Saturday Morning with Sid & Marty Krofft Seven pilot episodes
Review by Stinkhead
Remember H.R. Puffnstuff? What about Sigmund and the Sea Monsters?
Ok, I know you know Land of the Lost. To most of
the Gen Xers, these shows were Saturday morning staples,
they got us out of bed earlier on a Saturday than we would
get up for school. Monsters, zany characters, kids, and
a lot of songs kept us hooked. We would sprint out of bed,
race downstairs in our PJs, throw together a bowl of sugary
cereal (I was a Count Chocula junkie, but didn't get it
very often), and plant in front of the TV for hours.
Now we're pushing 30 (or older) and we have jobs so we sleep in on weekends. Man what did the years do to us? What did the years do to these beloved creations of Sid & Marty Krofft?
This Saturday Morning DVD features the pilot episodes of seven of their most popular series. You'll find H.R. Pufnstuff, Bugaloos, Liddsville, Sigmund and Sea Monsters, Far Out Space Nuts, the Lost Saucer and of course Land of the Lost. If you loved these shows growing up, and I mean you would automatically italicize 'love', this economically priced ($15) DVD will be quite the fun little trip, but if you're only marginally curious, you'll likely throw up that Count Chocula. (It's been on the shelf too long anyway, and that milk went bad last week). Just like us, these shows did not withstand the test of time like we hoped we would.
Keep in mind these are the pilot episodes, and they hadn't found their footing yet with the character development, story arc, or common sobriety.
Land of the Lost
I did love Land of the Lost when I was growing up. I loved
the isolation, the being chased by dinosaurs, the silly
special effects. This one's special effects actually held
up the best, in comparison, though by no means impressive.
Back then, before we became accustomed to ILM, it
was sure amazing to see the dinosaurs chasing Rick Marshall,
Will and Holly (who did become hot later on in life). Actually
I was most amused with the kitsch value of this episode,
and I recommend checking it out.
Bugaloos I'll admit I have a very, very short tolerance for British actors from the 70s. Maybe it's all the "mugging" for the camera, maybe it's the "preposterous" humor that is supposed to bust my gut. But it gets old, fast. I really got annoyed more than anything else watching Bugaloos. I understand this show was for kids back in the 70s, but compare it to what kids get these days as far as story and characters go (ignore the technology advancements) it's pretty rough. Redeeming value: even after all of that, I gotta admit that Joy is a Hottie. (with a capital H) Maybe it's the ugly surroundings, maybe it's the awful hair on everyone else, maybe it's the little wings, but the only reason I watched this Bugaloos episode three times was because of Joy. (Hey, easy buddy, I checked IMDb, she was 20 years old at the time).
Sigmund and Sea Monsters
Actually taking place in America, these two horribly disfigured
kids find a styrofoam sea monster, sneak him home and sing
songs to him. Kind of messed up if you ask me. It was pretty
funny seeing all of these rubber monsters falling down and
bumbling around, but after a while I had visions
of a television producer being afraid to ask Sid or Marty
"Dude...what in the ever living... uh... nevermind..."
Far Out Space Nuts This one stars Bob "Gilligan" Denver in his later years. (He's not dead, but this was way after the Island). I'll sum up the entire series with a quote from the pilot episode. On the strength of this one sentence, you'll get the entire premise, the caliber of humor, and the background on the relationship of the two NASA style janitors cleaning the rocket.
I said LUNCH! Not LAUNCH!
The Lost Saucer Jim Nabors stars as a kooky android in this other series about someone getting stuck in a far off place.
Liddsville
Ok, I'm going to stop here...
Not to trample on the fond memories of millions of 30 somethings everywhere, I do know that Sid & Marty's creations were beloved by millions, and if I had seen more of it when I was younger, I'd be a lot more forgiving. Basically, if you loved these shows growing up, you'll get more than a kick out of watching these episodes. I recommend watching them with at least a friend or two.
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