Sid and Marty Krofft Productions

In the 1970s, Sid and Marty Krofft were to live-action children's TV what Hanna-Barbera was to animation. Their first series, H.R. Pufnstuf (TV), debuted in 1969 and established their production style: fantastic creatures, usually with thick fur or oversized heads; a "stranger in a strange land" motif; fearsome but comical villains, and clever wordplay and visual gags. Of course, not all of those elements appeared in all Krofft shows. And what on earth do you mean, their work wasn't made on drugs?

Other Krofft series included Bugaloos, Land of the Lost, Lidsville, Far Out Space Nuts, Sigmund and The Sea Monsters, Electra Woman And Dyna Girl, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour and DC Follies. Before producing series on their own, the Krofft brothers designed the costumes for Hanna-Barbera's The Banana Splits.

Possibly the most interesting piece of Krofft history was their 1973-77 lawsuit against the McDonald's corporation. When it couldn't get the Kroffts to license H.R. Pufnstuf for use in McDonald's commercials, the hamburger chain blatantly plagiarized Pufnstuf to create "McDonaldLand" in 1971. For more information, see this article at Cecil Adams' The Straight Dope, or this one at coolcopyright.com.

Bob Odenkirk and David Cross' Mr. Show parodied the What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made On Drugs? nature of their productions in a sketch about Sam and Kriminy Kraffft, a pair of producers showing the unaired pilot for their show The Altered State of Drugachusettes.