Sigmund and the Sea Monsters | |
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Starring | Billy Barty Johnny Whitaker Scott Kolden Mary Wickes Joe Higgins Rip Taylor Fran Ryan Fred Spencer Paul Gale Van Snowden Sharon Baird Sparky Marcus Margaret Hamilton |
Voices of | Walker Edmiston Sidney Miller |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 29 |
Production | |
Producer | Sid and Marty Krofft |
Running time | 25 minutes (per episode) |
Production companies | Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 8, 1973 – October 18, 1975 |
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters is an American children's television series that ran from September 8, 1973, to October 18, 1975, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft and aired on Saturday mornings. It was syndicated by itself from December 1975 to June 1978 and later as part of the Krofft Superstars show from 1978 to 1985. [1]
The episodes included songs as part of the plot development. The character(s), generally Johnny, would sing a song about what he was thinking or feeling about something going on in his life, from things that made him happy to anxiety about girls.
While videotaping the first episode of Season Two, a hot light fell and started a fire. No one was injured, but the fire destroyed all of the sets and much of the costumes and other props. Most of Season Two was taped with minimal sets. [2]
The show centered on two brothers named Johnny and Scott Stuart. While playing on the beach near Dead Man's Point, the two of them discover a friendly young sea monster named Sigmund who had been thrown out by his comically dysfunctional undersea family for refusing to frighten people. The boys hide Sigmund in their clubhouse. [3]
Plotlines were very simple and straightforward, usually some variation on the idea of Sigmund doing something silly to arouse attention, and the boys working to prevent him from being found by Sigmund's brothers Blurp and Slurp who want Sigmund to scare people in order to impress their parents Sweet Mama Ooze and Big Daddy Ooze. The brothers also worked to hide Sigmund from humans such as their overbearing housekeeper Zelda and Sheriff Chuck Bevans.
The Ooze Family are a family of sea monsters that live out at Dead Man's Point. They kicked Sigmund out after he would not scare a human. Most episodes would have them trying to harm Johnny and Scott to no avail. The Ooze Family consists of:
The songs for the show were co-written by Danny Janssen, Bobby Hart and Wes Farrell.
A cover of the show's theme song, performed by Tripping Daisy, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits , produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.
Eleven songs from the show were released on Johnny Whitaker's album Friends (Music from the Television Series 'Sigmund and the Sea Monsters') (Chelsea Records, BCL1-0332).
All songs written by Danny Janssen and Bobby Hart, except where noted.
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters was the first Krofft Saturday morning production that was produced for more than one season. Previous entries H.R. Pufnstuf (1969), The Bugaloos (1970), and Lidsville (1971) were in production with new episodes for only a single season. [2]
Sigmund, however, did not follow the "stranger in a strange land" premise as many of the previous Krofft shows had done. Other Krofft shows that did not follow the premise were The Bugaloos, Bigfoot and Wildboy , Pryor's Place and Wonderbug . [2]
Costumes were created by Oliver Soublette.
One episode features an appearance by H.R. Pufnstuf and another that features Jack Wild (who played Jimmy on H.R. Pufnstuf).
The series was created and produced by Sid & Marty Krofft and Si Rose.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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1 | "The Monster Who Came to Dinner" | Richard Dunlap | Si Rose | September 8, 1973 | |
Johnny and Scott bring Sigmund home to live in their clubhouse. | |||||
2 | "Puppy Love" | Richard Dunlap | Rita Sedran Rose | September 15, 1973 | |
Sigmund falls in love with a dog named Fluffy. Zelda cleans the clubhouse and Slurp tries to lure Sigmund home. | |||||
3 | "Frankenstein Drops In" | Richard Dunlap | Si Rose | September 22, 1973 | |
Sigmund's family kidnaps Scott, so Johnny dresses up like Frankenstein's monster to save him. | |||||
4 | "Is There a Doctor in the Cave?" | Richard Dunlap | Si Rose | September 29, 1973 | |
Johnny gets captured. The Wolfman makes a surprise appearance at the Ooze cave. | |||||
5 | "Happy Birthdaze" | Richard Dunlap | John Fenton Murray | October 6, 1973 | |
Sigmund decides to surprise the boys by cleaning the house, but his brothers crash in. | |||||
6 | "The Nasty Nephew" | Richard Dunlap | John Fenton Murray | October 13, 1973 | |
