Revisit Sigmund and The Sea Monsters on Sid & Marty Krofft’s Saturday Morning Hits
True Confession: When I revisited Sigmund and The Sea Monsters, one of the programs included on the recently released DVD Sid & Marty Krofft’s Saturday Morning Hits, I wondered why Child Protective Services didn’t remove my children from our home way back when they were little and Sid and Marty Krofft’s creations were big. Like most of Sid & Marty Krofft’s shows of the period, S&TSM featured characters in cheesy costumes who interacted, at some level, with people.
The show ran for two years in the early seventies, and revolved around two boys (Johnny Whitaker and Scott Kolden) whose parents were on an endless vacation (they lived at the beach and they needed a vacation?) who befriend a homeless, young sea monster. The jokes are pure corn with occasional pop culture references, the character voices are stolen from popular television characters (Archie Bunker, Gomer Pyle), and the plots were simplistic.
As I watched, my appreciation of Sigmund and The Sea Monsters increased. (at least until the moment Johnny Whitaker lip-synched a sappy love song). I had been looking at what was wrong with Sigmund and The Sea Monsters, but there were quite a few things right with the show. It was non-violent and emphasized friendship, responsibility, creative problem-solving, good behavior, respect, cooperation, generosity, and kindness, among other attributes children should be encouraged to develop.
The only truly negative aspect of Sigmund and The Sea Monsters, other than two kids bringing home a sea monster, is that the two boys were required to continually lie so that Sigmund wouldn’t be discovered by anyone else.
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