Postcards are messages sent by Uncle Traveling Matt back to his nephew, Gobo. Matt's messages describe the interesting things he's discovered in Outer Space -- often misunderstanding what he's seen, and interpreting it from his own Fraggle point of view.
When the postcards arrive at Doc's workshop, Doc invariably throws them in the trash -- where Gobo can retrieve them. Gobo enjoys reading Matt's postcards, although some of the other Fraggles find them tedious -- especially Red.
As the series progressed the number and frequency of Matt's postcards decreased. As Jerry Juhl recalled in interviews, it was often a challenge for the writing staff to incorporate the postcards into the script and fit them naturally into the plot, and to fit the theme of the episode. This led to episodes in which the postcard is read "out of the blue."
In the fourth season episode "Uncle Matt's Discovery," Matt finds a cavern full of arches which can transport him to Outer Space or beyond. Thus, Matt returns to the Rock for good, able to do his exploring from home. Subsequently, only a handful of Outer Space segments were used, with Matt usually recounting past adventures to the Fraggles orally, and the postcard device was generally abandoned.
International Traveling Matts
Many of the international co-productions of Fraggle Rock produced their own Traveling Matt segments to replace some of the original North American postcards. These international postcards would feature locations and customs of the local culture in which they were produced. Although not every postcard segment would be re-shot and replaced, the new postcard segments would make the show feel like a local production and would also allow sharing between producers to give the allusion of Matt traveling all around the world.
Many of the foreign postcard segments used in the international co-productions were reworked with new English dialogue recorded by Dave Goelz in 1999. These 40-second channel bumpers ran on Odyssey Channel from 1999 to 2001. A collection of "20 International Traveling Matts" was included as a bonus feature on the Fraggle Rock: Complete Second Season DVD set, and 8 more of the spots were featured as hidden Easter eggs on the Complete Third Season set.
Animated Postcards
The animated version of Fraggle Rock also included postcards from Traveling Matt. Freed from the limitations of actually filming a puppet in different locales, Matt roamed more freely, participating in a roundup at a ranch, wandering in the desert, or walking directly into a highway. These segments often featured the animated character inserted in front of live photographic backdrops, a technique previously utilized on Muppet Babies.
Postcards
Season 1 | |||
Picture | Episode | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Episode 101: Beginnings | Matt's first postcard simply tells Gobo that he is "fine", while he actually discovers Doc's shop, is confronted by the a ferocious hairy beast and discovers humans and cars. | ||
Episode 102: Wembley and the Gorgs | Matt writes about kites and balloons thinking they are flying creatures being held captive on strings. | ||
Episode 103: Let the Water Run | Matt think umbrellas are devices that can pull water from the sky. | ||
Episode 104: You Can't Do That Without a Hat | Matt finds that "treasures come and treasures go" at a donut shop. | ||
Episode 105: The Thirty-Minute Work Week | Matt uses the Silly Creature's rapid transport system, a rollercoaster. Note: Dave Goelz makes a cameo as the man sitting next to Matt. | ||
Episode 106: The Preachification of Convincing John | Matt thinks a construction crew are large Doozers, but finds their constructions are not as easy to eat. | ||
Episode 107: I Want To Be You | Matt visits a farm, disguises himself as a pig. | ||
Episode 108: The Terrible Tunnel | Fishermen making nets are preceived by Matt as hole-sewing creatures. | ||
Episode 109: The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles | Matt finds coins and finds out that they are for throwing into fountains. | ||
Episode 110: Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk | Matt thinks parking meters are Sidewalk Creatures. | ||