Zelda's obnoxious nephew Leroy stays the weekend. | |||||
7 | "Monster Rock Festival" | Richard Dunlap | Si Rose | October 20, 1973 | |
Sigmund submits his song to a radio songwriting contest and wins. | |||||
8 | "Ghoul School Days" | Richard Dunlap | Rita Sedran Rose | October 27, 1973 | |
Sigmund runs away because he feels like he's getting in the way. The Assistant Principal visits to discuss the boys' slipping grades. | |||||
9 | "The Curfew Shall Ring Tonight" | Richard Dunlap | Jack Raymond | November 3, 1973 | |
Sigmund accidentally breaks Zelda's bowl and decides to get money from his family's cave to replace it, but he is caught after curfew by the sea monster sheriff. | |||||
10 | "Sweet Mama Redecorates" | Richard Dunlap | Warren Murray | November 10, 1973 | |
Sweet Mama decides to redecorate the sea monster cave. | |||||
11 | "Make Room for Big Daddy" | Richard Dunlap | Milt Rosen | November 17, 1973 | |
When Blurp and Slurp destroy the family Shellavision, they run away and move into the club house with Sigmund. Big Daddy chases them home, but elects to stay and watch the club house TV. | |||||
12 | "It's Your Move" | Richard Dunlap | Donald A. Ramsey | November 24, 1973 | |
Sigmund's family evacuates the cave for a storm and Sigmund moves home to avoid Johnny and Scott's parents. | |||||
13 | "Trick or Treat" | Richard Dunlap | Jack Raymond | December 1, 1973 | |
On Halloween, Sigmund discovers the joys of trick or treating. The Ooze family learns that Sigmund has won a TV contest. | |||||
14 | "Uncle Siggy Swings" | Richard Dunlap | John Fenton Murray | December 8, 1973 | |
Sigmund's Uncle Siggy comes for a visit and falls for Zelda. | |||||
15 | "The Dinosaur Show" | Richard Dunlap | Fred Fox and Seaman Jacobs | December 15, 1973 | |
16 | "The Wild Weekend" | Richard Dunlap | John Fenton Murray | December 22, 1973 | |
Jack Wild spends the weekend with the boys. Prince runs away from home. | |||||
17 | "Boy for a Day" | Richard Dunlap | John Fenton Murray (Story by: Rita Sedran Rose) | December 29, 1973 | |
Sigmund gets amnesia and thinks he's a human boy. |
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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18 | "A Genie for Sigmund" | Bob Lally | Si Rose | July 7, 1974 | |
Sigmund finds a genie named Sheldon in a sea shell. | |||||
19 | "Paul Revere Rides Again" | Bob Lally | Si Rose | September 14, 1974 | |
Sheldon zaps Paul Revere into the club house to settle a dispute. | |||||
20 | "Now You See 'Em, Now You Don't" | Bob Lally | Rita Sedran Rose | September 21, 1974 | |
Sheldon makes Johnny and Scott invisible. | |||||
21 | "Johnny-O, the Great" | Bob Lally | Si Rose | September 28, 1974 | |
With Sheldon's help, Johnny performs a magic act. | |||||
22 | "Super Sigmund" | Bob Lally | John Fenton Murray | October 5, 1974 | |
Sigmund has Sheldon give him super strength. | |||||
23 | "Pufnstuf Drops In" | Bob Lally | Si Rose | October 12, 1974 | |
Sheldon accidentally zaps H.R. Pufnstuf into the club house. |
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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24 | "Sheldon and the Nephew Sitters" | Dick Darley | Si Rose | September 6, 1975 | |
Aunt Zelda goes to care for her sick sister, leaving Gertrude in charge at the house. Sheldon has to babysit his magic nephew Shelby. | |||||
25 | "One Way Whammy to Tahiti" | Dick Darley | Rita Sedran Rose | September 13, 1975 | |
Shelby sends Johnny and a girlfriend to Tahiti, but cannot bring them back. | |||||
26 | "Cry Uncle" | Murray Golden | John Fenton Murray | September 20, 1975 | |
Sheldon finds himself in hot water with Gertrude when she discovers Shelby, whom she thinks is being neglected. | |||||
27 | "The Haunted House" | Murray Golden | Fred S. Fox, Seaman Jacobs, Earle Doud, Chuck McCann | September 27, 1975 | |
While Zelda and the Sheriff are at the movies, the Oozes sneak into the house. | |||||
28 | "Mother Makes Ten" | Murray Golden | Story by: Rita Sedran Rose / Teleplay by: Jack Raymond | October 4, 1975 | |
Shelby's mother takes care of Burp and Slurp. | |||||
29 | "You Can't Beat a Magic Carpet" | Murray Golden | Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs | October 10, 1975 | |
Shelby and Sigmund get lost on a magic carpet ride. |
In the United States, the first season of the show was released on DVD in 2005 by Rhino Entertainment, featuring all 17 original broadcast episodes, uncut and digitally remastered. It was released again on September 6, 2011 from Vivendi Entertainment. Although there were plans for season two to be released on DVD, it was cancelled because of low sales. In Australia, the complete series was released in a region-free four-disk set by Beyond Home Entertainment. [4] However this set (along with both U.S releases of season one) are now out of print and hard to find.
