppets. And

0:30:43.400 --> 0:30:45.080
<v Speaker 1>I don't think it holds up as well, but it

0:30:45.160 --> 0:30:46.200
<v Speaker 1>still looks pretty good.

0:30:46.400 --> 0:30:51.160
<v Speaker 2>Well, yeah, I think it actually is probably better received

0:30:51.240 --> 0:30:53.120
<v Speaker 2>now than it was originally.

0:30:53.440 --> 0:30:53.720
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

0:30:53.760 --> 0:30:56.440
<v Speaker 2>I think critics appreciated it, but it didn't do so

0:30:56.520 --> 0:30:58.600
<v Speaker 2>well at the box office. But now it's become like

0:30:58.640 --> 0:31:02.240
<v Speaker 2>a kind of a cult classic for sure. And one

0:31:02.280 --> 0:31:06.160
<v Speaker 2>of the reasons why it didn't do that well at

0:31:06.160 --> 0:31:09.040
<v Speaker 2>the box office because audiences didn't quite know what to

0:31:09.120 --> 0:31:12.120
<v Speaker 2>make of it. They heard Frank Oz who co directed it,

0:31:12.520 --> 0:31:16.640
<v Speaker 2>Jim Henson and puppets, and I think they went expecting

0:31:16.640 --> 0:31:19.760
<v Speaker 2>the Muppet movie this is nineteen eighty two, and they

0:31:20.560 --> 0:31:24.200
<v Speaker 2>got The Dark Crystal instead, which is really dark. A

0:31:24.240 --> 0:31:26.760
<v Speaker 2>lot of the like the theme is, you know, good

0:31:26.840 --> 0:31:29.160
<v Speaker 2>versus evil, and it's the evil in it.

0:31:28.960 --> 0:31:30.760
<v Speaker 1>Is really really evil yea.

0:31:31.000 --> 0:31:33.480
<v Speaker 2>And the stuff that happens to some of the puppets

0:31:34.040 --> 0:31:38.880
<v Speaker 2>is including really cute puppets, is really horrifying. And I

0:31:38.920 --> 0:31:43.720
<v Speaker 2>read this awesome quote by Frank Oz and basically he says,

0:31:44.240 --> 0:31:47.520
<v Speaker 2>like Jim thought it was okay to scare kids. As

0:31:47.560 --> 0:31:49.720
<v Speaker 2>a matter of fact, he thought it wasn't healthy for

0:31:49.840 --> 0:31:53.400
<v Speaker 2>kids to never be scared, so like he purposefully was

0:31:53.440 --> 0:31:57.680
<v Speaker 2>trying to scare kids, and he wanted to take the

0:31:57.880 --> 0:32:01.760
<v Speaker 2>tradition back to like grim Tales, which were very very dark.

0:32:02.120 --> 0:32:03.120
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's a good point.

0:32:03.280 --> 0:32:05.840
<v Speaker 2>That's what he was going for with the Dark Crystal. Yeah.

0:32:05.880 --> 0:32:07.440
<v Speaker 1>I think it was ahead of its time for sure.

0:32:07.640 --> 0:32:08.680
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, if you look at some.

0:32:08.680 --> 0:32:12.040
<v Speaker 1>Of these, like some of the CGI movies today, I

0:32:12.080 --> 0:32:14.600
<v Speaker 1>think that Dark Crystal was a precursor to a lot

0:32:14.600 --> 0:32:17.720
<v Speaker 1>of those. Then he went on to make the movie

0:32:18.200 --> 0:32:21.120
<v Speaker 1>The Labyrinth with Bowie, right, Yeah, David Bowie in a

0:32:21.320 --> 0:32:24.360
<v Speaker 1>very young Jennifer Connelly. Now that was a legend.

0:32:24.680 --> 0:32:26.480
<v Speaker 2>Oh okay, good movie.

0:32:27.240 --> 0:32:30.760
<v Speaker 1>But this was written by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame,

0:32:30.800 --> 0:32:33.440
<v Speaker 1>and then rewritten a bunch by a bunch of other people.

