H.R. Pufnstuf

This is a weird, weird, weird show. My friend Tom and I are afraid to watch it because it feels like you are on drugs. Strange muppets, subliminal messages, hypnotic imagery, funky colors are all on parade in this 1969 TV Series about... you know, I have no clue what was going on! I don't know if this would be considered a recommendation, but I must admit, you should see this show once to see how "trippy" it really is.

Attention: If her charms are completely lost on you, read no further!

As someone who's never smoked the wacky tobacky, I do my best to ignore the alleged reference in H(appy).R(elaxing). Pufnstuf. Anyway, my story...

I was just a little too young to watch the show when it first aired. Today, having first seen it on TV Land quite recently, I would easily dismiss it as silly crap if it weren't for one thing: Witchiepoo, the resident villain. This little witch, as played by Billie Hayes, is irresistibly cute and utterly entertaining. She more than makes up for everything the show may lack. Kudos, though, to the rest of the cast, mostly puppeteers.

True, Witchiepoo may seem like a total rip-off of the Wicked Witches in "The Wizard of Oz", but I have yet to fall madly in love with Margaret Hamilton's green-faced ghoul, as excellent as she was in that role. It is a testament to Billie Hayes' talent that, through all the ugly make-up, she can be so wonderfully charming and adorable. Witchiepoo proves that a witch need not be pretty (Samantha, Sabrina) to be lovable. And I defy you to hear that sweet laugh of hers and not instantly fall under her spell!

Witchiepoo is the antithesis of so much sleazy TV programming today, and that's why I don't feel as silly as I could've about proclaiming my deep affection for this sweet and enchanting character. Thirty-five years since Witchiepoo first arrived, and it'll be a long time before I fall for another fictional character the way I've fallen for Witchiepoo. I am truly bewitched.

For any adult born after 1970, this series (and the movie that was made from it) will make little sense, if any. Wild, raucous colors, dancing, singing, and an island where everything - yes, EVERYTHING - is alive.

Little Jimmy, coaxed to Living Island by the evil machinations of Witchy-Poo (the heavy of the series) finds himself in possession of a magic, talking flute, and trapped on an island of talking hats and dragons and witches, all of which he can barely comprehend. To an adult of today, the show simply makes little sense...

Ah, but if you saw it as a child, as I did, the show makes perfect sense. First, it's *FUN*. That, indeed, was one of the main points of the show - having fun. Yet, each show attempted to impart (as is typical for children's programming) a moral message. In general, the most common message of the entire series was "Perseverance". Keep trying, because though you may fail, if you keep trying, you may succeed in the end. Other lessons imparted by the show include 'Don't steal', 'Don't Lie', and 'Don't be Mean (despite how much fun it may be, you end up hurting others, and that isn't nice).'

Adults today look at the show, searching for depth, perhaps hidden meanings. Well, there *AREN'T* any - what you see is what you get. Cling and Clang have no "Hidden Meanings" - they are simply Cling and Clang. The talking flute is just a talking flute, and Jimmy is just a boy who wants to go home.

Alas, the networks decided to cancel the show. In an era where even the most critically acclaimed shows often died due to a slip of a point or two in the Nielsens, H.R. Pufnstuf was not the smash hit the network demanded. Adults of the time simply shook their heads as their children laughed and clapped and sang along with the simple songs, for parents of the time understood the show about as well as they understood the dark side of the moon.

Yet, I understood it as a child, as did all my friends of that time. Yes, we sang along with the theme song (which I can still sing today, word for word - it was mercifully short), laughed at the antics of the Living Islanders, booed the evil Witchy-Poo, and deeply felt for Little Jimmy, who sometimes wept for his heartfelt desire to go home. As a child, however, I often found I was jealous, even angry with little Jimmy. Living Island was, in the end, a fantasy paradise (despite Witchy-Poo), and for each moment Jimmy sighed and wished he could go home, I sighed and wished I could be there, on Living Island, instead of in the world of 1969, with it's turmoil and strife that were far beyond the comprehension of a little boy.

This was one psychedelic children's show. In all,it was a memorable fantasy-musical adventure fiasco of a series that was filmed on a Hollywood studio lot-at Paramount Studios,and in turn was the first of several Sid and Marty Krofft Productions to be produced for Saturday Mornings. The executive producers were Sid and Marty Krofft themselves along with producer Si Rose,who was also the head writer for several episodes and also the producer-writer for several classic television shows which included "McHale's Navy","The Ghost and Mrs. Muir","F-Troop","My Three Sons","The Doris Day Show",and later with "The Dukes Of Hazzard".

