When I went to see Where The Wild Things Are I couldn’t help but be reminded of Pufnstuf. Part of me wished that the Kroffts had gotten Puf out first, while another part was glad the Sid and Marty could hopefully learn from the mistakes of Wild. In an article at NY Daily News, Marty expresses:

” ‘Wild Things’ is very, very good for us,” says Marty Krofft. “We always wanted to do low-tech costumes and high-tech heads. But it’ll be a big difference in tone, of course — we’ll be bright, not dark.”

Also, this marks the first time (that I’m aware of) that Marty admits they went to far with Land of the Lost. That they strayed to far from the original.

“We went with comedy, which got it green-lit. But we didn’t know it was going to go so far in the PG-13 direction and so close to an R rating,” he says of the unfortunate flop. “Our characters are all likable, and we have so much goodwill from our fans. So, now we know: Don’t mess with what’s worked.”

I’m glad to see that he’s had this realization. When I met Marty Krofft this past summer, I really wanted to discuss this exact issue with him, but wasn’t sure he would have been receptive. You can’t turn a family-friendly story of a popular children’s show into a raunchy comedy and expect success. It’s like drinking a beer when you were expecting milk. Doesn’t matter how good the beer is, it’ll taste like crap. (even though in this case it was crap)

Also in the article, Marty discusses plans for Electra Woman and Doctor Shrinker. Both stories would have great appeal if handled properly. Especially EW with the rash of super hero movies at the box office.

Thanks to Shemp DeYoung for pointing me to the article. Please leave your comments below.

With the popularity of Sid and Marty Krofft starting to gain steam, it was just a matter of time before new collectables started showing up. (more…)

The online video series Krofft Kwikies presents another exciting classic episode of Electra Woman & Dyna Girl. In this video clip, the world’s most notorious criminal, The Sorcerer, schemes to rob Fort Knox of all its golden bars,…but Electra Woman (Deidre Hall) & Dyna Girl see through the delusional illusion ensuring the only bars the Sorcerer sees are those of a prison.

Features the classic original theme music! You can watch more classic Krofft Kwikies on Myspace . com/Krofft and revisit Saturday Mornings any day of the week!

Over at IO9.com there is a pretty good discussion of Krofft shows that touch the realm of Sci-Fi (and honestly, don’t they all). (more…)

The site AfterElton has a list of 10 great TV superheroines. We here at KROFFT.NET put her at #1, but AfterElton has this to say:

For one glorious season in 1976, Sid & Marty Krofft answered the prayers of kids who believed that the 60′s Batman series just wasn’t gay enough. This would be Deidre Hall’s finest hour until that nasty Succubus possessed her in Salem years later. Speaking of soap opera stars, Jane Elliot guest starred as “Princess Cleopatra”, and then went on to create the all time greatest soap villainess, Tracy Quartermaine. In this clip, you get to see the mid 70′s Krofft production values in all their glory, plus an appearance from Sid Haig, in a performance that rivals his work as “Capt. Spaulding” in The Devil’s Rejects for sheer awesomeness. He plays “The Genie”, and our heroines are after him for kidnapping “Professor Nobokov”. ELECTRA-FREUDIAN!

In 2001, a pilot for a new version of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl was shot, starring Markie Post. In this travesty, Electra Woman was a drunken trailer park floozy whose husband had run off with the original Dyna Girl. You can watch the first part here, but be prepared to see a classic sullied.

The 2001 attempted revival was amazingly bad. I remember when I first heard of the new series, I was extremely excited. But, the resulting pilot is too difficult to even think about. This is where the Kroffts blew it. They had a great opportunity to bring back Electra Woman this century. Comic book themes have become widely accepted, and EW & DG would have been perfect.

Over at The Electra Woman and Dyna Girl Gallery they have an exclusive picture of Markie Post as Electra Woman.

The SciFi Wire gives us the stars of the new EW&DG, as well as a few more tidbits.

Many Krofft Projects Underway

The WB’s upcoming revival of Sid and Marty Krofft’s 1970s television show Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is only one of several Krofft projects under development, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Markie Post and Anne Stedman will star in the pilot for Electra, which was developed by writers Jeff Kline and Elisa Bell, the trade paper reported.

Meanwhile, Nickelodeon and Paramount are in talks to revive a feature-film version of the 1969 TV show H.R. Pufnstuf, which was on hold at Sony. Mike Mitchell would direct, from a script by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer.

A list of other projects follows, as reported by the trade paper.

• The Bugaloos, a movie based on the 1970-’72 Saturday morning series. Kerry Brown and Russell Scott are writing the screenplay.
• Land of the Lost, a movie based on the mid-’70s live-action and puppet television series about a family transported to a parallel universe, where dinosaurs never became extinct.
• A Rat’s Tail, a film retelling the Cinderella story from the point of view of the rat who becomes a coachman. Dan Rosen is writing the script.
• Black Alice in Underland, a fairy tale anthology that will be produced as a television movie or series pilot.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the new Electra Woman and Dynagirl pilot has been ordered by WB.

Click Here for details.

Deidre Hall: Down-to-Earth Diva
Monday, 08 Januray 2001 at 7pm on Lifetime

In both the real world and the universe of daytime drama, Deidre Hall has faced life’s challenges with style, poise and heart. For more than 20 years, TV audiences have watched the soap star get married, stalked, killed, resurrected and possessed by the devil. Although there have been no Satan-like scares in her real life, Hall has had plenty of personal drama, including a struggle with infertility that nearly killed her.

Click Here for more

The WB network is considering a remake of the Sid and Marty Krofft series Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, about a pair of magazine reporters who battle crime as superheroes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The original 1976 series was part of the Krofft Supershow Saturday morning lineup on ABC.