The Bugaloos

The Bugaloos

1970
The Bugaloos
The Bugaloos

The Bugaloos

6.8 | en | Comedy

The Bugaloos was an American children's television series, produced by brothers Sidney Krofft and Martin Krofft, that aired on NBC on Saturday mornings from 1970 to 1972. The show featured a musical group composed of four British-accented teenagers, who lived in fictional Tranquility Forest. They wore insect-themed outfits with antennae and wings which allowed them to fly, though on occasion, they were shown flying on surfboards. They were constantly beset by the evil machinations of Benita Bizarre, played by comedienne Martha Raye. Bizarre, being untalented and ugly herself, was covetous of the Bugaloos' musical prowess.

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Seasons & Episodes

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EP17  The Good Old Days
Jan. 02,1971
The Good Old Days

Benita Bizarre has decided it's time to get rid of "The Bugaloos", once and for all. So, she sent Funky Rat down to City Hall and bought the Title Deed to Tranquility Forest! As the new owner, she gave The Bugaloos 24 hours to vacate her property. The Bugaloos invent "Madame Tania", a gypsy lady who curses Benita, and tells her the only way to break the curse, is to make friends with all her enemies. Specifically, "The Bugaloos".

EP16  Benita the Beautiful
Dec. 26,1970
Benita the Beautiful

Benita rigs a beauty pageant.

EP15  The Bugaloos Bugaboo
Dec. 19,1970
The Bugaloos Bugaboo

Sparky is unhappy because Gina Lola-Wattage has not written him. The Bugaloos insist that she's busy, but Sparky believes it's because she's a big Rock Star, and he's a "nobody". The Bugaloos insist he can be anything he wants to be, so Sparky decides to become a songwriter. With the help of the Bugaloos, Sparky pens a short ditty called "I Really Love You". This information makes it to Benita Bizarre who is told that *Sparky* is the real talent behind the Bugaloos, so she becomes "J.W. Wooster, Hollywood Agent, Extraordinare", and hires Sparky as her new songwriter. She then takes his songs and uses them in Peter Platter's "Big Talent Contest", for which the winner gets a guest shot on Peter's "Big TV Show". The Bugaloos go to retrieve Sparky from her clutches.

EP14  On a Clear Day
Dec. 12,1970
On a Clear Day

Benita Bizarre tries to sabotage a rock festival by pumping smog into Tranquility Forest.

EP13  Lady, You Don't Look 80
Dec. 05,1970
Lady, You Don't Look 80

A misunderstanding leads Benita to become convinced that the Bugaloos have access to the fountain of youth.

EP12  The Love Bugaloos
Nov. 28,1970
The Love Bugaloos

Sparky has a crush on "The Flaming Firefly of Rock", a rock star named "Gina Lola-Wattage". Gina, by chance, is an old friend of Joy's. Joy manages to get Gina to stop by and meet Sparky. Gina is scheduled to perform for the Peter Platter show, in town. Benita Bizarre, however, has other plans... Benita kidnaps Gina in order to "fill in" for her, and finally get some stage time. The gang have to rescue Gina and get her back in order to perform the show.

EP11  The Uptown 500
Nov. 21,1970
The Uptown 500

It's another exciting day in Rock City when Kook Radio sponsor, "Way Out Wheeler", the "Freaky Wheels Dealer", puts on a big road race: "The Uptown 500". In addition to getting "a lot of loot", the winner also gets to sing all of the "Way Out Wheeler" TV commercial spots. Benita Bizarre, of course, insists on winning. To ensure an easy win, she "takes out" all of the competition, even going to the extent of kidnapping Sparky, to keep the Bugaloos from winning.

EP10  Circus Time at Benita's
Nov. 14,1970
Circus Time at Benita's

"The Amazing Circus" has been cancelled, because Benita Bizarre paid them *not* to come. Since the whole town is now in the dumps, the Bugaloos decide to put on their own circus in place of it! Magico the Magnificent comes to help out and hypnotizes Sparky into thinking that he's the "Bravest Person in the World". Armed with this new bravery, he flies off to pick a fight with Benita Bizarre. He doesn't get very far, but now she thinks that Magico could use hypnosis to make her the "Greatest Singer in the World". She promptly kidnaps him and the Bugaloos plan a scheme to rescue him

EP9  Help Wanted - Firefly
Nov. 07,1970
Help Wanted - Firefly

Sparky gets a job working on Peter Platter's radio show. Meanwhile, Benita schemes to take over the radio station's signal.

EP8  Benita's Double Trouble
Oct. 31,1970
Benita's Double Trouble

Peter Platter is heading off to a "Disc Jock Convention", and asks the Bugaloos to take over his show, in his absence. After a bit of coercing, the Bugaloos accept. Benita, of course, wants to do the show herself, and kidnaps Peter, then forces him to call the Bugaloos and tell them that he's given the job to Benita, instead. The Bugaloos figure out that something is wrong and head off to the jukebox to rescue Peter. I.Q. dresses up as Benita Bizarre, and the rest of the Bugaloos imitate Funky Rat, Woofer and Tweeter!