In 2015 Sid and Marty Krofft announced that Amazon was partnering with them to create an updated version of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. In June 2016, the pilot was released. [5] In late 2016, it was announced that the pilot was picked up for a first season. Production for the first season occurred over the first half of 2017. A teaser trailer was released at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con. In this version of the series, David Arquette plays Captain Barnabus who believes sea monsters are real and devotes his life to capturing them. Instead of living with a housekeeper, the boys are spending the summer at their aunt Maxine's with their cousin Robyn when they discover Sigmund. Seven episodes were released on October 13, 2017. [6] The rest of the cast consists of Solomon Stewart as Johnny, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf as Scott, Rebecca Bloom as Robyn, Eileen O'Connell as Aunt Maxine, Johnny Whitaker as Zach, Mark Povinelli as Sigmund, Drew Massey as the voice of Sigmund, Meegan Godfrey as Blurp, Michael Oosterom as the voice of Blurp, Dan Crespin as Slurp, Victor Yerrid as the voice of Slurp, Lexi Pearl as Mama, and Donna Kimball as the voice of Mama.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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1 | "Pilot" | Jonathan Judge | Si Rose and Garrett Frawley and Brian Turner | June 17, 2016 | |
Johnny and Scotty bring Sigmund home to their clubhouse. | |||||
2 | "Finding Sigmund" | Ron Oliver | Stephen Engel | October 13, 2017 | |
Sigmund and the kids set out to find each other. | |||||
3 | "Dibs" | Ron Oliver | Jeny Quine | October 13, 2017 | |
The kids teach Sigmund about calling "dibs". | |||||
4 | "Robyn Has a Gift" | Ron Oliver | Garrett Frawley | October 13, 2017 | |
Robyn gives her mother Maxine a birthday present made by Sigmund. | |||||
5 | "The Squid Stays in the Picture" | Ron Oliver | Brad Turner | October 13, 2017 | |
Johnny and Scotty decide to recruit Sigmund to make a monster movie. | |||||
6 | "Sigmund and the Sand Castle Contest" | Ron Oliver | Jeny Quine | October 13, 2017 | |
Sigmund helps Johnny and Robyn win the annual sand castle contest. | |||||
7 | "The Treasure of Sigmund's Madre" | Ron Oliver | Stephen Engel | October 13, 2017 | |
Johnny and Scott bring Sigmund home to live in their clubhouse. |
Land of the Lost is a children's adventure television series created by David Gerrold and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, who co-developed the series with Allan Foshko. It is a live-action show mixed with stop-motion animated dinosaurs, originally aired on Saturday mornings from 1974 to 1976, on the NBC television network. CBS used it as a summer replacement series from June 22 to December 28, 1985, and June 2 to September 5, 1987. It has since become a 1970s American cult classic. Krofft Productions remade the series in 1991, and adapted it into a feature film in 2009.
Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft, known as The Krofft Brothers and born as Cydus and Moshopopoulos Yolas, were a Canadian sibling team of television creators, writers and puppeteers. Through their production company, Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, they made numerous children's television and variety show programs in the U.S., particularly in the 1970s, including H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. Their fantasy programs often featured large-headed puppets, high-concept plots, and extensive use of low-budget special effects.
H.R. Pufnstuf is an American children's television series created by Sid and Marty Krofft. It was the first independent live-action, life-sized-puppet program, following on from their work with Hanna-Barbera's program The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast Saturday from September 6, 1969, to December 27, 1969. The broadcasts were successful enough that NBC kept it on the schedule as reruns until September 4, 1971. The show was shot at Paramount Studios and its opening was shot at Big Bear Lake, California. Reruns of the show returned on ABC Saturday morning from September 2, 1972, to September 8, 1973, and on Sunday mornings in some markets from September 16, 1973, to September 8, 1974. It was syndicated by itself from September 1974 to June 1978 and in a package with six other Krofft series under the banner Krofft Superstars from 1978 to 1985. Reruns of the show were featured on TV Land in 1999 as part of its Super Retrovision Saturdaze Saturday morning-related overnight prime programming block and in the summer of 2004 as part of its TV Land Kitschen weekend late-night prime programming block, and it was later shown on MeTV from 2014 until 2016.
The Bugaloos is an American children's television series, produced by brothers Sid and Marty Krofft, that aired on NBC on Saturday mornings from 1970 to 1972. Reruns of the show aired in daily syndication from 1978 to 1985 as part of the "Krofft Superstars" package with six other Krofft series. The show features a musical group composed of four British teenagers in insect-themed outfits, constantly beset by the evil machinations of the talent-challenged Benita Bizarre, played by comedian Martha Raye.
