The Bugaloos

Production and airing

Touted as the British version of The Monkees, The Bugaloos attracted more than 5,000 young actors and actresses to audition for the show's four lead roles, each having to demonstrate aptitude in dance, singing, and acting. Among those auditioning in spring 1970 were Elton John's future manager John Reid, and Phil Collins, who joined the art rock band Genesis later that year.

Reid and Collins had been two of the three finalists for the role of "I.Q." given to Scottish musician John McIndoe. "If one of those guys had gotten it instead of me, rock-'n'-roll history might have changed," McIndoe later joked. "Whenever I see them, I say, 'Hey guys, you were lucky you didn't get the part.'"

The show was taped in Los Angeles, California. Seventeen episodes of the series were produced. Like its predecessor H.R. Pufnstuf (1969), The Bugaloos ran for only one season (1970–1971), with reruns airing the following year (1971–1972). Following production of the first, and only, season, the Kroffts tried shooting for a second season, and also had a movie deal in the works with Columbia Pictures. However, miscommunication between the Kroffts and the actors resulted in them returning to England that December against the Kroffts' wishes. As a result, a potential second season was ultimately scrapped, along with plans for a movie which was shelved due to the bankruptcy of Columbia Pictures.

Like most children's television shows of the era, The Bugaloos contained a laugh track. Cast members John Philpott and Caroline Ellis discussed its usage while viewing an episode of the show for DVD commentary.

Characters

Actor / Character Name / Role In the Band

Supporting characters were:

Though peace-loving and hippie-like, The Bugaloos are pursued by an ugly, evil, jealous old crone named Benita Bizarre (Martha Raye) who lives in a gigantic jukebox, and uses it to broadcast her own brand of blaring, obnoxious, unpleasant "music." A dreadful singer, she is furious at the popularity of The Bugaloos's more melodic, upbeat sound, and she plots elaborate, unsuccessful schemes to destroy or enslave them.

Benita is aided by two bumbling henchmen, the anthropomorphic speakers Woofer and Tweeter (Joy Campbell and Van Snowden), and her chauffeur and chief flunky, the German-accented Funky Rat (Sharon Baird). She frequently makes use of a powerful ultrasonic weapon called the Stereo Zapper, which can render its victim unconscious in seconds.

Raye also appeared the same year in the HR Pufnstuf movie as Boss Witch. The Funky Rat costume was also used for essentially the same role (Boss Witch's Chauffeur).

Voice Characterizations for the various characters in the series were provided by Joan Gerber and Walker Edmiston.

The Bugaloos were sometimes seen traveling around in their "Bugaloo Buggy", a custom-built and very colorful one-of-a-kind dune buggy made specifically for the show by the famous custom car builder, George Barris.

Music

The show's music director was Hal Yoergler, who also wrote many of the show's songs and produced the Bugaloos album released in 1970. The title song's lyrics were written by Norman Gimbel, and its music was composed by Charles Fox. Gimbel and Fox were also the songwriters of "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and the theme songs to films and programs such as Last American Hero ("I Got A Name," sung by Jim Croce), Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman. A cover of the Bugaloos theme performed by Collective Soul is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.

The Bugaloos released an album in 1970 (Capitol Records ST-621), featuring studio-recorded versions of some of the songs performed on the show. The track list is as follows:

Side 1

1. "If You Become a Bugaloo"
2. "The Senses of Our World"
3. "For a Friend"
4. "Believe"
5. "It's New to You"

Side 2

1. "Fly Away With Us"
2. "Older Woman"
3. "Just the Memory Stays Around"
4. "Gna Gna Gna Gna Gna"
5. "Castles in the Air"
6. "The Bugaloos (Theme Song)"

One single was released in conjunction with the album: "For a Friend"/"The Senses of Our World" (Capitol 2946). "For a Friend" charted as a minor hit. Billboard Bubbling Under week of December 18, 1970 #118 for one week.

The track "Just the Memory Stays Around" did not appear in any episode, and is available only on the LP. The LP was re-released on CD in January 2000 by Vivid Sound in Japan and in 2006 by Cherry Red Records of London.

The Bugaloos recorded 15 songs. In addition to the 11 that appear on the released album, four additional songs appeared on the television show, but remain unreleased:

1. "Sparky"
2. "I'm As Happy As Can Be"
3. "I Really Love You"
4. "Flicker Town"

The music of the Bugaloos suffered the same typecasting fate which met the music of The Partridge Family, despite excellent production values in both cases. "Just the Memory Stays Around", "The Senses of Our World" and "Castles in the Air" (not to be confused with other songs of the same title) deserve particular note. Their lyrics were far above typical children's television fare:

DVD Release

The complete Bugaloos series was released on DVD in May 2006 by Rhino Entertainment. The set contained all seventeen episodes, with audio commentary on the pilot episode from creator Sid Krofft and director Tony Charmoli. Cast members John Philpott, Caroline Ellis, and John McIndoe also provided audio commentary on some episodes and participated in interviews. Also included were a video jukebox with a selection of songs from the episodes, a photo gallery, and a Bugaloos Interactive I. Q. Test, hosted by John "I. Q." McIndoe.

The whole catalog is available to stream at www.qkids.com and the Qkids app in iTunes Store.

Remake

At Comic Con 2015, Sid and Marty Krofft revealed they were looking into creating a Bugaloos preschool tv series with a cable network. They also hinted Cyndi Lauper would play Benita Bizarre.

http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/hr-pufnstuf-bugaloos-sid-marty-krofft-working-new-revivals/

In Popular Culture

The Bugaloos are the binding childhood memory that the two main protagonists in the film The Tao of Steve discover as they begin to bond, as Syd (Greer Goodman) and Dex (Donal Logue) find out that they both had Bugaloos stickers on their respective childhood Josie and the Pussycats lunchboxes.

The Bugaloos was mentioned in an episode of Jeopardy as a question on the show in 2002