Letters to the Editor
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Just cutsie-creepy to me
My brothers and I found the Krofft products more than a little grating, with a touch of visual dreck, too, and we could get a better head-trip watching Wallace & Ladmo, a loopy, fantastic, regional smart-ass kids show in AZ we were raised on. For us, "Roger Ramjet" beat a friggin' flute any day. Never took to the names that the Kroffts used either - they were damnably consistent tho, I'll give 'em that. Without the sound, chopped up into bit segments, they would make good visual wallpaper in the baby's room, however, as the colors were very unlike the others.
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About those dinosaurs...
Of all the Krofft shows, "Land of the Lost" still has a surprisingly large place in my memory. I was too young to criticize the sets or FX - what I remember was that unlike almost all children's programming, it was genuinely scary. From the basic terror of having a T.Rex chase after you to the intense creepiness of the lizard-men Sleestaks - anyone else get goosebumps at the sound of their hissing as the characters ran through the tunnels? - it kept me on edge in a way similar to the frightening parts of Wizard of Oz or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory did (not that it was in the same class as those films). And looking back, there was a sort of existential dread and weirdness that permeated the show - pyramids that acted as gateways through time but never quite allowed escape, dinosaurs stalking through alien ruins...far weirder than a proto-Jurassic Park. Definitely a show with some meat on it, for all it's hokeyness.
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Childhood memories...
sometimes shouldn't be revisited. I saw the cinema film version of H.R.Pufnstuff at the age of about 12, and vivily remember Mama Cass as the wicked witch singing the song "Different." It's no exaggeration to say that song -- an allegory for coming out and being gay -- changed my life. When I turned forty I found a VHS copy of the film, and was appalled by what I saw. It's not just wacky, it's just plain bad.
The song was still great, though. I just wish I could find out who wrote it...
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That brought back some memories
I loved the earlier Krofft shows as a child, but had pretty much outgrown them by the time "Land of the Lost" came on the scene. I particularly remember "the Banana Splits Adventure Hour" which they designed the costumes for.
Of course, the story would not be complete without mentioning that their genius lives on in the characters of Mcdonaldland, which was found in court to be plagiarized from "H.R. Pufnstuf"; the Kroffts won a 1971 copyright infringement suit against Mcdonalds which was upheld on appeal in 1973.
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My kids LOVE H.R. Pufenstuf!
Why have kids if you can't revisit your own childhood?
My son, who was six when we got the series on NEtflix, loves it and was not happy when we had to send the DVD's back. They even had coloring books at the dollar store last year. I bought ten. What a great add on to a gen X birthday present. Nostalgia is cheap fun.
I found "The Land of the Lost" too scary when I was a kid. I remember it seemed realistic at the time. (!)
And the other letter writer is right about preschool tv now. Not funny. OLD winnie the pooh was funny. I think the difference is the assumption that the parents won't be in the same room or paying attention to what is on the tube as long as they think it is educational and safe. (I should put quotes around those words.) Having toddlers and a nursing baby and watching that stuff WITH my kids may go a long way to explaining my mental state when my kids were small!
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While I didn't have the vocabulary at the time
I found the Krofft shows repulsive in a particularly disturbing way -- the stillborn über-creepy failed-puppet-show designs with nightmarish colors coupled with insipid plots and acting were like some toxic by-product of all that shitty late 60s design, avocado-colored appliances, things like that. Unloved, artificial landscapes and characters produced the feeling that the actors must have hated what they were doing while realizing that television had hit a new low, and an unspeakable one at that.
I agree with an earlier writer that a kid's show like "Wallace and Ladmo" was infinitely funnier and more entertaining during its brief run. It had a kind of self-effacing fun that was never going to be found in any Krofft creation. I feel like taking another shower and changing clothes just thinking about any of that Krofft stuff.
Compare the atrocious Krofft body of work with the beloved Pee Wee's Playhouse from the early 90s.
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Right on!
Nice article, Sarah.
You must be in your mid-40s also because I could relate to everything you described.
Land of the Lost was a favorite show, and HRP was magical and memorable to those of us who were watching and didn't know what acid was. All of it was great stuff.
I suspect the same experience for those tots watching the Teletubbies these days. It seems like an acid trip for pre-schoolers, but what do they know about acid!
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Chaka
What, no love for Opie Cunningham's little brother as Chaka? No mention of Jim Nabors or Ruth Buzzy? Martha-freaking-Raye? Gilligan and the Maytag repairman nee "Hi guy" guy? MST3K owes a lot to "Far Out Space Nuts."
And, yes, "Land of the Lost" had a feeling of real danger when the sleestaks were right on the Robinsons' tails. So frustrating when they tried to control events from inside the pylons only to see their home just outside their reach.
And no mention of Wonderbug. "There's no time for that, Susan. Hey! I've got an idea...."
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Electra Woman and Dyna Girl!
My brother and I used to watch the Krofft Supershow everyday after school. Loved it!
Thanks for the article, Sarah. I had the same experience with having little bits of these nearly-forgotten shows occasionally float into my consciousness on and off for most of my adult life. At least until I saw some clips from them on YouTube last year, which brought them all back in all their day-glo glory (Electra Woman and Dyna Girl--my favorite also--are represented there, at least).