The Krofft Supershow - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Kaptain Kool and the Kongs) 1976 American TV series or program

The Krofft Supershow

Created by	Joe Ruby Ken Spears
Starring	Michael Lembeck Debra Clinger Mickey McMeel Louise DuArt Bert Sommer
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	32
Production
Producer	Sid and Marty Krofft
Running time	90 minutes (season 1) 60 minutes (season 2)
Production company	Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 11, 1976 (1976-09-11) – September 2, 1978 (1978-09-02)
Related
The Krofft Superstar Hour

The Krofft Supershow is a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It aired for two seasons from September 11, 1976, to September 2, 1978, on ABC.

Background

The show was composed of several live-action segments, hosted by "Kaptain Kool and the Kongs", a rock band created for the series. The season-one (1976–1977) segments were Dr. Shrinker, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, and Wonderbug, plus reruns of The Lost Saucer for the first half of the season (they were dropped when the show was cut from 90 minutes to one hour). For season two (1977–1978), "Dr. Shrinker" and "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" were dropped and replaced with Bigfoot and Wildboy and Magic Mongo. Each live-action segment was about 15 minutes in length.

Instead of a third season, the show was massively revamped (and moved to NBC) to feature the then-popular Bay City Rollers. Now retitled The Krofft Superstar Hour, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs were replaced by the Rollers, and new live-action segments "Horror Hotel" and "The Lost Island" replaced the older ones.

Show segments

Kaptain Kool and the Kongs

This group was a manufactured band responsible for hosting the show, introducing the other live-action segments, and performing skits and songs. For the first season, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs were portrayed as a wacky glam rock band. Segments were videotaped at the short-lived World of Sid and Marty Krofft indoor amusement park in Atlanta. For season two, their image was toned down, and they were downsized from a five-person band to a four-person band. Their season-two segments were taped in a studio with an audience of children.

Most of the songs were written by the Osmonds. After they were replaced by the Bay City Rollers, the group made appearances on other Sid and Marty Krofft productions, including Donny & Marie, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, and The Krofft Komedy Hour. They also made an appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand and they starred in two primetime TV specials featuring previews of ABC's Saturday-morning lineup.

Cast:

Kaptain Kool: Michael Lembeck
Superchick: Debra Clinger
Turkey: Mickey McMeel
Nashville: Louise DuArt
Flatbush: Bert Sommer (Season 1 only)

Two albums were released featuring Kaptain Kool and the Kongs, both in 1978: the self-titled Kaptain Kool and the Kongs featured the band singing, and Stories from the Krofft TV Supershow includes several comedy skits. In addition, they released one single, "And I Never Dreamed", written by Harvey Scales backed with "Sing Me a Song".

Dr. Shrinker

Main article: Dr. Shrinker

Dr. Shrinker is an evil scientist with a lab on an uncharted island. When teenagers Brad, B.J., and Gordie are stranded on the island, Dr. Shrinker subjects them to his shrinker machine. They manage to escape the lab in miniature form; the series follows their adventures as they try to evade the clutches of the mad scientist and his assistant Hugo.

Cast:

Dr. Shrinker: Jay Robinson
Hugo: Billy Barty
Brad: Ted Eccles
B.J.: Susan Lawrence
Gordie: Jeff MacKay

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl

Main article: Electra Woman and Dyna Girl

Lori and Judy, reporters for Newsmaker magazine, are secretly Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, crime-fighting superheroines. Assisted by their friend Frank Heflin, they fought such supervillains as the Pharaoh and Cleopatra, the Sorcerer, Glitter Rock, Ali Baba, Spider Lady, and the Empress of Evil.

Cast:

Electra Woman/Lori: Deidre Hall
Dyna Girl/Judy: Judy Strangis
Frank Heflin: Norman Alden

Wonderbug

Main article: Wonderbug

Barry, C.C., and Susan are three teenaged friends who fixed up an old dune buggy (which they dubbed "Schlepcar"). When they attach a magic horn to the car, Schlepcar comes to life as Wonderbug. Wonderbug could fly, and it helped the teens fight crime.

Cast:

Barry: David Levy
C.C.: Jack Baker (as John Anthony Bailey)
Susan: Carol Anne Seflinger
Wonderbug (voice): Frank Welker

Magic Mongo

When teenagers Donald, Lorraine, and Kristy find an old bottle, they discover it is the home of a genie named Mongo. Mongo's magical attempts to help his young masters lead to many wacky misadventures.

Cast:

Mongo: Lennie Weinrib
Donald: Paul Hinckley
Lorraine: Helaine Lembeck
Kristy: Robin Dearden
Ace: Bart Braverman
Duncey: Larry Larsen

Bigfoot and Wildboy

Main article: Bigfoot and Wildboy

After Wildboy was orphaned in the Pacific Northwest, he was found and raised by Bigfoot, the legendary man-beast of the forest. The two work together to fight those who would harm the forest. They were aided in the first season by Suzie, 12-year-old daughter of Ranger Lucas; in the second season, Suzie was replaced by Cindy, a young archeology student.

The episodes of "Bigfoot and Wildboy" that aired on The Krofft Supershow were 15 minutes in length. In 1979, ABC brought back the show as a stand-alone series by editing the 15-minute segments into 30-minute episodes. New episodes were also filmed and aired in the summer of 1979.

