Postcards from Traveling Matt
1999 Odyssey Channel title card.
Gobo reads one of Uncle Matt's postcards to a captive audience.
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.
Clips of Matt's various exploits were turned into a music video for the song "All Around the World."
Season 1 | ||
| Picture | Episode | Description |
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Episode 101: Beginnings | Matt's first postcard simply tells Gobo that he is "fine," while he actually discovers Doc's shop, is confronted by a ferocious hairy beast and discovers humans and cars. He thinks a fire hydrant is "an unfriendly yellow fellow" and that five children with sports equipment are an army with weapons. Note: The exteriors were shot in front of 54A Scollard Street, Toronto, from VTR Productions, where the show was taped. One of the children seen is Jonathan Frith,[1] son of puppet designer Michael K. Frith. |
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Episode 102: Wembley and the Gorgs | Matt writes about kites and helium balloons thinking they are flying creatures being held captive on strings. He cuts them free, and thinks balloons value freedom more than kites. |
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Episode 103: Let the Water Run | Matt think umbrellas are devices that can pull water from the sky. |
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Episode 104: You Can't Do That Without a Hat | Matt finds that "treasures come and treasures go" at a donut shop. |
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Episode 105: The Thirty-Minute Work Week | Matt uses the Silly Creatures' rapid transport system, a rollercoaster. Note: This postcard was shot at Canada's Wonderland amusement park. Dave Goelz makes a cameo as the man sitting next to Matt. |
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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. |
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Episode 107: I Want to Be You | Matt visits a farm and disguises himself as a pig. |
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Episode 108: The Terrible Tunnel | Fishermen making nets are perceived by Matt as hole-sewing creatures. |
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Episode 109: The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles | Matt finds coins and finds out that they are for throwing into fountains. |
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Episode 110: Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk | Matt thinks parking meters are Sidewalk Creatures. |
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Episode 111: Catch the Tail by the Tiger | Gobo mentions the first card, in which Matt writes about encountering "shiny creatures" that talk by honking. They are actually cars. At the end of the episode, Gobo is about to leave, but finds another postcard that tells Gobo that Matt had the flu. |
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Episode 112: The Finger of Light | Matt discovers marionettes in San Francisco. He thinks they are "String Creatures" that are under the control of their leader. Note: This postcard was used on the German co-production for "The Secret of Convincing John." |
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Episode 113: We Love You, Wembley | Matt thinks ice cream cones are Silly Creatures' moss packs — he sticks one on his head. |
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Episode 114: The Challenge | Matt writes about smokers, which he thinks are "mouth-burners." When he finds that one of them "has an out of control mouth fire," Matt throws water on him. However, instead of being thanked profusely as expected, he is angrily chased away by the man, who seems intent on throttling the Fraggle. Matt then concludes that mouth-burners are an "ungrateful lot."
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Episode 115: I Don't Care | Matt finds that a boomerang is a stick that you can't throw away. |
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Episode 116: Capture the Moon | Matt goes to Rainbow Farms, where he finds rainbows are hatched. |
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Episode 117: Marooned | Matt discovers that bubble gum is a weird food that he thinks will make your tongue inflate and explode. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 118: The Minstrels | Matt thinks mannequins are creatures performing a new form of meditation until a store worker throws him out of the store. Notes:
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Episode 120: The Garden Plot | Matt tries skateboarding. |
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Episode 121: Gobo's Discovery | Matt finds a sheep shearers and gets a hair cut. |
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Episode 122: Mokey's Funeral | Matt discovers a magic cold stone (known as an ice cube). Note: This postcard was used on the German co-production for "The Wizard of Fraggle Rock." |
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Episode 123: The Beast of Blue Rock | Matt describes lawnmowers as "yard pets." |
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Episode 124: New Trash Heap in Town | Matt thinks that kangaroos are some kind of transportation systems. |
Season 2 | ||
| Picture | Episode | Description |
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Episode 201: Wembley's Egg | Matt describes airplanes as flying creatures. |
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Episode 202: Boober Rock | Matt thinks subways are magical traveling caves. |
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Episode 203: The Trash Heap Doesn't Live Here Anymore | Matt encounters an elevator and believes it to be a room that transforms the Silly Creatures inside it. |
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Episode 204: Red's Sea Monster | After encountering identical twins, Matt thinks he has met Silly Creatures that split in two. |
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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. Notes:
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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. |
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Episode 208: All Work and All Play | Matt visits a video arcade. This segment was shot at Undercurrent, an arcade in the basement of the CN Tower in Toronto; Matt is playing Space Invaders. |
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Episode 209: Sir Hubris and the Gorgs | Matt thinks trick or treaters are ugly creatures that seek out candy. Note: One trick or treater is dressed as Kermit the Frog and another is dressed as Miss Piggy. |
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Episode 210: A Friend in Need | Traveling Matt finds himself locked in a broom closet and makes some new friends. |
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Episode 211: The Wizard of Fraggle Rock | Matt goes to a beauty salon and thinks the hairdryers are hats that can change your appearance. Notes:
