''Dr. Shrinker'' was a segment during the first season of the ABC network's '' The Krofft Supershow'' in 1976.

Plot

Dr. Shrinker ( Jay Robinson) is a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...

who creates a shrinking ray that can miniaturize anything. Three teenagers — Brad Fulton ( Ted Eccles), B.J. Masterson (Susan Lawrence) and her brother Gordie Masterson ( Jeff MacKay) — crash land their airplane on an island. As they make their way to the only house on the island, they meet Dr. Shrinker and his assistant, Hugo (

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 i ...

). Dr. Shrinker, in an effort to prove that his shrinking ray works, shrinks the three people down to tall. The remainder of the series was different efforts by the 'Shrinkies' to return to normal size, while Dr. Shrinker and Hugo want to catch the trio so that they will have physical proof that the ray works for whatever world power wants to buy it. Dr. Shrinker also implied that he would give the unnamed buyer the Shrinkies as a free bonus. However, in one episode, Dr. Shrinker's plan was to sell the shrinking ray to the highest bidder, and the second highest bidder would receive the Shrinkies. Each episode was basically the same. As Dr. Shrinker himself said in one episode..."I chase the Shrinkies. I catch the Shrinkies. The Shrinkies escape. It's a vicious cycle, and it's driving me mad!" The concept may have been inspired by the 1940 film '' Dr. Cyclops'' in which a scientist working in the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n jungle uses his radiation experiments to shrink a group of fellow scientists to prevent them from discovering his secret work. ''Dr. Shrinker'' lasted only one season on '' The Krofft Supershow''. During the second season, it was dropped (as was the superhero segment ''

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl ''Electra Woman and Dyna Girl'' is a live action superhero fiction, superhero children's television series from 1976 created by Sid and Marty Krofft. The series aired 16 episodes in a single season as part of the umbrella series ''The Krofft Su ...

''). One episode, "Slowly I Turn", is available on DVD with the Krofft Box Set. In 2005, Marty Krofft said that he and his brother would be recording commentary for a DVD release of ''Dr. Shrinker''.

Cast

* Jay Robinson as Dr. Shrinker *

as Hugo, Dr. Shrinker's assistant * Ted Eccles as Brad Fulton * Susan Lawrence as B.J. Masterson * Jeff MacKay as Gordie Masterson

Episodes

Notes

External links

* * {{Sid and Marty Krofft American children's fantasy television series American children's science fiction television series Shrinker, Dr. Shrinker, Dr. 1970s American children's comedy television series 1970s American comic science fiction television series 1976 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings Television series about size change American television series about teenagers Television series by Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions The Krofft Supershow