MovieChat Forums > The Krofft Supershow (1976) Discussion > The first season was the best

The first season was the best


OK, so there are no topics posted, so let me be the first to post.

While surfing the net I found 70slivekidvid.com, devoted to non-animated Saturday morning shows, so there were lots from Sid and Marty Krofft, who dominated Saturday mornings in the 1970s. While perusing the page it brought back a lot of memories which I'd like to share.....

THE KROFFT SUPERSHOW premiered when I was in the 4th grade, and my two favorites were DR. SHRINKER and ELECTRAWOMAN AND DYNAGIRL (I wasn't too crazy about WONDERBUG). The Empress of Evil episode of EW&DG actually spooked me! Both the cliffhanger with our heroines literally being stretched and the concluding portion with the way the Empress melted and her face cracking like that of a porcelain doll, it looked scary! On DR. SHRINKER, I remember the blonde shrinkie (BJ) having an attitude and always talking down her portly, bespectacled, clumsy brother Gordie while sucking up to pretty boy Brad--very similar to Alexandra, Alex and Alan on JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS! I had hoped to see a crossover episode where ElectraWoman and DynaGirl would rescue Brad, BJ and Gordie and bring Dr. Shrinker and Hugo to justice but it never happened.

I was quite disappointed when the SUPERSHOW came back for a second season--no, not because Flatbush was no longer with Kaptain Kool and the Kongs (HA HA), but they kept WONDERBUG and replaced DR. SHRINKER and EW&DG with MAGIC MONGO and BIGFOOT & WILDBOY. B&W was boring and MONGO wasn't anything special.

Besides DR. SHRINKER and EW&DG, I also loved THE BUGALOOS. When I was very little I had a Bugaloos coloring book! I rediscovered all three shows in the early 1980s thanks to the syndicated KROFFT SUPER STARS. With HR PUFNSTUF, LIDSVILLE and LAND OF THE LOST now out on DVD, I'm hoping they'll eventually release all of the Krofft productions in that format, with recent interviews with the cast as extras (HR PUFNSTUF had them with Billie Hayes (Witchiepoo) and Jack Wild (Jimmy)).

Anyone else remember THE KROFFT SUPERSHOW? I'd love to hear your memories!

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Where do they come up with half of the junk they show on tv today?


AMEN TO THAT!!!!!


I also remember that opening with the cast and a huge group of kids following them down a freeway, in fact, the lyrics began like "Don't get left behind/take a trip with us today/we will bring you to a land of dreams///Krofft has some super shows/they will blow your mind away"....the rest of it is a blur.

Isis was part of Shazam, which was not a Krofft production. It was live action Saturday morning fare but not by Krofft. I have a book called PUFNSTUF AND OTHER STUFF which chronicles the history of Sid and Marty.

Deidre Hall has not aged a bit, she could STILL play ElectraWoman!


Thank you for sharing your memories.

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Yes, I do remember the TARZAN LORD OF THE JUNGLE cartoon, it was part of the BATMAN/TARZAN ADVENTURE HOUR. Filmation was responsible for many memorable cartoons, like the animated version of GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, GILLIGAN'S PLANET, the animated version of STAR TREK and THE BRADY KIDS and let's not forget EVERYTHING'S ARCHIE!

I was more of a BUGALOOS fan than HR PUFNSTUF. Joy was beautiful! LOVED her British accent!!

THE BUGS BUNNY ROAD RUNNER SHOW would be my all-time favorite Saturday morning cartoon, it ran for many years and the classic Looney Tune shorts stand the test of time today! Later this month I can rediscover RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES (1975) when the PLANET OF THE APES ULTIMATE DVD COLLECTION comes out.

It was good to be a kid in the 70s.

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<<Yes, I do remember the TARZAN LORD OF THE JUNGLE cartoon, it was part of the BATMAN/TARZAN ADVENTURE HOUR. Filmation was responsible for many memorable cartoons, like the animated version of GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, GILLIGAN'S PLANET, the animated version of STAR TREK and THE BRADY KIDS and let's not forget EVERYTHING'S ARCHIE! >>

Filmation also did a handful of live action shows too, including Isis and Shazam, I think.

They also did the classic Fat Albert cartoons.

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The funny thing about the Bugs Bunny cartoons and such was that they were from the earlier decades to begin with and were shown in theaters.

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The funny thing about the Bugs Bunny cartoons and such was that they were from the earlier decades to begin with and were shown in theaters. I didn't know that at the time. They were pretty good to watch, although not every cartoon was a gem.

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does anyone remember..."RUN JOE RUN"? around the same time as "KROFFT SUPER SHOW" it was about...i believe a military or policeman and his runaway german shepard.in every episode "JOE"(the dog)would befriend someone in trouble.then at the end of show,the man (owner of the dog) would get within feet of capturing him,only to watch him run away...till next episode.makes you wonder 30 yrs later...was he beating that dog or what?

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I don't remember that one, I remember a song called Run JOEY Run, which was about a girl whose father beat her up and was hell-bent on killing her boyfriend. The opening line was "Daddy please don't/it wasn't his fault/he means so much to me; Daddy please don't/we're gonna get married/just you wait and see....."

