Letters to the Editor
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The world of Sid and Marty Krofft
re: Biff Pocoroba
I actually went to the 'indoor theme park' in the OMNI and remember very little except for the giant escalators,and life size pinball machine in which you rode inside a pinball as it bounced around. This was the early 70's and TBS was still airing the shows. I rember being freaked out that my parents took us there, because I was still young enough to blur the lines between reality and fantasy. I kept expecting it all to be real somehow, and when it was obvious it was not, I embarked on life long bout of skeptiscism.
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Puffapalooza
About 13 years ago Nick at Nite ran a Kroft marathon, probably on spec to see if their audience would bite, and darn it if they didn't take the perfect approach to presenting it. The announcer dropped into his Tabloid TV voice, sinisterly intoning "Welcome to Puffapalooza! A trip into the dark twisted world of the Kroft brothers" (or something like that) over a montage of distorted Kroftian images. I did manage to tape it but can't work up the nerve to watch it very often. Bad kids TV and dark psychedelic visions -- to quote MST3K again, "Two bad things that go worse together."
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I loves me some lidsville
I remember watching this as a kid of about 7 or 8. The creepy opening sequence has haunted me since childhood. A kid goes backstage at a magic show and falls into a giant magicians hat which is a portal to a psychedelic universe. Ok, I bought the DVD set that came out pretty recently. The opening sequence was the best part of the show. The shows are OK, but check out the opening credits on youtube, on the natch.
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Kroft Bros were part of my Saturday Morning tradition growing up....
A great article
cmon admit it you liked/were terrified/laughed at the shows when we were growing up(or maybe you as a little older sneaking a look on Saturday mornings with younger siblings!)...egad! this is all 35odd years ago.....
I was absolutely terrified of HRPuffnstuff...for some reason since the boy was on a box kite that crashed I had a PHOBIA/hatred of box kites growing up.....and I had nitemares of the fop Charles Nelson Reilly as Hoodoo in Lidsville with the creepy hats...I hated it and would switch the channel.... my granma bought my brother and I lunchpails..he got a Dudley DoRight pail...I got a......Bugaloos lunch pail..I was so embarassed...i hated it and the show..I think I threw it away... Marshall Will and Holly on a routine expedition..cmon you remember the song.......at first was scared..but then got to not like the show as the pyramids and pylons and timetravel crap (Enoch) ruined it.....did have a crush on Holly..the Sleestaks didnt scare me as they were too slow... Sigmund I felt sorry for..he was too nice...he had an overbearing pair of brothers and parents who were gruff..and would answer the phone SHELLO....and Johnny Whitaker..grew up with him Family Affair with Anissa Jones(who when OD'd in 72 I cried at school) and Mr. French and the show I remembered was the one where the kids and Mr. French were snowbound in the cabin with no food and Mr. French had a candy bar and cleverly made hot chocolate out of it... later in 74 Johnny Witaker played Tom Sawyer with Jody Foster....
The article really doesnt touch on it but ABC had 3 Kroft shows..Wonderbug, Electrawoman and DynaGirl and..the worst/scariest...Dr. Shrinker...I had nitemares of THAT one.......with Billy Barty.....
I actually hated/loved Saturday Mornings Shows in the early 70's...putting up with the nitemares was tough but got through them......the worst one was Gigantor..I hid under the comforter for days/weeks...remember some of the obscure ones..
the Jackson 5/Osmand Family(collected the Raison Bran balloon prizes from the shows...lots of Jermaine and Jimmie ones!) Halleys Comets, Seaworld 2020, Johnny Quest(ALWAYS ended up seeing the one with the electrical eye monster...and the foreigners would always fall of the cliff screaming the same way... AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEeeeee!...bit o trivia...Animal House member and TV actor Tim Matheson was the phyisical model AND VOICE of Johnny Quest!!!!), The Jetsens(Green before Green was green), Around the World in 80 days(with Paspartous!) The Groovy Ghoolies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Archies TV Funnies (with the way too serious sounding Dick Tracy,) The Harlem Globetrotters, Tarzan(Unk Mongani! talking to the apes!) Shazaam and Isis!(had crush on her!)and of course the Warner Bros classics
Beaky the Bird....My momma done told me...to get me some dinner...
Pete Puma...But Im the little fellas mother and Im wooooooorrrried about him!
The Forgetful Wolf...Now what FILEwas I supposed to be huntin....possum?....
no.....Orangatang?....nonono....Rhinoserous? nonono...a rabbit? yeah yeah a RABBIT!!!!
sounds like me at about 5 oclock with my shortterm memory shutdown....
The Gambling bug....If at first you dont succeed try TRY again!
Daffy Duck(as Robin Hood) Yoiks and away!....yoiks..and..away.....yooiks aand awaaay..
Bugs Bunny.....the one on eminant domain and private property..he refuses to move his hole for the freeway and fights back and wins!(wonder why they dont show THAT one anymore????)
This article will make you A)feel old and B)remember the memories of the roof of your mouth hurting after eating the whole box of Captain Crunch with Crunchberries and the afternoons following the tvmorning dozing on a sugar down.....
Chris who is now 43 years young.....