Continuing our look at the goofy and poorly-documented Krofft Supershow. I recently landed bootleg copies, mostly edited, of the hour-long versions of all 32 episodes of this program. Unfortunately, the copies of season two doing the rounds are in really poor shape. Anyway, until this gets a proper release, and since this hasn’t actually been properly documented in this form anywhere – although somebody at IMDB did a pretty good job with some of the component parts – I thought I’d save this for posterity.
Notes:
1. Season two features the Kaptain Kool and the Kongs that everybody remembers. They’re dressed comparatively sensibly, in denim costumes instead of the glitter-haired multi-color glam rock spandex of season one. They’re also down to a four-piece, as Bert Sommer was not asked back to reprise his role of Flatbush. Unfortunately, their segments were taped at some generic theater in Los Angeles instead of in Atlanta, but of course the Kroffts’ indoor amusement park had closed by then.
2. The first season had seen a small amount of merchandising available, including a lunch box and jigsaw puzzles, but there was a lot more available for season two, including an actual Kaptain Kool and the Kongs LP and comic books, which is why everybody remembers these costumes and not the goofy ones from the first season. I don’t own the record and don’t have musician credits, but while I imagine several LA session players were mostly behind it, Mickey McMeel, who played Turkey, was a real drummer. He played with Three Dog Night for years before landing this silly gig. Many of the songs played in this season were from that album, released by Epic Records in 1978.
3. In a desperate attempt to clear up some disinformation that plagues Wikipedia and IMDB, there were two seasons of Bigfoot & Wildboy. The first season was sixteen episodes, about 12 minutes each, that starred Ray Young, Joseph Butcher, and Monika Ramirez as Suzie Lucas. Ned Romero was an occasional guest star as Suzie’s father, a park ranger.
In the second season of twelve 25-minute episodes (shown in the summer of 1979), Ramirez was replaced by Yvonne Regalado as Cindy. This character’s father was played by Al Wyatt Jr. in a couple of episodes. Both Romero and Wyatt were guest stars; neither actor should be credited as a co-star in this program.
4. Episode 10 of Magic Mongo contains some recycled dinosaur animation from Land of the Lost, and episodes 11-12 of Bigfoot and Wildboy features an alien which is wearing a Sleestak costume from that show with half of a gorilla mask glued on over its mouth. Sometimes you hate to see those pennies get pinched so hard.
5. As with season one, the dates cannot honestly be said to be completely confirmed, because TV Guide was unlikely to have printed show synopses for Saturday morning kiddie shows. Nevertheless, it’s reasonable to assume, given September 10, 1977 as the date of the first broadcast, that it aired new episodes for 16 consecutive weeks before starting repeats. The “next week” previews and clips confirm that the order below is accurate.
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode one, shown September 10, 1977
Magic Mongo: “Zap, You’re in Love” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen, Denise DuBarry
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “Black Box, part one” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars Bill Erwin (Old Dan), Laurence Haddon (Major), Bob Basso (George), Terrence Locke (Corporal), Ted Noose (Master Sergeant), James Reynolds (Tech Sergeant)
Song: “Right Direction”
Wonderbug: “The Big Game” written by Lee Maddux, guest stars Casey Kasem, Joe Lo Presti, Florence White, Don Sutton, Steve Yeager
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode two, shown September 17, 1977
Magic Mongo: “The Surfing Contest, part one” written by Fred Fox and Seaman Jacobs, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen, Sab Shimono
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “Black Box, part two” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars Bill Erwin (Old Dan), Laurence Haddon (Major), Bob Basso (George), Terrence Locke (Corporal), Ted Noose (Master Sergeant), James Reynolds (Tech Sergeant)
Song: “You Saved Me”
Wonderbug: “The Case of the Misfortune Cookie” written by Fred Fox and Seaman Jacobs, guest stars John Lawrence, Mike Wagner, Jay Rasumny
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode three, shown September 24, 1977
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “UFO, part one” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars Ned Romero (Lucas), George Ball (Thortor), Bruce Watson (Zorad)
Wonderbug: “Dirty Larry, Crazy Barry” written by Si Rose, guest stars William Bronder, Taurean Blacque
Song: “Crazy Girl”
Magic Mongo: “The Surfing Contest, part two” written by Don Boyle, Fred Fox, and Seaman Jacobs, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen, Sab Shimono
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode four, shown October 1, 1977
Magic Mongo: “Teenage Werewolf” written by Yvette Weinberger, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen, Robert Casper
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “UFO, part two” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars Ned Romero (Lucas), George Ball (Thortor), Bruce Watson (Zorad)
Song: unknown (not on LP)
Wonderbug: “Fish Story” written by Si Rose, guest stars Patrick J. Cronin, Paulette Breen, Tim Desmond
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode five, shown October 8, 1977
Magic Mongo: “Who’s Got the Mongo?” written by Richard Bluel, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “White Wolf, part one” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars E.J. Peaker (Dr. Stewart), Christopher Knight (Doug), Brian Farrell (Tom)
Song: unknown (not on LP)
Wonderbug: “Incredible Shrinking Wonderbug” written by Si Rose, guest stars Gordon Jump, Luke Andrews
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode six, shown October 15, 1977
Magic Mongo: “Hermie the Frog” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Robbie Rist, Anita Keith, Theo Burkhardt, Wayne Bauer
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “White Wolf, part two” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars E.J. Peaker (Dr. Stewart), Christopher Knight (Doug), Brian Farrell (Tom)
Song: “You Got it Coming to You”
Wonderbug: “Oil or Nothing” written by Jack Mendelsohn, guest stars A Martinez, Crane Jackson, Joseph Della Sorte
