Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Genre Character of the Week: Gobo Fraggle



Airing from 1983 to 1987 (or if you will, from my seventh through eleventh years), Fraggle Rock was one of my favourite television shows growing up.   The story involves a group of subterranean creatures called Fraggles, who on one end of their caves connect with our world and on the other connect with a world of giants (who consider Fraggles a delicacy).  Aimed for children, the series had a large focus on the ideas of friendship and cooperative play, and from my point of view, was just about the best thing you could be watching on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation any day of the week.
 
Unlike certain other friends of mine, who enjoyed the four “lesser-Fraggles” of the series, I was, and will always be, a huge fan of the greatest Fraggle of them all, Gobo.
 
Unlike his artsy, depressed, angry, or scared (and Hawaiian-shirt wearing) friends, Gobo was a level-headed, well-meaning young Fraggle, who kept up a written correspondence with his Uncle Matt and was often required to get his friends out of trouble.  Also he was brave and could play the guitar (or the tiny, gourd-based Fraggle version of a guitar), so he was pretty darn cool, which to my young mind, was all he needed to be.

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