Distributor:
Rhino Certificate: Not Rated |
440 minutes | Region 1 NTSC Available to buy Creators: Sid and Marty Krofft Extras: Yes
ANYONE
IN IT WE KNOW?
Butch
Patrick, Charles Nelson Reilly, Billie Hayes
WHAT’S
IT ABOUT THEN?
The
teenage Mark (Butch Patrick of
the Munsters fame) visits a
magician “Merlo The Great”
only to find himself falling
into Merlo’s hat whereupon he
finds himself in Lidsville, a
strange (and highly colourful
land) populated entirely by life
size hats, each with their own
distinctive personality (there
was Colonel the Pith Helmet, Big
Mother Wheels the motorcycle hat
and Boomer the football helmet)
the hats had an arch nemesis in
the form of bad magician Hoo Doo
(Charles Nelson Reilly) and his
helper Weenie the Genie (Billie
Hayes), Hoo Doo hated the hats
and could shoot bombs from his
fingers and even had a special
Top Hat that he could convert
into a hovercraft.
SO
IS IT ANY GOOD?
Was
there a series more out there than Lidsville, a series about life size
hats and the adventures to be had in their own world of Lidsville, live
action too, now that is trippy!Lidsville can be seen as the legendary Sid and Marty Krofft’s
crowning psychedelic glory, very much a continuation of themes and
styles developed in their breakthrough show H.R. Pufnstuf, there is way
too much slapstick but then again the show is aimed at children, but
there is plenty to enjoy on this nostalgia blast of a 3 disc set from
Rhino, not least the fantastic set design (Willy Wonka eat your heart
out), the speeded up hats getting busy moments, Charles Nelson Reilly
and the groovy theme song (co-written by Sid Krofft).
Originally
screened in 1971, only 17 episodes of Lidsville were made but the Krofft
brothers should be held up as icons of our generation, their early use
of CSO (Chromokey/Greenscreen) was pretty revolutionary and their shows
paved the way for the likes of Sesame
Street
and all manner of pastiches and homages. If you saw the show on
its original run then this set offers the perfect chance to reacquaint
yourselves with it, if you’ve never seen it before then settle down
for some truly mind expanding fun.
ANY
SPECIAL FEATURES?
The
extras feature three audio commentaries; World In A Hat features the
ebullient Sid and Marty themselves as well as star Butch Patrick, Have I
Got A Girl For Hoo Doo features Billie Hayes and Patrick and The Old Hat
Home features Patrick alone; There are also interviews with Patrick,
Hayes and the legendary Charles Nelson Reilly and finally Patrick allows
us a glimpse into his own scrapbook compiled at the time.
