Proving that good things come to those who wait, and that four years is an eternity in a kid’s development, we sat down this morning to watch the first episode of The Bugaloos this morning. Four years ago (!), we showed our son bootlegs of the first three episodes on YouTube. He liked Sparky the Firefly, but he hated, hated, hated Martha Raye’s villain, Benita Bizarre. This morning, he could not believe that he ever found her dopey character frightening. He had one good laugh and several chuckles. He wouldn’t say that he really liked it, but it was an acceptable and silly Saturday morning distraction.
As for me finally obtaining a legit copy, I wouldn’t say that I’ve been hunting high and low for one, but I have kept an eye open. Second-hand copies of Rhino’s old DVD set are typically offered for between $120 and $250 on eBay, although I don’t believe very many are actually being sold for that price. There’s a lot of Crazy Grandma Price Guide action on eBay. I bet some algorithm pushed one that high and now everybody with a copy thinks that’s what the set is “worth.” I finally landed one in extremely good condition for $30, which feels much more reasonable.
Sadly, the only real disappointment in looking at this noisy, silly, and incredibly lovable show is realizing that it isn’t just the YouTube bootlegs: like the rest of Sid and Marty Krofft’s ’70s videotape productions, the master tapes of The Bugaloos are in terrible shape. The colors are badly faded and there are several places with some picture interference. It’s a real shame that these weren’t kept in better condition. The high cost of restoring these to their original, incredibly colorful presentation would probably be far more than the return.