Cast:

Bigfoot: Ray Young
Wildboy: Joseph Butcher
Suzie: Monika Ramirez
Ranger Lucas: Ned Romero

References

Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 267–270. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
Trivia entry at the Internet Movie Database. Last accessed 27 February 2007.
Entry at Rate Your Music. Last accessed 27 February 2007.

External links

v t e Sid and Marty Krofft
Television shows	H.R. Pufnstuf (1969) The Bugaloos (1970) Lidsville (1971) Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973) Land of the Lost (1974) Far Out Space Nuts (1975) The Lost Saucer (1975) Donny & Marie (1976) The Krofft Supershow (1976) The Brady Bunch Hour (1977) The Krofft Superstar Hour (1978) Pink Lady and Jeff (1980) Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (1980) Pryor's Place (1984) D.C. Follies (1987) Land of the Lost (1991) Family Affair (2002) Mutt & Stuff (2015) Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (web series) (2017)
Krofft Supershow segments	Dr. Shrinker (1976) Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976) Kaptain Kool and the Kongs (1976) Wonderbug (1976) Magic Mongo (1977) Bigfoot and Wildboy (1977)
Krofft Puppets appearances	The Dean Martin Show (1965) The Banana Splits (1968) New Zoo Revue (1972)
Pilots and TV specials	Fol-de-Rol (1972) The World of Sid & Marty Krofft at the Hollywood Bowl (1973) Really, Raquel (1974) NBC Saturday Morning Preview Revue (1974) Jimmy Osmond Presents ABC's Saturday Sneak Peek (1976) The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976) The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (1976) Kaptain Kool and the Kongs Present ABC All-Star Saturday (1977) The Bay City Rollers Meet the Saturday Superstars (1978) The Krofft Komedy Hour (1978) Bobby Vinton's Rock 'n' Rollers (1978) Anson & Lorrie (1981) The CBS Saturday Morning Preview Special (1983) Saturday's the Place (1984) The Cracker Brothers (1984) Rock 'n' Wrestling Saturday Spectacular (1985) The Patti LaBelle Show (1985) Sid & Marty Krofft's Red Eye Express (1988) Krofft Late Night (1991) Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (2001)
Films	Pufnstuf (1970) Middle Age Crazy (1980) Side Show (1981) Harry Tracy, Desperado (1982) Land of the Lost (2009)
Live shows	Howdy, Mr. Ice of 1950 (1949) Les Poupées de Paris (1961) Circus (1966) Funny World (1966) Kaleidoscope (1968) Fol-de-Rol (1968) A Broadway Baby (1984) Comedy Kings (1988)
Other	Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (2016 web series) The World of Sid and Marty Krofft theme park Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald's Corp. Toby Terrier and His Video Pals Tales of the Okefenokee

v t e Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1970s
First-run animated series	The New Casper Cartoon Show (1963–70) The Smokey Bear Show (1969–70) The Cattanooga Cats Show (1969–71) Hot Wheels (1969–71) Skyhawks (1969–71) The Adventures of Gulliver (1968–70) Fantastic Voyage (1968–70) The Reluctant Dragon & Mr. Toad Show (1970-71) Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down (1970–72) The Road Runner Show (1971–73) The Funky Phantom (1971–73) Jackson 5ive (1971–73) The Osmonds (1972–74) The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie (1972–74) The Brady Kids (1972–74) Kid Power (1972–74) Yogi's Gang (1973–75) Super Friends (1973–74) Lassie's Rescue Rangers (1973–75) Goober and the Ghost Chasers (1973–75) Mission: Magic! (1973–74) Hong Kong Phooey (1974–75) The New Adventures of Gilligan (1974–77) Devlin (1974–76) These Are the Days (1974–76) The Tom and Jerry Show (1975–77) The Great Grape Ape Show (1975–76) The Oddball Couple (1975–77) Jabberjaw (1976–78) The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour (1976–77) The Mumbly Cartoon Show (1976–77) Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (1976–77) The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977–78) Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics (The Scooby-Doo Show Laff-A-Lympics Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels) (1977–79) Fangface (1978–79) Challenge of the Superfriends (1978–79) The All-New Pink Panther Show (1978–79) The World's Greatest SuperFriends (1979–80) The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show (Mighty Man and Yukk Rickety Rocket) (1979–81) Spider-Woman (1979–80) Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979–80)
First-run live-action series	American Bandstand (1957–87) Discovery (1962-71) Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp (1970–72) Here Come the Double Deckers! (1970–72) Lidsville (1971–73) Curiosity Shop (1971–73) Make a Wish (1971–76) Korg: 70,000 B.C. (1974–75) The Lost Saucer (1975–76) Uncle Croc's Block (1975–76) The Krofft Supershow (1976–78) Bigfoot and Wildboy Dr. Shrinker Electra Woman and Dyna Girl Magic Mongo Wonderbug Junior Almost Anything Goes (1976–78) Animals, Animals, Animals (1976–81) ABC Weekend Special (1977–97) Kids Are People Too (1978–82)
Rebroadcasts	George of the Jungle (1967–70) Bewitched (1971–73) Jonny Quest (1970–72) H.R. Pufnstuf (1972–73) The Monkees (1972–73) Speed Buggy (1975-76) Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1978) The Bugs Bunny Show (1973–75)
Related topics	Animation in the United States in the television era

Categories: