The Krofft Supershow

Last updated
The Krofft Supershow
The Krofft Supershow.jpg
Created by Joe Ruby
Ken Spears
Starring Michael Lembeck
Debra Clinger
Mickey McMeel
Louise DuArt
Bert Sommer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes32
Production
Producer Sid and Marty Krofft
Running time90 minutes (season 1)
60 minutes (season 2)
Production companySid & Marty Krofft Television Productions
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseSeptember 11, 1976 (1976-09-11) 
September 2, 1978 (1978-09-02)
Related
The Krofft Superstar Hour

The Krofft Supershow was a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It aired for two seasons from September 11, 1976, to September 2, 1978, on ABC. [1]

Contents

Background

The show was composed of several live-action segments, hosted by "Kaptain Kool and the Kongs", a rock band created for the series. The season-one (1976–1977) segments were Dr. Shrinker , Electra Woman and Dyna Girl , and Wonderbug , plus reruns of The Lost Saucer for the first half of the season (they were dropped when the show was cut from 90 minutes to one hour). For season two (1977–1978), "Dr. Shrinker" and "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" were dropped and replaced with Bigfoot and Wildboy and Magic Mongo . Each live-action segment was about 15 minutes in length.

Instead of a third season, the show was massively revamped (and moved to NBC) to feature the then-popular Bay City Rollers. Now retitled The Krofft Superstar Hour , Kaptain Kool and the Kongs were replaced by the Rollers, and new live-action segments "Horror Hotel" and "The Lost Island" replaced the older ones.

Show segments

Kaptain Kool and the Kongs

This group was a manufactured band responsible for hosting the show, introducing the other live-action segments, and performing skits and songs. For the first season, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs were portrayed as a wacky glam rock band. Segments were videotaped at the short-lived World of Sid and Marty Krofft indoor amusement park in Atlanta. For season two, their image was toned down, and they were downsized from a five-person band to a four-person band. Their season-two segments were taped in a studio with an audience of children.

Most of the songs were written by the Osmonds. [2] After they were replaced by the Bay City Rollers, the group made appearances on other Sid and Marty Krofft productions, including Donny & Marie , The Brady Bunch Variety Hour , and The Krofft Komedy Hour. They also made an appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand and they starred in two primetime TV specials featuring previews of ABC's Saturday-morning lineup.

Cast:

Two albums were released featuring Kaptain Kool and the Kongs, both in 1978: the self-titled Kaptain Kool and the Kongs featured the band singing, and Stories from the Krofft TV Supershow includes several comedy skits. In addition, they released one single, "And I Never Dreamed", written by Harvey Scales backed with "Sing Me a Song". [3]

Dr. Shrinker

Dr. Shrinker is an evil scientist with a lab on an uncharted island. When teenagers Brad, B.J., and Gordie are stranded on the island, Dr. Shrinker subjects them to his shrinker machine. They manage to escape the lab in miniature form; the series follows their adventures as they try to evade the clutches of the mad scientist and his assistant Hugo.

Cast:

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl

Lori and Judy, reporters for Newsmaker magazine, are secretly Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, crime-fighting superheroines. Assisted by their friend Frank Heflin, they fought such supervillains as the Pharaoh and Cleopatra, the Sorcerer, Glitter Rock, Ali Baba, Spider Lady, and the Empress of Evil.

Cast:

Wonderbug

Barry, C.C., and Susan are three teenaged friends who fixed up an old dune buggy (which they dubbed "Schlepcar"). When they attach a magic horn to the car, Schlepcar comes to life as Wonderbug. Wonderbug could fly, and it helped the teens fight crime.

Cast:

Magic Mongo

When teenagers Donald, Lorraine, and Kristy find an old bottle, they discover it is the home of a genie named Mongo. Mongo's magical attempts to help his young masters lead to many wacky misadventures.

Cast:

Bigfoot and Wildboy

After Wildboy was orphaned in the Pacific Northwest, he was found and raised by Bigfoot, the legendary man-beast of the forest. The two work together to fight those who would harm the forest. They were aided in the first season by Suzie, 12-year-old daughter of Ranger Lucas; in the second season, Suzie was replaced by Cindy, a young archeology student.

The episodes of "Bigfoot and Wildboy" that aired on The Krofft Supershow were 15 minutes in length. In 1979, ABC brought back the show as a stand-alone series by editing the 15-minute segments into 30-minute episodes. New episodes were also filmed and aired in the summer of 1979.

