The Jim Henson Hour





The Jim Henson Hour, which began taping in 1988 in Toronto, Canada, ran its short life over the course of four months in 1989. During this time, nine episodes aired on NBC, after which the series was cancelled. Two episodes made their US television premiere as specials on Nickelodeon in 1992 and 1993, and the last episode aired only in the UK.

Before the show premiered, Jim Henson created a pitch tape which would be used to sell the concept to a network. This was followed by a short pilot called Inner Tube. As the series was gearing up for its launch, a documentary, Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting, was prepared under the "Jim Henson Hour" banner, but eventually aired as a stand-alone special the week before the show's debut.

The format of The Jim Henson Hour was meant to shift from week to week. While the layout didn't shift as consistantly as Henson had predicted in his pitch, each episode was made up from elements of what represented the best of what the company had been doing at the time. A recurring portion of the show was made up of what had been described as somewhat of an updated version of The Muppet Show. They called this first half hour of the show, "MuppeTelevision," eight of which were created. The second half of these shows featured episodes of the company's already Emmy award winning series, The StoryTeller, or some other similar venture. Other episodes featured stories that took up the entire hour of the show, one of which focused on the "Secrets of the Muppets."

Recurring Segments

 * Jim's Introduction - 13/13 episodes
 * Jim's Closing - 13/13 episodes
 * MuppeTelevision - 8/13 episodes
 * The StoryTeller - 5/13 episodes

Specials
The following segments of what were originally broadcast as portions of The Jim Henson Hour episodes (detailed above), were later repackaged for broadcast or home video release as their own stand-alone specials without the "Jim Henson Hour" banner.
 * Lighthouse Island
 * Living with Dinosaurs
 * Miss Piggy's Hollywood
 * Monster Maker
 * Dog City
 * The Song of the Cloud Forest

Episodes

 * See also: Jim Henson Hour Episode Guide


 * Episode 101: Science Fiction -- Friday, April 14, 1989 on NBC (8pm)
 * MuppeTelevision: Guest star Louie Anderson
 * The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant


 * Episode 102: Aquatic Life -- Friday, April 21, 1989 on NBC (8pm)
 * MuppeTelevision: Guest star Ted Danson
 * Special: Lighthouse Island


 * Episode 103: Monster Telethon -- Friday, April 28, 1989 on NBC (8pm)
 * MuppeTelevision: Guest star The Today Show
 * The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death


 * Episode 104: Dog City -- Friday, May 5, 1989 on NBC (8pm)
 * MuppeTelevision: pre-film show
 * Special: Dog City


 * Episode 105: The Ratings Game -- Sunday, May 14, 1989 on NBC (7pm)
 * MuppeTelevision: Guest star Bobby McFerrin
 * Special: Miss Piggy's Hollywood


 * Episode 106: Monster Maker -- Sunday, July 9, 1989 on NBC (7pm)
 * Special: Monster Maker


 * Episode 107: Health and Fitness -- Sunday, July 16, 1989 on NBC (7pm)
 * MuppeTelevision: Guest star Smokey Robinson
 * Special: Song of the Cloud Forest


 * Episode 108: Musicians -- Sunday, July 23, 1989 on NBC (7pm)
 * MuppeTelevision: Guest star Buster Poindexter
 * The Storyteller: The True Bride


 * Episode 109: Garbage -- Sunday, July 30, 1989 on NBC (7pm)
 * MuppeTelevision: Guest star k.d. lang
 * The Storyteller: Sapsorrow


 * Episode 110: Secrets of the Muppets -- 1992 on Nickelodeon
 * Special: Secrets of the Muppets'''


 * Episode 111: Living with Dinosaurs -- 1993 on Nickelodeon
 * Special: Living with Dinosaurs


 * Episode 112: Food -- aired in the UK in 1990, never aired in the US
 * MuppeTelevision:
 * The Storyteller: The Three Ravens