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

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...

, 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 many other 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. From t ...

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. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

s 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 ...

. The show featured puppeteers

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

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 Stanle ...

, 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 als ...

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 books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

's 1897 book ''

Mother Goose in Prose ''Mother Goose in Prose'' is a collection of twenty-two children's story, children's stories based on Mother Goose nursery rhymes. It was the first children's book written by L. Frank Baum, and the first book illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. It wa ...

'', 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. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His ...

, 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 (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

Television South West Television South West (TSW) was the ITV franchise holder for the South West England region from 1 January 1982 until 31 December 1992, broadcasting from studios at Derry's Cross in Plymouth, Devon. History Origins and Launch On 28 December ...

for British television and was first broadcast on

Children's ITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...

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 Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...

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 Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

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, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

. 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 Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, director, producer, voice actor 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 ...

, in one of his earliest directorial efforts for The Jim Henson Company, while

Michael Kerrigan Michael Kerrigan (2 November 1952 – 7 August 2014) was a British television director noted for directing '' The Famous Five'' TV series and the children's show '' No. 73''. He also directed the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''Battlefield'' in 1989. ...

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 ...

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 many other 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. From t ...

s and

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

s; examples include "Old King Cole," "Eeiny Meeiny Miny Moe," and "The Magic 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. Wording The rhyme first appeared in print in ''Songs for the Nursery'' (1805), and there have been ...

A Song of Sixpence ''A Song of Sixpence'' is a 1964 novel by A. J. Cronin about the coming to manhood of Laurence Carroll and his life in Scotland. Its sequel is ''A Pocketful of Rye''. As with several of his other novels, Cronin drew on his own experiences growi ...

# Boy Blue #

Little Bo Peep "Little Bo-Peep" or "Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6487. Lyrics and melody As with most products of oral tradition, there are many variations to the rhy ...

Old King Cole "Old King Cole" is a British nursery rhyme first attested in 1708. 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 ...

# Hey, Diddle Diddle #

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...

Hickory Dickory Dock "Hickory Dickory Dock" or "Hickety Dickety Dock" is a popular English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6489. Lyrics and music The most common modern version is: Hickory dickory dock. The mouse ran up the clock. ...

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. Moralists also rewrote and expa ...

# The Prince and the Beggars #

Baa Baa Black Sheep "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" is an English nursery rhyme, the earliest printed version of which dates from around 1744. The words have not changed very much in two and a half centuries. It is sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody '' Ah! vous di ...

# Mary, Mary # Tommy Tucker

Season 2 (1991)

Eenie Meenie "Eenie Meenie" is a song by American-Jamaican singer Sean Kingston and Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The song was written by both Kingston and Bieber along with Carlos Battey, Steven Battey, Marcos Palacios and Ernest Clark and Benny Blanco ...

# 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 English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

Pat-a-Cake "Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Baker’s Man", "Pat-a-Cake", "Patty-cake" or "Pattycake" is an English nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6486. Verse :Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man. :Bake me a cake as fast as you can :R ...

Jack Be Nimble "Jack Be Nimble" is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13902.1882 Lyrics The most common version of the rhyme is: :Jack be nimble, :Jack be quick, :Jack jump over :The candlestickI. Opie and P. Opie, ...

# 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 mar ...

Jack & Jill "Jack and Jill" (sometimes "Jack and Gill", particularly in earlier versions) is a traditional English nursery rhyme. The Roud Folk Song Index classifies the commonest tune and its variations as number 10266, although it has been set to severa ...

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 __NOTOC__ "It's Raining, It's Pouring" is an English language nursery rhyme and children's song. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 16814. Origins The first two lines of this rhyme can be found in ''The Little Mother Goose'', published in t ...

# The Giant # Tommy Tittlemouse # Little Nut Tree # Little Girl with a Curl #

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is a popular 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 Nurser ...

# Margery Daw # Rub a Dub Dub

Cast

Puppeteers

* Angie Passmore -

- Yellow Gosling,

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

(ep. 5),

Cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

(ep. 11),

Little Boy Blue "Little Boy Blue" is an English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11318. Lyrics A common version of the rhyme is: Little Boy Blue, Come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn. Where is ...

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

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

(ep. 15),

Old Mother Hubbard "Old Mother Hubbard" is an English-language nursery rhyme, first given an extended printing in 1805, although the exact origin of the rhyme is disputed. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19334. After a notable nursery success, it was eventu ...

(ep. 17), Peter's Wife (ep. 30) *

- Brown Gosling,

(ep. 1),

Sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticated s ...

(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 wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

(ep. 17) *

- Gold Gosling, Coutchie-Coulou (ep. 1),

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

(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 or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

(ep. 1),

Squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

(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 wholesal ...

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

(ep. 25)

Guest stars

Victoria Shalet Victoria Shalet (born 9 December 1981) is an English former actress, known for her role as Harmony in the CBBC adaptation of the Dick King-Smith Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), was an English writer of chil ...

- Dorothy / Jenny (''The Giant'' / ''The Little Girl with the Curl'') * J.J. Flynn - ''(Pat a Cake)'' * Sam Preston - ''(It's Raining, It's Pouring)''

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 ...

* 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