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Episode 212: The Doozer Contest | Matt visits the CN Tower in Canada. He thinks it is a giant Doozer construction and attempts to eat it. After scaling the tower (by way of the elevator), he erects a flag bearing The Solemn Mark of the Fraggle. |
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Episode 213: Red's Club | Matt thinks school buildings are powerful caves that can control Silly Creatures by ringing. |
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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. Note: This postcard, originally appeared on the German co-production for "We Love You, Wembley." |
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Episode 215: Manny's Land of Carpets | Matt meets a department store Santa and learns that he is a magic wish-granting creature. |
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Episode 218: The Day the Music Died | Matt meets a street musician. Note: Phil Balsam makes a cameo as the street musician. |
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Episode 219: Doomsday Soup | Matt tries to race fast food and finds that it isn't very fast at all. |
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Episode 220: A Cave of One's Own | Matt explores the room of two girls, including their toy chest. |
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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. |
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Episode 222: Doozer Is As Doozer Does | Matt believes that buses are large creatures that Silly Creatures let eat them. Note: This postcard was actually read by Wrench Doozer. |
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Episode 223: Boober's Quiet Day | Matt thinks napkins are objects that Silly Creatures keep on their laps and kiss occasionally. |
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Episode 224: The Invasion of the Toe Ticklers | Matt describes trash as treasured objects left behind. Note: This segment also appears in the UK version of this episode. |
Season 3 | ||
| Picture | Episode | Description |
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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. |
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Episode 302: Red-Handed and the Invisible Thief | Matt thinks clocks are direction finders. Note: This postcard originally appeared on the German co-production for "Uncle Matt Comes Home" in a slightly altered cut. |
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Episode 303: Boober and the Glob | Matt thinks newspapers are house food. |
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Episode 304: The Grapes of Generosity | Traveling Matt visits a grocery store. He thinks the Silly Creatures are generous by letting everyone fill a shiny silver wagon with anything they want, and that ordinary green grapes are, in fact, Grapes of Generosity. |
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Episode 305: Blanket of Snow, Blanket of Woe | Traveling Matt visits Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London. Note: A longer version of this postcard originally appeared on the UK co-production for "We Love You, Wembley." |
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Episode 306: Pebble Pox Blues | Matt befriends a cow named Bessy. Note: A longer version of this postcard originally appeared on the German co-production for "The Minstrels." The remaining scenes were later featured in a short video on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel, posted in 2009. |
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Episode 307: Home Is Where the Trash Is | Matt finds a garbage dump, a giant Trash Heap. However, it has seagulls instead of wisdom. |
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Episode 308: Believe It or Not | Matt visits Buckingham Palace and comes to the conclusion that the hats worn by the guards are actually pets, and the owners are very careful not to wake them. According to Matt, this is why they never speak. |
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Episode 309: Wembley and the Mean Genie | Matt thinks zoos are places where Silly Creatures are kept behind bars. |
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Episode 311: The Beanbarrow, the Burden and the Bright Bouquet | Matt describes steam locomotives as beasts, then rides on one (the Zillertalbahn of Tyrol, Austria) for miles. |
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Episode 312: Gobo's School for Explorers | Matt explains how a playground is a school for explorers. |
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Episode 313: Scared Silly | Matt describes an alarm clock as a baloobius-tester. |
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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 thinks that tourists are, in fact, looking for radishes, and he succeeds in finding the vegetable at a nearby produce stand. Note: A longer version of this postcard originally appeared on the German co-production for "Doomsday Soup." |
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Episode 315: Born to Wander | Matt appears in a flashback, and in the Storyteller's thoughts, but there is no postcard. |
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Episode 316: The Battle of Leaking Roof | Matt thinks his reflection in a shopping mall mirror is a hideous creature who likes his hat. |
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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. |
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Episode 318: Bored Stiff | Matt explores a shopping mall perfume counter and thinks that perfume is poison. |
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Episode 319: The Cavern of Lost Dreams | Traveling Matt goes to an antiques shop and "meets" a doll. |
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Episode 320: The Incredible Shrinking Mokey | Matt thinks dolls are shrunken Silly Creatures. |
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Episode 321: A Dark and Stormy Night | Matt thinks a large house is a Gorg castle and a telephone is "someone or something [that] started ringing a bell." |
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Episode 322: Gunge the Great and Glorious | Matt thinks that kayaks are giant water shoes. Notes:
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Season 4 | ||
| Picture | Episode | Description |
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Episode 402: Wembley's Wonderful Whoopie Water | Gobo gets a postcard in the middle of the night after finding that "whoopie water" keeps Fraggles awake. However, this postcard is never read. |
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Episode 403: Sidebottom Blues | Matt thinks that tea kettle, phone, and cuckoo clock are noisy creatures with strange voices, and tries to talk to them. |
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Episode 404: Uncle Matt's Discovery | As Matt returns to Fraggle Rock, he encounters Doc spray-painting primer on a garden gnome and thinks he is face-erasing. Note: This adventure was not shared via a postcard. |
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Episode 406: A Tune for Two | Matt appears as Gobo's partner in the Duet-a-Thon, but shares no adventures. |
