I said lunch…not Launch!!!

Yes it’s a return to the world of Sid and Marty Krofft.  This time for a trip to monster filled planets with Gilligan’s Island castaway Bob Denver(Junior) and character actor Chuck McCann (Barney), as sort of an outer space Laurel and Hardy.   Originally aired on CBS from 1975-1976, the show expertly sets of the premise of two low level NASA food technicians loading a deep space lunar module for an upcoming mission, and yes it’s as simple as mixing up the lunch and launch buttons to end up lost in an endless (and extremely unfriendly) series of inhabited worlds.    The only friend they manage to find in fact is a small furry alien named Honk (Patty Maloney) who not surprisingly communicates through the horn on the top of her head.

The usual plot lines for the show went a little something like this….

• lunar space module would land on creepy,  barren planet.
• lunar module would cease functioning for whatever reason.
• one of the two Junior or Barney would get captured by a seriously unhappy bunch of aliens they would have to outwit or help.
• The ship would work or they would repair it.

And off to the next horror.

So…

If you are noticing a trend with the Sid and Marty Krofft shows I have been writing about, it would have to be the lack of any resolution to the plight of the protagonists.  As a child I was particularly sensitive to hero’s that never found their happy ending, and I’m sure I’m still dealing with some sort of  Krofft Unresolved Series Trauma Syndrome (KUSTS as it’s more commonly known.)

so deep in the recesses of my sub-conscious I’m sure:

Sigmond is still hiding from his family with Johnny and Scott (and I’m sure Brian Willson mentally controlled)…no real happy ending there.

Jimmy never escaped Witchiepoo and the horrors or her minions on Living Island with his magical flute Freddie….they are still out there under constant attack from her flying jet broom.

Mark’s family, I’m sure still wonders about his disappearance (I think there was an Unsolved Mysteries episode about it now that I think of it), not knowing that he is trapped in an alternate dimension contained within an evil magicians hat, with only talking hats for companionship.

And much in the same way Junior and Barney either are still out there under constant attack alien monster attack, or worse yet, their poorly supplied and semi-functional lunar module might have merely succumbed to one of the many dangers of outer space and well…the world will never know.

If you think about it, this mirrors many of the best horror franchises, where those that suffer: die alone, disappear, or watch in horror as that which should have died before the credits roll, return to inflict a surprise twist killing.

Thanks Sid and Marty…Looking back at it now (from the near fetal position I am finishing this article in), I think I better schedule some counseling.

Here is an episode of Far out Space nuts…how these two outwit the scary aliens they encounter is beyond me.

https://youtu.be/SgvYgobd17w