The Krofft Supershow
Debut: January 01, 1976
Ended: January 01, 1978

"The Krofft Supershow" was ABC's Saturday morning showcase for a rotating roster of original Sid and Marty Krofft shows including "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl," "Dr. Shrinker," "Wonderbug," reruns of "The Lost Saucer" and (in the second season) "Bigfoot and Wildboy" and "Magic Mondo." The series was hosted by Kaptain Kool and the Kongs, a rock group that was assembled for the series. The Kongs provided wacky skits and musical segments between the 15 minute installments of the shows. Each of the Kongs had their own distinctive costume and personality -- Kaptain Kool (MIchael Lembeck) sported a cabbie hat and clothing covered in rectangles, Turkey (Mickey McMeel) had psychedelic suns on his attire, Nashville (Louise DuArt) wore butterflies, Superchick (Debra Clinger) wore hearts, and Flatbush (Bert Sommer) sported a pimp hat with a feather and a necktie. During the first season, the Kongs' segments were filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, where the brothers Krofft had opened their ill-fated theme park, "The World of Sid and Marty Krofft" (in the building which is now headquarters to CNN). The show went through several changes during its time on the air. In the beginning the Kongs wore heavy face makeup (KISS had recently exploded in popularity), but their look was quickly toned down. The show originally aired in a 90 minute block, but when ABC execs discovered that kids were switching over to the competition during the last half hour (CBS's "ARK II" and NBC's "Big John, Little John"), the show was cut down to 60 minutes and reruns of the always-popular "Super Friends" were thrown on after the Supershow. As a result, "The Lost Saucer" was dropped altogether and the Kongs' screen time was cut down from 16 minutes to 11 minutes per week. When the show returned for a second season, Flatbush was inexplicably absent from the cast. In 1978, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs released one self-titled music LP on Epic Records. The same year, Peter Pan Records released a storybook-like album with "Magic Mondo," "Bigfoot and Wildboy" and "Wonderbug" stories and a few Kong skits. There was also some other tie-in merchandise released, including comic books, posters, iron-on transfers, and guitars and radios adorned with photos of the Kongs. When the series was canceled, the Kroffts switched from ABC to NBC and essentially mounted the same show without Kaptain Kool and the Kongs. In their place, "The Krofft Superstar Hour" starred the popular Scottish band The Bay City Rollers, though the format was basically the same and included a few new segments (that series went through similar changes, including being quickly retitled "The Bay City Rollers Show"). The shows that originally aired during "The Krofft Supershow" have since been seen as stand-alones ("Electra Woman" and "Dr. Shrinker" have had particular popularity) and all have been released on home video in one format or another without the Kongs. In 2003, Orange County, California's Cox Cable began airing the 60 minute version of the show during their "retro Saturday morning" lineup, marking the first time the Supershow had been seen in its original format since the '70s. The show aired from 2003-2005 on Cox Cable and was resurrected in 2008.

Intros
Posters
Quotes
Superchick: "[Nashville has stage fright] The audience loves you!"
Nashville: "Superchick, I'm not afraid of the audience, I'm afraid of the stage!"
Kaptain Kool: "And now, Turkeys from the Turkey!"
Kaptain Kool: "Kaptain Kool is nobody's fool!"
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