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Episode 407: The Perfect Blue Rollie | Matt finds that golf balls are perfect white rollies but the Silly Creatures just hit them into ponds. Note: This adventure was shared orally by Matt and not via a postcard. |
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Episode 408: A Brush with Jealousy | Matt explains how a television with a video camera appears to be a window with a Fraggle looking out. Note: This adventure was shared orally by Matt and not via a postcard. |
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Episode 409: Wembley's Flight | In Australia, Matt thinks surfing is a form of walking on water. Notes:
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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 appeared in real time. |
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Episode 412: Space Frog Follies | Matt does not share any adventures, though he gives Wembley a space frog to hide from Gobo. |
Season 5 | ||
| Picture | Episode | Description |
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Episode 502: The Riddle of Rhyming Rock | Matt is seen in a flashback, but there is no postcard in this episode. |
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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. |
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Episode 505: The River of Life | No postcard is read, nor does Matt share any adventures. However, Matt appears, and Boober returns the postcards, thinking Doc is mad at the Fraggles. During the song "We're Part of Each Other," Sprocket pushes the postcards back into the Fraggle hole. |
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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[]
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 illusion of Matt traveling all around the world.
Several of the foreign postcard segments used in the international co-productions were reworked (often shortened) 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. Some more have been uploaded to The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel, but a few remain to never have released in English.
| Picture | Episode | Description |
|---|---|---|
UK | ||
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Episode 101: Beginnings | Matt's first venture into the United Kingdom involves him getting startled by a two-way radio contacting The Captain. After being confronted by Sprocket, he ventures outside where he recognizes the rocks by the sea as the same materials to make the inside of Fraggle Rock. Matt is also "greeted" by "white flying things" (seagulls) and attempts to communicate with them. He then sees the lighthouse, mistaking it for a large white giant with one eye, and flees in panic. |
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Episode 110: Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk | Matt comes across a big red postbox, which he assumes to be a "paper-eater." He then proceeds to "feed" it with his postcard to Gobo. |
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Episode 116: Capture the Moon | Matt thinks tea drinking is the Silly Creatures' way of bathing their upper-lips. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 117: Marooned | Matt encounters the "lair of the long red giants" (double decker buses). |
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Episode 118: The Minstrels | Matt thinks bagpipes are a creature being tortured. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 122: Mokey's Funeral | Matt "gathers" radishes from a produce stand, and is pursued by "Gorgs" (angry Silly Creatures, actually). Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 202: Boober Rock | Matt thinks that parking tickets are love notes to the shiny creatures (a.k.a. cars). Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 204: Red's Sea Monster | Matt visits an auction house. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 206: Boober's Dream | Matt goes to sleep in a ghost-train carriage and has a nightmare. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 210: A Friend in Need | Matt visits a great race (actually a Selfridges department store sale). Note: This postcard also appeared as a Third Season DVD bonus. |
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Episode 213: Red's Club | Matt discovers a way to control a species of big yellow creatures: just yell "Taxi!" and they'll stop. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 218: The Day the Music Died | Matt visits an English football stadium, the most dignified place he has yet visited, where Silly Creatures blow horns, clap their hands, and sing just like Fraggles. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 219: Doomsday Soup | Matt accidentally mistakes someone's hair for cotton candy, a Silly Creature delicacy, and is sent flying. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus. |
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Episode 220: A Cave of One's Own | Matt visits a photo booth and gets his picture taken with some Silly Creatures. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Third Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 223: Boober's Quiet Day | Matt visits a library, where Silly Creatures sit in silence. He attempts to liven things up but is thrown out. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 301: The Bells of Fraggle Rock | Matt goes to a British Christmas celebration and learns about the love power mistletoe holds. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
France | ||
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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. |
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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 who Matt believes is playing some sort of Fraggle hide-and-seek. Matt believes that he obviously won, as the artist gives him his portrait! Now, I wonder who it's supposed to be? Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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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 café, 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. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Episode 115: I Don't Care | Matt observes a group of men patiently fishing for shoes. Notes:
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Episode 116: Capture the Moon | At a boardwalk shooting gallery, Matt sees a youth firing a gun at the target, a small ball floating on a crest of water. He assumes this is a Doozer moon. |
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Episode 117: Marooned | Traveling Matt attends a wrestling match. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel, marked as coming from Switzerland. |
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Episode 120: The Garden Plot | Matt visits a vineyard. |
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Episode 301: The Bells of Fraggle Rock | Matt visits a family's house, dressed as Santa Claus, and observes the presents around the Christmas tree. He is then discovered by the children of the house, who joyfully think he is the real Santa. Note: Mike Quinn manipulates Uncle Matt in this segment.[2] |
