Wonderbug

1 9 7 6 – 1 9 7 8 (USA)
22 x 15 minute episodes

Teenagers Barry (David Levy), CC (John Anthony Bailey) and Susan (Carol Anne Seflinger) find an old dune buggy (with the licence plate SCHLEP) in a scrapyard.

The kids buy the wreck and place what turns out to be a magical horn on the vehicle . . . and presto – it turns into the talking shiny metal-flake orange Wonderbug (with the licence plate 1DERBUG).

Wonderbug can talk, think, fly and travel on water and is able to help the three teens capture crooks and prevent evil wrongdoing.

Susan is the real brains of the group and comes up with all the plans, but it is Barry who takes the credit (he says, “I’ve got a better idea,” then repeats Susan’s idea). CC then agrees with what Barry says, not realising it was actually Susan’s idea in the first place.

Wonderbug aired as part of The Krofft Supershow, from 1976 to 1978, sharing its half-hour timeslot with other Krofft titles, including Magic Mongo, Bigfoot and Wildboy, Dr Shrinker, The Lost Saucer, and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl.

The series made heavy use of chromakey for the special effects sequences and the wonderbug seen in the flying shots of the car was quite obviously a toy.

Barry Buntrock
David Levy
CC McNamara
John Anthony Bailey
Susan Talbot
Carol Anne Seflinger
Wonderbug (voice) 
Frank Welker

Episodes

Go West, Young Schlepcar | Schlepnapped | I Kidd You Not | Keep on Schleppin | The Maltese Gooneybird | The Big Bink Bank Bungle | Wonderbug Express | Schlepfoot | Schlep O’Clock Rock | Anderson’s Android | 14-Karat Wonderbug | Horse Switched | Schleppenstein | No Foe Like a UFO | The Not So Great Race | Lights, Camera, Wonderbug! | The Big Game | The Case of the Misfortune Cookie | Dirty Larry, Crazy Barry | Fish Story | Incredible Shrinking Wonderbug | Oil or Nothing

Video