Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: The Storyteller Fraggle

Written by Abigail Maughan.

THE STORYTELLER FRAGGLE

Performed by...
Terry Angus
Richard Hunt (first appearance)

First appearance...
Fraggle Rock Episode 108: The Terrible Tunnel (1983)

Most recent appearance...
Fraggle Rock Episode 513: Change of Address (1987)

Best known role...
Balladeer historian of Fraggle Rock

WHO IS THE STORYTELLER?
The Storyteller Fraggle, known by no other name, is exactly that. It is her job to collect and tell all the tales of Fraggle Rock through the ages and perform them for anyone willing to listen and learn, most notably the Fraggle Five. Her biggest pet peeve is when Fraggles leave halfway through her stories. She is talented and knowledgeable in her craft, if a bit eccentric.

The Storyteller’s debut came in the season one episode The Terrible Tunnel, in which she was performed by Richard Hunt for the first and only time. In her introductory episode, she recites the legend of the mysterious Terrible Tunnel through a spooky song, suitably frightening the Fraggle Five, some of whom just happen to stumble across it later in the episode. When they report back to her with their story of surviving it, the Storyteller adjusts her song accordingly.

Throughout the show’s second season, the Storyteller made several sporadic appearances, performed here and forever onward by Terry Angus. In the first of these, an episode called Boober Rock, she told Mokey, Gobo, and Red why and how to save Boober from the Caves of Forgetfulness. She presided over the Glory Song ceremony in The Day the Music Died, and in Boober’s Quiet Day, she was among many who unwittingly aided Sidebottom in publicly humiliating Boober.

The Storyteller has an unrequited infatuation with Gobo’s uncle, Travelling Matt. She swoons at the very mention of his name and repeatedly goes into great detail describing his physique. According to the flashback episodes, Born to Wander and The Riddle of Rhyming Rock, where Matt and the Storyteller are seen as children, these feelings have been present since she was very young. The young Storyteller is clueless little Matt’s only friend and source of encouragement, giving him faith and confidence in his exploring abilities when his own uncle will give him none. She also hugs, paws, and gazes at him frequently, so why Matt doesn’t notice her affection toward him is a mystery.

The fourth season episode The Riddle of Rhyming Rock was the Storyteller’s last prominent appearance. Here, Gobo Fraggle consults her in his quest to decipher the titular riddle. Things go horribly wrong when he tries to solve the riddle without listening to her full story, but she tells him how to set things straight. We last saw the Storyteller in the series’ final episode, Change of Address, when she is among a group of recurring Fraggles like herself signing off the show with the Fraggle Rock theme song.

WHY DOES FRAGGLE ROCK NEED THE STORYTELLER?
History is important in any culture, even that of the Fraggles. The Storyteller has dedicated her life to educating her fellow Fraggles in the events of the past. Without a source from which to learn of ancient mistakes and current dangers, who’s to say how lost the Fraggles would be? The Storyteller is the expert of the Rock and everything in it. She’s like the Trash Heap for non-psychological issues.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com