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Episode 319: The Cavern of Lost Dreams | At the seaside, Matt drinks from a clam, which he mistakes for brown pebbles. |
Germany | ||
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Episode 101: Beginnings | Matt visits a German bar and meets the "rope testers." Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus. |
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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. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Third Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 109: The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles | Matt thinks customs is some kind of game where Silly Creatures hide objects in their luggage for others to find. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus. |
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Episode 111: Catch the Tail by the Tiger | Matt meets some yodelers, learns the trade of these minstrels, and smokes a pipe. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, though the segment showing the smoking Muppet was edited out. |
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Episode 118: The Minstrels | Matt encounters a herd of cows, which he takes to be a band of traveling musicians. But why do they play their bells and not their horns? He might find out while going undercover as a cow. Notes:
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Episode 122: Mokey's Funeral | Traveling Matt encounters some mountain climbers. But, rather than climb the mountain, he finds an easier way to the top. Note: An abbreviated version of this postcard appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, marked as coming from Switzerland. |
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Episode 303: Boober and the Glob | Traveling Matt visits a cheese maker in the Alps and "sets free" six giant cheese wheels, making them roll downhill and the cheese maker mad. Note: This postcard has not been released in English. |
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Episode 306: Pebble Pox Blues | Traveling Matt gives those "Doozer construction horses" (also known as bikes) a try, before running over a rock in the road and plunging into a park lake in Munich, Bavaria. Note: This postcard has not been released in English. |
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Episode 305: Blanket of Snow, Blanket of Woe | Matt tries to explain the sport of curling. Note: An abbreviated version of this postcard appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Episode 314: The Great Radish Caper | Matt encounters a traditional group of "Schuhplattler" dancers in Bavaria, and misinterprets their "odd behavior" to be countering a bug infestation, which is only confirmed by the audience's "odd swatting" (also known as applause). Note: An English version of this postcard appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel in 2011. |
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Episode 322: Gunge the Great and Glorious | Traveling through the Alps, Matt discovers that the Silly Creatures more and more aggressively decorate nature (litter), and disapproves of the trend. Notes: |
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Episode 404: Uncle Matt's Discovery | This adventure is almost identical to the American English version, though it features a different Doc, naturally: As Matt returns to Fraggle Rock he encounters Doc spray-painting primer on a garden gnome and thinks he is face-erasing. Note: This adventure was not shared via a postcard. |
Miscellaneous | ||
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Australia | Traveling Matt visits a great Australian Barbecue. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Australia | Matt thinks ketchup is some kind of food paint. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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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. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Australia | Matt gets involved with a rugby scrum. This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Australia | Matt sees Silly Creatures waving away flies and thinks it is a kind of sign language. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Third Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Australia | Matt observes Silly Creatures feeding parrots who land on their heads. He believes them to be noisy, colorful hats. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Third Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Australia | Traveling Matt goes sheep herding, and gets locked up with the sheep in the process. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Australia | Traveling Matt marvels at sunbathers. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Australia | Traveling Matt goes waterskiing. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Australia | Matt encounters an airplane, and boards it for Australia. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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New Zealand | Matt gets his face painted by Maoris. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Third Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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New Zealand | Traveling Matt meets a group of Maori dancers. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus. |
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United Kingdom | Matt learns about the sport cricket. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus. |
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United Kingdom | Matt watches scullers and notices how they all obey the Silly Creature at the end of the boat. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Third Season DVD bonus. |
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United Kingdom | Matt "meets" a medieval suit of armor. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Third Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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United Kingdom | Matt encounters some punks dancing on the sidewalk like Fraggles. They dress him up like them. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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United Kingdom | Matt attends a garden party, where Silly Creatures dress even sillier than usual. He attempts to blend in by adding flowers to his outfit, but a woman then adds him to her hat. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Zambia | Traveling Matt visits an African market. He sees the local Silly Creatures carrying fruit on their heads and thinks these are hats. However, when he tries putting a bunch of bananas on his head, he finds he can't support the weight. Note: This postcard also appeared as a Second Season DVD bonus, and on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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Unknown | Traveling Matt visits a geyser. Note: This postcard also appeared on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel. |
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.
