There sure are a lot of Muppet uncles. I get it. Uncle’s are the best! Purely by chance, I happen to be writing this review a few days after my Uncle Alan passed away, so maybe I’m just a bit sentimental towards them. But having had amazing uncles (shoutout to my two remaining, Uncle Paul and Uncle Craig!) and being an uncle myself to 3 awful children (I love them so much) I can attest that sometimes they’re better than parents. Listen, I love my Mum whole heartedly, but in the last 2 years since my father passed away, Uncle Al was the guy I got all my advice from. And I’m the guy my niece went to when she got her heart broken, a full two weeks before she told her parents. So let’s give it up for the good uncles of the world, because they deserve it.

So Gobo’s asked Storyteller Fraggle for the tale of how Uncle Matt became Uncle Travelling Matt, which she’s more than happy to tell because she’s a real creep about that guy. Young Matt used to look up to his Uncle Gobo (Boy, this review is going to get confusing with all these Matt’s and Gobo’s) but Uncle Gobo was kind of a jerk, not like those good uncles I mentioned earlier. Instead of being cool and supportive, Uncle Gobo instead told his nephew that he had rocks in his head and not to follow his dreams. Dick move, bro.

Luckily, Uncle Matt is a moron, so he doesn’t see any of these comments as negative. Instead he just gets on with what he believes to be his destiny! Even if that means accidentally breaking the Storyteller’s stick in the process! But because he’s such an innocent soul, he takes full responsibility for his actions. Did he learn this from his Uncle Gobo? Look, maybe? Sure, Uncle Gobo is a jerk, but he seems to at least know right from wrong, just maybe not when it comes to shaping young minds. That said, man, Young Matt is super annoying, so I’d probably try to sneak away from him sometimes too.

Young Matt’s utter incompetence leads Uncle Gobo to hurt his ankle, meaning a starving Fraggle Rock is unable to find more mushrooms to eat. Yes, mushrooms. Long before radishes, the Fraggles were eating mushrooms, which doesn’t make sense, because Uncle Gobo doesn’t seem like much of a fungi. Hold for applause.

Forced to start rationing Doozer sticks, the Fraggles begin to panic, leading Young Matt to offer his services, but only if his uncle thinks he’s ready. Misconstruing Uncle Gobo’s demands to leave him alone, Young Matt takes off to serve his fellow Fraggles! His wild erratic behaviour leads him to the garden of The Gorgs, for the very first time! I remember them from the other episodes! In doing so, he discovers radishes, saving the Rock and all of its inhabitants!

So for all his faffing about, it turns out Young Matt, and by extension, Uncle Travelling Matt, is actually the best thing to ever happen to Fraggle Rock. Runner up to Barry Blueberry in Back to the Rock. Which is a good life lesson to us all – try to impress your uncles, even if they’re jerks who don’t deserve you. Because maybe, just maybe, you’ll save the world. Or at least, you might discover a portal to a secret land.

Strongest Moment: Though not a moment, Dave Goelz gets to play Young Matt in an entirely different way, yet he still feels like the Uncle Travelling Matt we know.

Weakest Moment: The constant belittling of Young Matt by Uncle Gobo got a little bit old. Again, maybe I’m just lucky I’ve had good uncles.

MVF (Most Valuable Fraggle): Young Matt is annoying but a superstar.

First Appearance Of…: Uncle Gobo, who appears again later in ‘The Riddle of Rhyming Rock’.

Musical Highlight: We get two versions of the classic ‘Follow Me’, both much more upbeat. They’re fun!

Coolest Puppetry Effect: At one stage Young Matt uses a pickaxe to climb up a rock as the camera zooms in. I found myself wondering if Dave Goelz had had to initially duck and then rise up, or if he would have had to step on boxes to achieve that.

Fraggle Lore: Uncle Travelling Matt discovered the hole to the Gorg’s garden and bought radishes for his people! Whether they like him or not, you can’t deny the man was important.

One More Thing…: During the battle with Young Matt, Pa Gorg shouts ‘Where’s Junior when you need him!?’ forever confusing me with how Gorg’s age. (Junior turned 500 in Back to the Rock).

Okay, One More Thing…: Seriously, if you have an uncle or two you really like, give them a call. Coz one day they might not be around. Thanks for the laughs, Uncle Alan!