Episode 111: Catch the Tail by the Tiger | Matt encounters "shiny creatures" that talk by honking. They are actually cars. | ||
Episode 112: The Finger of Light | Matt discovers marionettes. He thinks they are "String Creatures" that are under the control of their leader. | ||
Episode 113: We Love You, Wembley | Matt thinks Ice cream cones are Silly Creatures' moss packs - he sticks one on his head. | ||
Episode 114: The Challenge | Matt writes about smokers, which thinks are "mouth-burners". | ||
Episode 115: I Don't Care | Matt finds that a boomerang is a stick that you can't throw away. | ||
Episode 116: Capture the Moon | Matt goes to Rainbow Farms, where he finds rainbows are hatched | ||
Episode 117: Marooned | Matt discovers that bubble gum is a weird food that he thinks will make your tongue inflate and explode. | ||
Episode 118: The Minstrels | Matt thinks mannequins are creatures performing a new form of meditation. | ||
Episode 120: The Garden Plot | Matt tries skateboarding | ||
Episode 121: Gobo's Discovery | Matt finds a sheep shearers and gets a hair cut. | ||
Episode 122: Mokey's Funeral | Matt discovers a magic cold stone known as ice. | ||
Episode 123: The Beast of Bluerock | Matt describes lawnmowers as "yard pets". | ||
Episode 124: New Trash Heap in Town | Matt thinks that kangaroos are some kind of transportation systems. | ||
Season 2 | |||
Picture | Episode | Description | |
Episode 201: Wembley's Egg | Matt describes airplanes as flying creatures. | ||
Episode 202: Boober Rock | Matt thinks subways are magical traveling caves. | ||
Episode 203: The Trash Heap Doesn't Live Here Anymore | Matt encounters an elevator and belives it to be a rooms that transforms the Silly Creatures inside it. | ||
Episode 204: Red's Sea Monster | After encountering identical twins, Matt thinks he has met Silly Creatures that split in two. | ||
Episode 205: Uncle Matt Comes Home | Matt goes skiing, which is an activity in which he thinks getting a "white leg" (a cast) is the object. Note: This adventure was shared orally by Matt and not via a postcard. | ||
Episode 206: Boober's Dream | Matt goes to a drive-in movie which he thinks is the shared dreams of the shiny creatures (a.k.a. cars). Note: The film being shown at the drive-in is The Dark Crystal. | ||
Episode 208: All Work and All Play | Matt visits a video arcade. | ||
Episode 209: Sir Hubris and the Gorgs | Matt thinks trick or treaters are ugly creatures that seek out candy. Note: One trick or treator is dressed as Kermit the Frog and another is dressed as Miss Piggy. | ||
Episode 210: A Friend in Need | Traveling Matt finds himself locked in a broom closet and makes some new friends. | ||
Episode 211: The Wizard of Fraggle Rock | Matt goes to a beauty salon and thinks the hairdryers are hats that can change your appearance. | ||
Episode 212: Doozer Contest | Matt visits the CN Tower in Canada. He thinks it is a giant Doozer construction and attempts to eat it and climb it. | ||
Episode 213: Red's Club | Matt thinks school buildings are cave that can control Silly Creatures by ringing. | ||
Episode 214: The Secret of Convincing John | Matt finds that statues are Silly Creatures that have chosen to be completely inflexible as a way of life | ||
Episode 215: Manny's Land of Carpets | Matt meets a department store Santa and learns that he is a magic wish-granting creature. | ||
Episode 218: The Day the Music Died | Matt meets a street musician. Note: Phil Balsam makes a cameo as the street musician. | ||
Episode 219: Doomsday Soup | Matt tries to race fast food and finds that it isn't very fast at all | ||
Episode 220: A Cave of One's Own | Matt explores the room of two girls, including their toy chest. | ||
Episode 221: Wembley and the Great Race | Matt learns that Silly Creatures have to be scared into running a race by a starting pistol's shot. | ||
Episode 222: Doozer Is As Doozer Does | Matt belives that buses are large creatures that Silly Creatures let eat them. | ||
Episode 223: Boober's Quiet Day | Matt thinks napkins are objects that Silly Creatures keep on their laps and kiss occasionally | ||
Episode 224: The Invasion of the Toe Ticklers | Matt describes that trash as treasured objects left behind. | ||
Season 3 | |||
Picture | Episode | Description | |
