Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: The Bugaloos: "On a Clear Day"

Peter Platter plans a Rock Festival in Tranquility Forest, but refuses to let Benita Bizarre (Martha Raye) perform at it. 

In a fit of pique, she decides to hold a competing a Rock Festival at her juke box.  She has trouble, however, getting any rock groups (such as “Blood, Sweat and Soap”) to renege on their arrangements with Platter.

Benita and Funky Rat hatch a plan, however, to ruin the festival. Using her smoggy car, the duo unleashes pollution and smoke into Tranquility Forest, making it unsuitable for a concert.

The Bugaloos discover Benita’s plan, and contact the local fire department to help them suck up the smog, and re-direct it to Benita’s juke box.

“On a Clear Day” is a sort of environmentally-themed episode of Sid and Marty Krofft’s The Bugaloos. 

In this case, Benita attempts to pollute Tranquility Forest to cancel a rock festival. This act would favor her own competing festival. The vehicle for the most is Benita’s car.

The problem is rectified when the local fire department lets the Bugaloos use a smog “sucker” to save the forest and re-route the toxins to Benita’s juke box. 

There are some fun touches in this episode, including the rock band called “Blood Sweat and Soap.”  

One gag that does not work too well, however, is the fortune-telling machine at Benita’s house that asks “Would you believe?” in the manner of a cheap Don Adams imitator.  This machine reappears in future episodes, again with the Don Adams shtick.

I wonder, did The Bugaloos get permission to use his (or Arte Johnsons’?) material on a recurring basis?

Leaving such matters aside, our song for the week is “If You Become a Bugaloo,” and here it is:

Next week: “Today I am a Firefly.”