Inspired by a floating chunk of seaweed, Sid and Marty Krofft--creators of kids' favorites H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost and many more--brought to life Sigmund, the lovable sea monster, by combining puppets, live-action and low-budget special effects.

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters starts out when Sigmund, a shy and retiring monster is kicked out of his family's underwater lair and told not to come back until he can terrorize some humans in proper monster fashion. Sigmund is not really the boogeyman type so he wanders around the beach until he meets up with brothers Johnny and Scott, who befriend the lonely Sigmund. Johnny and Scott hide Sigmund in their secret club house and work hard at keeping him concealed from their housekeeper, Zelda and her boyfriend, Sheriff Bevins.

Sigmund is on the lam not just from humans but from his horrid family, the Oozes, as well. Big Daddy and Sweet Mama Ooz are not at all like their sweet, friendly offspring and constantly plot to abduct the little sea monster and take him back home. Burp and Slurp, Sigmund's bullying brothers, usually act as muscle in the kidnap attempts.

During the second season of the series, Rip Taylor joined the cast as Sheldon, the sea genie who is summoned forth out his shell by Sigmund. Sheldon is not much help the gang as his bumbling spell casting backfires more often than not.

The series aired for two seasons on NBC's Saturday morning lineup and featured Billy Barty, a veteran of many other Krofft productions, in the role of Sigmund.