Customer Reviews

Pufnstuf & Other Stuff: The Weird and Wonderful World of Sid & Marty Krofft

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you want a good behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Krofft shows, this isn't the book - it is more of a warm-and-fuzzy remembrance. Perhaps this was a little too "authorized". Too many dubious-sounding and self-serving "facts" are given by the Brothers Krofft. The author seems to have done little research on his own, and depends completely on interviews with a few people. Far too many times in the book, someone would say "I don't know whatever happened to so-and-so" - and the book just leaves it that way instead of doing a little legwork and looking. How about a few more pictures? If the author really had access to the Krofft archives, he should have included a few more photos.

David Martindale's Pufnstuf and Other Stuff: The Weird and Wonderful World of Sid and Marty Krofft (Los Angeles: Renaissance Books, 1998) is, interestingly, one of two recent works on the indeed "weird and wonderful" Krofft oeuvre. Whether or not it is the better of the two depends on what one's interests are. Though both works bear unwieldly subtitles, unlike Hal Erickson's Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Children's Television, 1969-1993(Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998), Martindale's book benefits not only from, for starters, illustrations, but also from interviews with Les Freres Krofft themselves, as well as with their colleagues, coworkers and employees. Which means that, while the Kroffts continue to circumlocute around the alleged pharamceutical influences on and references in their shows ("Pufnstuf," for starters, and some claim the "H.R." stood for "hand-rolled"), "Lidsville" (!) star (and erstwhile Eddie Munster) Butch Patrick, coming off not unlike Ben Stiller's embittered impersonation of him, apparently blows the lid off the subject by recalling a certain scent wafting from Sid's office (Marty, apparently, was the more rectilinear of the Krofft kids). One suspects that Krofft fans in general will most likely prefer Martindale's anecdotes and pop culture prose to Erickson's analyses and academic pretensions, but, ultimately, Erickson's not quite "critical study" is nonetheless the more informative of the two, not only for its greater detail and attempts at contextualization, but also for simple amenities such as episode guides for every Krofft series aired. Martindale or Erickson? Get 'em both, if you can, and, while you're at it, see Timothy and Kevin Burke's Saturday Morning Fever: Growing Up with Cartoon Culture New York: Griffin, 1999) as well ...

As a life long devoted fan to the works of Sid & Marty Krofft and creator of the "Unofficial Sid & Marty Krofft Web Site, I cannot image a more entertaining and in-depth book on their lives and their work. I was truly amazed at the amount of great information that I found in this book. The interviews with Sid Krofft are some of the best reading I have done in a long time. Quotes from Sid are found throughout the book and are always enlightening and fun to read. The behind-the-scenes insight that author David Martindale was able to achieve could not have been better. The list of Krofft-show alumni that David Martindale was able to interview while writing this book is an impressive list to say the least.

David Martindale has taken on the very ambitious task of detailing the colorful works of these '70s Saturday morning icons and has exceeded my wildest expectations. This is a *must read* for anyone who watched kids TV shows in the '70s! For even the casual Krofft fan I cannot recommend this book more highly. You absolutely will not be disappointed in this one!

Missed opportunity. Filled with restatements, self-serving quotes, warm and fuzzy verbiage, etc. Could have been condensed down to a 75 page book by a sharp editor.

What a great read. "Pufnstuf & Other Stuff" reminded me how captivated I was as a child with Saturday morning TV shows like "Pufnstuf" and "The Bugaloos." It brought me back. But the author did far more than just rehash. He seems to have gone the extra mile by tracking down people who worked on these shows, in front of and behind the camera. I actually laughed out loud many times at some of the wacky behind-the-scenes stories. It's amazing to me that nobody wrote the Kroffts' story before now.

My sisters and I grew up watching Puf, Sigmund, Land of the Lost, and I could not contain my excitement when I found out there was a book about these shows. I read it in record time, and want to read it again, but I have to fight my sisters to get my copy back! I'm impressed by all the Krofft actors (and even behind-the-scenes people) who were interviewed for this book. Chuck McCann and Bob Denver talk about "Far Out Space Nuts", Ruth Buzzi on "The Lost Saucer," Bradys, Osmonds, Dr. Shrinker, ... I can't even count the number of times I laughed out loud. If you grew up on these shows like I did, this book will bring back lots of great and wacky memories!

I found the book to be especially enlightening to the mysterious (I thought) world of the Kroft Bros. Now if only there was an updated Land of the Lost Movie on the horizon.

I loved reading this book.It`s very much like listening to Sid and Marty tell you the story of their careers-Like they were talking directly to you.The book is filled with stories right from the actor`s mouths.It also has blooper stories that add humor to the book.I loved it!!

This book will take you back to the psychedelic world of Sid & Marty Krofft. Nothing since can compare to the far-out, wacky worlds the Krofft brothers brought us. I couldn't put this book down. The Bugaloos were, and still are, my all-time favorite show!

Yes, when you read this book, you see all the missed opportunities. The behind-the-scenes photos which aren't in the book. The author's research skills are lacking. Where are all the great images from the Krofft archives (like the interesting costume sketches and artwork auctioned off recently by Kroffts)? The color photo insert is cute, at best. This book leaves you crying, because it'll probably be the only book on the Krofft shows and it is a waste of time. Granted, it's cute and it's all that's out there, but what a book with unrealized potential. We fans wanted so much more and the author does not deliver here, folks. Pass it up.