Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge
Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge is an American reality television game show on the Syfy cable network. It premiered on March 25, 2014 and ended on May 13, 2014. Plot. A group of Creature Designers compete against each other to create puppets and animatronics such as those found in science fiction, comedy and kids' and family shows. Actress Gigi Edgley from Jim Henson's "Farscape" serves as the show's host. The judges will critique the creature designs that the contestants make where the featured puppeteers will perform the creatures on the Henson  Sound Stage. The contestants wait in the screening room for the verdict and the least worthy contestant will be eliminated by Brian Henson. The winner gets prize money and a contract to work with Jim Henson's Creature Shop for a combined total of $100,000. Judges. The judges for this show consist of: Mentors. The show also features mentorship from the Creature Shop's staff ranging from: Contestants. Source Reception. Reviews. In a review of the series' premiere episode, Newsday rated it with an A−, saying: "We don't just watch art being made, we come to understand the  process." Entertainment Weekly awarded it an "A" rating, calling it "Wildly refreshing…" and saying "...you've never seen a reality show like this." While TV Guide's Matt Roush complained the series often felt like a copy of Face Off, he concluded: "What Creature Shop may lack in originality it makes up for in creative energy. The climactic "Screen Test" reveals are fun to watch, and the critiques are smartly constructive." Ratings. Upon its premiere on March 25, 2014, Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge became Syfy's highest-rated unscripted premiere among Adults 25-54 since July 2013. During  the premiere broadcast, the series averaged 1.12 million total viewers, excluding DVR viewing. Proving especially strong among female demographics, the series was Syfy's highest-rated Tuesday night reality premiere ever among Women 25-54.