Saturday Morning Fever #2 – Far Out Space Nuts

SATURDAY MORNING FEVER - Episode 2

We said 'lunch', not 'launch'! Rob welcomes Xum Yukinori to talk about one of his favorite Saturday Morning staples, FAR OUT SPACE NUTS by Sid and Marty Kroft!

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Opening theme by Luke Daab: http://daabcreative.com

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10 responses to “Saturday Morning Fever #2 – Far Out Space Nuts

  1. I watched all those Sid and Marty Kroft shows as a kid: Sigmund the Sea Monster, Electra Woman, Lidsville, Lost Saucer, etc and even then I knew they were low-budget time-fillers. I have a certain nostalgia for them but they are hard to take on now. They remind me of the Ed Wood of children’s programming. Back in 2000, the Krofts sat for an extensive interview with the Archive of American Television. It’s worth checking out :
    http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/marty-krofft

  2. My thanks for this opportunity, Rob.

    Since our recording, I have found out that the Laurel and Hardy film I was thinking about was called “Laughing Gravy.”

    And I realize that I had mistakenly referred to “The Old Dark House” as “This Old Dark House”… which is a show about Bob Villa instructing the viewers how to build secret passages and making eye holes in paintings…

  3. I grew up in this era and watched all the Kroft shows. They all seemed fueled by LSD.

    I remember the concept of Far Out Space Nuts but no particular episodes. That said, ‘I said Lunch not Launch’ is in my lexicon of phrases to blurt out every so often. So something stuck. In my mind’s eye, this show was on for years so I am surprised to hear it only lasted a year.

    And now that I know they are on YouTube, I fear there will be time wasted in my future!

  4. I have very, VERY vague memories of this…I think. I seem to recall seeing Bob Denver in something else while being infatuated with the Gilligan’s Island series in my formative years. I remember seeing the comic ad by Neal Adams (or Continuity Studios, at least) in a back issue I picked up later, and thinking “I seem to remember this”.

    The most vivid Kroftt memory I have is of the Wonderbug portion of the Kroftt Super Show, and I think it’s because I thought it was a live-action version of Speed Buggy. I was right on the end of the Kroftt domination of kids shows of the era.

    Thanks to Xum’s passion for this, I’m going to have to check out some episodes on Youtube. I do love me some Bob Denver antics, and Chuck McCann was the voice of the Thing on the 90s Fantastic Four cartoon, so I think I have a good idea what to expect!

    Fun episode!

    Chris.

  5. Due to the ill-timing of my birth, I just missed the boat, or spaceship, on this one. Given that I was a huge fan of Gilligan’s Island as a child (my favorite bath toy was Playskool’s Gilligan’s Floating Island playset), I have no doubt that I would have fallen in love with Space Nuts.

    Thank goodness for YouTube, and thank you, gentlemen, for bringing this series to my attention. Maybe I can convince my daughter to watch it with me.

  6. I’ve never seen it, probably because I was 4 when it was on, and I didn’t watch English-language TV yet and they probably didn’t translate it (watched a lot of Gilligan’s Island in French though). Still enjoyed the discussion. Looks like goofy fun… in small doses.

    I do admit to watching Gilligan’s Planet though.

  7. Oh and I liked Laurel and Hardy too (though I think I discovered them in animation first, same with the Three Stooges probably) and I get what Xum was saying about their universality. Slapstick may not be high brow, but when English is your second language, it’s the stuff that translates first and best, especially to a kid. People wonder how Jerry Lewis was such a big star in France, well that’s probably part of the why.

  8. Fun fact, since you referred to Sid and Marty Krofft in the past tense, they’re still making things. They’re behind a currently running show on Nick Jr. called Mutt & Stuff about a school for dogs. It features one giant dog puppet named Stuff, a whole bunch of real dogs, and Cesar Millan’s son Calvin serves as host (with Cesar popping in for the occasional cameo.) My daughter was on a kick with this show for a while so I’m more familiar with it than I’d care to be.

    The Stuff puppet is extremely reminiscent of H. R. PufnStuf. So much so that H. R. makes an appearance (apparently as Stuff’s uncle… not sure about the genealogy of that one.) Apparently nepotism is still alive and well with Marty Krofft’s adult daughter Kristina making an appearance as a vet… and she’s AWFUL. She’s SO bad that until I dug into it I was positive they must have gotten a real vet who just had no acting experience, just misplaced enthusiasm.

    I’m not old enough to have been around for any of the Krofft stuff. I remember the 90s remake of Land of the Lost as a thing that existed, but I only remember a bit of the opening theme and don’t think I ever actually watched it. But if Mutt & Stuff is at all representative of their output, I think I’ve had my fill as it is.

  9. If you can only handle a few episodes on YouTube, might I suggest:

    1. “The Crystallites” for John Carradine and the funky monster suit Bob Denver wears.

    2. “Robots of Pod” for Eve Bruce’s Lantana and the Alex Toth-inspired robot designs. There are some good cartoon-like gags here, but one extended scene involving ball bearings shows that not every cartoon bit is meant to be replicated in live action…

    3. “Vanishing Alien Mystery” for the “Old Dark House”/”Scooby Doo” riffs, and a reappearance of Eve Bruce’s Lantana (along with other aliens from other episodes, including a “Mars Attacks”-inspired Pippet).

    4. “Tower of Tagot” for the DC Comics comic book sequence and Bob Denver acting like Errol Flynn.

    And if you can handle a few more:

    5. “Captain Torque Space Pirate” for Hal Smith’s Space Patrolman, and the running gag (conducted by everyone!) that was no doubt inspired by the “Star Trek” programme that “Space Nuts” was inspired by…

    6. “Fantastic Journey” for Stan Ross’ overdone performance of Dr. Drone. There is an extended chase sequence that uses a “Cat Chow” camera effect just a bit too much, though my 10-year-old daughter giggled throughout all of it…

    7. “The Three Spaceketeers” for “Barney Hope”.

    8. “Destination Earth”, which again was a brilliant idea for a season/series finale.

  10. Great episode, Rob & Xum! While not intentionally funny, Xum’s encyclopedic knowledge of this show was cracking me up. Hearing his dulcet tones say things like “Captain Torque Space Pirate” had me in giggles.

    I’m not sure what I watched on TV on Saturday mornings in the 1970s (besides Super Friends) because most of my Saturday morning memories start in the early 80s. So for me, Sid and Marty Krofft productions are like a foreign country. So weird and bizarre. Neat as a piece of history, but I simply can’t relate to them.

    Really, really enjoyed this episode! I like how Rob started the episode somewhat apologetic or dismissive of the show, but by the end Xum taking the material seriously brought Rob around. I was smiling the whole way through. Thanks guys!

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