Air Date: Saturday, November 21, 2015, 8:00 pm ET/PT on Lifetime
Rating:
Photo from a screen test in 1968.
In 1968, Jim Henson, along with his writing partner Jerry Juhl, wrote a screenplay for a Thanksgiving special titled “The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow.” Henson created the puppets and his daughters Lisa and Cheryl operated the creatures during a screen test. The special was never produced and the story and puppets were archived. For almost 47 years, the story of Turkey Hollow, along with the puppets, sat in an unmarked box. Recently, Lisa came across the box and discovered its contents while working on another project.
As interesting as that story is, one has to wonder why “The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow” never saw the light of day throughout the remaining 22 years of Henson’s life. After watching the holiday special, whose title is now Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow (Turkey Hollow), the answer seems evident; some boxes, like Pandora’s, should be left unopened.
Chris Bridges as the narrator.
From the opening scene with narrator Chris Bridges on screen, the pace seems off. Bridges’ name might not be familiar to many because he is better known to the masses as the actor and rapper Ludacris. As much as I enjoyed Ludacris in the Fast and the Furious movie franchise, having a narrator for Turkey Hollow comes across as awkward and unnecessary to move the story forward. Even Ludacris realizes his jokes are ludicrous (pun intended) because at one point, he mentions to those off camera he wished his dialogue came with a laugh track to take some of the pressure off the jokes.
To sum up the general story line of Turkey Hollow, Ron Emmerson (Jay Harrington) takes his 16-year-old daughter Annie (Genevive Buechner) and 10-year-old son Tim (Graham Verchere) to the village of Turkey Hollow to visit their quirky Aunt Cly (Mary Steenburgen) for a much needed break following his bitter divorce. Not only is the town the turkey capital of the Northwest, it’s the home of the “hideous hollowing Hoodoo.” Some swear the Hoodoo is a mysterious monster that lurks in the woods while others believe it’s just a story to lure tourists. Either way, Tim is determined to get to the bottom of the legend.
On the surface, Turkey Hollow is an entertaining story so it’s easy to understand why Henson thought he was onto something. Tim’s fascination with the possibility of Bigfoot-like creatures in the woods makes for an adventurous story that would be the perfect catalyst for Henson’s creatures to appear.
Burble, Squonk, Thrinng, and Zorp
By the time the Emmerson family arrives at Cly’s house, any potential for an entertaining story quickly fades. The writers appear to have taken some of Henson’s original 1968 screenplay and mixed in their own dialogue to modernize the story. Several of the jokes sound dated and fall flat. I was taken aback as almost every line out of Sheriff Cowly’s (Reese Alexander) mouth is a sexual suggestion that seems out of place with the rest of the family oriented story. Most of the references likely will go over kids’ heads. Either way, there is no need for them.
The tone of Turkey Hollow changes with the introduction of Cly’s neighbor, Farmer Eldridge Sump (Linden Banks). Needing to find a way for Sump to be the story’s villain, the writers come up with a terrible plot device that places Tim right in the middle of Sumps’ longstanding feud with Cly. The premise is ridiculous and the parts of the special that are working are suddenly abandoned. As the story moves along, the writers appear clueless as to where to go next.
As Turkey Hollow begins to wind down, the story takes another turn by developing into a mystery. Watching things unfold, I found myself thinking ‘Turkey Hollow has now become nothing more than an awful rip-off of a Scooby-Doo episode.’ So, it’s no surprise when moments later, Tim recites an all too familiar line about “those meddling kids.”
Perhaps after years of lovable frogs, pigs, and other creatures, we have become spoiled when it comes to talking creatures brought to life by Henson’s team. The initial meeting of the critters Burble, Squonk, Thrinng, and Zorp is all too brief as they disappear for a significant amount of time. Making matters worse, the audience isn’t given the chance to see enough personality traits to help distinguish the creatures from one another. Even with their short appearance, I found myself annoyed by their limited communication, which amounts to the noise their names are associated with.
Cly showing Ron the enchanted forest.
Turkey Hollow lacks the magic one would expect with Henson’s name prominently displayed in the advertising. One scene in particular feels undeveloped as Cly pauses to show Ron the wonders of the enchanted forest. Instead of the forest coming alive, a couple of branches move as if someone is pulling on them off camera with a wire. I kept finding myself wanting more visually.
From the creative mind of the man who gave us The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock, as well as countless other TV specials and movies, one would assume Turkey Hollow is a holiday tale for the whole family to enjoy. Unfortunately, the special doesn’t live up to the Henson name. I think if Henson wanted to share “The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow,” he would have done so himself.
Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about Turkey Hollow.
Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow premieres November 21 at 8:00 pm ET/PT, only on Lifetime.
For more information on Turkey Hollow, visit the official website.
All photos © 2015 Lifetime Networks. All Rights Reserved.
Greg Staffa
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