MovieChat Forums > Shazam! (1974) Discussion > Creepy for 2005

Creepy for 2005

posted 19 years ago by MikeAbrams
34 replies | jump to latest

I remember this whem I was a pre-preteen. Used toi like seeing a lot of California, being from the East.

A DVD of this was included in Wonder Woman Box Set Season 3. Just one episode. The quality was horrible.

This was as cheesy as any Sid and Marty Kroft show from the 70s... and like HR Pufenstuf, Captain marvel (at least one of him) had a southern accent.

However, after watching this show, there is a "creepy" element about it that just would NOT fly today for sure. harmless I am sure it is, and OK for the 70s but today (and some other poster touched upon some things) this sounds very suspect. The itmes I am referring to:

1 - An older man, who has No name just the alias MENTOR drives around with a young boy who he is not related to.

2 - The older man wears an outfit that looks "suspect" as he does. The boy wears a red shirt which resembles pajamas. There is no female regulars on the show.

3 - They live in a motor home. Sleep there too I suppose. It has the Shazam Logo on the front, and looks "suspect" as well. Just the stripe down the side of it. It has a red orb in it, but nobody seems to mind or ask about it.

4 - Kids are invited to go in (in the episode included with Wonder Woman), and go in without hesitation. NOT a GOOD EXAMPLE for today for sure... even back then.. it is suspect!

Maybe this is all one way to look at it, but a motor home driving around with an old man and a young boy inviting kids into it is not the kind of entertainment we are accustomed to today.

[–] earthmanny 10 years ago

completely agree. the show might as well have been called "uncle creepy and his rape van featuring captain marvel."

[–] Htos_Drol 10 years ago

1 - An older man, who has No name just the alias MENTOR drives around with a young boy who he is not related to.

1. Mentor was his name, and he was the liaison between Billy and the Elders. It was also mentioned that Mentor was Billy's uncle and he was on vacation from his job as a famous newscaster.

In the series, Billy was old enough to drive, so he wasn't that young.

2 - The older man wears an outfit that looks "suspect" as he does. The boy wears a red shirt which resembles pajamas. There is no female regulars on the show.

Since when is a Safari jacket creepy?

3 - They live in a motor home. Sleep there too I suppose. It has the Shazam Logo on the front, and looks "suspect" as well. Just the stripe down the side of it. It has a red orb in it, but nobody seems to mind or ask about it.

Yep. A young adult spending time with his uncle sightseeing.

4 - Kids are invited to go in (in the episode included with Wonder Woman), and go in without hesitation. NOT a GOOD EXAMPLE for today for sure... even back then.. it is suspect!

Many times, Captain Marvel, who seems to be an international celebrity and well-known for his heroic deeds against evil, usually mentions that his friends (Billy and Mentor) will be along to help. I don't know. I'm guessing if the Dalai Lama or someone like that said his friends were good dudes, I'd probably believe him.

[–] engle_james 10 years ago

I understand where the OP is coming from and I think he's right. Plus, he was being good-natured about it. Certainly back in the 1970's, it was easier to accept seeing kids get into vans even though they had only met them minutes before, etc. As for the relationship between Mentor and Billy, remember when Seduction of the Innocent came out claiming comic books were bad and that Batman and Robin were gay lovers?

The origin of Shazam and Captain Marvel is from a much more innocent time. If I recall, Billy Batson was a homeless 12 year old who sold newspapers on the street and one day followed a strange man to an abandoned subway, where he was given his powers. Nowadays, if I was reading a book where a young boy followed a strange man into a deserted subway, I'd think the boy was a fool for following him. Plus, no comic would show that now anyway because they wouldn't want a young kid reading the book to think it's ok to follow strangers. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy the story for what it was in the 1940's, just like that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the show for what it was in the 1970's. But time has changed!

[–] Underdog_73 9 years ago

What's creepy is your post and how this show makes you think and feel. How on Earth is Mentor's clothes, suspect? How are you not embarrassed to admit you imagine a young boy in pajamas when you watch this?

Some things that you think are normal thoughts are quite the opposite. Not only shouldn't you share them, you should take a long look at yourself and how normal behavior gives you perverted ideas.

Whether or not times have changed, nothing about this show should make you think the way you do.

Nothing is "suspect". The show is not creepy. Too bad the same can't be said for your post.