The Ghost of Faffner Hall

Plot

Faffner Hall is a music conservatory that was founded by Fughetta Faffner. When Fughetta Faffner passes away, her ghost lurks in Faffner Hall and it is currently run by her great-great-grandnephew Farkus Faffner who hates music. Now, Fughetta must thwart Farkus' plans with the help of Mimi, Riff, and the Wild Impresario. During this time, they meet up with the famous musicians that visit Faffner Hall.

Characters

Main characters

• Fughetta Faffner (performed by Louise Gold) - The main protagonist of the series. She is the founder of Faffner Hall. When she dies, her ghost haunts the halls and ends up having to prevent her great-great-grandnephew Farkus from destroying the halls. Whenever Fughetta hears beautiful music, she ends up solidifying. Fughetta also has the ability to freeze time so that she can fix things in the present.
• Mimi (performed by Karen Prell) - A girl with a Southern accent who is one of the inhabitants of Faffner Hall.
• Riff (performed by Mike Quinn) - A boy who is one of the inhabitants of Faffner Hall. He serves as a second banana to Mimi.
• The Wild Impresario (performed by Richard Hunt) - He is one of the inhabitants of Faffner Hall and the resident piano player.
• Farkus Faffner (performed by Mak Wilson) - The main antagonist of the series who is the current proprietor of Faffner Hall. He is the great-great-grandnephew of Fughetta Faffner who hates music and only cares about money. Farkus has since been making various plans to drive Faffner Hall's inhabitants from Faffner Hall which go horribly awry.
• Faffner Hall Composer Busts - They are the busts of Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and George Frideric Handel. When Fughetta Faffner freezes time, she ends up having to consult with them in order to handle a specific situation.

Guest characters

• Great Uncle Fishknife - Fughetta Faffner's uncle who appeared in "Music Brings Us Together" to help Mimi, Riff, and Wild Impresario get Fughetta Faffner intangible after Farkus found a way to trap her in solid form.

Episodes

Guest Spot: Bobby McFerrin shows that he can express himself using his body. Double bass player Gary Karr and trumpet player Håkan Hardenberger also appear.

Guest Spot: Nigel Kennedy and Joni Mitchell appear where Joni mentioned that she once dated the Wild Impresario

Guest Spot: Riff whistles a riff of his own, then explains where he got it from: a dream he had which includes Mark Knopfler, George Martin, Paddy Moloney and an orchestra of The Frackles playing the tune he whistled as he heard a teakettle. While composing her song, Mimi encounters a wizard named Fish (played by Derek William Dick) to play the melody that she created.

Guest Spot: While hiding in the closet, Piganini encounters a janitor that Piganini claims to resemble Ry Cooder. The janitor gives Piganini the courage to overcome his stage fright and perform at Faffner Hall.

Guest Spot: Back when Faffner Hall was at its peak, Fughetta Faffner recalls when she played a maid in a Spanish opera with Thomas Allen. The Faffner Hall Composer Busts recall to Fughetta about an a capella group they heard on the radio recently called the Electric Phoenix who use their voices as instruments (one of the members even does an imitation of Miss Piggy). Wild Impresario brings up the fact that Marion Montgomery was one of his old friends and was accompanied on the piano by Joseph the Tiger (a recycled version of Butch the Tiger).

Guest Spots: During Fughetta's sound check, the ghostly sounds that Fughetta, Mimi, and Riff here have been coming from H.K. Gruber and his orchestra and the trumpet of Dizzy Gillespie.

Guest Spot: In his quest for junk, Farkas asks the Wild Impresario to show him something about music, so Wild shows him a tape with The Scottish Chamber Orchestra that demonstrates the instruments they play. A saxophone salesman (played by Courtney Pine) comes to Faffner Hall.

Guest Spot: Gil Evans Orchestra and Ladysmith Black Mambazo appear.

Guest Spot: James Taylor performs with the Wild Impresario.

Guest Spot: Thomas Dolby demonstrates the sounds that you can make with a synthesizer. Patrick Moraz is the other musical guest.

Guest Spot: Guest musician Youssou N'Dour shows Fughetta how to communicate with music despite language barriers. Steve Turre plays on seashells with a tourist family of dragons, and Yomo Toro plays his guitar.

Note: David Rudman gives an uncredited performance as the dragon son (played by Earl the Dragon) in the segment with Steve Turre.

Guest Spot: Madame Mumu comes across the room where Los Lobos is performing where Cesar Rosas is finding it hard to adjust to the upbeat mood of the music ever since his girlfriend left him.

Guest Spot: Michala Petri and Robin Williamson appear in this episode.

Cast

Muppet performers

• Richard Coombs as Ray (ep. 2), Piganini (ep. 4), Zookeeper (ep. 5), Mr. Director (ep. 8), Madame Mumu (ep. 12)
• Louise Gold as Fughetta Faffner, Mean Mama (ep. 7)
• Richard Hunt as The Wild Impresario
• Phil Knowles
• Angie Passmore as Zola (ep. 2), Tutie (ep. 2)
• Karen Prell as Mimi
• David Rudman as Dragon Son (ep. 11, uncredited)
• Mike Quinn as Riff
• Bob Smeaton
• Mak Wilson as Farkas Faffner

Special musical guests

• Thomas Allen as himself
• Ry Cooder as Janitor
• Derek William Dick as Fish the Wizard
• Thomas Dolby as himself
• Julia Fordham as herself
• Dizzy Gillespie as himself
• H.K. Gruber as himself
• Håkan Hardenberger as himself
• Gary Karr as himself
• Mark Knopfler as himself
• Nigel Kennedy as himself
• Los Lobos as Themselves
• Paddy Moloney as himself
• George Martin as himself
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo as Themselves
• Bobby McFerrin as himself
• Joni Mitchell as herself
• Marion Montgomery as herself
• Patrick Moraz as himself
• Youssou N'Dour as himself
• Gil Evans Orchestra as Themselves
• Michala Petri as herself
• Electric Phoenix as Themselves
• Courtney Pine as Saxophone Salesman
• Como String Quartet as Peter Bucknell, Hung Le, Peter O'Reilly, Glen Nichols and George Vi
• James Taylor as himself
• Yomo Toro as himself
• Steve Turre as himself
• Robin Williamson as himself
• David Sawyer as himself

Critical reception

Alan Carter of People magazine lamented the absence of classic Muppets characters but otherwise gave the show a brief but favorable review: "This one sings."

References

References

1. Carter, Alan. (September 11, 1989). "Picks and Pans Review: Jim Henson's the Ghost of Faffner Hall". People.