Sigmund and the Sea Monsters

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters is an American children's television series that ran from September 8, 1973 to October 18, 1975, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft and aired on Saturday mornings. It was syndicated from December 1975 to June 1978 and later as part of the Krofft Superstars show from 1978 to 1985.[1]

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
StarringBilly Barty
Johnny Whitaker
Scott Kolden
Mary Wickes
Joe Higgins
Rip Taylor
Fran Ryan
Fred Spencer
Paul Gale
Van Snowden
Sharon Baird
Sparky Marcus
Margaret Hamilton
Voices ofWalker Edmiston
Sidney Miller
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes29
Production
ProducerSid and Marty Krofft
Running time25 minutes (per episode)
Production companySid and Marty Krofft Television Productions
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 8, 1973 (1973-09-08) –
October 18, 1975 (1975-10-18)

Plot

The show centered on two brothers named Johnny and Scott Stuart. While playing on the beach near Dead Man's Point, the two of them discover a friendly young sea monster named Sigmund who had been thrown out by his comically dysfunctional undersea family for refusing to frighten people. The boys hide Sigmund in their clubhouse.[2]

Sigmund, Scott and Johnny in the program's 1973 premiere episode, 1973.

Plotlines were very simple and straightforward, usually some variation on the idea of Sigmund doing something silly to arouse attention, and the boys working to prevent him from being found by Sigmund's brothers Blurp and Slurp who want Sigmund to scare people in order to impress their parents Sweet Mama Ooze and Big Daddy Ooze. The brothers also worked to hide Sigmund from their overbearing housekeeper Zelda, elderly neighbor Mrs. Eldels, and Sheriff Chuck Bevans. Strangely, the parents were never seen on the show, nor did they return home by the end of the series.

The episodes included songs as part of the plot development. The character(s), generally Johnny, would sing a song about what he was thinking or feeling about something going on in his life, from things that made him happy to anxiety about girls.

While videotaping the first episode of Season Two, a hot light fell and started a fire. No one was injured, but the fire destroyed all of the sets and much of the costumes and other props. Most of Season Two was taped with minimal sets.[3]

Characters

Main characters
  • Sigmund Ooze (performed by Billy Barty, voiced by Walker Edmiston) - A sea monster who was kicked out of his family for not being able to scare a human.
  • Johnny and Scott Stuart (portrayed by Johnny Whitaker and Scott Kolden) - Two brothers who discovered Sigmund when they were playing at the beach

Ooze Family

The Ooze Family are a family of sea monsters that live out at Dead Man's Point. They kicked Sigmund out after he wouldn't scare a human. Most episodes would have them trying to harm Johnny and Scott to no avail. The Ooze Family consists of:

  • Sweet Mama Ooze (performed by Van Snowden, voiced by Sidney Miller) - The matriarch of the Ooze family. Sweet Mama's characterization was based loosely on Phyllis Diller.
  • Big Daddy Ooze (performed by Sharon Baird, voiced by Walker Edmiston) - The patriarch of the Ooze family. Big Daddy was a spoof of Archie Bunker from All in the Family. In the sixth episode of the first season, he is identified as "Melvin Ooze" by a tax collector.
  • Blurp Ooze (performed by Bill Germaine and Larry Larsen, voiced by Walker Edmiston) - A brother of Sigmund. Blurp's voice characterization was based loosely on that of the fictional character Gomer Pyle.
  • Slurp Ooze (performed by Fred Spencer and Paul Gale, voiced by Walker Edmiston) - A brother of Sigmund.
  • Prince - The Ooze family's pet lobster who acts like the family dog.

Humans
  • Zelda (portrayed by Mary Wickes) - The overbearing housekeeper who watches over Johnny and Scott.
  • Mrs. Eldels (portrayed by Margaret Hamilton) - The elderly neighbor of Johnny and Scott.
  • Chuck Bevans (portrayed by Joe Higgins) - The local sheriff.
  • Gertrude (portrayed by Fran Ryan) - A housekeeper who briefly replaced Zelda during the second season. Gertrude was a tough USMC drill instructor. The boys were relieved when Zelda returned after Gertrude was scared away by the house being "haunted."

