Sigmund and the Sea Monsters

I remember watching Sigmund and the Sea Monsters on Saturday mornings when I was in my teens and I thought it was one of my favorite shows from the duo of Sid and Marty Krofft. It was a lot different from the Kroffts other shows since there were no psychedelic sets like HR Pufnstuf and it was more of a standard sitcom aimed at a young audience.

What made the show click was the chemistry between Johnny Whitaker and Scott Kolden, who played brothers Johnny and Scott Stewart. They got along so well on and off the set and they have been friends for years. Billy Barty was also outstanding as Sigmund, who was kicked out of his home by his mean sea monster family because he couldn't scare humans. Sigmund's family live in a seaside cave with a shellophone (which was always answered "Shell-o!") and a Shellevision that was powered by an electric eel. Big Daddy, to me, sounded a lot like Archie Bunker. There was also Sweet Mama who tried to keep her husband and Sigmund's rotten twin brothers Blurp and Slurp in check. Those two frequently tried to bring Sigmund back home, but they always failed.

Also adding to the mayhem were Mary Wickes as Zelda, the housekeeper, later replaced by Fran Ryan, Joe Higgins as Sheriff Chuck Bevins and Margaret Hamilton as nosy neighbor Miss Eddels. There were also guest star appearances by Pam Ferdin and Jack Wild.

The first season to me had the best episodes since they focused more on the boys hiding Sigmund and the conflict between Sigmund and his family. Also, Whitaker got to sing in a number of first season episodes as well as the show's opening theme.

But by the second season, the theme song was changed and Whitaker no longer sang on the show. Also, Rip Taylor was added as Sheldon, the Sea Genie and the shark began to jump when the show focused more on Sheldon and Sigmund. After two seasons, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters said farewell to Dead Mans Point.

Well, I watched this show religiously, but at such a young age that as an adult I was unsure of what it was. I was only about three of four when it was on. I used to watch it and then Land of the Lost right afterwards. I did know that I loved the show and that it was about seamonsters but I always thought it was called Simon the Seamonster. I asked around on nostalgic tv show sites but no one seemed to know what I was talking about. Now that i have found the name of the show, I hope I can find copies of it to see. I do recall that it always had the parents I think coming up out of the sea and I remember a mom coming down a stairway to the beach area. That is all I can remember though, but it leaves a happy memory.

Sigmund was a misfit sea monster rejected by his relatives. Seems that he didn't want to scare humans like his folks did! A couple of boys come across Sigmund on the beach. They're scared at first, but Sigmund proves to be a great friend. Problem is, the boys have to hide him from everyone else. This is not an easy task, as Sigmund's relatives keep popping up to cause havoc. I don't think this Krofft show is a popular as the others they created, but it was a pleasant half-hour of TV on Saturday mornings.

Though this one wasn't as trippy as the previous shows the Kroffts produced. The first season was especially good because it pretty much focused on Sigmund's relationship with Johnny and Scott. However, they blew it in the second season when they introduced Rip Taylor as Sigmund's gennie Sheldon and then things went really downhill the third season when they introduced Sheldon's nephew Shelby, played by Sparky Marcus. However, this show was pretty decent and quite enjoyable.

Like Scooby Doo's Scooby Snacks, the Krofft shows will always be drug-related when they are seen and re-discovered.

No one watches Sesame Street or the Muppets and recalls drug usage.

I for one think you could have watched Sixty Minutes back then and been stoned and thought 'far out.' I have just converted my Krofft shows that I recorded off Tvland to DVD and watched them again.

Sigmund was quite a standout, I thought, mainly for the Ooze family and Mary Wickes as Aunt Zelda, but the whole Johnny Whitaker thing had me shaking my head.

Like Ron Howard, Whitaker was likable, but the show often placed Whitaker as a cool kid, which he certainly wasn't. When he does behavior for his age, he works, and he speaks very well to adults, such as Wickes, but his singing? Who thought he could sing? The songs are amazing copy-right infringes on the Beach Boys "California Girls" and the Beatles "Got to Get You Into My Life".

The song Whitaker sings at the end of the Trick or Treat episode borrows from "Alley Oop".

Still, its a fascinatingly constructed show. Aunt Zelda definitely delivers an authoritative threat as to why Sigmund cannot be found.

I wonder what she would have done? Told her sheriff boyfriend and they would have taken him to a science lab for studying? The transition of Krofft shows from Pufnstuf to Kaptain Kool (I never watched Pryor's Place or DC Follies) are intriguing to study, and Sigmund definitely stands out well on its own.

As for the later Rip Taylor-Sparky Marcus episodes, never watched those and don't want to.