Mailbag roundup

Aug 14, 2005- Permalink

The mailbag was heavy with goodies this week and one item in particular had me reaching for the Frosted Flakes.

Rhino has released a new DVD, Saturday Morning with Sid & Marty Krofft, which contains seven pilot episodes of Krofft’s live action Saturday morning series.

  • H.R. Pufnstuf, the trippy series that followed Jimmy, his magic flute, and Living Island’s mayor, H.R. Pufnstuf as they tried to keep out of the clutches of the evil Witchiepoo.
  • The Bugaloos. I had absolutely no memories of this show which featured four British teens as singing fairies. The show featured Martha Raye as Benita Bizarre.
  • Lidsville: The evil magician Hoo Doo (Charles Nelson Reilly) ruled over a land populated by talking hats. And you thought we had to worry about sugar in our cereals.
  • Sigmund and the Sea Monsters: Starred Family Affair’s Johnny Whitaker as Johnny Stuart, a boy who befriends Sigmund Ooze, a sea monster banished from his family for being insufficiently gruesome.
  • Land of the Lost: A father, two children, dinosaurs, Pakuni and Sleestaks. What more could you ask for?
  • The Lost Saucer: Ruth Buzzi and Jim Nabors played androids Fi and Fum.
  • Far Out Space Nuts: Bob Denver and Chuck McCann are two NASA commissary employees accidentally shot into space.

It was a blast going through the DVD. Shows like Lidsville and H.R. Pufnstuf hold fonder places in my mind than some of the shows, but all of them knock the dust off some of the Saturday morning memories. The DVD has some fun extras including Lidsville commentary by George Lopez, and interview with Krofft producer Si Rose and the KSAT — Krofft Saturday Aptitude Test.

We also received copies of two soundtrack CDs. The Shield: Music from the Streets presents some of the tracks from the FX network fave. A gritty cop show deserves some gritty music and this CD features tracks from Theory of a Deadman, The Black Maria and Master P. Fans who love the show’s feel will love the tunes that give it its mood.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith was a forgettable film that left me a few hours after leaving the cinema. The Mr. and Mrs. Smith soundtrack features tunes that will stick in the memory far longer. The disc features songs like “Love Stinks” from The J Geils Band, “Tainted Love” from Soft Cell, and “Mondo Bongo” from Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. Quite a few fun tunes on this CD and definitely more fun to listen to than the movie was to watch.