Jim Henson's Animal Show

***Jim Henson's Animal Show*** is a children's television series produced by The Jim Henson Company. The show originally ran for its first two seasons on The Fox Clubhouse from 1994 to 1995; after this, it moved to Animal Planet for its third and final season, which was released on February 18, 1998.

## Plot

The show is hosted by Stinky the Skunk and Jake the Polar Bear in the style of a talk show where they interview two different species of animals per show; some episodes feature only one animal. The interviewees talk about themselves, as video clips are played of real animals of the same species.

## Characters

* **Stinky the Skunk** (performed by Dave Goelz) - the host of the show who always asks the ridiculous questions.
* **Jake the Polar Bear** (performed by Steve Whitmire) - the co-host of the show who always asks the clever questions.
* **Armstrong the Chickenhawk** (performed by Bill Barretta) - the show's expert on birds. He was paired with Ollie the Taper in season one and later with Bunnie the Bear in seasons two and three. Armstrong was normally the straight man/victim in these team-ups.
* **Ollie the Taper** (performed by Karen Prell) - an enthusiastic, nasal-voiced tapir that was paired with Armstrong in season one before being dropped. She would bring in any animal guest that required assistance (mostly the insects).
* **Bunnie the Bear** (performed by Louise Gold) - Jake's cousin who joined the show in season two after Ollie was dropped during production of the show. Like Ollie, Bunnie would bring in any animal guest that required assistance.
* **Yves St. LaRoache** (performed by Mak Wilson in season one, John Eccleston in seasons two and three) - the show's cockroach chef.
* **Tizzy the Bee** (performed by Karen Prell in season one, Louise Gold in season two) - a bee that would pop in to ask Stinky and Jake some animal-related questions. Tizzy was dropped from the show before season three. She was computer-generated.
* **Rhonda Rat** (performed by Louise Gold) - a rodent reporter that joined the show in season three. She often asks any animal backstage animal-related questions.
* **Dullard the Aardvark** (performed by Bill Barretta) - an aardvark that serves as Rhonda's camera operator. His puppet was previously used for Arlene the Aardvark, with the puppet having been designed and built by Jean-Guy White.

## Episode format

A typical episode format includes:

* An opening with Stinky and Jake.
* Ollie (Season 1), Bunnie (Seasons 2 & 3) and Armstrong host "That's Amazing", where they take a look at the fascinating things that animals can do.
* Stinky and Jake interview an animal guest.
* "Baby Talk", a segment with live-action footage of baby animals with the puppeteers dubbing the voices.
* A song plays over the live footage of animals. Seasons 1 and 2 reused songs from previous Jim Henson productions.
* In Seasons 1 and 2, Tizzy pops in to ask Stinky and Jake an animal-related question. In season three, Rhonda Rat: Rodent Reporter asks any animal backstage an animal-related question. Rhonda sends the animal down the trapdoor when she gets annoyed.
* Yves St. La Roache's segments show Yves St. La Roache either preparing an animal-themed meal or how animals eat. An episode's first guest would occasionally appear, especially during the first season.
* Stinky and Jake interview another animal guest in which he or she will sing a song after the interview.
* Ollie (Season 1), Bunnie (Seasons 2 & 3), and Armstrong host "Animal Awards", which shows which animal is best above the rest.
* "Jake's Tale", where Jake tells a story to Stinky (plus Bunnie and Armstrong in the seasons 2 & 3) with live-action animal footage while Jake is narrating the story.
* Ollie (Season 1), Bunnie (Seasons 2 & 3), and Armstrong host "Habitat Time", where they go to where animals live.
* In Seasons 1 & 2, Tizzie pops in again to ask Stinky and Jake another animal-related question. In Season 3, Rhonda asks any animal backstage another animal-related question.
* A closing where Stinky and Jake thank Ollie, Bunnie, Armstrong, Yves, and both animal guests.