0:32:33.560 --> 0:32:39.840
<v Speaker 1>Including executive producer George Lucas. Labyrinth was okay, not bad again,

0:32:39.920 --> 0:32:43.000
<v Speaker 1>not a huge hit for Hnson though as far as

0:32:43.040 --> 0:32:45.640
<v Speaker 1>movies go. But he was still out there exploring these

0:32:45.640 --> 0:32:48.160
<v Speaker 1>cool fantastical worlds and fantasy.

0:32:47.760 --> 0:32:51.440
<v Speaker 2>Worlds, and he still had a lot of crid even

0:32:51.680 --> 0:32:54.719
<v Speaker 2>in the late eighties. If you think about it, his

0:32:54.960 --> 0:32:58.640
<v Speaker 2>heyday was the late seventies early eighties with the Muppet

0:32:58.680 --> 0:33:01.760
<v Speaker 2>Show the Muppet Movie, and then after that it was like, yeah,

0:33:01.800 --> 0:33:03.720
<v Speaker 2>I'll try this with Jim Henson. I'll try this with

0:33:03.800 --> 0:33:07.520
<v Speaker 2>Jim Henson. Yeah. And even still he had like a

0:33:08.040 --> 0:33:11.040
<v Speaker 2>he was on a pretty great streak. And at the

0:33:11.120 --> 0:33:14.200
<v Speaker 2>end of the eighties he had two TV shows on

0:33:14.280 --> 0:33:18.280
<v Speaker 2>The Jim Henson Hour Yeah, and Storyteller This Storyteller.

0:33:18.160 --> 0:33:20.520
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the Jim Henson Hour. He was always pushing the boundaries.

0:33:20.560 --> 0:33:23.760
<v Speaker 1>The Storyteller looking Back Now, I'm sorry, Jim Henson Hour

0:33:23.800 --> 0:33:26.360
<v Speaker 1>looking Back was really different from what you were getting

0:33:26.360 --> 0:33:28.800
<v Speaker 1>at the time because it was it was all over

0:33:28.840 --> 0:33:31.760
<v Speaker 1>the map. You had certain shows that were like, you know,

0:33:31.840 --> 0:33:34.600
<v Speaker 1>four or five sketches in one and then three of

0:33:34.640 --> 0:33:37.920
<v Speaker 1>the episodes were full on one hour little mini movies.

0:33:38.280 --> 0:33:42.440
<v Speaker 1>Oh really, Yeah, from beginning to Louis. Yeah, that's a

0:33:42.480 --> 0:33:46.080
<v Speaker 1>good point. Actually, one of the little mini movies was

0:33:46.120 --> 0:33:49.800
<v Speaker 1>called Dog City, which was great. It was narrated by

0:33:49.840 --> 0:33:51.719
<v Speaker 1>Rolf and it was I remember watching this. It was

0:33:51.760 --> 0:33:55.760
<v Speaker 1>like a film noir gangster thing with puppet dogs. Yeah,

0:33:56.760 --> 0:34:01.160
<v Speaker 1>and the main character, Acu, was the guy who did Elmo.

0:34:01.280 --> 0:34:06.520
<v Speaker 1>Kevin Clash did the character of Acu, and that was fantastic.

0:34:06.520 --> 0:34:07.960
<v Speaker 1>I think Dog City went on to be a TV

0:34:08.040 --> 0:34:10.200
<v Speaker 1>show in its own right. Took for a little while,

0:34:10.840 --> 0:34:12.440
<v Speaker 1>but it was really good. I mean it's total like

0:34:12.880 --> 0:34:15.520
<v Speaker 1>gangster crime film noir, but it's you know, Rolf, the

0:34:15.560 --> 0:34:18.000
<v Speaker 1>dog right the gang I love. It's really cool.

