The guys at Comic Geek Speak have an extended podcast conversationwith me about a wide array of topics.
Click on the above link to hear it.
I kick in after the two minute mark of the stream after an ad for their sponsor, Team Epic. I really enjoyed this interview, including the parts about my tenures at Image Comics and McFarlane Toys. Even though I'm no longer affiliated in any way with either of those crews, I am still quite clear in what I accomplished (or fell short of) during that period of time in my life--almost 15 years.
But of course, my favorite thing to talk about is Beanworld. Of note is the behind-the-scenes, sit-com-like moment at the time marker of 22:27. I'm trying to explain the premise of Beanworld. One of my cats, Abby, decides that she is hungry and audibly meows while she was rubbing up against the phone handset. I can "hear" myself rolling my eyes and going off balance in mid-explanation as I'm shushing her away. I'm talking about Beanworld's food chain and Abby is also discussing with me her agenda of the moment which is MY participation in HER food chain!
This link takes you to the podcast feedback page of the website. The posters go off into a fascinating comparison of Beanworld with Fraggle Rock . I can not for the life of me ever remember this comparison coming up before, and obviously I was too old at the time that it ran on TV for it to have caught my notice. But I find this notion intriguing. I'm going to have to chase down the DVDs and give them a look-see.
Anyway, my thanks to the gang at Comic Geek Speak for the opportunity.
On another note: Check out this link too....for something completely different.
Looking forward to listening.
ReplyDeleteI had made a Beanworld/Fraggle connection before, although a quick check shows it wasn't on-line anyplace. I think it was as part of an APA I was a member of in the 1990s. I did at various times consider writing something about it for Gunk'l'dunk, especially a few years ago when I got a Jim Henson sketchbook (some pages of which would fit in seamlessly in a Goofy Service Doodle Book). As the final FR story states "We're all a part of everything, and everything is a part of us", which is a sentiment which applies to the Beans, as well. I think my conclusion at the time was the Fraggle Rock was a Beanworld-type world several generations down (or possibly not retarded by whatever "poison" caused their early troubles).
Now that all those old comparisons are rushing back, I'll probably have to write it up for Gunk'l'dunk. Some key Beanworld comparisons to watch for if you get the DVDs include the equivalent of Break-outs (Wembly deciding what job he wants, Cotterpin deciding she doesn't like building) and an early episode that compares easily to "Too Much Chow". And their oracle, the Trashheap, can be as enigmatic as Gran'ma'pa.
To sum up, Fraggle Rock and Beanworld definitely tickle the same parts of the brain as they tackle some similar subjects.