The children fantasy-adventure series "H.R. Pufnstuf" had all the standard tricks associated with the production company,including fantastic costumes,brightly colored and outrageous noisy comedy. The action centered on prepubescent Jimmy,the only human seen on the show,who sail out one day with his talking flute Freddy in his shirt pocket. The evil and menacing and ugly Witchiepoo,however,who coveted the magic flute puts a spell on Jimmy's boat causing it to crash on Living Island. Once there,Jimmy is rescued by the island's leading citizen,an amiable dragon named H.R. Pufnstuf and is adopted by the other adorable denizens of the island including Blinky the wise owl,Cling and Clang,the midget cops,and Four Winds,a breeze with a human visage. All of them worked to keep Jimmy and his high-pitched nervous flute out of the clutches of the evil and diabolical Witchiepoo. However,Witchiepoo's plans constantly ran afoul of her incompetent help. On the plus side was her Vroom-Broom,a gandy contraption featuring a umbrella-shaded seat for the witch and a bathtub sidecar for her goofy vulture sidekick Orson. Unfortunately,Orson was part of Witchiepoo's problem as were Seymour the yellow spider and Stupid Bat. The fearsome(and sometimes frightening)looking Evil Trees and the Mushrooms were supposed to be the scary part of the show,but in turn was very effective in producing a scare tactic not only for little kids,but older teenagers in mind who were watching the show.

As for the show itself,the series "H.R. Pufnstuf" made a superstar out of British actor Jack Wild--who in turn before his television debut was see as the "Artful Dodger",who in turn was magnificent in his singing and acting talents in Carol Reed's 1968 Oscar-winning musical "Oliver",based on the characters from Charles Dickens' great novel. On the show however,you got to see some of the great musical talent that Jack Wild had and it shows with his singing and dancing abilities as well as his acting techniques. Not bad for a child actor though. Also mentioned here is the talents of Billie Hayes as the evil Witchiepoo. Her character was not only menacing but absolutely hilarious to boot,and it shows in some of the episodes. One funny lady. Bit of trivia about the show--"H.R. Pufnstuf"-only actors Jack Wild and Billie Hayes were the only human characters on the show--the rest of them were actors in costumes and their acting abilities were supplied by voice characterizations namely from the talents of Lennie Weinrib(who was one of the head writers for the show),Walker Edminston and Frank Welker.

When "H.R. Pufnstuf",made its premiere on NBC-TV on September 6,1969, the show became an immediate hit with not only with kids,but adults as well. The series lasted three seasons on the network until the final episode on September 4, 1971. Only the first season had original episodes. Seasons two and three were repeated episodes from the first season. During the height of the 1969-1970 season,"H.R. Pufnstuf", was a ratings winner and a smash hit with its audience--mainly with the audiences that consisted of children and its connection with the Saturday Morning audience. The show scored the highest ratings ever in the history of the network,and ousted the competition of other shows airing in the same slot on ABC and CBS. "H.R. Pufnstuf",was the most successful Saturday Morning series on NBC,and the only show besides the animated "The Pink Panther Show" and the live-action adventure series "Skippy:The Bush Kangaroo",to do so during the 1969-1970 season.

Only 21 episodes were produced for this series. After the phenomenal success of the show,Sid and Marty Krofft took "H.R. Pufnstuf",to the next level,and in 1970 Universal Pictures produced a feature length film version called "Pufnstuf",with Jack Wild,Billie Hayes,and Cass Elliott. After the show was cancelled in 1971,repeated episodes of the series were shown on Saturday Mornings on ABC-TV from September 16,1972 to September 1,1973 and from there moved to Sunday Mornings from September 9,1973 until the last repeated telecast on September 1,1974.

After the success of the show,actor Jack Wild went into oblivion never to be heard from since,with a exception for several appearances of children's shows during the remainder of the 1970's and 1980's. He is longer with us. A great talent on a great show.

This past Sunday I went to Best Buy and bought the complete series of episodes from this show on DVD. This show has brought back so many great memories... I can still remember waking up every Saturday morning at 6am and sitting in front of the TV until 11am and watching many shows...like the Superfriends, Hong Kong Fooey, Space Ghost, The Lost Saucer...and many others. BUT...this show by far sticks out more in my memories more than any other.

I remember seeing Witchie Poo trying to steal Freddy from Jimmy and PufNStuf and always failing in the end of each show. I remember the Frog with the sparkly pants, the Boyd's band at the end of each show, the Owl Doctor, Cling and Clang, the talking trees, the Vulture who Witchie Poo always hit on the head or nose...the monster with six arms...and many others... All of these creatures and people together put on half an hour of fun and laughs every Saturday morning for me...

If you have young ones, I HIGHLY encourage everyone who reads this to have them watch the series... I have two little boys, one 5 and the other 8, who are addicted to Jimmy Neutron and SpongeBob. This show, for them, has quickly become one of their favorites...as it once was one of mine. Their friends love the show too!!

Hope this helps anyone out there...