H.R. Pufnstuff question: It only had 17 episodes?

Cafe Society
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Recently I got a hold of a copy of The ultimate Encyclopedia of fantasy and it was a fun read, with reviews and points of view regarding fantasy movies, books, and TV.

However, reading the bit on H.R. Pufnstuf I had to do a second take:

It claimed the show ran from 1969 to 1973 on NBC and then ABC, that was not strange, the thing that got me was, that the entry in the book, said that it only lasted 17 episodes!?!

In 5 years? I have to say I barely remember this show, since I was a toddler when it aired, (a few years later, and dub to spanish) but I have seen this show referenced many times, even in the SDMB, so I thought something that influential must have had dozens of episodes, but if the dates are right, that turns into only 3 or 4 episodes per year!

How did Sid and Marty Krofft managed to keep a series going for years with so few episodes?

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Air Dates:
On NBC,
from 9/6/69 - 9/4/71
On ABC,
from 9/16/72 - 9/1/74

Number of Episodes:
17

From here

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Thanks Guanolad! From that site we get:

So, it looks like the trick was to make something like 8 episodes in the first year, 9 the second, and then just reruns?

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All 17 episodes, including the final episode, which was essentially a clip show, were filmed in 1969.

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Wow! I sure woulda sworn it had more eps than that.

Everyone hip to the lawsuit Sid & Marty won against McD’s?

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Cecil’s at hand for those who aren’t: Was McDonaldland plagiarized from the old “H. R. Pufnstuf” kids’ TV show?

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episode list and a few summaries at TV Tome

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Jump the Shark shows 1969 to 1969, as well. Sid & Marty Kroft did several shows of this kind. They were surreal, stupid and a complete blast to watch. :slight_smile:

I think they also did Lidsville, Sigmund and the Seamonsters and The Bugaloos.

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One weirdo link that appeared during a search I did for more info:

(Warning: link could not be safe for work, since it deals with the “evil” weed)
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2926.html

That should answer the question of “what they were smoking” when they made those shows! :slight_smile:

To see if those guys at cannabis culture were not overdosing on “colitas”: was it true a lid was a unit for sale?

Very obscure bit of trivia that I do remember: H.R. Puffnstuf and the witch had a cameo in Lidsville.

Well, as Walloon and NutWrench mention, it looks like they only made the episodes in 1969, this though looks more odd to me, it would be the only recorded instance of a network getting a show from another without ordering any new episodes!

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Of course, that explanation for “Lidsville” is just a hypothesis with no evidence to back it up. (The Pufnstuf theory mentioned in that quote is that H.R. stands for “Hand Rolled.” Hand-rolled puffin’ stuff. Makes sense, but probably isn’t true.)