History Series / Svengoolie

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Tombstone's voice is modeled on Bill Saluga's Ray J. Johnson Jr. character. His ''SYT'' predecessor, Zelda, likewise had her voice modeled on Flip Wilson's Geraldine Jones.

* CatchPhrase: When showing some fan submissions, Sven or Kerwin would say, "Hit the theme for us, Chas," referring to then-audio engineer Chas Alling. It became "Hit the theme for us, Creedo" after Alling stepped down as audio engineer in 2021 and was replaced by Chris "Creedo" [=DeQuick=].

** Bishop started out with a plain white coffin lying on a table, which would be signed by the episode's special guest if there was one, before it was replaced with the more ornate one with his face on it in 1972. (The coffin-signing tradition was succeeded by a guest book.)

** Early episodes of ''Screaming Yellow Theater'' consisted simply of voiceover announcements from Sven accompanied by a slide in lieu of proper host segments, and "Rumble" wasn't used as its theme music yet. This would be changed in 1971, and the coffin set and opening sign-on phrase were introduced early the following year.

** ''Son of Svengoolie'' kept the old sign-on phrase and "Rumble" theme song from the Bishop run in its first year, before adding "clear the airwaves" and the Son's Theme in 1980. The logo was different as well.
** The initial WCIU episodes used a MIDI version of the Son's Theme and a very basic set (consisting of a black drape with Sven's coffin in front of it, as well as a table with old TV monitors). The dungeon walls were introduced in 1995, followed by the current version of the Son's Theme debuting the following year. The intro first consisted of footage of the set, before the live-action movie footage was introduced with the current version of the Son's Theme, and the CGI intro was first used in 1998. A different, simpler logo was used as well.
** Early WCIU episodes would list each person as "(title)goolie" under "The Goolies" (e.g. Rich Koz as "Producergoolie"). This gag was removed, with the "Goolies" label changed to "The Sven Squad" (no relation to the trio introduced in 2023) before that was removed altogether; the ending CreditsGag was absent as well, with just the copyright notice present. Also, Music/BillyJoel's "You May Be Right" (which was also the ''Son of Svengoolie'' closing theme) was originally carried over before the current closing theme was introduced in 1997, and the credits didn't scroll.

* PublicServiceAnnouncement: Kerwyn delivered CDC guidelines about sanitation for a few weeks during the early part of the COVID pandemic, such as social distancing, washing your hands, and not touching your face.

* CatchPhrase: When showing some fan submissions: "Hit the theme for us, Chas," referring to then-audio engineer Chas Alling. Became "Hit the theme for us, Creedo" after Alling stepped down as audio engineer and was replaced by Chris "Creedo" [=DeQuick=].

* ChasteToons: A live-action puppet example: Tombstone has a trio of Huey, Dewey and Louie-like nephews seen in one episode of the ''Son of'' era, who are all smaller skulls with Music/AlvinAndTheChipmunks-esque voices.

* HurricaneOfPuns: In addition to the lame puns that {{Bookend|s}} the show, some segments will have Sven, Tombstone, Doug, and/or Kerwyn rattle of a bunch of them at once. The writing team ''love'' them some puns.

** Bishop!Sven's headband, sunglasses, red shirt and striped pants
** Koz!Sven's black top hat, green neckerchief (replaced with a red turtleneck in the WCIU run and eventually a red tuxedo shirt from 2007 on) and black suit
** Doug's fedora, sunglasses and blue collared shirt.

** One Sven Cave background used in 2020 episodes features capsules with the costume of Bishop's Sven, as well as Koz' 1979 and 1994 Sven costumes. Another background shows a portrait of Bishop's Sven.

* OnceAnEpisode: Every episode ends with an audio clip of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny saying "So long, screwy! See you in St. Louie!" from "Hare Trigger", followed by "We're the Boys of Chorus" from "WesternAnimation/WhatsUpDoc" and then another audio clip of Creator/StanFreberg saying "Goodnight, everybody!"

** Svengoolie's response to his 1986 cancellation...[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QDJRLb8C3w in the form]] of a parody of Music/RayCharles' "Busted". It also has a lyric stating that Sven "(got) what (he) deserved" for mocking UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, Creator/OprahWinfrey, and Creator/MervGriffin.

