When we think of Jim Henson, we immediately picture Kermit on a log, Big Bird on Sesame Street, or the Goblin King in Labyrinth. But for every global phenomenon, there is a shadow history of experimental films, cancelled series, and bizarre pilots that have slipped through the cracks of time.
From psychedelic 60s experiments to high-concept sci-fi, the “Jim Henson Universe” is full of lost media treasures. Here is a deep dive into the rarest, weirdest, and most elusive projects from the Muppet master.
1. The “Muppet Babies” Companion: Little Muppet Monsters (1985)
Status: Partially Found / Unfinished
Perhaps the “Holy Grail” of 80s Muppet media. In 1985, CBS wanted to expand the success of Muppet Babies with an hour-long block. The second half was Little Muppet Monsters, a show featuring three new monster puppets—Tug, Boo, and Molly—running a pirate television station from the basement of the Muppet house.
- Why it’s lost: The show was a disaster behind the scenes. Marvel Productions (who handled the animated segments) couldn’t meet deadlines, and the live-action segments were expensive.
- What remains: Only three episodes ever aired. For decades, it was rumored that 15 more scripts were written and partially filmed. Recently, archivists and fans have recovered raw footage of the un-aired puppet segments, but the animated portions remain lost or were never created.
2. The Sitcom That Never Was: Puppetman (1987)
Status: Unsold Pilot (Circulating)
Imagine a sitcom where a puppet and a human are roommates, but the puppet is treated as a real person. That was Puppetman. The pilot aired once on CBS Summer Playhouse (a dumping ground for unsold pilots) and then vanished.
- The Plot: A puppet obsessed with becoming a star lives with a human roommate. The pilot featured Richard Hunt (voice of Scooter/Statler) as the lead puppeteer.
- Legacy: While the show wasn’t picked up, the puppet design was later reused for a background character in The Muppets at Walt Disney World and eventually evolved into a character for the show Greg the Bunny years later (though not officially connected, the spiritual lineage is clear).
3. The Psychedelic Experiment: The Cube (1969)
Status: Cult Classic (Restored by Fans)
Before Sesame Street, Jim Henson was an experimental filmmaker fascinated by the counterculture. The Cube is a surreal, live-action psychological drama about a man trapped in a white, doorless cube. People enter and exit through the walls, offering him conflicting advice on reality.
- Why it’s rare: It aired on NBC’s “Experiment in Television” and was deemed too weird for mainstream reruns.
- The vibe: Think The Twilight Zone meets Waiting for Godot. It is a stark reminder that Henson wasn’t just a “children’s entertainer”—he was an avant-garde artist.
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4. The Short-Lived Masterpiece: The Jim Henson Hour (1989)
Status: Fragmented
This was Jim Henson’s attempt to bring the variety format of The Muppet Show into the modern age, mixing high-tech “MuppeTelevision” segments with darker, folklore-based storytelling like The Storyteller.
- The Lost Segments: While The Storyteller segments were spun off into their own releases, the “MuppeTelevision” wraparounds (featuring Kermit running a digital TV station) are largely missing from official releases due to tangled music rights.
- Key Missing Piece: Miss Piggy’s Hollywood, a segment that has rarely been seen since the original broadcast.
5. The Music Rights Nightmare: The Ghost of Faffner Hall (1989)
Status: Out of Print
Filmed in Newcastle, UK, this show was educational but edgy, focusing on music appreciation. It featured an incredible roster of guest stars like Mark Knopfler, Dizzy Gillespie, and Joni Mitchell.
- Why it’s buried: The show was heavily reliant on music performances. Licensing songs from major artists for streaming or DVD is prohibitively expensive. As a result, Faffner Hall is effectively locked in a legal vault, likely never to see a full commercial release again.
6. The “Adult” Pilot: The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (1975)
Status: Available but Obscure
Before The Muppet Show became a family staple, Henson pitched a pilot to ABC titled Sex and Violence. It was a satire of the proliferation of sex and violence on TV.
- The Content: It featured a mountaintop guru, a wrestling match, and the debut of the Electric Mayhem. It was rougher, edgier, and more cynical than what the Muppets eventually became. It serves as a fascinating “alternative timeline” where the Muppets became a Saturday Night Live-style late-night troupe rather than family icons.
Why Are So Many Henson Projects Lost?
The primary culprit is rights ownership. After Disney bought the Muppets in 2004, the library was split.
- Disney owns the classic characters (Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie).
- The Jim Henson Company retains rights to Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and the experimental abstract work.
- Sesame Workshop owns the Sesame Street characters.
Shows like The Jim Henson Hour or Little Muppet Monsters often blur these lines, featuring characters from different rights packages, making legal clearances a nightmare.
How to Find Them
While you won’t find these on Disney+ or Netflix, the “Jim Henson Lost Media” community is active.
- The Internet Archive: A goldmine for fan-restored versions of The Jim Henson Hour.
- YouTube: Often hosts grainy VHS rips of Puppetman and The Cube.
- Museum of the Moving Image: If you are in New York, their permanent Jim Henson exhibition often screens rare clips that cannot be shown anywhere else.