Bibyabahgraphy

Biiiiii Yaaaaa Baaaahhh! Those three syllables, bellowed by a Bigfoot were the rallying cry for adventure for children plopped down in front of the TV and left to the devices of Sid and Marty Kroft. "Bi Ya Ba" (gargled out Wookie-style) preceded super-hero leaps, tossing of boulders, or stopping of vehicles, all performed in slow-motion with the 70's synth wind-up and wind-down made popular by the Bionic Man and Woman. And it wasn't just Bigfoot, we're informed that 8 years before the events we're seeing that he found some kid lost in the woods of the Great Northwest and raised him to be Wildboy. We like to think that "The Wild Boys" of the Duran Duran song were all raised by Bigfoot. Being Bigfoot's youthful wards gets you a tunic made of leather and not much else but the companionship of this furry dude who chooses not to wear a tunic.

The duo hang out in the very California woods, chill with whatever animals the studio people can wrangle away from the Grizzly Adam's folks, and I guess eat nuts and berrys while grooming each other or whatever. We should mention that "Wildboy" actually appears to be about a 25 year-old man that bears an uncanny resemblance to Owen Wilson in let's say "Starsky and Hutch."

Luckily, there are a series of assholes that stop by to threaten nature and keep Bigfoot and Wildboy hoppin', tossin' rocks, and sprintin' in slow motion. We get central casting miner's, trappers and developers -- but Sid and Marty Kroft weren't fuckin' around, and gave kids what they wanted with a Mummy, Abominable Snowman, Bulging forehead Aliens, and even a second Bigfoot (this one has fangs and is an uncultured dick) Okay, nobody thinks Mummies are scary, but the King Tut exhibit had been in the zeitgeist, so I suppose it was topical.

Bigfoot and Wildboy showed up as short mini-sodes as part of the The Krofft Supershow, then got a full season of 30 minute episodes. If you're left wanting more, there was a crossover episode of Wonderbug with an appearance by Bigfoot.

Squatch rating: I have to say that the Bigfoot from Bigfoot and Wildboy is pretty goddamn charismatic. He's got a nice mane of 70's locks from head to toe, and he speaks a weird, grunty language that we had assumed was Sasquatch-ese, but the other bigfoot he meets doesn't seem to understand a word of it. Overall we get cool older brother vibes from him, and assume that Matthew McConaughy based his Wooderson performance on heavy study of Bigfoot and Wildboy.

Leo Mayberry