The Twelve Episode Series
Episodes 1 to 4
Reviewed by: Stoney Ripley and Terry Angus
(Production Creators and Performers)
Blizzard Island Episode Page episodes 1 to 4
Hi This is Stoney Ripley. When I heard that Terry was doing a web page on Blizzard Island I told him that I would like to write a few words about each episode. I am really glad that I did this because it gave me the chance to rediscover the magic of the show. I am proud to have been a part of Blizzard Island and after watching all twelve episodes again I can say one thing with all assurance. It was a good show and it ended way too soon.
Ok, Terry Angus here. Well Stoney, I may as well put in my two cents of what I remember of the series for which we created and performed in.
Episode one: Of Necklace's and Things
written by:
Bp Nichol, Andrew Cochrane, Terry Angus, Stoney Ripley
Directed by: George Bloomfield
Original Air Date: December 11, 1988
Soon after discovering an old family heirloom called The Necklace Of Argon Tracey and her brother Wayne are magically transported to Blizzard Island where they set off on a quest to find the Great Argon and help save that world and ours from dying.
Stoney Ripley:
This was the second attempt at an Introductory pilot and was much improved from the pilot shot the year before. I like this episode very much and to me it ranks among the series best. I especially like the interplay between Sir Python and Sydney the Witch. The scenes at the lighthouse were a lot of fun for Terry and myself because it involved two characters each in one scene. Another scene that stands out in this episode is one quick wide shot of Tracey, Wayne and Rog at Argon's throne. The director wanted to see Rog's legs in a wide shot. As I recall it took an entire afternoon to shoot what amounted to maybe 3 seconds of tape. However, the final shot was very effective and well worth it.Terry Angus:
I say let's do it again. Ok, it was good but I liked the humor in the first pilot better. However, the budget was better and our effects were right on the money this time around. An interesting little piece of trivia to come out of this episode is at the end. We did a scene that did not make it into the final edit of this episode but ends up put back in for the Movie "Argon's Quest". Sidney, Python and Molcaster have gotten untied from Sir Python's coils. Sidney threatens that if her path ever crosses his again there will be trouble. While she is ranting and raving Sir Python and Molcaster do not hear her. Instead they make plans to move into Argon's old castle.
Episode Two: The Battlefield Of The Gods
Written By: Paul Ledoux
Directed by: Wayne Moss
Original Air date: December 18, 1988
Tracey and Wayne's quest leads them to the Battlefield of The Gods, a barren boulder covered wasteland where magic does not work. With the help of a strange creature named Clea our heroes once again thwart Sydney the Witch's plans to steal the necklace of Argon and continue on their journey.
Stoney Ripley:
A very entertaining episode that was a lot of fun to shoot. I really like the special effects used in the marble playing sequence. The tea party scene still brings a smile to my face for a couple of reasons. First, it's the line delivered by Rog after he discovers that he is being fooled by Uncle Eggbert. "You horrible head!" always makes me laugh. I also get a kick out of the blooper in the tea party scene. In one shot you can see Terry's entire head as he performs Sydney The Witch. I must add that this is entirely the director's mistake as he was shooting with two cameras but only gave the puppeteers one shot in our monitors as we performed.
Terry Angus:
I remember the problem Stoney is talking about here. I remember having a hard time with this shot. This by the way was not Wayne Moss's mistake; it was George Bloomfield's mistake. George directed all of the Lighthouse scenes for the whole series. Wayne directed the rest of the episode. When I worked with The Jim Henson Company on Fraggle Rock and other Muppet specials it was indeed shot with one or two cameras. The performers would see the shot in their monitors set up on the studio floor. The switcher in the control room would switch from one camera to the other in our monitors. This way we could better control the puppet and keep our big heads out of the shot. For this episode George for some reason could not switch back and forth in my monitor. This created a problem for me as all I could see in my monitor was one shot. I could not see what the other camera was seeing and when George told me to pull my head back from the shot I couldn't see. My head would show up in my monitor. Then I'd pull my head out of that shot and it showed up back in the other unseen shot....I couldn't win. They used the footage from that shot I couldn't see thus you see my whole forehead in that scene. I remember having great fun working Clea in the show and I used my old Tracey Allen voice that I did for the home video and six minute demo I made. I took the Tracey voice and did it higher so that it would sound like a child and used it for Clea.