Cast:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid and Marty Krofft</span> Canadian-American puppeteers and television producers

Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft, known as The Krofft Brothers and born as Sid and Marty 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.

<i>H.R. Pufnstuf</i> 1969 American childrens television series

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.

<i>The Bugaloos</i> American childrens television series

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.

Mystery Island is a live-action sci-fi adventure serial produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that originally aired as a segment on The Skatebirds from September 10, 1977, to January 21, 1978, on CBS.

<i>Pink Lady</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

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 also is 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.

<i>Sigmund and the Sea Monsters</i> American TV series or program

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.

<i>Electra Woman and Dyna Girl</i> Segment on the Krofft Supershow

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is a live action superhero children's television series from 1976 created by Sid and Marty Krofft. The series aired 16 episodes in a single season as part of the umbrella series The Krofft Supershow. During the second season, it was dropped, along with Dr. Shrinker. When later syndicated in the package "Krofft Super Stars" and released on home video, the 16 segments, which were each about 12 minutes long, were combined into eight episodes.

Louise DuArt is an American comedian and impersonator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Lembeck</span> American actor and director

Michael Lembeck is an American actor and television and film director. He is best known as Max Horvath in One Day at a Time (1979–1984).

<i>Dr. Shrinker</i> U.S. fantasy television series

Dr. Shrinker was a segment during the first season of the ABC network's The Krofft Supershow in 1976.

<i>Wonderbug</i> Segment on the Krofft Supershow

Wonderbug is a segment of the first and second season of the American television series The Krofft Supershow, from 1976 to 1978. It was shot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The show was rerun as part of ABC's Sunday morning series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bailey (American actor)</span> American actor (1947–1994)

John Anthony Bailey, also known as Jack Baker, was an American actor.

Saturday morning preview specials were aired on television annually to present previews of each network's fall lineup of Saturday-morning cartoon children's programming. Similar to the model for their new prime time counterpart shows, television networks in the United States and Canada would film a preview special for the fall season. These would often air as part of the regular network schedule, or be made available to their affiliates for airing at any time, especially to fill timeslots which contained programming canceled months before.

The World of Sid and Marty Krofft was an entirely indoor amusement park in Atlanta, Georgia. It was based on the various TV shows produced by the sibling duo Sid and Marty Krofft.

Bigfoot and Wildboy was a live action children's television series on ABC. It began in 1977 as a part of The Krofft Supershow on Saturday mornings. Each episode was 15 minutes long, with cliffhanger endings resolved the following week. It became its own series in 1979 with twelve 30-minute episodes. There were a total of 28 episodes produced.

<i>The Krofft Superstar Hour</i> American TV series or program

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.

Judy Strangis is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in two ABC television series Room 222 (1969–1974) and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976–1977).

Van Charles Snowden was an American puppeteer active in the film and television industries for decades. Snowden performed as the H.R. Pufnstuf character on nearly every episode of the television series of the same name from 1969 to 1971. His other credits included the horror films Child's Play 2 and Child's Play 3, Tales from the Crypt and D.C. Follies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Clingers</span> Rock-and-roll girl band

The Clingers was one of the first rock-and-roll girl bands. They started as a barbershop quartet and recorded five singles before transitioning to playing their own instruments in a rock band in 1966. The members consisted of the four Clinger sisters: Patsy (drums), Debra (bass), Melody (guitar) and Peggy (keyboard). They performed on many variety shows and with other artists to promote their music. Melody, the oldest of the sisters, was born in 1947 and sang duets with her mother before joining her sisters in a barbershop quartet, known as The Clinger Sisters, starting in 1956. Val Hicks became their vocal coach, and the family moved to California, where the Clinger Sisters appeared on The Andy Williams Show with the Osmonds and in several episodes of The Danny Kaye Show. They signed with Vee-Jay Records in 1964, recording three singles for them. They spent summers performing in fairs, headlining with Liberace and Donald O'Conner at the Great Allentown Fair. They released two singles independently in 1965.

References

  1. Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 267–270. ISBN   0-8108-1651-2.
  2. Trivia entry at the Internet Movie Database. Last accessed 27 February 2007.
  3. Entry at Rate Your Music. Last accessed 27 February 2007.