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Yeah!

It was like 'The Fugitive', except with a German Shepherd!



Close your eyes and think of England.

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I grew up in the 1970's, too. Besides the Krofft stuff (especially Sigmund and the Sea Monsters), I remember JabberJaw, Hong Kong Phooey, the LooneyTunes hour, Marlo and the Magic Movie Machine) and especially love the Schoolhouse Rock ("So when you feel sad "aww!" or mad "Rats!"...or something like that).

It might have been the pre-dvd or cable era, but I still love it.

Also, non-Saturday, anybody remember Zoom, Electric Company, New Zoo Revue, and Dusty's Treehouse? ....

What a great era.

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also loved "SHAZAM" how the "ELDERS" were animated christ like or deciples of christ like characters

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I remeber the Krofft supershow, Isis, shazam, and does anyone remeber "Jason of Star command?"

but the biggest thing anyone can remember i bet is the School house rock stuff ...

man I wish Saturday morning Cartoons/shows were more like they were when I was a child,

instead of being half hour commercials for toys, that my son Carter wants me to buy him...

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I am glad to see someone mention SchoolHouse Rock. That, above anything else is what I remember about Sat. morning cartoons. And I do not understand why that is not on anymore. I mean a noun is still a noun and three is still a magic number, right? Being born in 69, the mid to late 70's was my prime sat. morning cartoon watching days. Really the only Krofft show I can remember on Saturdays is Land of the Lost. I grew up in the Washington DC area and it seemed that Scooby doo, Capt. Caveman, Fat Albert, and then shorter run cartoons like Gilligans Isle, and the Jackson Five, ect... were on in the mornings. But I do remember The Krofft Superstars coming on channel 20 in the afternoons after school. I would watch it every day. But my favorite was Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. I kind of remember The Krofft Superstars being an hour long and there being 2 to 3 various episodes per show. I have seen these show since and some have held up over the years and others, well I guess I was just to young to notice how lame they where. But then they were shows meant for kids. However, today, cartoons and kids shows seem to talk down to kids. I never felt, or still do not feel that way about the shows that were on TV during that era of childrens television. And speaking of childrens television from that 70's era, one can't help but mention the one show that has remained constant and never spoke down to kids, Sesame Street. I know it is meant for a very young age but I am so so glad I had that to watch instead of that goofy barney show.

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It is kind of sad to know that kids today will never experience what Saturdays were like for us back in the 70's, sitting in front of the tv with a big bowl of Captain Crunch watching Scooby Doo, The Krofft Supershow, Shazam/Isis, Looney Toones, Fat Albert, and then around 10:00 Creature Feature would begin and around 12:00 PM all the kids in the neighborhood would run out to play the afternoon away. Nowdays with cable and the web, cartoons are available at all times, it takes away the expectancy that we felt when Saturdays were around the corner. I remember the only thing to watch on Sunday morning was The Souuuuul Train! Ha-ha!

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I remember this show, I loved it as a child. It ended around the time I was starting to lose interest in cartoons on Saturday, so the timing was perfect. I have to agree, the shows they have for kids are ass. We did grow up during a fun time in television. Does anyone remember when ABC would put their Saturday morning line up on Thanksgiving? I clearly remember seeing Krofft Supershow on Thanksgiving Day.

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There are too many kids' networks on now with too many new and 'hip' kids shows. Unfortunately, there isn't room for seemingly dated shows with cheap special effects. It's unfortunate. I remember watching Wonderbug and Elektra Woman and Dyna Girl on our black and white tv while I was growing up in the early 80's. Man I loved that show!

- Jim

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The Empress of Evil episode of EW&DG actually spooked me! Both the cliffhanger with our heroines literally being stretched and the concluding portion with the way the Empress melted and her face cracking like that of a porcelain doll, it looked scary!


I agree! I was only nine when that episode originally aired, and I, too, thought that the "disintegrating Empress" was a bit disturbing. The image stuck in mind long after the end credits finished rolling? I thought, WTF??!!!
This is a KIDS show! They (the writers) could have come up with a less gruesome way to gid rid of the villainess.

I'm like you, that REALLY bothered me. I know she was an evil woman, but THAT
"death scene" was uncall for.

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I would really enjoy seeing the first season again. Do you think there will ever be a DVD release?

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Heh. I remember this episode. I don't remember it bothering me. I guess it was because of the whole thing about the "Electra-Split" splitting objects into two fragile unstable duplicates and not working on humans and then Electra Woman figuring out that the Empress of Evil wasn't a human being at all, but some kind of android. I remember Lucretia's horrified screaming but I figured at the time that was just because her chance at ruling the world was destroyed.

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I think there was only one season of this, according to what's on here. I didn't realize that there were different "shows" in the group. I remember this order:
Magic Mongo
Bigfoot and Wildboy
Wonderbug

Then they switched the order:
Bigfoot and Wildboy
Wonderbug
Magic Mongo

The other ones I didn't realize were on here too.

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I thought Kaptain Kool and The Kongs were at their peak the first season. The late Bert Sommer was great as Flatbush. He left after the first season to focus on his career as a singer-songwriter. Kaptain Kool and The Kongs also toned down their glam look after the first season.

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