''The Ghost of Faffner Hall'' is a

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

from

Jim Henson Productions The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

and the British ITV company

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from stud ...

which aired from August 16, 1989 to November 11, 1989 in the UK, and slightly later in the US. The puppets for this show were created by

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based out of Burbank, California, United States. History Jim Henson's Creature Shop was originally ...

, and the series was recorded at the Tyne Tees Studios in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and directed by Tony Kysh, then senior director within that company's children's department.

Plot

Faffner Hall is a music conservatory that was founded by Fughetta Faffner. When Fughetta Faffner passes away, her

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

lurks in Faffner Hall and it is currently run by her great-great-grandnephew Farkus Faffner who hates music. Now, Fughetta must thwart Farkus' plans with the help of Mimi, Riff, and the Wild Impresario. During this time, they meet up with the famous musicians that visit Faffner Hall.

Characters

Main characters

* Fughetta Faffner (performed by

Louise Gold Louise Gold (born 1956) is an English puppeteer, actress and singer whose career has spanned more than four decades. She is best known for her work as a puppeteer on television and for roles in musical theatre in the West End. Gold was raised ...

) - The main protagonist of the series. She is the founder of Faffner Hall. When she dies, her

haunts the halls and ends up having to prevent her great-great-grandnephew Farkus from destroying the halls. Whenever Fughetta hears beautiful music, she ends up solidifying. Fughetta also has the ability to freeze time so that she can fix things in the present. * Mimi (performed by

Karen Prell Karen Leigh Prell (born July 26, 1959) is an American puppeteer and animator. She is the performer of Red Fraggle in ''Fraggle Rock''. Early life and career Prell was born on July 26, 1959 in Florida but grew up in Seattle, Washington. She als ...

) - A girl with a Southern accent who is one of the inhabitants of Faffner Hall. * Riff (performed by Mike Quinn) - A boy who is one of the inhabitants of Faffner Hall. He serves as a second banana to Mimi. * The Wild Impresario (performed by Richard Hunt) - He is one of the inhabitants of Faffner Hall and the resident piano player. * Farkus Faffner (performed by

Mak Wilson Mak Wilson (born 3 September 1957) is an English puppeteer, writer, CG animation director, and mocap artist. He is also known as Mac Wilson and Malcolm Wilson. Early life and career Wilson was born in Consett, England, but grew up in nearby Stanl ...

) - The main antagonist of the series who is the current proprietor of Faffner Hall. He is the great-great-grandnephew of Fughetta Faffner who hates music and only cares about money. Farkus has since been making various plans to drive Faffner Hall's inhabitants from Faffner Hall which go horribly awry. * Faffner Hall Composer Busts - They are the busts of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, and

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

. When Fughetta Faffner freezes time, she ends up having to consult with them in order to handle a specific situation.

Guest characters

* Great Uncle Fishknife - Fughetta Faffner's uncle who appeared in "Music Brings Us Together" to help Mimi, Riff, and Wild Impresario get Fughetta Faffner intangible after Farkus found a way to trap her in solid form.

Episodes

Cast

Muppet performers

* Richard Coombs as Ray (ep. 2), Piganini (ep. 4),

Zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

(ep. 5), Mr. Director (ep. 8), Madame Mumu (ep. 12) *

as Fughetta Faffner, Mean Mama (ep. 7) * Richard Hunt as The Wild Impresario * Phil Knowles * Angie Passmore as Zola (ep. 2), Tutie (ep. 2) *

as Mimi *

David Rudman David Rudman (born June 1, 1963) is an American puppeteer, puppet builder, writer, director, and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and ''Sesame Street''. Career David Rudman has been a ''Sesame Street'' Muppet performer sinc ...

as Dragon Son (ep. 11, uncredited) * Mike Quinn as Riff * Bob Smeaton *

as Farkas Faffner

Special musical guests

Thomas Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy *Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England * ...

