But with The Dark Crystal, instead of puppetry we're trying to go toward a sense of realism - toward a reality of creatures that are actually alive and we're mixing up puppetry and all kinds of other techniques.

Actually the copies of characters is something I don't particularly like to talk about in articles but just for your information, most characters there's only one.

We thought it would be fun to try to design a show that would work well internationally and so that' s what we're intending to do with Fraggle Rock, and we are indeed now selling it around the world.

At the University of Maryland, my first year I started off planning to major in art because I was interested in theatre design, stage design or television design.

No, there's not much competition between puppeteers in general because everybody's working their own style.

But with The Dark Crystal, instead of puppetry we're trying to go toward a sense of realism - toward a reality of creatures that are actually alive and we're mixing up puppetry and all kinds of other techniques.

If you're doing a large, complicated character with radio controls, it might take a number of people several months to make it and if you're talking about a quick little hand puppet, it could be made in 2 days, so there's enormous range there, and no real easy generalities.

You're assisting the audience to understand; you're giving them a bridge or an access. And if you don't give them that, if you keep it more abstract, it's almost more pure. It's a cooler thing.

At the time of Polaroid - and I did a couple of other commercials just before I stopped doing that stuff - at that point I was at the level where they respect you and your opinion and all that sort of thing.

It's into the same bag as E.T. and Yoda, wherein you're trying to create something that people will actually believe, but it's not so much a symbol of the thing, but you're trying to do the thing itself.

Yeah, we pretty much had a form and a shape by that time - a style - and I think one of the advantages of not having any relationship to any other puppeteer was that it gave me a reason to put those together myself for the needs of television.

NBC was trying to convert all of their local programming to color right away to encourage the sale of the sets, so I barely remember working in black and white, although I do know that I did do it, but there was not a major difference, though.

The most sophisticated people I know - inside they are all children.

Yeah, I think we did the term Muppets before we got the show Sam and Friends - a few months after I started working.

My hope still is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here.

Yeah, I did some small parts in high school and the first year of college and then fairly soon thereafter I settled into the backstage scenery, and then at the University of Maryland I was doing posters for their productions.

When The Muppet Show ended, we all sat around and said, what kind of television show would we like to do. We felt the need these days are for some quality children's programming.

When I was a kid, I never saw a puppet show. I never played with puppets or had any interest in them.

It has always been difficult to get Big Bird to be very pretty. Big Bird in England is much more gorgeous.

I do remember doing shows strictly in black and white, too, so you're right.

There was a little afternoon show that was called Afternoon. Back in those days in television, most local stations had a midday show for housewives that had a series of things. It was like a variety show for midday.

I've never felt any sense of competition with anybody, and we're all friends; we're all good friends.

I think my own strengths are in television production.

Well, Detroit Institute is kind of a key - probably the largest permanent collection of puppets in the US.

Somebody like a Piggy or a Kermit, there needs to be several versions and so there will be several of them.

When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there.

And also there wasn't much money in television in those days anyhow.

I was very interested in theatre, mostly in stage design. I did a little bit of acting.

Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.

Yeah, well when I first started working, it was $5 a show; it was probably a little higher by the time I got to my own show, but I remember that they put me under contract at $100 a week, which to me was really an astronomical price.

I decided that what I really wanted to do was go off and paint.

If anything, there's a difference in working with color in England and the color in the US.

Life's like a movie; write your own ending, keep believing, keep pretending.

Life's like a movie; write your own ending, keep believing, keep pretending...

Kids don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.

Theres not a word yet for old friends whove just met.

The most sophisticated people I know inside they are all children.

If you care about what you do and work hard at it, there isn't anything you can't do if you want to.

Watch out for each other. Love everyone and forgive everyone, including yourself. Forgive your anger. Forgive your guilt. Your shame. Your sadness. Embrace and open up your love, your joy, your truth, and most especially your heart.

There's not a word yet for old friends who've just met.

There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.

Television is basically teaching whether you want it to or not.

I only understand realism.

But with The Dark Crystal, instead of puppetry we're trying to go toward a sense of realism - toward a reality of creatures that are actually alive and we're mixing up puppetry and all kinds of other techniques.

You achieve the surreal jokes through the realism by making it elastic.

I hate that which we have decided to call realism, even though I have been made one of its high priests.

We need realism to deal with reality.

My mother learned that she was carrying me at about the same time the Second World War was declared; with the family talent for magic realism, she once told me she had been to the doctor's on the very day.

Without any intended hubris, I've lead a pretty exciting life. What I've tried to do in Mission Compromised is draw on those experiences to create a sense of excitement and realism within the story.