When I saw comedy icon and honorary Texas gal Ruth Buzzi had passed away at age 88 this weekend, the first thing that came to my mind wasn’t Laugh-In or her many movie appearances, but a rather obscure Sid and Marty Krofft Saturday morning children’s show she did with Jim Nabors called The Lost Saucer.
The premise was a couple of alien robots, Fi and Fum, played by Buzzi and Nabors, who let a kid and his babysitter onboard their spaceship..and accidentally kidnaps them. There were some lessons in taking care of the Earth and the dangerous over-dependence of technology. It was peak 70s. And it was so weird, it burned itself into my memories.
When Gen X kids were watching our Saturday Morning ‘toons, it was hard not to run across a Sid and Marty Krofft Production. These brothers, whose real names were Cydus and Moshopopoulos Yolas — I kid you not — were known for their exaggerated, large scale fantasy world puppetry. There were several stand-alone shows, and many short features tossed into their Krofft Supershow that ran into the 80s. The also contributed some of their freaky creatures to the novelty variety shows hosted by the likes of Donnie and Marie Osmond, the Bay City Rollers and the Mandrell Sisters.
As a kid in the 70s, you were sorta half-fascinated and half-frightened (well, mostly frightened) by these creatures and their adventures. Later as teens we would talk about how these just HAD to have been created when these guys were trippin’ on acid or weed. I mean, come on H.R. Pufnstuf? How can that not be a trip? I don’t think they were, but it sure seemed like a weird trip when we were a 7-year-old watching them.
Do you remember these crazy Krofft creations:
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
The Stuart brothers, one with the quintessential White boy 70s fro, try to hide their newfound sea monster buddy who resembles a big mound of seaweed, from his family. The reluctant sea monster refuses to scare people and that’s a no-no in the Sea Monster world. Billy Barty portrayed Sigmund, which is also about as 70s as you can get.
The Banana Splits
Part Monkees, part Laugh-In, Part Archies…..and part Five Nights at Freddies in the creepy factor. Sid and Marty Krofft created the costumes for this Hanna Barbera variety show. The animal band consisting of Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky, was like a psychedelic freak-in for kindergarteners. Yes, the “Tra-La-La” Song was catchy and the little “Banana Buggies” looked fun to tool around on, but the hippie Chuck-E-Cheese factor was so big, a legit horror slasher movie was made based on them in 2019.
Land of the Lost
If there was a GOAT of Sid and Marty Krofft when we were kids. It was the adventures of the Marshall family stuck in an alternate world of dinosaurs, ape-people, and of course the lizard monsters, the Sleestak. This one had some sci-fi biggies contribute to writing episodes back in the day like Ben Bova and Larry Niven. It also inspired a Nickelodeon remake in the early 90s and a forgettable Will Ferrell movie in 2009.
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
The Krofft answer to both Wonder Woman and Batman and Robin, were short episodes created as part of The Krofft Supershow. It starred Diedre Hall of Days of Our Lives fame in the title role, and although it only aired about 16 episodes it amassed a weird cult following. The blatant Batman borrowing was hilarious. The lair was the ElectraBase, and they drove the ElectraCar, while using their ElectraComs for pretty much everything. There has been a straight to digital movie in 2016, and a web series inspired by this show. There is also never-released pilot for a more raunchy reboot starring Markie Post as Electra Woman out there somewhere. The credits in this opening sequence are so cheesy it makes the 1966 Adam West Batman look like a Christopher Nolan movie.
Kaptain Kool and the Kongs
I have to give one more mention to the Krofft Supershow, because it created its own band who served as the official entertainment for the in-between segments of the show. They lasted two seasons, and went for a more cartoony rip off of KISS, to a more respectable denim-clad 70s ensemble. They even released an album. Frontman Kaptain Kool was Emmy winning actor and director Michael Lembeck, but really the only notable musicians of the gang were former Three Dog Night drummer Mickey McMeel as Turkey and guitarist Bert Sommer, s singer songwriter who had performed his set at Woodstock. They did get to perform on American Bandstand one time to give them some legitimacy. Still, if you’re music collection includes The Brady Bunch and Partridge Family, you might have some of their tunes.
Sleepy-eyed and sugar-filled, children of the 70s and early 80s got their fill of entertainment on Saturday mornings. Some classic and some not-so-great. Yet it is hard to get the trippy colorful visions of the Krofft shows out of the recesses of our dreams…and nightmares.