0:34:18.640 --> 0:34:21.640
<v Speaker 2>The storyteller I hadn't seen before. I was, I guess

0:34:21.680 --> 0:34:23.800
<v Speaker 2>aware of, but I don't know why I wasn't watching

0:34:23.800 --> 0:34:26.279
<v Speaker 2>it because it would have been like right there for me, Yeah,

0:34:26.280 --> 0:34:28.279
<v Speaker 2>because I would have been twelve in nineteen eighty eight.

0:34:28.560 --> 0:34:30.600
<v Speaker 2>But I watched one today and it was really good.

0:34:30.960 --> 0:34:36.600
<v Speaker 2>It's like human puppet interaction, yeah, which is and it's

0:34:36.719 --> 0:34:39.760
<v Speaker 2>just seamless. Like there's one of the things from studying

0:34:39.800 --> 0:34:42.320
<v Speaker 2>this that I've realized is like we take for granted

0:34:42.760 --> 0:34:47.960
<v Speaker 2>and expect our puppet human interactions to be so seamless

0:34:48.000 --> 0:34:50.520
<v Speaker 2>that we don't even realize that we're looking at puppets

0:34:50.560 --> 0:34:53.200
<v Speaker 2>right then. And the reason why we expect that is

0:34:53.200 --> 0:34:56.400
<v Speaker 2>because of Jim Henson and the people he worked with

0:34:56.480 --> 0:35:00.840
<v Speaker 2>and inspired to work so hard at creating illusion.

0:35:01.080 --> 0:35:04.520
<v Speaker 1>Well, yeah, the illusion that these are living, breathing things.

0:35:05.200 --> 0:35:09.880
<v Speaker 1>He would go I remember Kermit as guest on talk shows.

0:35:10.239 --> 0:35:12.560
<v Speaker 1>He wouldn't go out as Jim Henson. He would go

0:35:12.600 --> 0:35:14.560
<v Speaker 1>out as I mean, he did those appearances as well,

0:35:14.560 --> 0:35:16.319
<v Speaker 1>but Kermit the Frog would be a guest on The

0:35:16.320 --> 0:35:18.920
<v Speaker 1>Tonight Show with Johnny Carson or host or host the

0:35:19.320 --> 0:35:21.920
<v Speaker 1>guest host The Tonight Show and Larry King. Yeah, and

0:35:22.640 --> 0:35:27.360
<v Speaker 1>it was all a part of this goal of making

0:35:27.360 --> 0:35:31.200
<v Speaker 1>these real people, right, or real living things not people.

0:35:31.320 --> 0:35:35.160
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Apparently somebody who was working with Jim Henson was

0:35:35.360 --> 0:35:37.960
<v Speaker 2>I guess a director of the Muppet Show would be

0:35:38.000 --> 0:35:42.440
<v Speaker 2>giving Jim notes on Kermit, and Jim would just respond like,

0:35:42.680 --> 0:35:46.040
<v Speaker 2>let Kermit respond, freaking And the director said, eventually you're

0:35:46.080 --> 0:35:49.120
<v Speaker 2>just sitting there, You turn and you address Kermit like

0:35:49.200 --> 0:35:52.080
<v Speaker 2>he just forced you in, like interacting with the puppet

0:35:52.120 --> 0:35:54.280
<v Speaker 2>even during a note session.

0:35:54.480 --> 0:35:57.720
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and probably without feeling silly or stupid or anything.

0:35:58.440 --> 0:36:00.640
<v Speaker 1>You know, it probably seemed like a totally normal to do.

0:36:00.760 --> 0:36:02.920
<v Speaker 2>Eventually once he forced you to do it.

0:36:03.440 --> 0:36:07.759
<v Speaker 1>He also pioneered the Hintson Performance Control System and won

0:36:07.760 --> 0:36:10.680
<v Speaker 1>an Academy Award for that, and that was a remote

0:36:10.719 --> 0:36:15.880
<v Speaker 1>control system that helped puppeteers out. So he was always

0:36:15.920 --> 0:36:22.800
<v Speaker 1>pushing technical, visual, stylistic, thematic boundaries as far as he could,

0:36:23.960 --> 0:36:26.000
<v Speaker 1>and they didn't always work. You know, the movies weren't

0:36:26.200 --> 0:36:28.319
<v Speaker 1>aside from them up at movie they weren't the biggest hits.

