RECOMMENDED.
Kudos to Netflix and the Henson company. They did NOT halfass this.
The puppetry fits *almost* seamlessly with that of the original movie… just better. There is substantial CGI here, but it is for the most part “invisible” CGI: the deletion of puppeteers and the like. There is also the addition of CGI tongues for the Skeksis… it works, but it’s a noticeable change. The story is good; it’s a prequel set years before the original movie when the Gelfling civilization is still a going concern. The story is not terribly silly, though there is some of that; instead, it is surprisingly dark at times. Death appears with some regularity. And of course there’s the knowledge hanging over the viewers heads that no matter what these characters do, they and their civilization are doomed. Sometime soon will come a genocide and the near-extinction (and perhaps eventual full extinction) of their race.
The voice acting was good. Simon Pegg – “Shaun of the Dead” – does a pretty good Chamberlain; Mark Hamill sounds different from the original “Scientist,” but that’s ok… he turns in a great semi-Joker performance. And the voice actress for Aughra is as spot-on as physically possible.
After the last episode is a “making of special” included in that is a 2016 screen test showing a puppet Skeksi and a CGI Gelfling… and, man, good thing they said “how about we just stick to puppets.”
Basically, if you liked the original, it’s a safe bet you’ll be pleased with this series. Here’s hoping it gets a few more seasons to finish the story they’re trying to tell. It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger as such, but it’s still far from being complete.