FANS: ROCK ON, FRAGGLES

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Note to obsessive fan sites everywhere: you're being watched. That's what Warrick Brownlow, a fan of the 1980s series "Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock," recently learned. In April 2002 Brownlow launched an online petition, pleading to have the series released on DVD. After garnering more than 30,000 e-signatures, HIT Entertainment, a licensing partner of the Jim Henson Co., announced that this month it would release selected episodes from the first season. "This is the direct result of fan support," says Lauren McCabe, a HIT representative. That's news to Brownlow, who learned of his impact from NEWSWEEK. "Well, that's brilliant," he says. "We knew they were watching us, but we didn't think they'd do anything about it." Studios usually don't, says Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research, though that's beginning to change. Fox's "Family Guy" and Sci-Fi's "Farscape" are both back in production after fans demonstrated considerable support. Henson co-CEO Brian Henson says the studio's now considering filming new "Fraggle" material. Let the petitioning begin.