The Krofft Supershow | |
---|---|
Created by |
Joe Ruby Ken Spears |
Starring |
Jay Robinson Billy Barty Michael Lembeck Deidre Hall Lennie Weinrib |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 32 |
Production | |
Producer(s) | Sid and Marty Krofft |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Original release | September 11, 1976 – September 2, 1978 |
Chronology | |
Followed by | 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
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 section 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.
This group was a manufactured band responsible for hosting the show, introduction of 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 filmed 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- to a four-person band. Their season-two segments were filmed 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.