0:36:29.280 --> 0:36:31.359
<v Speaker 1>The TV show a couple of you know, neither one

0:36:31.360 --> 0:36:34.719
<v Speaker 1>of those lasted very long. But I think he was

0:36:34.760 --> 0:36:37.280
<v Speaker 1>just intent on doing something different.

0:36:37.440 --> 0:36:42.280
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and he did too. And he died in nineteen

0:36:42.400 --> 0:36:47.399
<v Speaker 2>ninety of a staff infection. Organ failure brought on by

0:36:47.440 --> 0:36:49.120
<v Speaker 2>a staff infection. Did you know that?

0:36:49.440 --> 0:36:52.399
<v Speaker 1>Yeah? I think pneumonia had something to do with it too,

0:36:52.400 --> 0:36:52.960
<v Speaker 1>didn't it.

0:36:53.120 --> 0:36:56.160
<v Speaker 2>Not that I saw, Really, I saw organ failure caused

0:36:56.160 --> 0:36:59.920
<v Speaker 2>by a group a strep infection. I'm sorry that staff.

0:37:00.840 --> 0:37:02.800
<v Speaker 1>Very sad. And if you're ever in the mood for

0:37:02.840 --> 0:37:06.919
<v Speaker 1>a good cry, watch the Jim Henson memorial where Big

0:37:06.960 --> 0:37:11.480
<v Speaker 1>Bird sings It's not easy being green, Yeah, tough stuff people,

0:37:12.600 --> 0:37:17.200
<v Speaker 1>his children. His legacy lives on through nineteen ninety three, Jane,

0:37:17.560 --> 0:37:22.480
<v Speaker 1>his wife, formed founded the Jim Henson Legacy to preserve

0:37:22.680 --> 0:37:26.239
<v Speaker 1>his contributions, share him with the public. And like I said,

0:37:26.320 --> 0:37:29.239
<v Speaker 1>he donated five hundred puppets to the Center of Puppetry Arts.

0:37:29.960 --> 0:37:33.360
<v Speaker 1>And there is also the Jim Henson Memorial and Muppup

0:37:33.440 --> 0:37:39.839
<v Speaker 1>Museum and traveling exhibits. And his sons and daughters help

0:37:39.880 --> 0:37:42.360
<v Speaker 1>run his foundation, and some of them are publicing companies

0:37:42.440 --> 0:37:45.479
<v Speaker 1>themselves and run the company. The company has changed hands

0:37:45.520 --> 0:37:50.359
<v Speaker 1>a lot. I have sort of the boring history. When

0:37:50.360 --> 0:37:51.920
<v Speaker 1>he was still alive, he was going to sell it

0:37:51.960 --> 0:37:53.840
<v Speaker 1>to Disney for one hundred and fifty million.

0:37:53.719 --> 0:37:57.480
<v Speaker 2>Ye, because apparently he believed in Disney's commitment to the characters,

0:37:57.920 --> 0:37:59.600
<v Speaker 2>so he thought like that would be a good place

0:37:59.640 --> 0:38:00.759
<v Speaker 2>for them muppets to live.

0:38:01.040 --> 0:38:05.839
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and Disney went he bought it, but he did

0:38:05.920 --> 0:38:08.840
<v Speaker 1>not get that deal finished. But it turns out one

0:38:08.920 --> 0:38:11.799
<v Speaker 1>hundred and fifty million with chump change because in two

0:38:11.880 --> 0:38:15.280
<v Speaker 1>thousand his children sold the entire company, including the Sesame

0:38:15.320 --> 0:38:18.359
<v Speaker 1>Street characters, to a German media company for six hundred

0:38:18.400 --> 0:38:22.160
<v Speaker 1>and eighty million and then I believe that company fell

0:38:22.200 --> 0:38:25.600
<v Speaker 1>in hard times and they bought it back in two

0:38:25.600 --> 0:38:30.200
<v Speaker 1>thousand and three for eighty four million. Isn't that crazy?