Other characters
  • Sheldon (portrayed by Rip Taylor) - A magical "Sea Genie" who lives in a shell that debuted during the second season. Unfortunately, Sheldon was a bumbler and his "whammy" spells seldom worked properly.
  • Shelby (portrayed by Sparky Marcus) - A Sea Genie who is Sheldon's nephew.

Music

The songs for the show were co-written by Danny Janssen, Bobby Hart and Wes Farrell.

A cover of the show's theme song, performed by Tripping Daisy, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.

Album

Eleven songs from the show were released on Johnny Whitaker's album Friends (Music from the Television Series 'Sigmund and the Sea Monsters') (Chelsea Records, BCL1-0332).

All songs written by Danny Janssen and Bobby Hart, except where noted.

Side 1
  1. "Friends" (Janssen, Hart, Farrell)
  2. "Keep It a Secret"
  3. "A Simple Song"
  4. "The Magician"
  5. "Monster Rock" (Janssen, Hart, Farrell)
  6. "It's Up to You"

Side 2
  1. "Can't Get You Off My Mind"
  2. "Running 'Round in Circles"
  3. "Lovin' Ain't Easy"
  4. "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters"
  5. "Day and Night"

Production

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters was the first Krofft Saturday morning production that was produced for more than one season. Previous entries H.R. Pufnstuf (1969), The Bugaloos (1970), and Lidsville (1971) were in production with new episodes for only a single season.[3]

Sigmund, however, did not follow the "stranger in a strange land" premise as many of the previous Krofft shows had done. Other Krofft shows which did not follow the premise were The Bugaloos, Bigfoot and Wildboy, Pryor's Place and Wonderbug.[3]

Costumes were created by Oliver Soublette.

One episode features an appearance by H.R. Pufnstuf and another that features Jack Wild (who had played Jimmy on H.R. Pufnstuf).

The series was created and produced by Sid & Marty Krofft and Si Rose.

Episodes

Season 1 (1973)
No.TitleOriginal air date
1"The Monster Who Came to Dinner"September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08)
Johnny and Scott bring Sigmund home to live in their clubhouse.
2"Puppy Love"September 15, 1973 (1973-09-15)
Sigmund falls in love with a canine named Fluffy. Zelda cleans the clubhouse and Slurp tries to lure Sigmund home.
3"Frankenstein Drops In"September 22, 1973 (1973-09-22)
Sigmund's family kidnaps Scott, so Johnny dresses up like Frankenstein's monster to save him.
4"Is There a Doctor in the Cave?"September 29, 1973 (1973-09-29)
Johnny gets captured. The Wolfman makes a surprise appearance at the Ooze cave.
5"Happy Birthdaze"October 6, 1973 (1973-10-06)
Sigmund decides to surprise the boys by cleaning the house, but his brothers crash in.
6"The Nasty Nephew"October 13, 1973 (1973-10-13)
Zelda's obnoxious nephew Leroy stays the weekend.
7"Monster Rock Festival"October 20, 1973 (1973-10-20)
Sigmund submits his song to a radio songwriting contest and wins.
8"Ghoul School Days"October 27, 1973 (1973-10-27)
Sigmund runs away because he feels like he's getting in the way. The Assistant Principal visits to discuss the boys' slipping grades.
9"The Curfew Shall Ring Tonight"November 3, 1973 (1973-11-03)
Sigmund accidentally breaks Aunt Zelda's bowl and decides to get money from his family's cave to replace it, but he is caught after curfew by the sea monster sheriff.
10"Sweet Mama Redecorates"November 10, 1973 (1973-11-10)
Sweet Mama decides to redecorate the sea monster cave.
11"Make Room for Big Daddy"November 17, 1973 (1973-11-17)
When Blurp and Slurp destroy the family Shellavision, they run away and move into the club house with Sigmund. Big Daddy chases them home, but elects to stay and watch the club house TV.
12"It's Your Move"November 24, 1973 (1973-11-24)
Sigmund's family evacuates the cave for a storm and Sigmund moves home to avoid Johnny and Scott's parents.
13"Trick or Treat"December 1, 1973 (1973-12-01)
On Halloween, Sigmund discovers the joys of trick or treating. The Ooze family learns that Sigmund has won a TV contest.
14"Uncle Siggy Swings"December 8, 1973 (1973-12-08)
Sigmund's Uncle Siggy comes for a visit and falls for Zelda.
15"The Dinosaur Show"December 15, 1973 (1973-12-15)
After thawing out of the ice, a caveman named Ook and his pet dinosaur Unkunk move into the Ooze's cave that they used to live in and force them out.
16"The Wild Weekend"December 22, 1973 (1973-12-22)
Jack Wild spends the weekend with the boys. Prince runs away from home.
17"Boy for a Day"December 29, 1973 (1973-12-29)
Sigmund gets amnesia and thinks he's a human boy.