as Himself *

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

as Janitor *

Derek William Dick Derek William Dick (born 25 April 1958), better known by his stage name Fish, is a Scottish singer-songwriter and occasional actor. Fish became widely known as the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion from 19 ...

as Fish the Wizard *

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

as Himself *

Julia Fordham Julia Fordham (born 10 August 1962) is a British singer-songwriter. Her professional career started in the early 1980s, under the name "Jules Fordham", as a backing singer for Mari Wilson and Kim Wilde, before signing a recording contract of h ...

as Herself *

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

as Himself * H.K. Gruber as Himself *

Håkan Hardenberger Ulf Håkan Hardenberger (born 27 October 1961 in Malmö) is a Swedish trumpeter. Taking up the trumpet at the age of eight under the guidance of hometown teacher Bo Nilsson, Hardenberger pursued further studies at the Paris Conservatoire, with ...

as Himself *

Gary Karr Gary Michael Karr (born November 20, 1941 in Los Angeles) is an American classical double bass virtuoso and teacher; he is considered one of the best bassists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Biography Although he comes from several generations ...

as Himself *

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

as Himself *

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

as Himself *

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...

as Themselves *

Paddy Moloney Paddy Moloney ( ga, Pádraig Ó Maoldomhnaigh; 1 August 1938 – 12 October 2021) was an Irish musician, composer, and record producer. He co-founded and led the Irish musical group the Chieftains, playing on all of their 44 albums. He was parti ...

as Himself *

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

as Himself *

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...

as Themselves *

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also rap ...

as Himself *

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

as Herself *

Marion Montgomery Marion Montgomery (November 17, 1934 – July 22, 2002)

as Herself *

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...

as Himself *

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

as Himself *

Gil Evans Orchestra Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role i ...

as Themselves *

Michala Petri Michala Petri (born July 7, 1958) is a Danish recorder player. Her debut as a soloist was in 1969. She is the step-granddaughter of Danish actress Ingeborg Brams. Biography Petri, who began playing the recorder at the age of three, is noted for ...

as Herself * Electric Phoenix as Themselves *

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

as Saxophone Salesman * Como String Quartet as

Peter Bucknell Peter Wentworth Bucknell (born 1967) is a filmmaker, author and classical violist residing in Barcelona. Film Known best for his underwater films, Bucknell is a commercial and documentary film maker. In 2014 he wrotThe Underwater GoPro Book an i ...

, Hung Le, Peter O'Reilly, Glen Nichols and George Vi *

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

as Himself *

Yomo Toro Víctor Guillermo "Yomo" Toro (26 July 1933 – 30 June 2012) was a Puerto Rican left-handed guitarist and cuatro player. Known internationally as "The King of the Cuatro," Toro recorded over 150 albums throughout a 60-year career and worked exte ...

as Himself *

Steve Turre Stephen Johnson Turre (born September 12, 1948, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American jazz trombonist and a pioneer of using Conch (instrument), seashells as instruments, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. For ...

as Himself *

Robin Williamson Robin Duncan Harry Williamson (born 24 November 1943) is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and storyteller who was a founding member of The Incredible String Band. Career Williamson lived in the Fairmilehead area of Edinbur ...

as Himself * David Sawyeras Himself

Critical reception

Alan Carter of ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'' magazine lamented the absence of classic Muppets characters but otherwise gave the show a brief but favorable review: "This one sings."

References

External links

The Ghost of Faffner Hall
at Henson.com *
The Ghost of Faffner Hall
at the British Film Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghost of Faffner Hall 1980s American children's television series 1989 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s British children's television series 1989 British television series debuts 1989 British television series endings American television shows featuring puppetry British television shows featuring puppetry ITV children's television shows HBO original programming Television series by The Jim Henson Company Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Tyne Tees Television English-language television shows

Plot

Characters

Main characters

Guest characters

Episodes

Cast

Muppet performers

Special musical guests

Critical reception

See also

References

External links