Whereas Brea’s Vapra kingdom is the supreme leader, Deet’s underground community of Grottans are looked down on as the least of their species. With ten hours at their disposal, show runners Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews have ample time to not only flesh out the seven clans, but establish their hierarchy. We only observed crumbling relics of the Gelfling kingdoms in the Henson film, when Kira sits in a throne once occupied by her female ancestors. All the while, the Skeksis reign over the Gelfling, who blindly follow their overlords with misguided faith-that is, until the truth ignites the first sparks of resistance. Modeled by Henson after the Seven Deadly Sins and endowed with a ferocious appetite for power, the Skeksis harness the Crystal to drain Thra of its essence, triggering the emergence of a force known as “the Darkening” that has begun to enshroud the planet, causing all life to either decay or go mad. What unites these disparate characters is their need to uncover the mysterious origin of the Skeksis, grotesque monsters who Aughra unwisely entrusted with Thra’s life force, the Crystal of Truth. Brea (Alice Dinnean) is the youngest princess in the most revered of the Gelfling kingdoms, whose unslakable curiosity and penchant for burying her nose in library books has her poised for a life of defiance. The warrior Rian (Neil Sterenberg) and soulful Deet (Beccy Henderson) bear a physical resemblance to Jen and Kira, the would-be Adam and Eve from Henson’s film, yet they emerge as wholly distinctive individuals in their own right. Three of them are Gelfling, each from a different tribe, who set out on separate quests that are destined to intersect. As in “Rogue One,” the tension lies not in the plot’s predetermined outcome, but in the fate of new characters whom we grow to care about deeply.
#THE DARK CRYSTAL NETFLIX SERIES#
Set many years prior to the events of Henson’s original story, the series takes us back to a time when the Gelfling population was abundant and prosperous, with female leaders guiding its seven kingdoms (the girl power on this show is off-the-charts). Though superior to the emotionally hollow “Star Wars” prequels in every sense, “Age of Resistance” does evoke “Rogue One” in how it builds suspense for viewers, even those familiar with the 1982 picture. It’s clear that Henson had desired to craft a classic with a sprawling scope on the order of “ Star Wars,” and that dream has now been fulfilled by his daughter, who was a production assistant on the original film.Įxecutive-produced by Lisa Henson, “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” is, quite simply, one of the all-time great fantasy epics, as well as the masterwork of puppetry most closely aligned with Jim Henson’s humanistic philosophy since his son Brian helmed 1992’s holiday perennial, “ The Muppet Christmas Carol.” It’s only fitting that a fable illustrating the circular nature of life and death would turn the past into the future, as these episodes enable Henson’s 37-year-old film to serve as its grand finale. Yet it was such a departure both in tone and content from Henson’s previous lighthearted offerings that audiences and critics alike didn’t know what to make of the film upon its initial release. I saw it last year on a 70mm print and was blown away by the level of detail occupying every corner of the frame. Though Henson was best known for his work on “Sesame Street” and “The Muppet Show,” the project closest to his heart was “The Dark Crystal,” an awe-inspiring, wildly audacious fantasy populated entirely by cutting-edge puppets. Two years after their triumph with “Julie’s Greenroom,” a sublime children’s series championing arts education, Henson’s daughter Lisa has re-teamed with Netflix to create a ten-part series that serves as a prequel to her father’s most personal project.