Sid & Marty Krofft

Observations on H.R. Pufnstuf: The Complete Series: Disc One

1)Barney owes a BIG debt to this guy. Big, brightly colored woth rounded, oversized round head. And friendly to kids.

2) The Kroffts were definitely not the equal of Henson and associated. Fantastic as everything looks in "Pufnstuff," nothing seems alive. The faces are stiff, and the mouths just flap open and shut or don't move at all. The weird voices, sound effects, and stumbling around don't compensate for the shortcomings.

3) On the other hand, it's not like the Kroffts didn't achieve something here. Pufnstuf is undoubdtedly the most anthropomorphized TV show ever. EVERYTHING is a live here, some of them jaw-droppingly so. (The sneezing house is still incredible both in design and execution.)

4) The commentary by the Kroffts on disc one of the recent DVD is priceless. I don't remember which is Sid and wich is Marty, but it goes like this:

KROFFT1: This show is so magical.

KROFFT2: Jeez, we really lost our shirt on this show. Why'd you have to go so much over budget?

KROFFT1: jack Wild was an amazing talent.

KROFFT2: I opened my house to that kid and he tried to jump my teenage daughters.