Far Out Space Nuts

Sid and Marty Krofft strike again!!!

The team who were behind the shows "H.R. Pufnstuf","Lidsville","The Bugaloos","Sidmund and the Sea Monsters",and "Land of the Lost" came back in 1975 with another off the wall kids show.....

And this one didn't make the cut.

"Far Out Space Nuts" was "Gilligan's Island" somewhere "Lost In Space". Again,everyone's favorite little buddy,Bob Denver returns to the same format and character that he played on "Gilligan's Island". Denver along with Chuck McCann(McCann also co-wrote some of the scripts)combined forces in this slapstick-oriented Saturday Morning entry which lasted one season on CBS-TV from September 6,1975 until September 4,1977. Only 17 episodes were produced of this series. The storyline deals with two dockworkers who were employers with NASA,Junior and Barney routinely went about loading meals onto a rocketship set for the far reaches of outer space. All went well until Junior(Bob Denver)absentmindely thought Barney(Chuck McCann) said "Launch" instead of "Lunch",and pressed a button that sends our two stowaways and the rocketship off into the unknowns reaches of space.

When they arrived on an unknown planet,a native creature who resembled a shaggy white dog with a horn for its snout befriended the hapless duo,and Junior named the alien being Honk(in costume portrayed by Patty Maloney). Barney however showed more concern than Junior did over getting the ship repaired and getting back home,but despite several opportunities they never seemed to make it,thanks largely to the incompetence and stupidity of Junior,who is just about every episode seem to cause chaos and mischief in their adventures. The show itself is not the best of the Krofft kids shows that emerge during the 1970's,and this one was in one perspective,became one of the biggest colossal failures in the history of children's television and the worst kids show in the history of children's programming at CBS. Reason? Bob Denver tried to milk ever aspect of his character that he portrayed on "Gilligan's Island",but basically this show was the exact same formula,with Denver as Gilligan and McCann as the skipper. In every episode,Junior does the impossible....again....with mixed results. Only the original episodes ran during the first season until September 4,1976. The second seasons consisted of repeated episodes where CBS moved the show from Saturday Morning to the graveyard abyss of its animated Sunday Morning program from September 12,1976 until September 4,1977.

Sid and Marty Krofft strike again!

Just when you thought they couldn't get any wilder, the Krofft brothers make a kids' outer space show with Gilligan! Well, maybe not Gilligan per se, but it's Bob Denver, so it might as WELL be Gilligan.

Seems Junior (Denver) and Barney (McCann - another heavy-set, older co-star...coincidence?) are loading food onto a space rocket and instead of "lunch", Junior pushes the "launch" button and sends them both out into the deep recesses of space, seeking a way home every week.

Along the way, they pick up a furry little alien they nickname Honk (Maloney), who honks whatever it says. Clever, eh?

As a matter of fact, it WAS clever in a Saturday morning kiddie show way, and McCann and Denver made good with the lines and have a knack for comedy. And when it comes to weird alien characters, who knows weird better than Sid and Marty?

It was a short-lived series, but it was a well-remembered one, thanks to the talent herein and the effort they all put in every week. Sure did make me look forward to Saturday mornings, that's for sure!

Nine stars for "Far Out Space Nuts", or "Gilligan's Planet"!

Oh, wait...Filmation already did that one. Never mind.

Everyone knows the Sci-Fi Triad of Greatness, right? There's "Star Trek", "Star Wars", and "Far Out Space Nuts". Lately, though, "Far Out Space Nuts" seems to have fallen by the wayside. While "Trek" & "Wars" rack up the movie sequels, "Far Out Space Nuts" has yet to even be turned into a major motion picture! Come on, "Far Out Space Nuts Nuts" (as we fans like to call ourselves), get off the pot and get "Far Out Space Nuts: The Movie" made!

Oh, wait a minute. I forgot- I hate "Far Out Space Nuts"!

"Far Out Space Nuts" is an inept Sid and Marty Krofft show starring Bob Denver and Chuck McCann (an actor I like- see "The Projectionist"- making his part in this even more depressing). The Krofft brother's special effects- which include brightly colored sets, dwarves in costume, and felt puppets, all on a budget lower than that of a "Sesame Street" segment- don't really lend themselves to this "Lost in Space" meets "Gilligan's Island" mess. They really only work in thinly-veiled pro-drug rallies like "H.R. Pufenstuf", "Lidsville", and "The Bugaloos". This show just makes me feel dirty.

In 1973, Bob Denver was involved in the infamous "Gilligan's Island" copy "Dusty's Trail". Three years later he rips himself off again only this time instead of Alan Hale or Forrest Tucker we have Chuck McCann in the Skipper like role but without five other castaways. This show came out at the height of the Krofft Brothers era of success and it is perhaps the weakest of their creations, at least until their collaboration with the Bay City Rollers premiered. In fact, you hardly ever hear of this show. It also turned out to be a low point in Bob Denver's career as he plays another Gilligan-like character. Also, the character of Honk was nothing more than a taller version of Bleep from the equally infamous "Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space". Thankfully, this is one Krofft brothers show that is no longer shown in reruns.

As a 10 year old I watched avidly, but then any show that regularly took you to other planets and encountered weird aliens seemed pretty cool, and this was funny too.

I haven't seen it for years but I have warm fuzzy memories about it.

And wasn't there another show produced at the same time that used the same sets and props? Only instead of adults it featured a couple of kids?