Season 2 (1974)
No.TitleOriginal air date
18"A Genie for Sigmund"July 7, 1974 (1974-07-07)
Sigmund finds a genie in a sea shell and meets Sheldon.
19"Paul Revere Rides Again"September 14, 1974 (1974-09-14)
Sheldon zaps Paul Revere into the club house to settle a dispute.
20"Now You See 'Em, Now You Don't"September 21, 1974 (1974-09-21)
Sheldon makes Johnny and Scott invisible.
21"Johnny-O, the Great"September 28, 1974 (1974-09-28)
With Sheldon's help, Johnny performs a magic act.
22"Super Sigmund"October 5, 1974 (1974-10-05)
Sigmund has Sheldon give him super strength.
23"Pufnstuf Drops In"October 12, 1974 (1974-10-12)
Sheldon accidentally zaps H.R. Pufnstuf into the club house.
24"Sheldon and the Nephew Sitters"October 19, 1974 (1974-10-19)
Sheldon has to baby-sit his magic nephew Shelby.
25"One Way Whammy to Tahiti"October 26, 1974 (1974-10-26)
Shelby sends Johnny and a girlfriend to Tahiti, but cannot bring them back.
26"Cry Uncle"November 2, 1974 (1974-11-02)
Zelda has to leave town.
27"The Haunted House"November 9, 1974 (1974-11-09)
While Zelda and the Sheriff are at the movies, the Oozes sneak into the house.
28"Mother Makes Ten"November 16, 1974 (1974-11-16)
Shelby's mother takes care of Burp and Slurp.
29"You Can't Beat a Magic Carpet"November 23, 1974 (1974-11-23)
Shelby and Sigmund get lost on a magic carpet ride.

Home media

In the United States, the first season of the show was released on DVD in 2005 by Rhino Entertainment, featuring all 17 original broadcast episodes, uncut and digitally remastered. It was released again on September 6, 2011 from Vivendi Entertainment. Although there were plans for season two to be released on DVD, it was cancelled because of low sales. In Australia, the complete series was released in a region-free four-disk set by Beyond Home Entertainment.[4] However this set (along with both U.S releases of season one) are now out of print and hard to find.

Reboot

In 2015 Sid and Marty Krofft announced that Amazon was partnering with them to create an updated version of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. In June 2016, the pilot was released.[5] In late 2016, it was announced that the pilot was picked up for a first season. Production for the first season occurred over the first half of 2017. A teaser trailer was released at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con. In this version of the series, David Arquette plays Captain Barnabus who believes sea monsters are real and devotes his life to capturing them. Instead of living with a housekeeper, the boys are spending the summer at their aunt Maxine's with their cousin Robyn when they discover Sigmund. Seven episodes were released on October 13, 2017.[6] The rest of the cast consists of Solomon Stewart as Johnny, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf as Scott, Rebecca Bloom as Robyn, Eileen O'Connell as Aunt Maxine, Johnny Whitaker as Zach, Mark Povinelli as Sigmund, Drew Massey as the voice of Sigmund, Meegan Godfrey as Blurp, Michael Oosterom as the voice of Blurp, Dan Crespin as Slurp, Victor Yerrid as the voice of Slurp, Lexi Pearl as Mama, and Donna Kimball as the voice of Mama.

References
  1. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 394. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  2. Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 454–455. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
  3. Martindale, David (1998). Pufnstuf & Other Stuff: The Weird and Wonderful World of Sid & Marty Krofft. St. Martin's Press. pp. 124–137. ISBN 1-58063-007-3.
  4. "Fire-Breathing Dimetrodon Time: Sigmund and the Sea Monsters 1.2 – Puppy Love".
  5. https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/sid-and-marty-krofft-sigmund-and-the-sea-monsters-revival-video-1201928730/
  6. http://lufkindailynews.com/article_5e41b9b3-eec7-5708-b406-fb3276a59757.html
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