John Orson Whitaker, Jr. is an American actor notable for several film and television performances during his childhood. The redheaded Whitaker played Jody Davis on Family Affair from 1966 to 1971. He originated the role of Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital in 1965, played the lead in Hallmark's 1969 The Littlest Angel, and portrayed the title character in the 1973 musical version of Tom Sawyer.
Pink Lady is an American variety show that aired for five weeks on NBC in 1980, starring the Japanese musical duo of the same name. The show is also referred to by the title Pink Lady and Jeff, referring to co-star Jeff Altman. The show was riddled with complications, including a dispute over the name: agents for the starring parties were never able to settle on one, and the show was advertised both ways during its run. Other difficulties included scriptwriting disagreements, guest star booking mishaps, taping and touring conflicts, and the inability of Mie and Kei, the members of Pink Lady, to understand or speak English.
Lidsville is an American television show created by brothers Sid and Marty Krofft. It was their third series, following H.R. Pufnstuf (1969) and The Bugaloos (1970). As did its predecessors, Lidsville combined two types of characters: conventional actors in makeup taped alongside performers in full mascot costumes, whose voices were dubbed in post-production. Seventeen episodes aired on Saturday mornings on ABC during 1971–1973. The show was rebroadcast on NBC Saturday mornings the following season.
Scott Cary Kolden is an American sound engineer and former child actor. Beginning his professional show business career at the age of eight, Kolden is perhaps best known for his Disney film roles; as Leonard in The Mystery in Dracula's Castle and as Rupert in Charley and the Angel, as well as for his role as Scotty on the NBC Saturday morning children's series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.
Billie Armstrong Brosch, known professionally as Billie Hayes, was an American television, film, and stage actress, best known for her comic portrayals of Witchiepoo and Li'l Abner's Mammy Yokum.
D.C. Follies is a syndicated sitcom which aired from 1987–1989. The show was set in a Washington, D.C. bar, where a bartender played by Fred Willard would welcome puppet caricatures of politicians and popular culture figures.
Walker Edmiston was an American actor and puppeteer.
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special is a Halloween-themed variety television special starring Paul Lynde broadcast October 29, 1976 on ABC. It featured guest star Margaret Hamilton in a reprise of her role as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Guest stars include Billie Hayes as Witchiepoo from H.R. Pufnstuf, Tim Conway, Roz Kelly, Florence Henderson, rock band Kiss, Billy Barty as Gallows the Butler, Betty White and, in an unbilled cameo appearance, Donny and Marie Osmond.
Sharon Baird is an American actress, voice actress, singer, dancer and puppeteer who is best known for having been a Mouseketeer.
The Krofft Superstar Hour is a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. After eight episodes, the show was renamed The Bay City Rollers Show. It aired for one season from September 9, 1978 to January 27, 1979 on NBC. NBC also ran other repeat Krofft shows in an unrelated umbrella titled slot, Krofft Superstars, from 1978 to 1985.
Pufnstuf is a 1970 American comedy fantasy musical film produced by Sid and Marty Krofft Enterprises and released by Universal Pictures. It is based on the children's television series H.R. Pufnstuf, a show that features a cast of puppets on a "living island."
The World of Sid & Marty Krofft at the Hollywood Bowl is a live show at the Hollywood Bowl on July 29, 1973 that was filmed and aired as a television special, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It originally aired in syndication on Thanksgiving weekend, November 24, 1973. Although shot at the Hollywood Bowl in front of a live audience, the special also used a laugh track, like other Krofft shows, for sweetening.
"Downstream" is the fourth episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by Larry Niven and directed by Dennis Steinmetz, it first aired in the United States on September 28, 1974 on NBC. The episode guest stars Walker Edmiston.
Van Charles Snowden was an American puppeteer active in the film and television industries for decades. Snowden performed as the H.R. Pufnstuf character in most projects after the original series and film. His other credits included the horror films Child's Play 2 and Child's Play 3, Tales from the Crypt and D.C. Follies.
Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald's Corp. (1977) was a case in which puppeteers and television producers Sid and Marty Krofft alleged that the copyright in their H.R. Pufnstuf children's television program had been infringed by a series of McDonald's "McDonaldland" advertisements. The finding introduced the concepts of extrinsic and intrinsic tests to determine substantial similarity.
Mutt & Stuff is an American children's television series that aired on the Nick Jr. Channel. The series premiered on March 6, 2015, with an hour-long pilot and began airing regularly on July 10, 2015. It was created by Sid and Marty Krofft and Bradley Zweig. It stars Calvin Millan, the son of the series' producer Cesar Millan.