Episode Three: Dune Da-Dune, Dune
Written by: Bob Sandler
Directed by: George Bloomfield
Original Air date: December 25, 1988
Tracey and Wayne must help a very sick Rog return to his ancestral sand dunes to save his life. Of course the journey is made very difficult when our heroes are confronted by Sydney the Witch and Sir Python as they attempt to cross Fool's Bridge.
Stoney Ripley:
A wonderful script and a nice performance by Tim Gosley as Rog make this episode the finest of the series in my mind. Ten years after it originally aired I still find the ending very touching and heart warming. However, my favorite scene is the Fool's Bridge sequence because most of it was staged by the puppeteers themselves. If you listen closely you can hear my voice as Sir Python early on in the Fool's Bridge scene. I was standing in for Python because Terry was working Sydney The Witch. The plan was for Terry to dub his voice over my guide track later but somehow it got overlooked and my voice was used in the final cut.
Terry Angus:
This show is the one episode in the whole series that we all love the best. Here's a tidbit blooper for you. Early on in this episode we see Amy Miller's sock foot step on Sir Python as he's hiding under some leaves. I didn't know Tracey Allen ran around Blizzard Island in her sock feet. The scene that Stoney was filling in for me as Python was where Python and Sidney were fighting each other as to who was going to cross "Fool's Bridge" first. They pretty much push and hit each other. I remember Stoney and I having a great time doing that. Tim Gosley was working Molcaster for Stoney in that scene. In anything that Stoney and I have ever worked on if at anytime I needed someone to double for me I've always asked and wanted Stoney to be the one to double for me as we both know how the other thinks and works and it always showed. Another scene that I liked was where I got to play both Sir Python and Sidney in the same scene yelling at each other. First we played the scene without Sidney in the shot with just Sir Python and Molcaster. As Python I would pretend to be watching Sidney pace back and forth talking to her while someone read Sidney's lines to me for Python to react to. Then later the next day I would have Sidney the Witch in front of a big blue screen and she would be matted in the shot we did the other day. That was very fun for me.
Episode Four: Crystals In A Darkling Wood
Written by: Bp Nichol
Directed by: Wayne Moss
Original Air date: January 1, 1989
While Looking for the Great Argon Tracey, Wayne and Rog enter the Thicket Of Night where they are taken prisoner by the NightCrawler, a slimy creature on eight legs who makes them his slaves. Finally with the help of a bumbling Sydney The Witch who is after the huge deposit of Bhok crystals that resides in the Thicket, our heroes manage to escape.
Stoney Ripley:
This is perhaps the poorest effort in the whole series for a couple of reasons. First of all is the poor subplot involving Tracey and Wayne's Mother and her friend trying to stop the consolidation of the local Schools. Also the overall tone of the show was somewhat dark and foreboding. My lasting memory is of the difficulty in performing the NightCrawler puppet. He was very heavy and required three puppeteers to make him come to life. I played the head and did the voice. Terry played both of my front hands and Jamie Bradley worked the Crawler's 6 legs. Not a bad half hour of television but not up to the standards of the previous episode, "Dune Da-Dune, Dune".
Terry Angus:
I agree with Stoney on this episode 100% and more. It was just bad!!!! I remember not liking this show the moment I read it. I remember telling the producer that the mother story just was not going to work That no one was going to care what the mother was doing back home while Tracey and Wayne were on the Island but he said that we should have the audience get to know Isabel Allen. I thought to myself "Borrrrrring". As for the NightCrawler that was not only hard to operate it was darn hard to build! I slapped gobs of rubber text and spray painted the heck out of that sucker. My wife had to put up with NightCrawler sprawled out on our kitchen table for weeks and making all of those legs drove me crazy too. Making leg after leg! EEEEEK!! So Stoney I feel your pain.