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode seven, shown October 22, 1977
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “Sonic Projector, part one” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars David Byrd (Professor), Gary Cashdollar (Victor), Ned Romero (Lucas)
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.12 “Horse Switched” written by Lee Maddux, guest stars Amanda Jones, Claude Jones, Robert Ridgely
Song: “You Put Some Love in My Life”
Magic Mongo: “You Gotta Be a Football Hero” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Tony Schwab, Lawrence Howard, Bernie Kuby, Karen Fredrik
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode eight, shown October 29, 1977
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “Sonic Projector, part two” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars David Byrd (Professor), Gary Cashdollar (Victor), Ned Romero (Lucas)
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.2 “Schlepnapped” written by Mark Fink, guest stars Dick Dinman, Ted Noose, Avery Schreiber
Song: “Sing Me a Song”
Magic Mongo: “Huli’s Vacation” written by Richard Freiman, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen, Sab Shimono
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode nine, shown November 5, 1977
Magic Mongo: “The Kissing Bandit” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen, Ralph Byers
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “Abominable Snowman, part one” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars David Hurst (Dr. Porthos), Christopher Brown (Toby), Lawrason Driscoll (Hawkins)
Song: “Without You I Can’t Go On”
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.7 “Wonderbug Express” written by Jim Brochu, guest stars James Jeter, Arny Soboloff
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode ten, shown November 12, 1977
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “Abominable Snowman, part two” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars David Hurst (Dr. Porthos), Christopher Brown (Toby), Lawrason Driscoll (Hawkins)
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.9 “Schlep O’Clock Rock” written by Earle Doud & Chuck McCann, guest stars Jeremy Foster, Tony Schwab, Philip Simms
Song: unknown (not on LP)
Magic Mongo: “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode eleven, shown November 19, 1977
Magic Mongo: “The Big Switch” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “The Secret Monolith, part one” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars Amanda McBroom (Barbara), Nick Holt (Joe)
Song: “The Whole World Will Be Dancin'”
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.11 “14-Karat Wonderbug” written by Duane Poole & Dick Robbins, guest stars Vince Martorano, Mickey Morton, Steve Pearlman
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode twelve, shown November 26, 1977
Magic Mongo: “I Cluck You Not” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Rick Podell, Russ Marin, Charles Hallahan
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “The Secret Monolith, part two” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars Amanda McBroom (Barbara), Nick Holt (Joe)
Song: unknown (not on LP)
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.3 “I Kidd You Not” written by Jack Mendelsohn, guest stars Billie Hayes, Frank Christi, Steve Kanaly
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode thirteen, shown December 3, 1977
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “The Invisible Trappers, part one” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars Paul Larson (Colonel), William Glover (Dawkins)
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.1 “Go West, Young Schlepcar” written by Duane Poole & Dick Robbins, guest stars Richard Foronjy, Read Morgan
Song: “True Love is On the Way”
Magic Mongo: “Two Faces of Donald” written by Fred Fox and Seaman Jacobs, guest stars Victor Bevine, Eddie Benton
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode fourteen, shown December 10, 1977
Magic Mongo: “Musical Magic” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen, Louise DuArt
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “The Invisible Trappers, part two” written by Donald R. Boyle, guest stars Paul Larson (Colonel), William Glover (Dawkins)
Song: “When You Feel It”
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.15 “The Not So Great Race” written by Fred S. Fox & Seaman Jacobs, guest stars Al Checco, Sandy Kenyon, Hilary Thompson
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode fifteen, shown December 17, 1977
Magic Mongo: “The Heist” written by Doug & Barbara Tibbles, guest stars Russell Shannon, Zale Kessler, Bruce Lazarus
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “The Amazon Contest, part one” written by guest stars Cynthia Sikes (Kyra), Dee Wallace (Deeda), Rick Beckner (Bert), Donna Garrett (Tarla), Glynn Rubin (Orkla)
Song: “What Do You Say to Love”
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.4 “Keep on Schleppin” written by Mark Fink, guest stars Carmen Filipi, Sid Haig, Ken Johnson
The Krofft Supershow season two, episode sixteen, shown December 24, 1977
Magic Mongo: “That Old Mongo Magic” written by Don Boyle, guest stars Bart Braverman, Larry Larsen, Roy Stuart
Bigfoot & Wildboy: “The Amazon Contest, part two” written by guest stars Cynthia Sikes (Kyra), Dee Wallace (Deeda), Rick Beckner (Bert), Donna Garrett (Tarla), Glynn Rubin (Orkla)
Song: “When I’m Loving You”
Wonderbug: repeat of 1.6 “The Big Bink Bank Bungle” written by Earle Doud & Chuck McCann, guest stars Robert H. Burns, Sam Haggin, Anthony Ponzini
The Krofft Supershow was goofy, ridiculous, often incredibly stupid, and downright delightful for under-elevens. I wish I hadn’t had to finally buy bootlegs in order to actually nail down what was in which episode – especially from the pinhead company where I found them, geez – but it sure would be wonderful for Sid and Marty’s company to finally collect this show for home video. I can’t swear I’d sit down and watch every episode of Magic Mongo, but with stock footage of Grumpy in one episode and Louise DuArt playing Nashville in another, there are a few worth a smile or ten. I would preorder Blu-ray sets immediately.
But what I really, really, really want to see collected and restored is The Krofft Superstar Hour. There aren’t any bootlegs of that show. It’s a story for another time and place…
Fire Breathing Dimetrodon Time 
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