The Krofft Supershow

The Krofft Supershow was a live action program for kids. There was no animation but all the Krofft shows played out like cartoons. I remember being the only person awake in my house watching this show early on Saturday mornings as a kid in the 70's. At the time I remember my favorite segment as being Bigfoot and Wildboy. Somehow most of my friends at school missed out on this because few people ever knew what I was talking about when I mentioned this show. There was another segment called Far Out Space Nuts, about a couple of astronauts one of which was Bob Denver who played Gilligan. If I remember correctly, their space ship wasn't working properly and every week they ended up on a new planet where they would be chased by some Muppet looking monster that wasn't really scary but was always funny. There was the popular Electra Woman and Dynagirl that was like a female version of the Adam West Batman series. Another segment featured Wonderbug about a talking car like the animated cartoon Dune Buggy. The Lost Saucer was another space show, this one was similar to the 60's hit show Lost in Space. There were others that I don't remember but I'm sure if I saw this again it would all comeback to me. Sid and Marty Krofft have been releasing their Saturday morning shows on DVD at a steady if not rapid rate. We have seen Land of the Lost be released in season sets, H.R. Puffnstuff in its entirety, Sigmund and the Seamonsters complete first Season, Lidsville with Butch Patrik, now the Bugaloos are coming. Heres to hoping that the Krofft Supershow in all its seasons and versions will be next.

I remember the show as if it were yesterday, except for names, I have slept since then. Remember Bigfoot and nature boy? The dune buggy named schlep that turned into a super buggy? Oh the memories! Wasn't Ruth Buzzy hilarious as the space traveler? I hope that each of us can look back and thank Sid and Marty Kroft for these wonderful memories. If anyone would like to discuss this further, I am sure that names like Gary Gnu, Captain Kangaroo, Smurfette, Optimus Prime, Duke, Snake Eyes, and shows like Space 1999, The original LOTR cartoon movies, Scooby Doo (Timeless) and many others would love to return to that era when Saturday Morning cartoons ruled the house!

I was 14 when this played on Saturday mornings. I had younger siblings who loved it so I decided to watch it once. It was as stupid as can be...but I loved it! Full of VERY bad jokes, extreme overacting and mediocre songs but put over with lots of energy, color and a quick pace. I remember "Magic Mongo", "Dr. Shrinker", "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl". The "special" effects were laughably done but at the age of 14 you didn't care. This was in no way a good show but it aimed at kids not adults and, back then, kids were watching Saturday morning cartoons and such religiously. Hey--it beat doing homework! I'm glad I saw it back then but have no desire to see it now. Childhood memories die hard and I'm afraid I'd hate it now.

This was the show where the Kroffts put everything in including the kitchen sink. This basically was the Kroffts returning to where it all began when they were the costume and set designers for The Banana Splits. Even though most of the elements from the first season were campy (even for Saturday morning fare), this still had some pretty good elements. The only thing that I really thought was wrong with the show was "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl". That was such an obvious rip off of "Batman" that I'm surprised Howie Horwitz didn't sue the Kroffts for copyright infringement. Despite this, it was pretty good and came at a time when the Krofft brothers pretty much ruled Saturday mornings.

In 1976, I lived in Atlanta when the Krofft Supershow was airing on ABC. This was definitely a very interesting show. The "Kaptain Kool and the Kongs" segments were actually filmed in 1976 at the "World of Sid and Marty Krofft" amusement park located within the Omni in Atlanta (now CNN Center). As a 6-year-old at the time of this show, it was nice to see my city and a place that I was familiar with. The theme park had turned out to be too expensive to operate and was not in the best part of town at the time. It only survived for about a year. My personal memories were of the 1976 season only which featured the live action series "Wonderbug", "Dr. Shrinker" and "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" and it was wrapped around by the "Kaptain Kool" segments. I believe none of the series except "Wonderbug" survived to the 1977 season and since it was no longer taped in Atlanta, I lost interest.