* LimitedWardrobe: Bishop!Sven's headband, sunglasses, red shirt and striped pants; Koz!Sven's black top hat, green neckerchief (replaced with a red turtleneck in the WCIU run and eventually a red tuxedo shirt from 2007 on) and black suit; Doug's fedora, sunglasses and blue collared shirt.

** Sven's current coffin has a door knocker with a Latin translation of Bishop!Sven's phrase, "The time has come for scary things".

** Svengoolie's response to his 1986 cancellation...[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QDJRLb8C3w in the form]] of a parody of Music/RayCharles' "Busted".

* {{Crossover}}: Not long after Creator/MeTV launched ''Series/ToonInWithMe'' in 2021, its host Bill and his puppet co-host Toony the Tuna have appeared on the show, and vice versa, with Toony especially becoming a SitcomArchNemesis of sorts to Kerwyn.

** The backdrops used during the COVID lockdown episodes are modeled after Bruce Wayne's office and the Batcave from the [[Series/Batman1966 1966 Batman series]], as well as the [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Fortress of Solitude]].

** Sven's current coffin has a handle with a Latin translation of Bishop!Sven's phrase, "The time has come for scary things".

* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: Sven may be a ghoul, but the extent of his creepiness is mostly living in a coffin inside a haunted house and making frighteningly bad {{pun}}s.

* ParodyCommercial: Too many examples to count--Svengoolie's Jr. Grave Robber Kit, Vampire Carpets, Death Perfume...

* PassingTheTorch: In [[http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/#videoclip-1978 the first episode]] of ''Son of Svengoolie'', when the Son pop's out of Bishop's coffin on the old ''Screaming Yellow Theater'' set while Bishop, out of character, provides OpeningNarration.
-->'''Bishop:''' Good evening. I'm Jerry G. Bishop, and this is the famed split-level dungeon studio where many years ago, the legendary Svengoola--Svengoolie burst into television prominence....What if there was the same situation as in the past with the ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'', the ''Film/SonOfDracula'', ''Series/SanfordAndSon''? Could there exist--somewhere, somehow--the [[TitleDrop Son of Svengoolie]]?

** The "Screaming Yellow Theater" name is a parody of Screaming Yellow Zonkers, a brand of popcorn popular in the early 1970s.

** The backdrops used during the COVID lockdown episodes are modeled after Bruce Wayne's office and the Batcave from the [[Series/Batman1966 1966 Batman series]].

** The initial WCIU episodes used a MIDI version of the Son's Theme and a very basic set (consisting of a black drape with Sven's coffin in front of it, as well as a table with old TV monitors). The set was updated in 1995, followed by the current version of the Son's Theme debuting the following year. Also, the intro was different, first consisting of footage of the set, before the live-action movie footage was introduced with the current version of the Son's Theme, and the CGI intro was first used in 1998. A different, simpler logo was used as well.
** Early WCIU episodes also listed each person as "(title)goolie" under "The Goolies" (e.g. Rich Koz as "Producergoolie"). This gag was removed, with the "Goolies" label changed to "The Sven Squad" (no relation to the trio introduced in 2023) before that was removed altogether; the ending CreditsGag was also absent, with just the copyright notice present. Also, Music/BillyJoel's "You May Be Right" (which was also the ''Son of Svengoolie'' closing theme) was originally carried over before the current closing theme was introduced in 1997, and the credits didn't scroll.

* CatchPhrase: When showing some fan submissions: "Hit the theme for us, Chas," referring to then-audio engineer Chas Alling. Became "Hit the theme for us, Credo" after Alling stepped down as audio engineer and was replaced by Chris [=DeQuick=] and Michael Manuszak.

* CostumeEvolution: Koz' Sven started out with a longer hairstyle, a green ascot, a chain over his shoulder that came from a wall clock, and a red ''Son of Svengoolie'' t-shirt in the ''Son of Svengoolie'' era. When his show was revived on WCIU, he ditched the ascot, got a shorter hairstyle, replaced his chain with a 1994 Hallmark Dancing Skeleton lapel pin (which was given to Koz by two WGN colleagues who led him to WCIU), and swapped out his t-shirt for a red turtleneck sweater. In 2007, the sweater was replaced with the current collared shirt and a red bead necklace with a rubber chicken pendant, as Koz [[https://www.metv.com/svengoolie/blog/word-to-the-wise-consider-costume-comfort found]] the turtleneck too warm under the hot studio lighting.

