Superhero shows have come a long way since I was a kid. Warner Brothers recently released “Shazam!” through its Warner Archive service, and while it’s companion series “The Secrets Of Isis” was released on DVD 5 years ago and I have been eagerly awaiting this. Watching the series with my 9 year old son was educational for us both.
There is a lack of excitement in much of “Shazam!” that one might expect in a superhero series. While my 9 year old enjoys watching the “Super Friends” cartoon series from the same era, he was less enamored with this live action series. It should be noted that live action superheroes were still very rare when “Shazam!” was first broadcast. The live action Batman series was a decade previous, and the live action Superman series a decade before that. (Marvel would have Hulk and Spider-Man live action series, again, after “Shazam!” showed up on Saturday mornings).
Captain Marvel, the hero’s name is in the series, doesn’t battle super villains, but instead mostly helps kids with moral questions. there are even life lesson morals that are dispensed at the end of each episode, based on the actions within. Sure, they come off as cheesy today, but television programming was simpler 40 years ago. Not only were our methods of storytelling different, but Saturday morning programs really weren’t sophisticated. Long before VCRs were in almost every home, kids had no way of recording their favorite shows, so they have to be “drop in, drop out” types of programs. Continuity was never considered.
The show’s title sequence provides a narrative offering up the premise. Billy Batson, provided the powers of Sampson, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, can transform into Captain Marvel. He/they travel the “highways and biways” to right wrongs and seek out justice. It’s corny, yeah, but it was highly effective for its time. The execution leaves a bit to be desired, but it really did mean well. “Mentor” (apparently the budget was so cheap Billy Batson’s human guide and companion wasn’t given a real name) drove the RV and dispensed “advice” that was meant to be an interpretation of what the elders communicated to Billy, usuall at the beginning of the episode. Billy wasn’t able to transform into Captain Marvel unless it was an absolute dire emergency, for reasons that were never made clear.
And then there is the sudden switch in heroes. About halfway through the actor portraying Captain Marvel suddenly switches, with no explanation. Sure, Jason Bostwick had a wooden delivery, but that’s because everybody involved either were stiff or overacted their part. The thing is Bostwick was a decent looking Captain Marvel, standing there you sort of believed the character could be real. Replacing him was John Davey, who wasn’t bad (comparatively to the rest of what was on Saturday mornings) but after Bostwick, well, it just wasn’t the same.
Isis shows up in a few episodes as well, carrying on those cross-over appearances from “The Shazam/Isis Hour” the series enjoyed in its later years. There were only 28 episodes produced, but somehow “Shazam!” was on for three or four years. It certainly is fun to revisit, but in small doses.
Alright, so the budget wasn’t big, with few special effects and no “big name” stars. Even the foes Captain Marvel went up against were misguided kids or generic thugs for the most part. There are a number of recognizable names and faces, however, such as James Van Patten, Radames Pera, Jimmy McNichol, Jackie Earle Haley, and others. One episode does provide a bit of continuity with Danny Bonaduce in a guest role. He appears with several kids from the first episode of the series – and the lesson is similar. One episode hade me searching through IMDB. The main guest was a girl I thought looked familiar. Turns out it was Pamela Ferdin, who would later become a regular on “Star Command” another Saturday morning series that was a favorite of mine. I had a huge crush on her back then.
The only special feature is an option to “play all” the episodes with the moral tacked on. I’d rather have had the option to play all episodes with and without the moral, as well as playing the individual episodes with or without the moral. Playing the individual episode drops the moral at the end. No audio commentaries, no interviews, nothing. It’s a shame, but understandable.
If you know what you are getting into, “Shazam!” is worth purchasing (direct link to Warner Archive). It’s fun and light entertainment that could be a good way to relive your childhood as well as introduce a lesser known superhero to your youngster.