Lidsville (1971–1973)

A boy finds himself trapped in a land populated by living hat-people which is ruled by a crotchety magician.

Creators:

Marty Krofft, Sid Krofft

Stars:

Charles Nelson Reilly, Billie Hayes, Butch Patrick

Cast

Series cast summary:
Charles Nelson Reilly	...	Horatio J. Hoodoo (17 episodes, 1971)
Billie Hayes	...	Weenie the Genie (17 episodes, 1971)
Butch Patrick	...	Mark (17 episodes, 1971)
Sharon Baird	...	Raunchy Rabbit (17 episodes, 1971)
Joy Campbell	...	Nursie (17 episodes, 1971)
Jerry Maren	...	Boris (17 episodes, 1971)
Angelo Rossitto	...	Mr. Big (17 episodes, 1971)
Hommy Stewart	...	Various characters (17 episodes, 1971)
Van Snowden	...	Tonsolini the Opera Hat (17 episodes, 1971)
Felix Silla	...	Colonel Poom (17 episodes, 1971)
Buddy Douglas	...	Various characters (17 episodes, 1971)
Lennie Weinrib	...	Various characters (17 episodes, 1971)
Joan Gerber	...	Mrs. Ring-a-Ding (17 episodes, 1971)
Walker Edmiston	...	Various characters (17 episodes, 1971)

Storyline

Young Mark sneaks backstage at a magician's show and manages to fall into a HUGE top hat. The hat is apparently a gateway to another dimension where all the inhabitants are talking, ambulatory hats. The evil magician tries to capture Mark, while Mark and his hat friends try to find a way to get him back to the real world.

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Plot Keywords:

hat | magic | genie | cult tv

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Genres:

Family | Comedy | Fantasy

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Details

Official Sites:

MySpace

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Filming Locations:

Six Flags Over Texas - 2201 Road to Six Flags Street E., Arlington, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Krofft Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The theme song was written by Sid Krofft and Les Szarvas

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Being from Another Planet (1992)

User Reviews

It's the living end, friend!

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.