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(More customer reviews)"The World of Sid and Marty Krofft" is a three-tape compilation of classic Saturday morning kids' television. The three tapes contain one episode each from 13 different Krofft series. For the most part, these programs were produced and initially aired in the 1970s. The collection as a whole is a wild mix of fantasy, science fiction, puppetry, and comedy.
Many of these shows still hold up remarkable well after all these years. "H.R. Pufnstuf," the fantasy about a human boy marooned on a magical island, is loaded with bizarre puppets and surreal, hallucinogenic imagery. Young "Pufnstuf" star Jack Wild has a fun song-and-dance number in this episode. "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters" features one of kid TV's most lovable characters in Sigmund, the tentacled sea creature who befriends human boys Johnny and Scott. Also fun is "The Lost Saucer," a sci-fi comedy that is greatly energized by the comic chemistry of stars Ruth Buzzi and Jim Neighbors; the two play friendly androids. "Saucer" also features some fun visual touches, such as the Chickaphant (a huge mutant chicken/elephant hybrid).
But the best of the Krofft shows is probably "Land of the Lost," a remarkable attempt to combine serious family drama and science fiction in a children's show. The LOTL episode in this set, "Skylons," revolves around the mysterious alien technology which the Marshall family finds in their strange home.
Other shows represented on the set are the musical fantasy "Bugaloos"; the trippy "Lidsville," featuring a cast of talking hats; "Dr. Shrinker," a sci-fi comedy about a mad scientist with a shrinking ray; "Wonderbug," a fantasy about a flying car; "Magic Mongo," about a genie and his young pals; and "Pryor's Place," a "Sesame Street"-like show featuring comedian Richard Pryor.
Not all of the shows hold up as well. The episode of "Far Out Space Nuts," a silly sci-fi comedy, is painfully slow moving. I have fond memories of "Bigfoot and Wildboy," the series about a young man raised by the legendary hairy creature of the American wilderness. But the selected episode, featuring a cheesy female vampire, plays like an Ed Wood film. And the superhero series "Electra-Woman and Dynagirl" fails to achieve the tricky balance of camp and excitement attained by the 60s "Batman" series (after which the Krofft show appears to be modeled). The "Electra-Woman" villain in this episode, The Pharaoh, seems like a rip-off of Batman's King Tut.
Overall, "The World of Sid and Marty Krofft" is great fun, and even the less-than-effective shows still bring back great memories.
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