''Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories'' is a children's television show hosted by

Mother Goose Mother Goose is a character that originated in children's fiction, as the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. She also appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as ...

, who tells her three goslings the stories behind well-known

nursery rhymes A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fro ...

Production

The show featured child actors and elaborate

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s created by

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Jim Henson's Creature Shop is an American animation and special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based in Hollywood, California, United States. History Jim Henson's Creature Shop was ...

. The show featured puppeteers

Mike Quinn Michael Patrick Quinn (born April 15, 1974) is an American former professional football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and Denve ...

, Mak Wilson, and

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 a ...

as various characters, along with Angie Passmore as the titular Mother Goose. Fourteen of the episodes were based on stories in

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...

's 1897 book '' Mother Goose in Prose'', while the others were original tales written for the show. The general look of the characters was based on the work of

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. His works featured distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. The ...

, the artist who illustrated Baum's book. The series was originally conceived as a co-production between the

Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company, Inc., 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 kn ...

and Television South West for British television and was first broadcast on

Children's ITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

in the UK in 1988. A pilot episode, the story of "Humpty Dumpty", was produced in 1987 along with other episodes. The series was considered for a network slot in 1987, but was passed on. The first release of the series came in 1988 through a home video release as part of Jim Henson's Play-Along Video series. The video featured three episodes of the show, "Little Miss Muffet", "A Song of Sixpence" and "Boy Blue", plus original linking footage between each story. The series finally found a home as a broadcast series on The Disney Channel starting on August 25, 1990, and was the company's first new television series to debut after the death of

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

. Mother Goose Stories had three production seasons, spawning thirty-nine eight-minute episodes. For airing on The Disney Channel, the 39 independently produced episodes were grouped into 13 broadcast episodes to fit the half-hour time slot. Each of these broadcast episodes was composed of three separate stories (with individual opening titles and closing credits attached to each one). The show continued to air on The Disney Channel until 1993. The first and third seasons of Mother Goose Stories were directed by

Brian Henson Brian David Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson. Early life Henson was born on November 3, 1963 in New York City, th ...

, in one of his earliest directorial efforts for The Jim Henson Company, while Michael Kerrigan directed the episodes in the second season. Henson and Kerrigan received a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Program for their work on the show. A video of the series was also released by CEL Home Video in Australia along with several other films and TV shows from The Jim Henson Company.

Plot

tells her three goslings the stories behind well-known

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...

s and

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s; examples include "

Old King Cole "Old King Cole" is a British nursery rhyme first attested in 1709. Though there is much speculation about the identity of King Cole, it is unlikely that he can be identified reliably as any historical figure. It has a Roud Folk Song Index numbe ...

," " Eenie Meenie," and " Little Nut Tree."

Episodes

Season 1 (1990)

# "

Little Miss Muffet "Little Miss Muffet" is an English nursery rhyme of uncertain origin, first recorded in 1805. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20605. The rhyme has for over a century attracted discussion as to the proper meaning of the word ''tuffet''. ...

" # " A Song of Sixpence" # " Boy Blue" # " Little Bo Peep" # "

" # " Hey, Diddle Diddle" # "

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle, and is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. The first recorded versions of the rhyme date from ...

" # " Hickory Dickory Dock" # "

Little Jack Horner "Little Jack Horner" is a popular English nursery rhyme with the Roud Folk Song Index number 13027. First mentioned in the 18th century, it was early associated with acts of opportunism, particularly in politics. Moralism, Moralists also rewro ...

" # " The Prince and the Beggars" # " Baa Baa Black Sheep" # " Mary, Mary" # " Tommy Tucker"

Season 2 (1991)

# " Eenie Meenie" # "Dicky Birds" # " The Crooked Man" # " Mother Hubbard" # " Eensy Weensy Spider" # "Hector Protector" # " Mary's Little Lamb" # "

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

" # " Pat-a-Cake" # " Jack Be Nimble" # " Willie Winkie" # "

Man in the Moon In many cultures, several pareidolic images of a human face, head or body are recognized in the disc of the full moon; they are generally known as the Man in the Moon. The images are based on the appearance of the dark areas (known as lunar m ...

" # " Jack & Jill"

Season 3 (1992)

# " The Queen of Hearts" # "Hickety Pickety" # " Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat" # " Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater" # " Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross" # " It's Raining, It's Pouring" # "The Giant" # "Tommy Tittlemouse" # " Little Nut Tree" # "Little Girl with a Curl" # "

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is an English lullaby. The lyrics are from an early-19th-century English poem written by Jane Taylor, "The Star". The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in '' Rhymes for the Nursery'', a c ...

" # " Margery Daw" # " Rub a Dub Dub"

Cast

Puppeteers

* Angie Passmore -

- Yellow Gosling,

Cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

(ep. 5),

Cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

(ep. 11), Little Boy Blue's Mother (ep. 11), Peter the Dicky Bird (ep. 15), Topiary

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

(ep. 15), Old Mother Hubbard (ep. 17), Peter's Wife (ep. 30) *

- Brown Gosling,

(ep. 1),

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

(ep. 1),

Sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

(ep. 11), Paul the Dicky Bird (ep. 15), Barkley the

Dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

(ep. 17) * Mak Wilson - Gold Gosling, Coutchie-Coulou (ep. 1), Speckled

Hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...

(ep. 1),

Squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour. Terminology ''Squire'' ...

(ep. 11), Royal

Gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

(ep. 15),

Butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

(ep. 17), Sherlock Hubbard (ep. 17),

(ep. 25)

Guest stars

* Joseph Arton - Gilbert Filbert (''Man in the Moon'') * Katy Boughton Smith - The Princess (''Humpty Dumpty'') * Simon Bright - Tom (''Little Nut Tree'') * James Conway - The Prince / Prince Lilimond / Page Boy (''Humpty Dumpty'' / ''The Prince and the Beggars'' / ''Old King Cole'') * Natasha Dilleyston - Mary / Little Bo Peep (''Mary, Mary'' / ''Little Bo Peep'') * Paul Dillon - Jack Horner (''Jack Horner'') * J.J. Flynn - Boy (''Pat a Cake'') * Alani Gibbon - Ella (''Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat'') * Laura Goodwin - May / Miss Muffet / Lucy / The Princess / Stella (''Hickory Dickory Dock'' / ''Miss Muffet'' / ''Eenie Meenie'' / ''Dicky Birds'' / ''Twinkle Twinkle'') * James Goodwin - Boy / Tom (''Jack Be Nimble'' / ''Wee Willie Winkie'') * Naomi Kerbel - Mary (''Mary's Little Lamb'') * London Kim - The Candlestick Maker (''Rub a Dub Dub'') * Luke Marcel - Nicholas (''Banbury Cross'') * Ilan Ostrove - The Little Boy / Giligren (''Baa Baa Black Sheep'' / ''Song of Sixpence'') * Laura Penta - Ella (''Tommy Tittlemouse'') * Sam Preston - The Knave of Hearts / Prince Freddy (''The Queen of Hearts'' / ''It's Raining, It's Pouring'') * Katie Rhodes - Princess Ella / Heather Hubbard / Princess Jill (''Crooked Man'' / ''Mother Hubbard'' / ''Jack and Jill'') * Victoria Shalet - Dorothy / Jenny (''The Giant'' / ''The Little Girl with the Curl'') * Alexandra Staden - Rachel (''Hickety Pickety'') * Toby Uffindell-Phillips - Youngblood (''Duke of York'') * Anthony Walters - Little Tommy Tucker / Little Boy Blue / Bobby / Wriggly Squiggly / Peter's son (''Tommy Tucker'' / ''Boy Blue'' / ''Hey Diddle Diddle'' / ''Crooked Man'' / ''Peter Pumpkin Eater'') * Michelle Wesson - Alice / Emily (''Eensy Weensy'' / ''Hector Protector'') * Nadia Williams - Margery Daw (''Margery Daw'')

Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

* Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series (Brian Henson, Michael Kerrigan) * Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design (Mark Storey, Jacqueline Mills, Jill Thraves)

References

External links

* {{The Jim Henson Company 1990 American television series debuts 1992 American television series endings 1990s American children's television series 1990 British television series debuts 1992 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series 1990s preschool education television series American preschool education television series American television shows featuring puppetry British preschool education television series British television shows featuring puppetry Disney Channel original programming ITV children's television shows Works based on nursery rhymes Television series about ducks Television shows based on poems Television series by The Jim Henson Company Adaptations of works by L. Frank Baum