What Might've Been: DC Follies (1987)

After conquering Saturday mornings, and making a few primetime inroads, in the 70's, Sid & Marty Krofft made a modest comeback----with puppets and politics.

It is said that DC Follies, which had a run of 33 episodes stretched across two seasons (1987-9), was inspired by England's Splitting Image puppet troupe, which gained global acclaim by appearing in Genesis' video for "Land of Confusion". However, the puppets couldn't be trusted to run the show by themselves, unlike the popular Muppet Show. Instead, the Kroffts needed a human star to help move the show along. Fred Willard (ex-Fernwood 2Night) got the call, playing a bartender at a Washington, DC club where most of the action takes place.

Stations across the country had different ideas about how to schedule Follies. In my home market, for example, it aired in late night on Fridays. It aired earlier in the evening in other places. I can imagine, though, that there were the inevitable comparisions to the Muppets and their squeaky clean brand of comedy. Translated, the Kroffts were fighting a losing battle from the go, and ever since Follies was cancelled 35 years ago, it hasn't seen the light of day much.

Here's a sample clip:

 

No rating. Never saw the show.