Ooooh my god. Ooooh my god. I had completely forgotten about Freakies. Oooooh my god. You are stretching my memory. Ow.
Hey, I liked Freakies just fine. Tasted okay to me. Then again, I’d eat about anything back then if it had sugar on it…
Did anyone else notice that the general on Lidsville must have been the model for Dark Helmet’s desert headgear in Spaceballs?
The first nightmare I can remember having was about being chased by Hoodoo (Charles Nelson Reilly) when I was about five years old. A few years ago I saw Charles Nelson Reilly in an airport and literally instantly regressed for a few seconds- he’s just as scary in person.
Oh BOY! Lidsville! – Drug connection? What was a baggie full of pot called in those days? That’s right, a LID. I always took Sid and Marty Kroft’s stuff as seconds on Saturday mornings, after all the good cartoons were over. Also I seem to recall their stuff was more prevalent after school. My favorite character was the old lady/motorcycle helmet. I always wondered why the kid didn’t just hop into the squished top hat and fly outta there.
Fenris, old chum, if you hadn’t posted the last verse of the Lidsville theme song from memory, I might have been able to. As it is, I may have that and the theme from H.R. Pufnstuff stuck in my brain for the rest of the night. If I do, I intend to invoke karma and inflict an earworm on you! 
I’m old enough to watch them the first time around, and I just remember thinking they were neat, fun shows. I did find the magicion on Lidsville a bit creepy, and Martha Raye on the Bugaloos was funny. As for the accents, what did I know – that’s what my family sounded like. I think I had the vague notion that if you had a British accent like I did and most kids in the town I was living in in America didn’t, cool stuff happened to you. (Boy, was I wrong!) It was interesting because it wasn’t a cartoon like most of the stuff on Saturday morning was, and there was a fixed line up of shows which you watched regularly.
Concering good old Charles Nelson Riley, for those of you who can’t get enough of him, you can see him on re-runs of Match Game 7_ on Game Show Network. There’s also something I’ve wondered about him for some time, but I’ve been too embarrassed to ask. Since I’ve just admitted to liking some of the worst of 70’s television, including Match Game, I haven’t got much else to lose. Was/is he gay?
I’ll slink off now before I embarrass myself further.
CJ
H.R. Pufnsfuff!
Who’s your friend when things get rough?
H.R. Pufnsfuff!
Can’t do a little 'cause he can’t do enough.
I’ve been known to play the H.R. Pufnstuf theme on the guitar. (Yeah, after hearing it on Saturday Morning Cartoons Greatest Hits.)
Which reminds me of her henchman… er, henchrat. You’d never get away with having a Nazi rat as a sidekick nowadays.
Say, is Charles Nelson Reilly still alive? I remember there was a website where you could look such information up (other than IMDB), but I don’t remember its name.
Hm. deadoraliveinfo.com. Makes sense. He’s alive.
Something just snapped in my brain. I had totally forgotten about the Freakies, and having seen the box brought back the memory that I had a pink Snorkledorf fridge magnet. Oh God, I don’t think I can handle the stretch.
So anyway, did the Krofft brothers do the Skatebirds as well, or were they just a cheap knockoff?
Charles Nelson Reilly was in an episode of The X-Files and Millennium playing the same character, an author named Jose Chung (which is kinda funny in and of itself because Reilly may be many things but he doesn’t look Mexican or Chinese). And he was absolutely brilliant in both!
Both episodes were two of the best (definitely funniest) for each series. In the Millennium one he’s writing a book exposing the cult/religion of ‘Selfosophy’, a thinly veiled parody of Scientology. Absolutely hilarious!
Anyway, at the beginning of the Millennium episode (“Jose Chung’s ‘Doomsday Defense’”) he mentions that he, “was even in a short film which won acclaim at Cannes”. Then they show a clip from the ridiculous Lidsville!
The X-Files episode was called "Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space’"
Guy should’ve got an Emmy…
It’s weird, I watched all the Sid and Marty Krofft shows… but Lidsville was one I didn’t see.
I started watching them again recently when I found them through channelsurfing. They were showing Sigmund the Seamonster (now there’s a song that will stick in your head), and Electrawoman and Dynagirl… the latter one starring none other than Dierdre Hall of Days of our Lives! Very surreal.
The next weekend I watched H.R. Pufnstuf and I just knew that was the Artful Dodger, thanks for the clarification! Then Lidsville came on and I couldn’t remember having seen it at all. Incidentally, a friend of mine has a morbid fear of Mr. Pufnstuf.
My favorite in childhood was The Bugaloos, because they could fly. I’ll be waiting for it this weekend.
When I was a kid I loved Puffinstuff and Sigmund. I wasn’t too fond of Lidsville though. I mean, a land of hats? That’s just silly. When I saw it again recently I was really disturbed. Then I saw Sigmund and was completely disappointed. It was so much cooler 33 years ago.
One thing that bothers me though. (Just one?) I recall Sigmund using the Beatles’ Got to get you into my life as the theme. Am I mixing it up with another show, or was that the end theme? I didn’t stick around for the whole show this time.
Sigmund had it’s own theme song. I only remember a snippet of it:
Now Sigmund the seamonster
and Bobby and Joe are friends
IIRC, the older boy was played by Jonny Whittaker who earlier was Jody on A Family Affair.
Also, wasn’t The Banana Splits a Kroft production?
Haj
Son of a whore! Stupid Internet Exploder. I’ll just have to type it all again.
Going from memory here…
*There’s nothing like a day out on the beach
When all it does is rain
You need somebody else to make
The sun come out again
And when you meet that special someone
You never expected to
It’ll make you believe in magic
And it will change your whole life too
I’m talkin’ ‘bout friends (friends, friends)
Yeah, I’m talkin’ ‘bout friends (friends, friends)
I’m talkin’ 'bout friends if you’re young or old
Everybody needs friends*
I also remember…
Now Sigmond the Seamonster
And Johnny and Scott are friends…
But I don’t remember where that was. (End credits?)
[sub]How frightening is it that I can remember the Sigmond theme song?[/sub]
Here’s some of the ending credits theme; it was different from the beginning one. I always did think it sounded “Beatles”-ish, but it’s obviously not, now that I look at the words:
You better run, you better hide
We gotta keep you out of sight
Be careful Sigmund.
Cover your tracks when you leave
Cause you know Zelda won’t believe
Your friend is Sigmund.
Is there any doubt that Sid and Marty did a few drugs in those days?
Apparently not, if this review of the DVD of H.R. Pufnstuf is correct: “After providing costumes for Hanna/Barbera’s The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, the siblings went on to create and produce shows of their own, including Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Land of the Lost, and The Bugaloos.”
Weren’t the Krofts also responsible for Far Out Space Nuts?
Yes, some of the Kroft creations could terrify small children. I feel that this is one of the things lacking in todays saturday cartoons. Witchie Poo’s appearance was the stuff of nightmares. It was only her comical imcompetance which made her bearable to tots.
Having been born in 75, I have no memory of Freakies.
But, one of the local channel showed Land Of The Lost through my formative years. Many of the special effects were cheezy even to a seven year old. But some of the episodes (especially a few featuring Eenik, the Altrusian) were very well written.
This is the “new” lame opening song.
Apparently there was some problem with the rights to the better, original song (below)
I had an “Up Close and Personal” with Charles Nelson Riley a couple years back while bartending an awards show. Still on his first scotch IIRC, I told him how scary I thought he was on Lidsville, and he BELTED out, “I AM THE GREAT HOO-DOO!!!” Really had me crackin’ up.
He clearly loved doing it and clearly loves being remembered for it.