Episode 301: The Bells of Fraggle Rock | Matt explains Christmas, a holiday were the Silly Creatures leave milk and cookies to cook by the fire and hang their laundry in their living rooms. | ||
Episode 302: Red-Handed and the Invisible Thief | Matt thinks clocks are direction finders. | ||
Episode 303: Boober and the Glob | Matt thinks newspapers are house food. | ||
Episode 304: The Grapes of Generosity | Traveling Matt visits a grocery store. | ||
Episode 305: Blanket of Snow, Blanket of Woe | Traveling Matt visits Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London. | ||
Episode 306: Pebble Pox Blues | Matt befriends a cow. | ||
Episode 307: Home Is Where the Trash Is | Matt finds a garbage dump, a giant Trash Heap, however it has seagulls instead of wisdom. | ||
Episode 308: Believe It or Not | Matt visit's Buckingham Palace and comes to the conclusion that the hats worn by theguards are actually pets, and the owners are very careful not to wake them. According to Matt, this is why they never speak. | ||
Episode 309: Wembley and the Mean Genie | Matt thinks zoos are places where Silly Creatures are kept behind bars. | ||
Episode 311: The Beanbarrow, the Burden and the Bright Bouquet | Matt describes steam locomotives as beasts. | ||
Episode 312: Gobo's School for Explorers | Matt explains how a playground is a school for explorers. | ||
Episode 313: Scared Silly | Matt describes an alarm clock as a baloobius-tester. | ||
Episode 314: The Great Radish Caper | Traveling Matt visits Neuschwanstein Castle and thinks it is a long lost Gorg outpost. Since where Gorgs live radishes must be nearby, Uncle Matt succeeds in finding the vegetable at a nearby stall. | ||
Episode 316: The Battle of Leaking Roof | Matt thinks his reflection in a shopping mall mirror is a hideous creature who likes his hat. | ||
Episode 317: Playing Till It Hurts | Matt thinks the mummies in a museum exhibit on Egypt are part of a hospital for Silly Creatures who have obviously been playing Rock Hockey. | ||
Episode 318: Bored Stiff | Matt explores a shopping mall perfume counter. | ||
Episode 319: The Cavern of Lost Dreams | Traveling Matt goes to an antiques shop. | ||
Episode 320: The Incredible Shrinking Mokey | Matt thinks dolls are shrunken Silly Creatures. | ||
Episode 321: A Dark and Stormy Night | Matt thinks a large house is a Gorg castle. | ||
Episode 322: Gunge the Great and Glorious | Matt thinks that kayaks are giant water shoes. | ||
Season 4 | |||
Picture | Episode | Description | |
Episode 403: Sidebottom Blues | Matt thinks that tea kettle, phone, and cuckoo clock are noisy creatures with strange voices. | ||
Episode 404: Uncle Matt's Discovery | As Matt returns to Fraggle Rock he encounters Doc spraypainting primer on a garden gnome and thinks he is face-erasing. Note: This adventure was not shared via a postcard. | ||
Episode 407: The Perfect Blue Rollie | Matt finds that golf balls are perfect white rollies but the Silly Creatures just hit them into ponds. | ||
Episode 408: A Brush with Jealousy | Matt explains how a television with a videocamera appears to be a window with a Fraggle looking out. Note: This adventure was shared orally by Matt and not via a postcard. | ||
Episode 409: Wembley's Flight | Matt thinks surfing is a form of walking on water. | ||
Episode 410: Red's Blue Dragon | Matt ends up in a library at one point while searching for Red in Outer Space. Note: This adventure was shared orally by Matt and not via a postcard. | ||
Season 5 | |||
Picture | Episode | Description | |
Episode 504: The Trial of Cotterpin Doozer | Matt adventures outside Doc's house where he observes Doc and Sprocket taking a nap. Note: This adventure occurs in real time, and is not presented as a postcard. | ||
Episode 510: Inspector Red | Matt recounts trying to get a ride from a drag race car and losing his toupee. Note: This adventure was shared orally by Matt and not via a postcard. |
International Postcards
Picture | Episode | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
France | |||
Episode 101: Beginnings | Matt's first venture into France is similar to the North American version, but involves a French hydrant and two tennis players clad in shorts instead of children. | ||
