How a Saturday morning creature feature borrowed bionic powers from a superhero icon
In short: Before the era of modern CGI, children's television relied on slow motion and sound effects to create legends. Discover how a 1970s ABC series used the DNA of a famous bionic hero to bring a forest-dwelling protector and his human ward to life.
The 1970s landscape of Saturday morning television was defined by high-concept imagination and practical effects. Among the most notable entries was Bigfoot and Wildboy, a live-action series that first appeared in 1977 as a segment within The Krofft Supershow. The show followed a unique narrative structure during its early years, with 15-minute episodes that utilized cliffhanger endings, leaving viewers to wait until the following week for a resolution.
The creative DNA of the series was deeply linked to the era's most popular science fiction tropes. Specifically, the production drew heavy inspiration from the Bigfoot-centric storylines featured in The Six Million Dollar Man. This influence was not merely thematic but technical; the show implemented 'bionic' sound effects to accompany the character's leaps and runs. To emphasize the creature's immense strength, producers employed slow-motion photography during action sequences, such as scenes where Bigfoot would uproot large metal fence posts or hurl massive objects.
The central mythos of the show involves a super-powered Bigfoot who discovers a young boy lost in the wilderness of the Northwestern United States. After raising the child, who becomes known as Wildboy, the duo finds themselves eight years later protecting their forest home from various threats, ranging from local criminals to extraterrestrial invaders. While the series eventually transitioned into its own standalone show in 1979 with twelve 30-minute episodes, the total production spanned 28 episodes.
Though many original broadcasts have faded into obscurity, the series has seen various revivals. In 2003 and 2004, Cox Cable's 'Retro Saturday Morning' aired the initial eight two-part episodes. While 1980s video releases by Embassy Video like 'Volume One' and 'Volume Two' are now out of print, the legacy of the Sid and Marty Krofft production continues to reach new audiences through streaming platforms like Amazon Prime as of July 2024.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Bigfoot and Wildboy
- Also: Wikidata — Bigfoot and Wildboy · CC0
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