The Jim Henson Hour pitch is a 12½ minute video hosted by Jim Henson from The NY Muppet Workshop. Surrounded by all sorts of Muppet and Creature Shop creatures from previous productions, Henson explains the early concept of The Jim Henson Hour. The original plan, as Henson explains it, was for the show to have a rotating schedule of four different kinds of episodes; one for each week of the month. The first week would feature a one-hour episode of Jim Henson's The Storyteller. The second week was for Lead Free TV, featuring the characters from the unaired Inner Tube pilot. Henson describes Lead Free TV as "the Muppet Show from the future," full of special effects, rock music, fast-paced comedy and human guest stars. The third week, a Picture Book Special would be featured, in the vein of Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas, The Christmas Toy and The Tale of the Bunny Picnic. The fourth week, anything could happen; a detective story with Kermit and the gang, a story about an enchanted bowling ball, an outer space adventure or a look behind the scenes. As Henson describes these four genres of episodes, clips are shown to provide examples of each. The idea of these four types of episodes was dropped when The Jim Henson Hour was produced. The Storyteller did air as part of the show, but it was in half-hour episodes. Also, although the MuppeTelevision segments of the show as it was actually produced are similar in format to Lead Free TV, the Lead Free characters were replaced by the Muppets; some familiar faces, others new characters.
The show is similar in format to the Muppet Television segments of The Jim Henson Hour. Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy make brief appearances in the show, but the focus is on the new characters. According to writer David Misch, the pilot was not meant to resemble The Muppet Show; Kermit was merely given a role when it became hard for Henson to sell the series. In the Jim Henson Hour pitch, clips from Inner Tube are presented as "Lead Free TV." Jim Henson describes it as "the Muppet Show from the future," and explains that it is one of the four types of programs in The Jim Henson Hour's proposed rotating schedule. It was planned to have a weekly guest star (John Candy was originally planned to guest star in this pilot, but in the end no guest star appeared). Several scenes from this can be seen in the television special The World of Jim Henson.
The first episode is themed around science fiction. Digit tells Kermit that he can pick up shows from other planets. Eventually, Digit breaks down, so Kermit, Lindbergh, and Waldo C. Graphic go inside Digit's brain to get him fixed. "Neutron Dance", "My Dinner with Codzilla", "Miss Galaxy Pageant", "War and Peace, part 1: War (next week: Peace)", "Bootsie and Brad", "The Adventures of Space Guy", "Chattanooga Choo-Choo", "The Heartless Giant"
An underwater-themed show, taking place while a number of water-related issues occur at Muppet Central. A cast of Muppet fish take center stage - which Kermit calls "Friends in relation." Lighthouse Island: A young man must assist an eccentric older woman in retrieving a powerful jewel, in order to get a pair of shoes for his fiancee. But all is not as it seems.
Gonzo and Leon talk Kermit into letting others help run things at the studio, but when Kermit decides to take a vacation, nobody knows what to do. Meanwhile, Fozzie decides to give up comedy and become a weatherbear on The Today Show, and the monsters host a telethon. The Soldier and Death: A soldier uses his magical sack to capture devils -- and, eventually, Death itself.
Rowlf hosts a film noir parody set in a town entirely populated by dogs. Ace Yu travels to Dog City to investigate the murder of his uncle, who was killed by canine mob boss Bugsy Them.
Kermit struggles to keep the show's ratings up, while Digit experiences various malfunctions. Miss Piggy's Hollywood: Miss Piggy presents a tour of Hollywood, assisted by Gonzo. She tries to interview "the family of stars," but none of them want to talk to her.
A young boy wants to work with a famous but eccentric creature/fx(special effects)man, but gets more than he bargained when one of the creatures, The Ultra-Gorgon(giant animatronic puppet), takes him under his wing. Literally. He is forced to confront the creations in his own imagination.Aired in 1989.Appr. 45 min. long.
In an episode focusing on health and fitness, Digit gets a cold, the chickens catch sneezing fits, and Link Hogthrob worries that he has Canadian snout fever. The Song of the Cloud Forest: In the rainforest, Milton the Golden Toad worries that he may be the last of his species alive, and he'll never find a mate to love.
This show began with SOLID FOAM showing their new music video, ""The Music Keeps Rolling Along,"" by Mark Radice (http://songwritersdirectory.com/artistpage.cfm?writerid=140) The True Bride: A girl is freed from a troll's enslavement -- but when she falls in love, she's kept apart from her beloved by the troll's daughter.
The Muppet studio is overwhelmed with animated garbage bags and Kermit can't find a way to get rid of them. Sapsorrow: A princess flees when she's forced to marry her father. She poses as a ragged servant in another kingdom -- and then falls in love with a haughty prince.
Jim Henson takes viewers on a behind the scenes look at the making of The Jim Henson Hour and many other Henson productions. Back at the control room, the Muppets all freak out that their secrets are being revealed.
A young, socially awkward boy named Dom (played by Gregory Chisholm) tries to deal with a new school, an unemployed stepfather, a pregnant mother, and asthma. The boy finds comfort in his favorite stuffed toy, a dinosaur named Dog
Kermit has trouble keeping the show running, because the entire staff is waiting for their lunch to be delivered. The Three Ravens: A princess' dreams of love are threatened by the machinations of an evil witch queen.
May 8, 1989
From the Disney Archives, an Interview with Jim Henson, Frank Oz & Michael Frith