0:38:30.360 --> 0:38:32.600
<v Speaker 2>Wow? The Henson children are smart.

0:38:32.640 --> 0:38:35.640
<v Speaker 1>And in between all that, there are various exchanges of

0:38:35.760 --> 0:38:39.880
<v Speaker 1>percentages of stakes with other companies and rights of certain characters.

0:38:40.760 --> 0:38:42.440
<v Speaker 1>It's a little dull to go over all of that,

0:38:42.560 --> 0:38:45.440
<v Speaker 1>but needless to say, they made up pretty well. And

0:38:45.520 --> 0:38:50.520
<v Speaker 1>eventually Disney now does they do own all the Muppet studio?

0:38:50.680 --> 0:38:53.799
<v Speaker 2>They own the Muppets. That apparently the Henson Company sold

0:38:53.840 --> 0:38:57.000
<v Speaker 2>the rights to the Sesame Street characters to Sesame Street,

0:38:57.560 --> 0:39:00.960
<v Speaker 2>which is pretty cool. Yes, and the Jim Henson Creature

0:39:01.000 --> 0:39:04.320
<v Speaker 2>Shop still builds the Sesame Street puppets and Muppets.

0:39:04.480 --> 0:39:06.120
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it says they sold the rights to the Muppets

0:39:06.120 --> 0:39:09.399
<v Speaker 1>and Bear in the Big Blue House characters, which I'm

0:39:09.400 --> 0:39:11.640
<v Speaker 1>not familiar with that one, nor am I, but Disney

0:39:12.160 --> 0:39:15.040
<v Speaker 1>wanted to. I guess that's sort of the player to

0:39:15.120 --> 0:39:18.280
<v Speaker 1>be named later that's included in the baseball trade.

0:39:19.200 --> 0:39:21.520
<v Speaker 2>Man proud of the Henson kids.

0:39:21.880 --> 0:39:24.919
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they're great, and I hope we get tweeted about

0:39:24.920 --> 0:39:27.960
<v Speaker 1>this one from them. You seem pretty great, Brian and

0:39:28.280 --> 0:39:30.879
<v Speaker 1>Cheryl and the gang. He seemed like they're doing right

0:39:30.920 --> 0:39:33.680
<v Speaker 1>by the dad. And there's other siblings too, and I

0:39:33.680 --> 0:39:36.920
<v Speaker 1>think they're all involved. Yep, super involved. And sadly Jane

0:39:37.080 --> 0:39:40.919
<v Speaker 1>passed away I think in twenty thirteen at the age

0:39:40.920 --> 0:39:42.839
<v Speaker 1>of seventy eight. I would have loved to have seen

0:39:42.880 --> 0:39:45.360
<v Speaker 1>what kind of work he did later in his life.

0:39:46.000 --> 0:39:48.200
<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, the fact that he died in nineteen ninety

0:39:48.280 --> 0:39:50.560
<v Speaker 2>still had like a couple of TV shows going, I

0:39:50.600 --> 0:39:52.759
<v Speaker 2>mean fifty three years old. Yeah, he had a lot

0:39:52.800 --> 0:39:56.479
<v Speaker 2>of art left in. If you want to know more

0:39:56.640 --> 0:40:00.359
<v Speaker 2>about Jim Henson, go listen to our Muppets episode. And

0:40:00.640 --> 0:40:04.080
<v Speaker 2>while you're looking that up, you can also search Jim

0:40:04.160 --> 0:40:06.640
<v Speaker 2>Henson on the search bar at HowStuffWorks dot com and

0:40:06.719 --> 0:40:09.600
<v Speaker 2>I'll bring up this great article. And since I said

0:40:09.640 --> 0:40:11.279
<v Speaker 2>search part, it's time for a listener mail.

