In an effort to beef up its kid-friendly offerings while at the same time appeal to adults who made the series a cult classic, Amazon Studios has ordered a revival of Saturday morning sci-fi series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. The new series will be produced by its original creators, Sid and Marty Krofft, and star David Arquette as a new character who joins many of the old favorites.
The Legendary Kroffts
Before Spongebob Squarepants, before CGI and Pixar, there was Sid And Marty Krofft. Back in the 1970s the legendary two-brother production team changed the landscape of Saturday morning children's programming forever with their unique brand of live-action storytelling combined with puppetry, costumes, low-budget special effects and vivid, oversaturated psychedelic colors.
Shows like H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, The Lost Saucer and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl brought a new fantasy world to kids who were accustomed to the more one-dimensional animated programs of the time. The shows were rerun heavily in the decades to follow, introducing a whole new audience to the Krofft experience.
Sigmund And The Sea Monsters Reboot
Despite slowing down, Sid and Marty, now aged 87 and 79 respectively, never stopped producing their own distinct brand of entertainment, even co-producing the $100 million-budgeted Land of the Lost movie remake starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel in 2009.
Now, the brothers are going back to their roots by producing a new series of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters for Amazon Prime Video, designed to appeal to both kids and nostalgic adults. When the pilot for the series was announced this summer, Marty clued fans in on what the brothers had in store.
"We kept the integrity of the show," Marty promised. "We didn't want to piss off all of our fans that have grown up to be about 38 to 40, and who can still sing the theme song. When it comes to content, we find out that it's the same. You have to have great characters, great stories. It makes no difference whether it's digital, network, Nickelodeon."
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters was one of the most successful shows in the Krofft empire, and was produced for two seasons of episodes as opposed to the usual one. The show had camp value appeal to adults even in its first go, featuring such legendary actors as comedian Rip Taylor, Margaret Hamilton (famous for her role as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard Of Oz) and little person Billy Barty, who played Sigmund.
This time around it will feature none other than actor David Arquette of the famous acting family in a principal role. We're sure that some other familiar faces will pop up as well when the series begins streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, which is free to all Prime members. No date has been set yet for the show's debut.