Back to the Rock[]
In the 2022 Fraggle Rock reboot series Back to the Rock, Matt returns to embark on another journey into Outer Space. Only this time, along with the usual postcards, he sends "artifacts" back from his travels in packages that Gobo retrieves. As the first season progresses, they are stored in a museum made in his honor in Rock Shelf Cave.
| Picture | Episode | Description |
|---|---|---|
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Episode 101: Pilot | After an adventure to retrieve his backpack, Matt requests that Gobo comes with him. He declines and chooses to stay back at home. He and his friends bid Matt farewell as he ventures into Outer Space alone. |
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Episode 102: Red and the Big Jump | Matt comes across a recycling bin filled with cardboard boxes, mistaking them for gifts for him. He then goes into one and gets taken by the recycling garbage truck. He sends the Fraggles some bubble wrap, believing it to be a "clear crystal cloak." |
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Episode 103: The Merggle Moon Migration | Matt enters an ice rink and sees a group of kids ice skating. He attempts to "save" them, and ends up riding on a Zamboni, thinking it's some kind of ferocious beast. He brings back some ice from the rink (calling it "silly slippy"), but has already melted by the time Gobo opens the package. |
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Episode 104: The Glow | While wandering a beach, Matt discovers a plastic water bottle, which he and the Fraggles call a "bizzle." |
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Episode 105: Four Wembleys and a Birthday | Matt finds a Mexican restaurant which he chooses to celebrate his birthday at. Someone is celebrating his birthday there, and Matt mistakes it for them celebrating his birthday. He sends back to the Fraggles some tortilla chips, which he mistakes as "party favors." |
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Episode 106: The Legend of Icy Joe | At a ski resort, Matt goes "sledding" in the cafeteria on a tray. He sends back to the Fraggles that same tray. |
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Episode 107: Flight of the Flutterflies | Missing being away from home on New Day's Day, Matt wants to find some version of that in Outer Space. He then finds a girl who introduces him to blowing bubbles. He sends back the bubble wand (without any bubble solution). |
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Episode 108: Craggle Lagoon | Matt finds himself in an office building, mistaking it for a vacation spot. He sends back a trash bin, believing it to be a giant cup. |
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Episode 109: The Giggle Gaggle Games | Matt is at a dog park, and tries to connect with one of the dogs. He succeeds using a tennis ball, which he calls "The Orb of Understanding" and sends it to the Fraggles. |
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Episode 110: Wembley the Spokesfraggle | Matt visits a department store. He sends back a bottle of whipped cream, which he mistakes for a can of spray-on hair that he sees an ad for in the store. |
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Episode 111: Deep Dive | Matt visits an airfield and goes skydiving, much to his horror. |
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Episode 112: Into the Trash | Matt visits a concert where the Foo Fighters are performing. Note: This segment continues before the credits where the Foo Fighters perform "Fraggle Rock Rock." |
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Episode 113: All of Us | Matt returns home, but is trapped by Sprocket, who intends on giving him to Doctor Doc. Eventually though, he lets his guard down to help her, and Matt escapes back into the hole while bringing back a camera (calling it a "lookie cookie") that broke loose. |
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Episode 114: Night of the Lights | Matt observes various silly creature winter holidays, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Diwali. He believes them all to be silly creature variants of the Fraggle winter holiday, the Night of the Lights, as they all involve families gathering around lights. |
Merchandise[]
- A set of Fraggle Rock puzzles by Holdson produced in 1984 feature a series of original postcards with letters from Matt accompanying photos of points of interest around the world.
Sources[]
- ↑ User:Dr._Elton_John_Don'tshoot
- ↑ Mike Quinn's Facebook (private link)