** Early episodes of ''Screaming Yellow Theater'' consisted simply of voiceover announcements from Sven accompanied by a slide in lieu of proper host segments, and "Rumble" wasn't used as its theme music yet. This would be changed later in 1971, and the coffin set and opening sign-on phrase were introduced early the following year.
** Bishop's Sven originally used a plain wooden coffin laid on a table against a black backdrop, with the episode's special guest signing the coffin. Later in 1972, when Rich Koz joined, it was replaced by a new coffin with an ornate design positioned upright, and a stone wall backdrop was introduced, with guests now signing a guest book.

** Early in the WCIU era, Sven had a sidekick in Ed the Bat. The character was disliked by WCIU head Neal Sabin, and retired quickly after a skit in which Sabin attacked Ed with a club.

** Early WCIU episodes also listed each person as "(title)goolie" under "The Goolies" (e.g. Rich Koz as "Producergoolie"). This gag was removed, with the "Goolies" label changed to "The Sven Squad" (no relation to the trio introduced in 2023) before that was removed altogether. Also, different music was used, and the credits didn't scroll.

* ChasteToons: A live-action puppet example: Tombstone has a trio of nephews only seen in the ''Son of'' era who are three smaller skulls with Music/AlvinAndTheChipmunks-esque voices.
* ChuckCumminghamSyndrome:

* ChuckCumminghamSyndrome: Durwood the ventriloquist puppet hasn't been seen in years outside of Easter eggs (such as a wooden nickel with his face on it in one of the "Sven Cave" backgrounds in the 2020-2021 episodes).

* FourthWallMailSlot: Each episode involves Sven (and Kerwyn from 2009 onwards) reading mail and highlighting memorabilia sent by fans.

** "BER-WYN?" whenever a city name, or a word that sounds similar is mentioned. Berwyn is a suburb of Chicago where they have an annual mushroom parade. Used as a gag similar to ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' "beautiful downtown Burbank." That and [=SoS=] used to regularly take credit for burning down the Berwyn Theater (again). Said theater was in sad disrepair in the early 80's and had multiple fires. Kerwyn's name also plays into this RunningGag: this groan is used when his name is said.

* AffectionateParody: Sven's coffin Boddy Sorrell is a coffin take on Buddy Sorrell from ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'': his name is similar, his voice is a Morey Amsterdam impression, and he has a habit of calling Sven "Rob", the name of Creator/DickVanDyke's cnaracter from that show.

* FourthWallMailSlot
* GagDub: [=SvenSurround=].

** Bishop's opening narration in the first ''Son of Svengoolie'' episode features jabs at the short-lived series ''Hello, Larry'' and ''Series/MyMotherTheCar''. The former even received a CallBack during the "Canceled" song in the series finale.

-->-- Opening line for ''Screaming Yellow Theater'' and ''Son of Svengoolie'' between 1970-1980

** Early episodes of ''Screaming Yellow Theater'' consisted simply of voiceover announcements from Sven accompanied by a slide in lieu of proper host segments, and "Rumble" wasn't used as its theme music yet. This would be changed later in 1971.
** Bishop's Sven originally used a plain wooden coffin laid on a table against a black backdrop, with the episode's special guest signing the coffin. In 1972, when Rich Koz joined, it was replaced by a new coffin with an ornate design positioned upright, and a stone wall backdrop was introduced, with guests now signing a guest book.

** Kerwyn was redesigned in early 2024, receiving slightly different eyes and a shorter comb and beak wattle, and his neck is no longer twisted.

** Early episodes of ''Screaming Yellow Theater'' featured only Sven's voice and a slide, and "Rumble" wasn't used as its theme music yet.

* SynchroVox: Occasionally used in the skits.

* OnceAnEpisode: Every episode ends with an audio clip of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny saying "So long, screwy! See you in St. Louie!" from "Hare Trigger", followed by "We're the Boys of Chorus" from "WesternAnimation/WhatsUpDoc" and then Creator/StanFreberg saying "Goodnight, everybody!" from ''Radio/TheStanFrebergShow''.