EP7  Today I Am a Firefly
Oct. 24,1970
Today I Am a Firefly

Sparky runs away from home. Meanwhile, Woofer, Tweeter and Funky Rat shrink the Bugaloos and imprison them in Benita Bizarre's broken music box.

EP6  Now You See 'em, Now You Don't
Oct. 17,1970
Now You See 'em, Now You Don't

Benita adopts Sparky, so the Bugaloos turn themselves invisible to keep an eye on him.

EP5  If I Had the Wings of a Bugaloo
Oct. 10,1970
If I Had the Wings of a Bugaloo

Benita's determined to fly, so she kidnaps I.Q. and attempts to steal his wings.

EP4  Courage Come Home
Oct. 03,1970
Courage Come Home

Benita gets rid of all her hired help. Then Courage takes a fall and gets a bout of amnesia. Benita takes advantage of the situation by telling him he is her nephew, and he is responsible for doing the housework.

EP3  The Great Voice of Robbery
Sep. 26,1970
The Great Voice of Robbery

Benita can't stand her voice anymore, so she kidnaps Joy and uses a voice-switching machine to steal her voice. Joy gets Benita's voice. The rest of the gang get involved, complicating matters by scrambling everyone's voice.

EP2  Our Home is Our Hassle
Sep. 19,1970
Our Home is Our Hassle

Benita wants to live in Tranquility Forest, she thinks it will help her write a song for a radio contest. Benita gets a hold of a phony land deed for Tranquility Forest. The Bugaloos find a way to get her to move out of the Forest and back home.

EP1  Firefly, Light My Fire
Sep. 12,1970
Firefly, Light My Fire

Benita kidnaps the Bugaloos, and hold's Joy hostage. She forces the other members to be her backup band and attempts to record a hit song. Sparky the Firefly enters the scene and helps the Bugaloos escape, becoming their new friend. Sparky records a hit single.

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6.8 | en | Comedy , Kids | More Info
Released: 1970-09-12 | Released Producted By: Sid and Marty Krofft Enterprises , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

The Bugaloos was an American children's television series, produced by brothers Sidney Krofft and Martin Krofft, that aired on NBC on Saturday mornings from 1970 to 1972. The show featured a musical group composed of four British-accented teenagers, who lived in fictional Tranquility Forest. They wore insect-themed outfits with antennae and wings which allowed them to fly, though on occasion, they were shown flying on surfboards. They were constantly beset by the evil machinations of Benita Bizarre, played by comedienne Martha Raye. Bizarre, being untalented and ugly herself, was covetous of the Bugaloos' musical prowess.

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Cast

Martha Raye , Billy Barty

Director

Producted By

Sid and Marty Krofft Enterprises ,

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Reviews

pepsiapril My sister and i watched this show and our kids grew up being called Bugaloos.. we loved this show when we were kids. We were 9 and 10 when this show was on the air. And were disappointed when it went off the air. I didn't know it is available on DVD, I will have to go to Amazon and buy s couple copies so we can give them to our grandkids. But I am wondering about the cast...We haven't seenit since it was on, but our memories would swear it wasPhillis Diller who played the part where it says Martha Raye. Are we wrong or is this a mistake? I'veeven talked to her and she said she is sure it was Phillis Diller too.
Eddie Christie Was it a drug trip? Who knows, however, I do know that I was "hooked" on it as a kid. The story lines intermixed with music and comedy are fun loving cleverly disguised morality stories and 70's ideology directed towards children and acted in a BIG fashion – very suitable for children – which can seem kinda tripy to adults. The music was a wonderful mix between typical 70's sounds and airy Celtic-like folk music. I certainly can look back and know that a lot of my morals and ideas of how to treat other human beings came from the messages presented in the show. However, as an adult I also see some odd behavior – the character of Harmony is often making fun of others, how ironic. Even though "modern" children might not understand the concepts behind the "bad" characters (along with LP's and record players, lol), I would still highly recommend this for children as well as a fun reminder to adults looking for find or relive their past. Plus the songs are still fun to hear and sing.
michelle-264 I loved this program as a child. It made you believe you could fly or that it would be nice to fly. I must have watched reruns since it came out in 1970. I probably watched it in 1974 or 75. They had great little songs and they were British, which was interesting in itself for me. I loved the girl's hairdo and wanted mine just like that. These old shows should be brought back. I think they were great for kids. I would love to sit and watch this myself. Many of the kids shows should be brought back just like there are reruns for the older sitcoms on TVLand or Nick at Nite. Romper room was another great show during this time. I had no idea that Sid and Marty Kroft produced the Bugaloos.
timmauk I loved this live action kids show from the early '70's. In the vein of H R Puffnstuff and Lidsville. It stars a group of young people who are silly bugs, flying around singing silly songs and have silly little adventures. They are chased by the campy and over madeup Martha Raye who lives in a big jukebox.I fear that the kids of today will never get the chance to view this wonder of wonders, but if you get the chance, see it. If only to see what Children's TV was like back then.....