Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop Challenge Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop Challenge is a that debuted on SyFy on Tuesday , March 25 , 2014 . The show , previously announced as " The Jim Henson Creature Shop " , is based around the Creature Shop in Los Angeles . Hosted by Gigi Edgley ( of " Farscape " fame ) , the contestants participated in challenges involving the different aspects of mechanical creature and puppet building and creation . The contestants competed for a $ 100 , 000 prize and a contract job for Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop . Brian Henson served as the lead judge on the series along with Creature Shop veteran Kirk Thatcher and Beth Hathaway ( former designer at Stan Winston studios , who worked on " The Walking Dead " ) . Designers Peter Brooke , John Criswell and Julie Zobel served as mentors on the series . Guest judges in the first season also included Neville Page and Barry Sonnenfeld . The series only ran for one season . Description . From Syfy ' s press release : Episodes . Episode 1 : What Lies Underneath . The ten creature - making contestants arrived on at the Jim Henson Company Lot and are greeted by host Gigi Edgley and head - judge Brian Henson . Brian informs the bright - eyed contestants that one lucky winner will receive an exclusive contract to work with the Creature Shop and gives them their first " Creature Brief " . The contestants were challenged to envision a world that man has never seen , three miles below the surface of the ocean . The contestants were broken into five teams of two contestants , and those teams were tasked with designing a full - body creature that might be spotted on that ocean floor for the very first time as a sub ' s searchlight falls upon it . Their mentor for the competition was Pete Brooke . Alice Dinnean , Nameer El - Kadi , Drew Massey , Misty Rosas , and Michelan Sisti were the featured puppeteers . Creatures : Episode 2 : Return of the Skeksis . The " Creature Brief " for this week is to create their own Skeksis from the world of " The Dark Crystal " . These original Skeksis characters were creatures banished from the castle to three distant environments , and have now been called back to the castle . Working in teams of three , the contestants were given three days to create their creature . Julie Zobel mentors the contestants . In addition to building their Skeksis , each team member would also be working to help operate the creature in the screen test along with their puppeteer . Alice Dinnean , Drew Massey , and Victor Yerrid were the featured puppeteers . Creatures : Episode 3 : Assembly Inspired . The contestants meet in the Apex Electronics scrap yard for their " Creature Brief . " The contestants were to envision a creature that had been disguising itself in scrap heap materials for so long , it was now part creature , part scrap . For the screen test , the contestants were to present their scrapyard creatures captured , held in a cage , and desperate to escape . However , no puppeteers would be allowed inside the cage ; the creature had to be operated from outside the cage . The contestants were put in teams of two for the challenge and each team was given $ 500 and an hour to buy scrap from the scrapyard for their creature build . John Criswell mentored the contestants in their build . Alice Dinnean , Artie Esposito , Sean Johnson , Drew Massey , Michael Oosterom , and Victor Yerrid were the featured puppeteers alongside the contestants . Russ and Jake ' s creature was deemed the least effective of the creatures . However , before the judges were able to announce who would be eliminated , Josh stepped forward and resigned from the competition . He said he did not want to uproot his family if he were to win the competition and was offered a job at the Creature Shop ; he stated that he did not want to take the opportunity away from the other contestants and bowed out . Creatures : Episode 4 : Heads Up ! For the first time , the contestants work solo to build a creature . The " Creature Brief " tasks the contestants with creating a fantasy creature that has been slain and is mounted on a wizard ' s wall . The creatures would come back to life to tell how it died , and how it felt about its fate . Peter Brooke mentored the contestants on their creature designs and development . Donald Faison appeared at the screen test to play the wizard opposite the creatures . Julianne Buescher , Alice Dinnean , Artie Esposito , Drew Massey , Michelan Sisti , Colleen Smith , and Victor Yerrid served as the puppeteers . Creatures : Episode 5 : Life in Motion . Brian Henson shows the contestants the large - scale Unicorn puppet from Lady Gaga ' s " Born This Way Ball " World Tour . The contestants were teamed up in pairs to design and build a large - scale creature , which came to life more through its movement rather than by its appearance . The creatures were to be painted in UV paint so they would come alive under blacklight and hide the puppeteers who could be otherwise visible . The believability of the creatures ' movement was the most important factor . In a change from the show ' s normal procedures , the contestants would be able to meet with their professional puppeteers before starting their build and additional rehearsals with the puppeteers were allowed . John Criswell mentored the contestants . Alice Dinnean , Nameer El - Kadi , and Drew Massey were the professional puppeteers . Creatures : Episode 6 : Swamp Things . Gigi takes the contestants to the Sound Stage , where Brian Henson and the art department were hard at work setting the stage for this week ' s challenge . Brian gives them their " Creature Brief " — the designers were to build an organic creature that lives within its natural environment . For this individual challenge the contestants each chose an element from different areas of the set to use in the construction of their creature - grass , mossy rock , gnarly wood , lily pads , and weeping junipers . Julie Zobel served as the Creature Shop master on hand this week . Neville Page ( " Face Off " ) served as a guest judge for the challenge alongside the series ' three regular judges . Artie Esposito , Sean Johnson , Drew Massey , Michael Oosterom , Michelan Sisti , Allan Trautman and Victor Yerrid were the featured puppeteers . Creatures : Episode 7 : Alien Press Conference . Gigi brought her " Farscape " co - star Rygel to the workshop to offer inspiration when the creature designers when they were given the task to build an original alien species . The Creature Brief challenged the contestants to design and build a new alien life form . These aliens were to be intergalactic diplomats on their way to an intergalactic press conference and have to travel incognito . Brian Henson explained that the aliens were to have a large outer head , which opened in a clever way to reveal the creature ' s true inner head . Pete Brooke served as the Creature Shop master , and the designers worked on individual builds over just three days . Director Barry Sonnenfeld ( " Men in Black " ) served as a guest judge alongside the series ' regular judges . Alice Dinnean , Nameer El - Kadi , Artie Esposito , Sean Johnson , Drew Massey , Michelan Sisti , Allan Trautman , and Victor Yerrid served as puppeteers . Creatures : Episode 8 : Tavern at the Crossroads . After meeting one - by - one with Brian Henson in his office , the final three contestants receive their final " Creature Brief " which is to design , build , and perform a full - bodied mystical creature that meets other creatures at a tavern at the mystical crossroads to tell their story . The designers also have to make some props associated with their creature ' s story and also perform some special effect . In order to complete the task in just three days , the final three contestants received help from the contestants who were previously eliminated . Robert was assisted by Russ and Ivonne while Pete Brooke served as a mentor ; Ben was assisted by Tina and Jake while Julie Zobel served as mentor ; and Melissa was assisted by Chaz and Lex with John Criswell as mentor . Melissa ' s creature included the special effect of being able to smoke a pipe , Ben ' s creature was able to cry , and Robert ' s creature featured a sneering and sneezing effect . In addition to the three judges ( Kirk Thatcher , Beth Hathaway , and Brian Henson ) , the audience for the screen test also included Lisa Henson , all three Creature Shop masters , the eliminated contestants , and Henson Company employees and family members . The creatures were each operated by the assisting designers along with professional puppeteers - including Allan Trautman , Michelan Sisti , Drew Massey , and Victor Yerrid . In the end , Robert was chosen as the winner of Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop Challenge and became the newest employee of Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop . Creatures :