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Gobo Fraggle has finally made his way from Fraggle Rock to Kyle Meredith With…, and the ’80s kid in all of us can breathe a little easier now. The legendary explorer stops by to talk about The First Snow of Fraggle Rock, the new Apple TV special that sends him above ground for inspiration, self-doubt, and the holiday season’s first musical spark. Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Get Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock LIVE Tickets Here
Gobo admits he’d never hit creative gridlock quite like this year’s “rock block.” “It kind of freaked me out, honestly, because I’ve never had that happen before,” he says. Even venturing into our world rattled him a bit: “It’s very loud and bright and big… I was a little scared, honestly.”
The cure wasn’t some mystical ice cavern ritual, but collaboration — both with his Fraggle friends and, unexpectedly, the humans of “outer space,” including internet star Lele Pons. As he put it, “She basically just told me to trust myself and be open to new things,” a pep talk that turned into a duet and eventually the holiday anthem he’d been chasing.
Part two of Kyle’s Fraggle immersion brought in the man behind the explorer — John Tartaglia —who manages to play showrunner, puppeteer, historian, and keeper of the lore without breaking a sweat. Tartaglia carries the legacy of original Gobo performer Jerry Nelson like a compass. “I always try to keep him in my head… I hear his voice in the back of my mind,” he says. And even though he’s the one literally animating the myth, he still gets star-struck. When the team wrote a cameo where he meets Gobo face-to-face, Tartaglia balked — until the script survived several drafts and a network pass. “Then we were shooting it in Canmore with this gorgeous sunset behind us, and suddenly I’m talking to Gobo Fraggle. It was my childhood dream come true,” Tartaglia tells Kyle.
Listen to Gobo Fraggle and John Tartaglia talk about The First Snow of Fraggle Rock, and more in the new episode above or by watching the video below. You can also watch the trailer for the special ahead. What’s more, Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock LIVE is back on the road next year, and you can get tickets here.
Keep up on all the latest episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… on your favorite podcast platform; plus, check out all the series on the Consequence Podcast Network.