Bonkers!

Anyone remember the Hudson Brothers?

Sure, who in the mid-70s didn't hear of them at least once in their life?

Now, do you remember "Bonkers"?

Oh.

Well, suffice it to say that this was the syndicated equivalent of an insane asylum, with the Hudsons forgetting the songs they sang in their earlier TV variety series in favor of jokes, sight-gags, puns and the endless abuse directed at co-host/announcer/foil Bob "Don't Call Me Monkey" Monkhouse.

It wasn't subtle, it wasn't couth and it sure wasn't bright very often but I do remember laughing out loud more than once here. With guest stars like John Ritter, Karen Valentine and the like ambling in to join in for a few seconds at a time, they basically were whisked aside for the sake of a few vaudeville joke routines (featuring rimshots from a cobweb-covered drummer), a ditzy-looking blonde announcing segments in a burly truck driver's voice and a song-and-dance routine that ended up in a shambles by the end.

It seems that the Hudson's series never lasted very long. Maybe they were just too weird for TV?

Nine stars for "Bonkers". Weird fun!

I was so into that show that I used to tape them on audio tape. I still have them too. One bit they used to do that was not listed was called the Laugh Rack where the bros. were in stalks and getting beatings for telling bad jokes. Bob ( Monkey ) would ask them jokes and they would give out bad punchlines. Anyone remember the wrecking ball joke they would pull on every show. I remember they always broke out in to song singing chatanoga choo choo. I also wish they would put these out on DVD. I have listen to the tapes of the show that I have and I still find them funny today. I would love to see them on video. It is probably the most stupid show ever on TV . Well maybe the gong show was worse but I loved it just the same. Its good to see others remember it still.

Ahh yes, Bonkers! I'm being instantly transported back to the late 70s... it's Saturday night, I've already watched SNL and SC-TV, and here are Bill, Mark and Brett, the Hudson Brothers in all their insane glory! This was one whacked variety show! Let's see... the show usually opened with the "burning house" sketch, featuring the Bros, host Bob Monkhouse and "Miss Bonkers" (the ditzy blonde with the booming male voice), who announced "And now our guest star, in the order of his/her appearance..." The guest star introduced themselves and always seemed to say that they would rather be elsewhere than on the show. A few of the guests I remember include Juliet Prowse, Georgia Engel and Connie Stevens. There would be a comical musical number (with some slapstick improv by the Hudsons going on in the background), then the dressing room sketch with non-stop one-liners (with accompanying rimshots from the old man on the snare drum), which would always end in a "storm" of some sort. One of the Hudsons would warn Bob about an impending storm (popcorn, for example) hitting the dressing room and then he would get dumped on after they exited. Other regular features included the soap-opera "Bonker Hill" (where Bill-Boy, Mark-Boy, Oh-Boy and their man-hungry sister Any-Boy lived in a sloping mountain cabin), a goofy "silent-movie" sketch (with the Hudsons doing slapstick accompanied by 70s clavinet music, a-la the instrumental break in the Andy Kim hit "Rock Me Gently"), and a sketch where the guest star would sing a song with the Hudsons in drag doing backup vocals. The show would close out with the Hudson Brothers "in concert" (performing one of their typical 70s rock numbers). This was one of the goofiest half-hours to ever appear on television, and it was a blast! Let's have a DVD set!

I remember this show as a kid. It starred the Hudson Brothers Bill, Mark and Brett as well as Bob Monkhouse. There were musical numbers, silly comedy skits and running gags like if somebody mentioned "wrecking ball" a large wrecking ball would suddenly show up and hit whomever said it. There were pies in the face, bad jokes and at some point they'd inevitably sing "Chatanooga Choo Choo". Sketches were introduced by a stacked blonde with a booming male voice and the guest stars often would say they wanted to be anywhere else but here.

It was crude in a PG kind of way but it was something my pre-teen mind enjoyed in a slightly risque kind of way. It's a shame that it never made it's way onto DVD or that there are no episodes of it online. But one hopes that someday, somewhere I'll be able to relive some of those memories from long ago.