The Bugaloos

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Cast:

John McIndoe	I.Q.
Wayne Laryea	Harmony
John Philapott	Courage
Caroline Ellis	Joy
Martha Raye	Benita Bizarre
Billy Barty	Sparky
Van Snowden	Tweeter
Sharon Baird	Flunky Rat
Joy Campbell	Woofer
Joan Gerber	Various voices
Walker Edmiston	Sparky, Flunky Rat, Woofer, and other various voices

Air Dates:
On NBC,
from 9/12/70 - 9/2/72

Number of Episodes:
17

Plot Synopsis:
The Bugaloos were four singing teenagers with wings who live in Tranquility Forest with their friend Sparky, the Firefly. Their lives would have been fairly trainquil if it wasn't for the evil Benita Bizarre and her assistants: the appropriately named Flunky Rat, Woofer and Tweeter. Benita wanted to be a singer and she was jealous of the talents of the Bugaloos, so she spent most of her time trying to capture them or steal their talents.

Comments:
This was the second Krofft show to grace the airwaves and marked Billy Barty's first of many appearances on the various Krofft series. Barty (and Raye) worked with the Kroffts on the Pufnstuf movie.

Most of the other Krofft shows of the era had the basic theme of "stranger(s) in a strange land" trying to return home. Background information for each show was provided by the theme song. In the case of the Bugaloos, they were what they were - a group of young musicians living in Tranquility Forrest.

News:

(May 2008) Once again, a three hour block of Krofft shows are airing on cable in California. Currently, the Bugaloos are not part of the block, but if the station follows their previous pattern, the show will be rotated into the lineup once some of the currently airing shows have aired all of their episodes. More information is available here.

On May 23, 2006, Rhino Home Video released the complete Bugaloos series on DVD. According to Tranquility Forest, with interviews and commentary from three of the Bugaloos (Caroline Ellis, John Philpott, and John McIndoe), as well as commentary from director Tony Charmoli and Sid Krofft.

Buy the DVD set through Amazon:

Episode Guides:
An extensive guide with photos, lyrics, and synopsis is available at Tranquility Forest

Multimedia:

Krofft Kwikies - Dr. Shrinker “The Love Bugaloos”	Krofft Kwikies - The Bugaloos “Firefly Light My Fire”
"The Love Bugaloos"	"Firefly Light My Fire"

Sound clips from the episodes are available at Tranquility Forest

Buy the Bugaloos on CD

Images/Screen Captures:

(click on images for larger versions)

IQ

Harmony

Courage

Joy

Sparky

More Bugaloos Photos

Links:
Tranquility Forest - The Ultimate Bugaloos Site

Bugaloony

The Bugaloos Room

Billy Barty's Official Page

Bugaloos at IMDB

Availability:

A box set of the entire series was released on DVD on May 26,2006, complete with commentary from the series' stars and creators.

In anticipation of the box set, Rhino released a sampler DVD, featuring three episodes, "Firefly, Light My Fire", "Courage, Come Home" and "The Uptown 500". The sampler can only be found in stores owned by Trans World Entertainment, which includes FYE, Coconuts, and Wherehouse.

Previously, Rhino released a limited edition boxset of the entire series on VHS as part of their Handmade series. For more info, check out Handmade's Bugaloos site.

Rhino has put out two VHS volumes of Bugaloos episodes. Volume one contains "The Love Bugaloos" and "If I Had the Wings of a Bugaloo". Volume two has been released and contains "Lady, You Don't Look Eighty" and "Benita the Beautiful". Rhino also included the "Benita's Double Trouble" episode on the Krofft Box Set, which is available on VHS and DVD.