''Dr. Shrinker'' was a segment during the first season of the
ABC network's ''
The Krofft Supershow
''The Krofft Supershow'' was a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It aired for two seasons from September 11, 1976, to September 2, 1978, on ABC.
Background
The show was composed of several live-action se ...
'' in 1976.
Plot
Dr. Shrinker (
Jay Robinson
Jay Robinson (April 14, 1930 – September 27, 2013) was an American actor specializing in character roles. He achieved his greatest fame playing Emperor Caligula in the film ''The Robe'' (1953) and its sequel ''Demetrius and the Gladiators' ...
) is a
mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...
who creates a shrinking ray that can miniaturize anything. Three teenagers — Brad Fulton (
Ted Eccles
Theodore Edward Eccles (born June 9, 1955) is an American actor.
Career
Eccles performed much of his best known roles as a child actor. He appeared in several television series and feature films in the 1960s and 1970s. Eccles may be best known ...
), B.J. Masterson (Susan Lawrence) and her brother Gordie Masterson (
) — crash land their airplane on an island. As they make their way to the only house on the island, they meet Dr. Shrinker and his assistant, Hugo (
Billy Barty). Dr. Shrinker, in an effort to prove that his shrinking ray works, shrinks the three people down to tall. The remainder of the series was different efforts by the 'Shrinkies' to return to normal size, while Dr. Shrinker and Hugo want to catch the trio so that they will have physical proof that the ray works for whatever world power wants to buy it. Dr. Shrinker also implied that he would give the unnamed buyer the Shrinkies as a free bonus. However, in one episode, Dr. Shrinker's plan was to sell the shrinking ray to the highest bidder, and the second highest bidder would receive the Shrinkies.
Each episode was basically the same. As Dr. Shrinker himself said in one episode..."I chase the Shrinkies. I catch the Shrinkies. The Shrinkies escape. It's a vicious cycle, and it's driving me mad!"
The concept was very likely inspired by the 1940 film ''
Dr. Cyclops
''Dr. Cyclops'' is a 1940 American science fiction horror film from Paramount Pictures, produced by Dale Van Every and Merian C. Cooper, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, and starring Thomas Coley, Victor Kilian, Janice Logan, Charles Halton, ...
'' in which a scientist working in the
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
n jungle uses his radiation experiments to shrink a group of fellow scientists to prevent them from discovering his secret work.
''Dr. Shrinker'' lasted only one season on ''
The Krofft Supershow
''The Krofft Supershow'' was a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It aired for two seasons from September 11, 1976, to September 2, 1978, on ABC.
Background
The show was composed of several live-action se ...
''. During the second season, it was dropped (as was the superhero segment ''
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
''Electra Woman and Dyna Girl'' is a live action superhero children's television series from 1976 created by Sid and Marty Krofft. The series aired 16 episodes in a single season as part of the umbrella series ''The Krofft Supershow.'' During th ...
''). One episode, "Slowly I Turn", is available on DVD with the Krofft Box Set. In 2005, Marty Krofft said that he and his brother would be recording commentary for a DVD release of ''Dr. Shrinker''.
[
]
Cast
*
Jay Robinson
Jay Robinson (April 14, 1930 – September 27, 2013) was an American actor specializing in character roles. He achieved his greatest fame playing Emperor Caligula in the film ''The Robe'' (1953) and its sequel ''Demetrius and the Gladiators' ...
as Dr. Shrinker
*
Billy Barty as Hugo, Dr. Shrinker's assistant
*
Ted Eccles
Theodore Edward Eccles (born June 9, 1955) is an American actor.
Career
Eccles performed much of his best known roles as a child actor. He appeared in several television series and feature films in the 1960s and 1970s. Eccles may be best known ...
as Brad Fulton
* Susan Lawrence as B.J. Masterson
*
as Gordie Masterson
Episodes
Notes
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Shrinker
American children's fantasy television series
American children's science fiction television series
Shrinker, Dr.
Shrinker, Dr.
1970s American children's comedy television series
1970s American comic science fiction television series
1976 American television series debuts
1977 American television series endings
Television series about size change
Television series about teenagers
Television series by Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions
The Krofft Supershow