''The Krofft Superstar Hour'' is a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by

Sid and Marty Krofft Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (born April 9, 1937) are a Canadian sibling team of television creators and puppeteers. Through their production company, Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, they have made numerous children's television a ...

. After eight episodes, the show was renamed ''The Bay City Rollers Show.'' It aired for one season from September 9, 1978 to January 27, 1979 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. NBC also ran other repeat Krofft shows in an unrelated umbrella titled slot, ''Krofft Superstars'', from 1978 to 1985.

Background

The show is essentially a reworking of '' The Krofft Supershow'', replacing the fictitious band "Kaptain Kool and the Kongs" with the real life

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the " tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the B ...

. Just as on the previous show, the Rollers would perform comedy skits and musical numbers, and introduce the live action segments. The Bay City Rollers' segment also featured a character called Mr. Munchy in the main segment. The regular live-action segments were "Horror Hotel" and "The Lost Island." Also included were reruns of "Magic Mongo" from the original ''Supershow''. The show was cut back to 30 minutes after it was renamed ''The Bay City Rollers Show'', and "The Lost Island" and "Magic Mongo" were dropped. The skits with the Rollers generally featured cameos by characters from other Sid and Marty Krofft shows, including Enik and the Sleestak from '' Land of the Lost'', various characters from '' H. R. Pufnstuf'', and Dr. Shrinker (now renamed Dr. Deathray) and his assistant Hugo (now renamed Otto).

Segments

Horror Hotel

Despite the title, "Horror Hotel" was a comedy. It featured Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo of '' H.R. Pufnstuf'' fame running the eponymous

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

. She was assisted by other ''H. R. Pufnstuf'' characters: Dr. Blinky, Seymour the Spider, Orson the Vulture and Stupid Bat. Horatio J. HooDoo from '' Lidsville'' was a permanent resident in the hotel and would bear the brunt of Horror Hotel's antics.

The Lost Island

"The Lost Island" also featured a number of characters from other Krofft shows on the Lost Island within the

Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an urban legend focused on a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysteri ...

. Stories would somehow combine H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund the Sea Monster, Weenie the Genie from '' Lidsville'', a new character named Barbie, and other unlikely characters into one storyline while they stay one step ahead of Dr. Deathray and his henchman Otto. Enik from '' Land of the Lost'' was the King of the Sleestak who lived within the Lost City and the Lost Island was also inhabited by

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

s (utilizing stop-motion footage of Grumpy and Big Alice from "Land of the Lost"). The good guys would often turn to the Island Spirit for advice on how to handle whatever plight they had ended up in.

Cast

( Eric Faulkner,

Derek Longmuir Derek Longmuir (born 19 March 1951, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish former drummer and a founding member of the 1970s pop group, Bay City Rollers. His elder brother, Alan Longmuir, played bass guitar in the group. Biography Longmuir was b ...

, Leslie McKeown, Stuart 'Woody' Wood) - Themselves *

Sharon Baird Sharon Baird is an American actress, voice actress, singer, dancer and puppeteer who is best known for having been a Mouseketeer. Early life Baird was born August 16, 1943 Seattle, Washington to Eldon Baird, an aerospace worker, and Nikki Ma ...

- Various Characters * Patty Maloney - Various Characters *

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast ...

- Otto, Sigmund the Sea Monster * Louise DuArt - Barbie, Nashville, Various Characters * Paul Gale - Horatio J. Hoodoo, Various Characters * Billie Hayes - Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo, Weenie the Genie * Mickey McMeel - Turkey, Various Characters *

Jay Robinson Jay Robinson (April 14, 1930 – September 27, 2013) was an American actor specializing in character roles. He achieved his greatest fame playing Emperor Caligula in the film ''The Robe'' (1953) and its sequel ''Demetrius and the Gladiators' ...

- Dr. Deathray, Various Characters *

Van Snowden Van Charles Snowden (February 19, 1939 – September 22, 2010) was an American puppeteer active in the film and television industries for decades. Snowden performed as the H.R. Pufnstuf character on nearly every episode of the television series of ...

- Mr. Munchy, Various Characters

Voice cast

* Lennie Weinrib - H.R. Pufnstuf, Orson Vulture, Stupid Bat *

Walker Edmiston Walker Edmiston (February 6, 1926 – February 15, 2007) was an American radio, television and voice actor. Early years Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Edmiston participated in local theater productions during his high school years. He later stu ...

- Dr. Blinky, Enik, Seymour Spider, Sigmund

References

External links

Krofft Superstar Hour at 70s Kidvid website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krofft Superstar Hour, The 1978 American television series debuts 1979 American television series endings 1970s American children's comedy television series 1970s American variety television series American television shows featuring puppetry English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions Bay City Rollers