What’s the point of a kid waking up early this Saturday morning? They click on the TV and it’s morning news shows on the networks. They can watch cartoons on CN, Disney and Nick, but they merely rerun their weekday programs. There’s nothing special on the tube to make that bowl of Cap’n Crunch extra tasty on Saturday morning. That wasn’t always the case. Decades ago you’d warm up the TV set to fresh shows that only ran Saturday mornings. A few of those shows became so powerful they were given special hype such as The Shazam! / Isis Hour on CBS. Shazam! brought Captain Marvel to the small screen with a smaller scope. Shazam! The Complete Live Action Series collects all 28 episodes that ran from 1974 to 1977.
Billy Batson’s a teenager who transforms into superhero Captain Marvel by shouting, “Shazam!” His “adult” powers come from Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. The comic book mythology gets majorly reworked for the Filmation series. Billy (Michael Gray) now cruises around in a RV driven by the elderly Mentor (Les Tremayne). Instead of saving the world, Billy becomes Captain Marvel (Jackson Bostwick) to save kids from trouble. I’ll admit to being originally letdown by the show way back when. I was used to the crime fighting action of Batman and Wonder Woman. But the series grew on me over time. Filmation’s approach did make sense since the networks didn’t pass out fat budgets for Saturday morning programming. The show understood creative ways to cut corners. The RV was supposed to show how Billy and the Mentor were cruising around the country. But it probably served as their dressing room and location bathroom. The special effect shots of Billy talking to the Gods, turning into Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel flying were reused in every episode. The show didn’t have to go overboard with action by teaching approachable life lessons. The Superhero prevents tragedy when the wrong choice is made. Little things make the message bigger.
“The Joyriders” teaches kids how peer pressure may cause you to do bad things. A nice kid falls in with a pack of delinquents who think they know everything. It’s up to Captain Marvel to stop them from a life of crime after they steal a car. One of the gang is Barry Miller. In a few years he’d light up the screen in Saturday Night Fever. He was the wimpy character who does his best to fit in with John Travolta’s crew. We’d been teased back in 2005 when “The Joyriders” was released as a bonus disc on Wonder Woman: Season Three. It’s nice that the episodes keep coming after the pilot is done. “Though Shalt Not Kill” is the strange tale of a woman’s will demanding her horse be killed. Pamelyn Ferdin (The Paul Lynde Show) can’t let it happen. Ferdin would star in Filmation’s Space Academy in the Fall of ’77. “The Athlete” makes Butch Patrick (The Munsters) a meanie when he sabotages a girl’s academic career to keep her off his team.
“The Delinquent” properly casts Jackie Earle Haley in the title role. He’s the camp kid that doesn’t fit in. He goes off on his own into the wilderness. Billy, Mentor and Captain Marvel must save him. Haley is perfect in the role. The greatest troubled teen actor cuts his teeth in the genre here. Soon after this episode aired, Haley would be cast in the iconic role of bad boy Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears.
Shazam!‘s first season 15 episodes did well enough that the network ordered a second season. Unlike primetime, rarely does a Saturday morning show receive an order of equal number full order of episodes. Shazam!‘s second season was only 7 new episodes and a major change. “Double Trouble,” the fourth episode puts John Davey in the cape and golden boots. What happened? Jackson Bostwick didn’t show up on time for a shoot. Filmation thought he was holding out for a raise. He had gone to the doctor to check on an injury from the previous day’s work. In the end Bostwick sued and won for the remainder of his contract. Davey early on didn’t quite have the superhero look. His “flying” scenes made him look like he had a beer gut. “Speak No Evil” utters the name Danny Bonaduce (Breaking Bonaduce). He was fresh off The Partridge Family so still has that youthful pluck. He gets involved in a school burning incident. This was the season when The Secrets of Isis hit the air so it was time to crossover the characters on “The Odd Couple.” Her help is needed when there’s too much for Captain Marvel between plane running out of fuel and a forest fire. The third season was only six episodes with two of them featuring Isis. The big episode is “Out of Focus.” Two burglars suspect a high schooler (Andrew Stevens) filmed their latest heist. Billy wants to help the guy. Isis arrives on the scene since her students are attending a film festival. Andrew Stevens would go on to be a Cinema After Dark star with Night Eyes and Scorned. He’d also be executive producer on Battlefield Earth. Davey appeared to have done a few sit ups between the seasons since he looks less doughy in his superhero uniform.
Shazam! The Complete Live Action Series can make any Saturday morning special when you place it inside the DVD player. Mentor and Billy are so square riding around in the RV that they become a refreshing change to hipster attitudes on the Disney Channel. There’s no smart mouthing between the two. They are earnest in the mission and message. What the show lacks in the over the top action, it makes up in saving well meaning kids from bad choices. Make sure you have a full box of cereal because you aren’t going to want to stop after the first shouting of Shazam!
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. Even though the show was shot on 16mm, the elements used on the transfer are rather sharp. This is being offered as part of Warner Archive’s Manufacture On Demand program. They have been shipping out real DVDs along with DVD-R sets. The audio is Dolby Digital mono.
Play All With Morals gives the little talk from Billy or Captain Marvel about the episode. These were taken off low resolution video or rough 16mm sources, but don’t skip them since they add to the flavor of the show.
Shazam! The Complete Live Action Series bring back the memories of the powerhouse Saturday morning show of the mid-’70s. The show tones down the superhero genre to connect with the kids facing serious issues. There’s plenty of inadvertent comedy such as why do they drive around in an RV when they never leave the outskirts of Los Angeles? This is an essential part of any well-balanced Saturday morning DVD collection.
Warner Archive presents Shazam! The Complete Live Action Series. Starring: Michael Gray, Les Tremayne, Jason Bostwick and John Davey. Boxset Contents: 28 episodes on 3 DVDs. Released: October 24, 2012. Available at Amazon.com