Episode 104: You Can't Do That Without a Hat | Matt strolls in what appears to be the vicinity of Notre Dame, with bells ringing behind them. Encountering a street artist, Matt is presented with his portrait, but is less impressed since he can find a better likeness of himself in a reflective store window. | ||
Episode 109: The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles |
Matt visits a carnival-style ball toss establishment; successfully knocking over the cans, he wins a small metal statuette. Braced by his good fortune, he heads to an outdoor cafe, where a set of cans are displayed on the counter. Presented with a bit of food, Matt naturally assumes it's another missile, and again hits the mark. The proprietor, incensed, gestures for Matt to leave, but the latter assumes he's won an even larger park sculpture. | ||
Episode 111: Catch the Tail by the Tiger |
Uncle Matt's postcard, like its North American counterpart, deals with automobiles. Instead of documenting their language, however, Matt rides atop one, noticing the French signs and motorists' reactions to lights and each other. | ||
Episode 112: The Finger of Light |
Uncle Matt's postcard comes from the Eiffel Tower. Strolling around, he notices many mothers and nurses, wheeling infants in carriages. Suddenly, Matt is abducted by a young girl and dropped into her own carriage, clad in a bonnet, and briefly forced to endure a pacifier. | ||
Episode 113: We Love You, Wembley | In a postcard similar to the North American version, Uncle Matt discovers ice cream. Instead of using it as his personal moss pack, however, he generously plants a scoop on the head of the nearest man. The postcard ends with Matt fleeing from an angry crowd. | ||
Episode 114: The Challenge | Matt travels to a tourist spot, a mountain where a stone lion sits. Matt assumes the lion is alive, and climbs up and waves, hoping to make friends. Tourists spot him through their pay telescopes. | ||
Episode 115: I Don't Care |
Uncle Matt observes a group of men patiently fishing for shoes. | ||
Germany | |||
Episode 102: Wembley and the Gorgs | Matt walks past a row of television sets, and believes they are little cells. He is unable to persuade the people within them to seek freedom outside. | ||
Miscellaneous (DVD Bonuses) | |||
United Kingdom | Matt thinks that parking tickets are love notes to the shiny creatures (a.k.a. cars) | ||
Australia | Traveling Matt visits a great Australian Barbecue | ||
Germany | Matt visits a German bar and meets the "rope testers". | ||
Australia | Matt goes to the beach and encounters some surfers. | ||
United Kingdom | Matt visits an auction house. | ||
Zambia | Traveling Matt visits an African market. He sees the locals caring fruit on their heads and thinks these are some kind of hats. However when he tries putting a bunch of bananas on his head, he finds he can't support the weight. | ||
United Kingdom | Matt thinks bagpipes are a creature being tortured. | ||
Germany | Matt tries to explain the sport of curling. | ||
Australia | Matt thinks ketchup is some kind of food paint. | ||
Switzerland | Traveling Matt encounters some mountain climbers. But rather than climb the mountain he finds an easier way to the top. | ||
New Zealand | Traveling Matt meets a group of Maori dancers. | ||
United Kingdom | Matt thinks tea drinking is the Silly Creatures' way of bathing their upper-lips. | ||
Australia | Matt tries jumping on a trampoline. He is excited to becomes the first Fraggle to fly, but soon he gets stuck in a tree. | ||
United Kingdom | Matt goes to a British Christmas celebration and learns about the love power mistletoe holds. | ||
Germany | Matt meets some fishermen who he calls "the pole-sitters" as they just sit there with their poles. | ||
United Kingdom | Matt learns about the sport cricket. | ||
Australia | Matt gets invovled with a rugby scrum. | ||
Germany | Matt thinks customs is some kind of game where Silly Creatures hide objects in their luggage for others to find. | ||
United Kingdom | Matt accidentally mistakes someone's hair for cotton candy, a Silly Creature delicacy, and is sent flying. | ||
Germany | Matt meets some yodelers and learns the trade of these minstrels. |