Mother Goose Stories



Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories is a television show hosted by Mother Goose, a Muppet goose who tells her three goslings the stories behind well-known nursery rhymes.

The series debuted in a 1988 home video release as part of Jim Henson's Play-Along Video series, and later premiered as a broadcast series on the Disney Channel in September 1990. The show had three production seasons, spawning thirty-nine 8-minute episodes.

The show combined live-action children with eloborate puppets from Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The show featured puppet performances from Mike Quinn, Mak Wilson, and Karen Prell as many characters, along with Angie Passmore as the titular Mother Goose. Many of the epsiodes were based on stories in L. Frank Baum's 1897 book Mother Goose in Prose, while others episodes were original tales written for the show.

The first and third seasons of Mother Goose Stories were directed by Brian Henson, 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 for "Outstanding Directing in a Children's Program" for their work on the show.

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 comprised of three separate stories (with individual closing credits and openings titles between each one).

Awards
1991
 * 'Daytime Emmy Awards
 * Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series (Brian Henson, Michael Kerrigan)
 * Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design (Mark Storey, Jacqueline Mills, Jill Thraves)
 * ACE Awards
 * Best Achievement in Children's Programming
 * Best Achievement in Art Direction in a Comedy or Music Special/Series (Gordon Toma, Dennis King)
 * Best Achievement in Writing in a Children's Series (David Angus).

1989
 * American Film and Video Association
 * Honorable Mention in the Children's Video Entertainment awarded to Jim Henson's Play Along Video: Mother Goose Stories

Credits

 * Created and Produced by: Roberta Jimenez Kurtz
 * Directed by: Brian Henson, Michael J. Kerrigan
 * Written by: David Angus
 * Music by: Linda Danly, Mimi Danly
 * Puppeteers: Mike Quinn, Mak Wilson, Karen Prell, Angie Passmore
 * Designers: Ron Mueck, Jamie Courtier
 * Puppets Created by: Jim Henson's Creature Shop