The Bugaloos

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The Bugaloos is an American children's television series, produced by brothers Sid and Marty Krofft, that aired on NBC on Saturday mornings from 1970 to 1972. The show features a musical group composed of four British-accented teenagers, who live in fictional Tranquility Forest. They wear insect-themed outfits with antennae and wings which allow them to fly, though on occasion, they are shown flying on surfboards. They are constantly beset by the evil machinations of Benita Bizarre, played by comedian Martha Raye. Bizarre, being untalented and ugly herself, is covetous of the Bugaloos' musical prowess.

Video The Bugaloos

Production and airing

Touted as the British version of The Monkees, The Bugaloos attracted more than 5,000 young actors and actresses to audition for the show's four lead roles, each having to demonstrate aptitude in dance, singing, and acting. Among those auditioning in spring 1970 were Elton John's future manager John Reid, and Phil Collins, who joined the art rock band Genesis later that year.

Reid and Collins had been two of the three finalists for the role of "I.Q." given to Scottish musician John McIndoe. "If one of those guys had gotten it instead of me, rock-'n'-roll history might have changed," McIndoe later joked. "Whenever I see them, I say, 'Hey guys, you were lucky you didn't get the part.'"

The show was taped in Los Angeles, California. Seventeen episodes of the series were produced. Like its predecessor H.R. Pufnstuf (1969), The Bugaloos ran for only one season (1970-1971), with reruns airing the following year (1971-1972). Following production of the first, and only, season, the Kroffts tried shooting for a second season, and also had a movie deal in the works with Columbia Pictures. However, miscommunication between the Kroffts and the actors resulted in them returning to England that December against the Kroffts' wishes. As a result, a potential second season was ultimately scrapped, along with plans for a movie which was shelved due to the bankruptcy of Columbia Pictures.

Like most children's television shows of the era, The Bugaloos contained a laugh track. Cast members John Philpott and Caroline Ellis discussed its usage while viewing an episode of the show for DVD commentary.

Maps The Bugaloos

Premise

Though peace-loving and hippie-like, The Bugaloos are pursued by the ugly, evil, jealous old crone named Benita Bizarre who lives in a gigantic jukebox, and uses it to broadcast her own brand of blaring, obnoxious, unpleasant "music." A dreadful singer, she is furious at the popularity of The Bugaloos's more melodic, upbeat sound, and she plots elaborate, unsuccessful schemes to destroy or enslave them. She frequently makes use of a powerful ultrasonic weapon called the Stereo Zapper, which can render its victim unconscious in seconds.

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Characters

The Bugaloos

Actor / Character Name / Role In the Band

• Wayne Laryea / Harmony (a bumblebee) / keyboards
• John Philpott / Courage (a ladybug) / drums
• Caroline Ellis / Joy (a butterfly) / percussion, lead and backup vocals
• John McIndoe / I.Q. (a grasshopper) / guitars and lead vocals

Benita Bizarre & staff

• Benita Bizarre (portrayed by Martha Raye), a jealous, untalented, unattractive, evil old crone with very bad taste in music
• Woofer and Tweeter (portrayed by Joy Campbell and Van Snowden), anthropomorphic stereo speakers - Benita's two bumbling henchman
• Funky Rat (portrayed by Sharon Baird), Benita's German-accented chauffeur and chief flunky

Raye also appeared the same year in the HR Pufnstuf movie as Boss Witch. The Funky Rat costume was also used for essentially the same role (Boss Witch's Chauffeur).

Supporting characters

• Sparky (portrayed by Billy Barty, in the first of many roles he would play from the Krofft Brothers), a firefly whom The Bugaloos took in - voiced by Walker Edmiston a la Frank Fontaine
• Nutty Bird, local messenger who periodically delivers messages to and from the Bugaloos
• Peter Platter, a DJ for radio station KOOK in nearby Rock City
• Mike, Peter Platters's smart-alecky talking microphone
• Magico The Magician, magician & hypnotist extraordinaire
• Gina Lolawattage, firefly singer & actress who becomes smitten with her #1 fan, Sparky
• Bluebell Flower, a giant talking flower who alerts the Bugaloos of impending danger, such as Benita's latest schemes, serving as their "alarm bell."
• The Grapevine, a bunch of talking grapes who aid Bluebell in giving the Bugaloos the latest bad news -- a visual take on the hit Motown song "I Heard it Through the Grapevine."

