The Bugaloos

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

Movie

Plot

A Brittish comedy that ran in half hour segments from 1970 to 1972. A young, teenage rock ‘n roll band, known as The Bugaloos, lives in Tranquility Forest where they love to perform and help others out. Their arch nemesis, Benita Bizarre, is a no-talent singer who will do anything to steal their talents and become the queen of rock ‘n roll.

Starring

John McIndoe, Caroline Ellis, John Philpott, Wayne Laryea, Billy Barty, Martha Raye, Sharon Baird, Joy Campbell, Van Snowden, Walker Edmiston.

Review

I loved watching The Bugaloos as a child. The Bugaloos (I.Q., Harmony, Courage, and Joy) were a fun, lively bunch with hearts of gold. And Benita Bizarre was a wonderful character! In my humble opinion, it’s her crazy antics that truly made the show a success.

While I can say there wasn’t a defining moment in a single episode, I can say that the series as a whole offered a wonderful life lesson that has followed me through the years and that lesson was simply this: You cannot get your way by lying, cheating, or stealing. You can only get your way through hard work and perseverance.

Another life lesson I learned was this: You have two choices in life. You can allow every obstacle that comes your way to sour your perspective to the point that life is no longer fun and exciting, or you can let each obstacle be a turning point that moves you towards greater happiness and peace.

And finally, I learned the value of teamwork. No matter what happened, The Bugaloos never tried to be better than the other; instead they allowed each bug’s character and personality to shine. For example, I.Q. devised plans to conquer Benita’s evil schemes, Harmony thought of ways to talk Benita out of her evil plans, Courage was usually the first to take action, and Joy was pretty good at keeping everyone’s spirits up.

Your Task

This week as you sit down to watch television, put in a copy of The Bugaloos and let your imagination soar. Don’t think about how silly the antics look or how much better technology has gotten, and definitely don’t pick the series apart. Instead, let the show make you feel like a kid again—giggle with your children, sing with your children as they sing the title song, and use each episode to teach a lesson in positive thinking or why being bad doesn’t solve the problem.