REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (ALL EPISODES) | WHERE TO WATCH: APPLE TV+

Thirty-three years since we last visited, Fraggle Rock’s gentle silliness coating a celebration of music, diversity, and friendship is still rocking. Co-produced by The Jim Henson Company, Apple TV+ has reunited Gobo, Red, Boober, Mokey, Wembley, and Uncle ‘Travelling’ Matt – at a distance. Now they’re singing songs and sharing adventures over Doozer Stick, not unlike the silly-creatures’ (that’s us) similar invention called Zoom, letting everyone feel like we’re all singing and dancing together in the same cave, even when we all have to be in separate caves.

While Uncle ‘Travelling’ Matt fearlessly explores the silly-creature (human) world, with its unassailable front doors and terrifying household pet monsters, the other Fraggles reach out by Doozer Stick to make friends with likeminded silly-creatures who understand the importance of music and friendship – such as Common, Alanis Morrisette, Jason Mraz, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish, and Ziggy Marley.

Jim Henson’s creations continue the tradition of wise fooling that wasn’t young when Shakespeare praised it: deep observational wit is necessary to speak truth to and about power in any era, to make the comedy sink in without sinking. It doesn’t matter how old you were last time or how old you are now: any muppet adventure is a laugh at ourselves, a celebration of friendship and understanding, humour and humanity. Heart-warming and wise, the show comes at the perfect time for such a celebration. Full-length episodes for Season 2 though, please – there’s a bigger voice in here and at 5-minutes a piece, such short bursts are not going to be enough!