Fraggle Rock Theme

Written by	Philip Balsam and Dennis Lee
Publisher	Jim Henson Productions, Inc.

File:Fraggletheme.jpg

Gobo runs down the tunnel.

The Doozers weren't included until after the original theme was re-shot

thumb|300px|right|Two alternate openings.

The opening theme song for Fraggle Rock was included as the theme for both the live-action and animated versions of Fraggle Rock. This opening starts with a shot of Doc's Workshop, leading to the "Fraggle hole", where Gobo runs down the tunnel to join the rest of the cast, who sing a verse of the song. Then, the Doozers sing a verse and the five main Fraggles announce their names. Gobo then runs to the hole that leads to The Gorgs' Garden, and briefly gets captured by Junior Gorg. However, when Junior shows his Ma that he caught a Fraggle, she screams, causing Junior to accidentally toss Gobo into the well that leads to the "Fraggle Pond". Back in Fraggle Rock, everybody ends the song. The theme ends with Boober saying, "Down in Fraggle Rock".

The opening was severely shortened for airings on TNT and the Odyssey Network. Before the first verse ends with "Down in Fraggle Rock", it cuts right to the end of the final verse, right before Boober ends the song. This version is also being used on The Hub at the beginning of all episodes, except for "Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk" due to its length.

A different opening with additional lyrics was taped but not used. In a 1998 interview, Terry Angus stated that the original opening "didn't explain the show very well... At that time everything was zipping by so fast they didn't show how everything was connected." In this version, the main five Fraggle characters bang the pipes near the Fraggle Pond (a la the Pipebangers), causing Doc to observe his water pipes. Gobo peeks out of the Fraggle Hole, is noticed by Sprocket, then rushes back to the Rock, singing about how great Fraggle Rock is. In one lyric, Boober notes that "Fraggle Rock is the spot where the job that you got is 'whoopie'!" This was then followed two verses: one by the Fraggles and the other by the Gorgs. The opening theme was re-shot to better express the theme of interconnectedness between the different species and worlds. It also added a verse by the Doozers, who didn't appear in the original version. In addition to this, the Gorgs don't sing. Two brief clips from the original opening can be also found at the end of a German promo.

Five different endings were filmed featuring each of the five main Fraggles saying the final "Down at Fraggle Rock." These endings were meant to be used in different episodes throughout the series, but only the one with Boober was used regularly. The opening that ended with Wembley was used in "The Terrible Tunnel," and the one with Gobo was used in "The Finger of Light." When these episodes began re-airing, starting with the Disney Channel, and were released on the first season DVD set, the regular theme was used, ending with Boober's line instead, although the Disney Channel only replaced Wembley's ending line with Boober's for "The Terrible Tunnel". These endings were also removed from most of the international versions of the show, while the Dutch and Polish versions restore the original openings on DVD. Also, the ending with Wembley still exists on the bonus material of the third season DVD set at the end of an HBO promo for "The Terrible Tunnel".

The album version of this song was longer. It opened with Sprocket barking at the Fraggle hole and Doc asking what he was barking at. It also had more lines of dialogue, including a verse sung by Junior, and a scat-singing verse performed by Gobo, which is similar to the melody used in the lyrics that were originally used from the demo version of the theme. (The first album release actually had two extra verses after Gobo scat-sings: an instrumental saxophone solo, and another scat-singing verse performed by both Gobo and Wembley.) This version of the theme (minus Doc and Sprocket's line) was used as the opening for the Fraggle Songs home video release, with many clips from various episodes shown to stretch the time. The theme song was shortened for the Doozer Music video, which had the opening end after the Doozers' portion of the song. The only album that uses the original TV version is Perfect Harmony, cutting out the scene with the Gorgs.

There are also several international edits of the album version:

• For all international versions, the scene with Doc and Sprocket is not heard.
• France: Everything, including the dialogue, is re-dubbed in French.
• Denmark, Sweden, and Norway: An instrumental bass solo is heard at the beginning and the second half of Junior's verse is replaced with either one or two verses sung by the Fraggles. Futhermore, no dialog is heard, except for the one before the Doozers' and when Junior sees the Fraggles.
• Spain: Same as the previous version. The only difference is that, unlike the other versions, the Fraggles announce their names at the end of the Doozers' verse, just like in the original TV version.

In the context of the show, the song was written by the great and wondrous ancient Fraggle named Blundig.

The opening was also used as a video promo on 1993 Jim Henson Video releases, featuring a voiceover during the Doc and Sprocket scene, and (occasionally) a black screen with a copyright at the bottom. A portion from this opening also appeared on The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years.

Closing theme

A shorter version of the Fraggle Rock theme song was used as the closing theme for the show. It opened with scat-singing by Gobo and Wembley, followed by two verses of the song performed by the Fraggles.

On TNT and the Odyssey Network, the closing was shortened. After "Dance your cares away..." is first sung, it cuts to the shot of Red falling into the Fraggle Pond.

The full version of the closing theme was shown without credits at the end of "Dance Your Cares Away: The Evolution of the Theme Song" on the bonus features of the complete final season DVD set.

In the final episode of the series, the closing theme was sung by the entire cast during the end credits: the Fraggles, the Doozers, Marjory the Trash Heap, Philo and Gunge, the Gorgs, and even Doc and Sprocket, who wrap it up in the same fashion that Boober does for the opening.

While the final episode's end credit song is a variation of the theme, two other episodes featured entirely different songs during the end-credit roll:

• Episode 301: The Bells of Fraggle Rock: Reprise of "There's a Promise"
• Episode 505: The River of Life: "We're Part of Each Other"

On some international versions of the episodes, these endings were replaced with the standard closing theme.

Notes

• On the Dance Your Cares Away: Evolution of Fraggle Rock Theme Song bonus feature from the Fraggle Rock: Complete Series Collection, songwriter Phillip Balsam explains how the song was conceived. It is revealed that at least 17 different themes were written or recorded, and Jim Henson chose the eleventh version to use as a model for the final theme song. One theme song featured mostly scatting instead of lyrics, and this inspired the closing theme.

Releases

Audio

• Fraggle Rock
• Perfect Harmony (opening and closing)
• Music and Magic (opening and closing)
• Fraggle Rockin': A Collection

Publications

• Favorite Songs from Jim Henson's Muppets (1986)

Gallery

Gobo saying the final line in "The Finger of Light"

Wembley whispering the final line in "The Terrible Tunnel"

FraggleRockFinalClosing.png

A scene from the original demo opening

The original title, used in the the demo opening