Lidsville

The Kroffts were very imaginative,creative guys. I think they designed a mascot for the 1968 World's Fair or something like that. HR Puff-n-Stuff,Sigmond +the sea monsters are 2 other good tv examples of their work. One common thread in all their stuff is great costumes and sets,they are all original and interesting. (I think the Kroffts successfully sued McDonalds for taking their work in the early 70's and using it in commercials and advertising.I was very young but I remember the hamburglar,grimace, the French fry guys,etc did indeed disappear). Now onto this show... Lidsville is a great show for kids and adults alike,both will like it. It is silly and pretty funny. Charles Nelson Riley is clearly having a ball as the villian,he is able to cut loose and have fun,and I think he is hilarious. The affable young man that plays 'Mark' is none other than Butch Patrick,the actor that was 'Eddie Munster' ! Patrick plays a good part without over-doing it. Some may recognize the 'Weenie the Genie" actress from another role on HR Puff-n-Stuff,she plays an energetic fun part with style. The main puppet characters are hats,and it is funny as well,eg the cowboy hat talks like John Wayne,another hat talks a Frenchman,etc. Ya gotta see it! As for people that imply that the Kroffts were using drugs or that they were endorsing drug use (with a wink and a nod) on their shows,I'd say that is in the eye of the beholder. The show is very different and unusual,for sure,but I don't see anything that even hints at drugs. Even watching with the idea of trying to spot possible drug references or implications comes up empty. I highly recommend this show.

For all the yeas and nays that I have read about this kids' show from the early seventies (I was six when it came out), I really liked this program as the Sid and Marty Krofft shows were the most remembered and best loved shows of my childhood. Too many people read too much into these programs - they are designed for children and for even young adults as FANTASY with no underlying themes or something that would be a "gotcha" like many things are today. They are not violent and are good for any child of any generation. I loved these shows and look forward to sharing them with my young relatives and I recommend them for any group of children. I loved "Lidsville", but also "PufNStuf", "Land of the Lost", and "The Lost Saucer". Sid and Marty will be remembered for generations to come.

If you thought H.R. Pufinstuf was tripped out, Lidsville really upped the ante big time! Teen-ager Mark (Butch Patrick, a/k/a Eddie Munster) is captivated by a magic show at an amusement park and decides to stay behind after the show to see if he can discover any of the magician's secrets. He touches the top hat, which grows to an enormous size, then climbs up top to have a look and falls into the hat, spiraling into the trippy land known as Lidsville. This parallel universe is inhabited by life-size versions of almost every type of headgear imaginable, plus a benevolent Weenie the Genie and the deliciously evil Hoo-Doo the magician. Episodes revolve around Hoo-Doo's efforts to retrieve a magic ring in Mark's possession and Mark's efforts to return home to the real world. As an 8-year-old child, this was fun, colorful and visually stimulating, but in retrospect how can you NOT think psychedelics played a major role in bringing this show to life? As a side note, I remember Lidsville was the feature attraction of the 1973 Ice Capades, and seeing all those hats on skates, gliding on the ice at the Chicago Stadium is indelibly etched into my memory 30 years later!!!

I remember watching Lidsville in the early 70s. It was another of the "Stranger in a Strange Land" themed shows from the team of Sid and Marty Krofft as Mark, who fell into a magician's hat and ended up in a land of hats called Lidsville, was captured by the show's villain, Hoo Doo the Magician and he tried to leave and head home but he ended up staying.

Butch Patrick, in his first series since The Munsters was canceled in 1966 was outstanding as Mark. Charles Nelson Reilly, in his role between The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Match Game was really campy as Hoo Doo, all the way to his green makeup. Let's not forget krofft stalwart Billie Hayes as Weenie the Genie. She even reprises her Witchiepoo role in one episode.

There were also a lot of life-sized puppet characters, including a number that were played by The Hermine Midgets. It was the only series they did and to my knowledge, they were never heard from again.

What I liked about the show were the puppets and psychedelic setting. What i didn't like was the writing. It was full of puns and clichés. Whoever wrote those shows didn't have a lot of TV writing experience.

Aside from the writing, Lidsville was a joy to watch. It was a show that really flipped your lid.

Hats off (get it?) to Sid and Marty Krofft, for creating "Lidsville", where children's programming and psychedelic weirdness meld like in no other show (well, except "H. R. Pufnstuf").

The plot? Seems young boy Mark (Partick, who was Eddie Munster from "The Munsters"!) goes behind the stage of a magician's act where, finding the magician's top hat has grown big enough to look down into, he falls into it and finds a weird, strange world where almost every character is some kind of hat (pith helmet, beret, beanie, etc.) except for Weenie the Geenie (Hayes, who was also Witchie Poo on "H.R." - coincidence?) and Hoodoo (the ubiquitous Charles Nelson Reilly), a goofily evil magician trying to destroy the "dum-dums" and rule hats everywhere (I guess).

It's all good, goofy fun and, as with all of Sid and Marty's shows, bright, swirling colors went hand in hand with smart kids, dumb grown-ups and LOTS of comic relief.

Reilly made the biggest impression on me as Hoodoo. As the green-skinned magician, he got the best scenes and the funniest lines. Once, terrorizing Lidsville from inside a huge, inflatable robot-like version of himself (don't ask), he looks into the camera and chortles, "If those little dum-dums knew it was me in here, they'd die!" - I always loved that one.

The whole show was great. Long live the hats!

Ten stars for "Lidsville" - living proof that the best entertainment for kids comes right off the top of your head.