0:40:14.320 --> 0:40:18.640
<v Speaker 1>This is I'm gonna call this sophomore smart sophomore. Hey guys,

0:40:18.640 --> 0:40:21.160
<v Speaker 1>my name is Matt and I'm a sophomore in high school. Sophomore,

0:40:21.239 --> 0:40:23.239
<v Speaker 1>smart sophomore. I'm a newer fan of the show and

0:40:23.239 --> 0:40:25.320
<v Speaker 1>I listen while I do everything, I just want to

0:40:25.360 --> 0:40:28.560
<v Speaker 1>say the Dark Ages were only dark in Europe. The

0:40:28.560 --> 0:40:30.719
<v Speaker 1>life expectancy in the Dark Ages is actually a little

0:40:30.719 --> 0:40:34.040
<v Speaker 1>longer than before, but mostly because there were smaller wars.

0:40:34.080 --> 0:40:37.680
<v Speaker 1>But things were certainly brighter in the Islamic world. In fact,

0:40:37.719 --> 0:40:40.720
<v Speaker 1>people in the Middle East were really enlightened during this time.

0:40:41.040 --> 0:40:42.920
<v Speaker 1>Within about one hundred years, they conquered a lot of

0:40:42.960 --> 0:40:46.560
<v Speaker 1>new land, including Spain. Also, the Arabic language grew to

0:40:46.600 --> 0:40:50.239
<v Speaker 1>be the language of philosophy, medicine, and poetry, and Baghdad

0:40:50.320 --> 0:40:54.120
<v Speaker 1>became the world center of scholarship. They translated almost all

0:40:54.160 --> 0:40:58.520
<v Speaker 1>of the famous Greek philosopher's work into Arabic. Muslim Muslims

0:40:58.520 --> 0:41:03.240
<v Speaker 1>developed algebra to amplify inheritance laws, and they made important

0:41:03.239 --> 0:41:05.840
<v Speaker 1>strides in trigonometry to help people find a way to Mecca.

0:41:06.360 --> 0:41:09.560
<v Speaker 1>Architecture grew too. The Great Mosque and Spain only took

0:41:09.640 --> 0:41:12.959
<v Speaker 1>roughly a year, while medieval cathedrals took hundreds of years

0:41:13.000 --> 0:41:15.239
<v Speaker 1>to build. Wow, So the Dark Ages weren't that dark,

0:41:15.280 --> 0:41:18.480
<v Speaker 1>and the Enlightenment came earlier than most think. And that

0:41:18.600 --> 0:41:19.240
<v Speaker 1>is from Matt.

0:41:19.400 --> 0:41:20.000
<v Speaker 2>Thanks Matt.

0:41:20.040 --> 0:41:21.600
<v Speaker 1>That is enlightening stuff, my friend.

0:41:21.760 --> 0:41:23.520
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, our numerals are Arabic.

0:41:24.520 --> 0:41:28.879
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's true. We should hit on some more Middle

0:41:28.880 --> 0:41:29.560
<v Speaker 1>Eastern topics.

0:41:29.680 --> 0:41:33.000
<v Speaker 2>Let's do it man. Yeah. In the meantime, if you

0:41:33.040 --> 0:41:35.719
<v Speaker 2>want to suggest some Middle Eastern topics for us, you

0:41:35.760 --> 0:41:38.080
<v Speaker 2>can send us an email to Stuff podcast at House

0:41:38.080 --> 0:41:41.319
<v Speaker 2>stufforks dot com and, as always, hang out at our

0:41:41.320 --> 0:41:46.760
<v Speaker 2>beautiful home on the web, Stuff Youshould Know dot com.

0:41:46.920 --> 0:41:49.799
<v Speaker 1>Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For

0:41:49.880 --> 0:41:54.080
<v Speaker 1>more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

0:41:54.160 --> 0:41:56.040
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