| Creator: | Bobby Goldsboro |
| Voices: | Bobby Goldsboro |
| Theme Music Composer: | Bobby Goldsboro |
| Opentheme: | "Rollin' Down to Lost Lagoon" |
| Composer: | Bobby Goldsboro |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Network: | Syndication (seasons 1-2) INSP (season 3) |
The Swamp Critters of Lost Lagoon (originally named Swamp Critters) is an American children's television series created by country music star Bobby Goldsboro. Targeted for children aged 2 to 8, the show featured characters brought to life by actors.[1] The program aired on public television stations, TLC, and INSP from 1996 to 2001, and according to the show's website (which is partially outdated), it formerly aired on the now-defunct America One Television Network and currently on TCT Kids.[2]
Goldsboro funded the show using his own money instead of getting investors to back it. According to him, "the minute somebody puts in money, they think they have the right to say, 'You know, Barney is so successful, why don't you make that alligator purple instead of green?' I've got enough to worry about without having to appease somebody else." Goldsboro also decided to start the show on a PBS affiliate rather than on a network affiliate. According to him, if he had gone to a network he "would have had to have a lot more action on the show. On the network shows, everything is fast cuts and fast movements. They think that's what kids want to see in this day and age of video games".[3] Swamp Critter actor Charlie Rose (Billy Bob Possum and puppeteer), says "The pilot episode was produced in December 1995 at WEDU. Our company, Peeler-Productions, had spent the early part of that year designing and building the character costumes, heads, puppets, providing set designs to actor Jim Demetrius (Ribbet E. Lee) who doubled as set builder for another company." The rest of season 1 was produced in early 1996 and was broadcast the following spring. The same is true for the second season. In fall of 1996, the second season was in production, and made its first broadcast in the spring of 1997. The first two seasons aired in reruns on TLC's Ready Set Learn block from 1997 to 1999. The reruns moved to INSP in 1999, where a third season was broadcast between fall of 2000 and spring of 2001.
Each half-hour episode contains four to six songs, ranging from blues and Dixieland jazz to pop and classical and country music. For the first two seasons, over 100 songs were written. According to Goldsboro, "it's music that's on a children's show but it's not children's music. I've never understood talking down to kids and treating them like they're imbeciles. Several shows do that."[3]
Each of the main characters' costume heads contains over $20,000 worth of animatronics, which are used to control their facial expressions and mouth movements.[3]