Voice Characterizations for the various characters in the series were provided by Joan Gerber and Walker Edmiston.

The Bugaloos were sometimes seen traveling around in their "Bugaloo Buggy", a custom-built and very colorful one-of-a-kind dune buggy made specifically for the show by the famous custom car builder, George Barris.

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Music

The show's music director was Hal Yoergler, who also wrote many of the show's songs and produced the Bugaloos album released in 1970. The title song's lyrics were written by Norman Gimbel, and its music was composed by Charles Fox. Gimbel and Fox were also the songwriters of "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and the theme songs to films and programs such as Last American Hero ("I Got A Name," sung by Jim Croce), Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman. A cover of the Bugaloos theme performed by Collective Soul is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.

The Bugaloos released an album in 1970 (Capitol Records ST-621), featuring studio-recorded versions of some of the songs performed on the show. The track list is as follows:

Side 1

1. "If You Become a Bugaloo"
2. "The Senses of Our World"
3. "For a Friend"
4. "Believe"
5. "It's New to You"

Side 2

1. "Fly Away With Us"
2. "Older Woman"
3. "Just the Memory Stays Around"
4. "Gna Gna Gna Gna Gna"
5. "Castles in the Air"
6. "The Bugaloos (Theme Song)"

One single was released in conjunction with the album: "For a Friend"/"The Senses of Our World" (Capitol 2946). "For a Friend" charted as a minor hit. Billboard Bubbling Under week of December 18, 1970 #118 for one week.

The track "Just the Memory Stays Around" did not appear in any episode, and is available only on the LP. The LP was re-released on CD in January 2000 by Vivid Sound in Japan and in 2006 by Cherry Red Records of London.

The Bugaloos recorded 15 songs. In addition to the 11 that appear on the released album, four additional songs appeared on the television show, but remain unreleased:

1. "Sparky"
2. "I'm As Happy As Can Be"
3. "I Really Love You"
4. "Flicker Town"

The music of the Bugaloos suffered the same typecasting fate which met the music of The Partridge Family, despite excellent production values in both cases. "Just the Memory Stays Around", "The Senses of Our World" and "Castles in the Air" (not to be confused with other songs of the same title) deserve particular note. Their lyrics were far above typical children's television fare:

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Episode list

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DVD Release

The complete Bugaloos series was released on DVD in May 2006 by Rhino Entertainment. The set contained all seventeen digitally remastered, original uncut broadcast episodes, with audio commentary on the pilot episode from creator Sid Krofft and director Tony Charmoli. Cast members John Philpott, Caroline Ellis, and John McIndoe also provided audio commentary on some episodes and participated in interviews. Also included were a video jukebox with a selection of songs from the episodes, a photo gallery, and a Bugaloos Interactive I. Q. Test, hosted by John "I. Q." McIndoe.

The whole catalog is available to stream at www.qkids.com and the Qkids app in iTunes Store.

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Remake

At Comic Con 2015, Sid and Marty Krofft revealed they were looking into creating an updated version of The Bugaloos as a preschool TV series.[2] In 2016's Comic Con they slipped and revealed they produced a pilot for Nickelodeon. in 2017's Comic Con Sid and Marty released a teaser trailer of the pilot with clips of the new series with Lise Simms as Benita Bizarre. In the reboot Courage is a girl, both Harmony and IQ play guitars, Joy plays the keyboard and Sparky, Funky Rat, Woofer and Tweeter all have updated looks. Benita Bizarre also lives in a video jukebox, guarded by a peacock. Woofer and Tweeter look more like robots and Sparky is smaller. There is also a new character that is a caterpillar. As of now the series hasn't been picked up yet as the pilot is still unsold. Any new information will be updated in the future.

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In popular culture

The Bugaloos are the binding childhood memory that the two main protagonists in the 2000 film The Tao of Steve discover as they begin to bond, as Syd (Greer Goodman) and Dex (Donal Logue) find out that they both had Bugaloos stickers on their respective childhood Josie and the Pussycats lunchboxes.

The Bugaloos was mentioned in an episode of Jeopardy as a question on the show in 2002

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References

8. http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/hr-pufnstuf-bugaloos-sid-marty-krofft-working-new-revivals/

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External links

• The Bugaloos on IMDb
• World of Krofft - (featuring "Krofft Kollectibles Museum")
• [3]

Source of the article : Wikipedia