MovieChat Forums > Shazam! (1974) Discussion > I loved this stuff!

I loved this stuff!

posted 22 years ago by norm1972
4 replies | jump to latest

I thought the Shazam and Isis series were teriffic because in the 70's this stuff was ahead of it's time. I loved the way the animation and the realism was intertwined. It knocked my socks off. It was cool to me then and it's cool to me now. It's a shame that the filmation cartoons are no longer aired, because filmation and Hanna Barbera were the powerhouses of animation during the 1970's. Filmation laid the foundation in showing minorities in their work with Super Stretch and Microwoman, and the legendary Fat Albert. It gave us something to look at because there were characters on television that I could relate to because they looked like me. The Shazam series was a piece of nostalgia for me because it gave me a look at where animation was going and it was an experimental show also. Other than that it is far from garbage as far as I'm concerned, it's history. Isis was fine too!

[–] HtosDrol 21 years ago

I remember watching this show each Saturday morning religiously, and how great it was for me as a kid. The weird thing was, that my favorite shows as a child (6-10years old) were Shazaam, Star Trek, Time Tunnel and SWAT. Unfortunately, I
was the only kid in my neighborhood that watched these shows and I took alot of grief from my parents and friends for liking them.

[–] raysond 21 years ago

I remember this series too! It is now a cult classic for the young kids who used to watch this series which was mostly seen on Saturday Mornings back in the 1970's. It amazes me as well that Filmation Productions,the company that produced the show,was behind some of the greatest live-action/animated shows ever produced,even though some of it was bad and some of it was brilliant....
This was the same company that brought us "The Hardy Boys","The Archies",
"Sabrina,The Teenage Witch","The Groovie Ghoulies","Lassie's Rescue Rangers",
"Star Trek:The Animated Series","Thunder","Run Joe Run","Fantastic Voyage",
three,count'em three animated adventure series featuring "Batman and Robin"
"The New Adventures Of Gilligan" and "Gilligan's Planet","Ghostbusters"(not the
Bill Murray,Dan Ackroyd version from the 1980's but the 1970's version with Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker,and remember that goofy gorilla named Tracy? Yes,this was also seen on Saturday Mornings too!),not to even mention it's live action foray too like "Isis", "Ark II","Space Academy","Jason Of Star Command","Westwind" and others like the Award winning series "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids",and its other foray like "The Adventures Of Flash Gordon","He-Man","She-Ra","Gangstarr" and so much more. The studio in its heyday was the powerhouse of children's entertainment,second only to the top champion Hanna-Barbera,and others like Ruby-Spears Entertainment,and DePatie-Freleng Productions and Sid and Marty Krofft. I'm talking 70's here!

Getting back to "Shazam!",the series ran from three seasons on CBS-TV from its premiere in September of 1974 to September of 1977 and after the end of the decade this series went into the abyss,never to be heard from again until 20 years later when TV Land resurrected it from the television graveyard. The series itself may have been hokey as hell but the show was nothing like the comic book from which it came from where the same characters traveled around
in the same winnebago around the same neighborhood in every episode. Watch the episodes sometime! The guy who played Captain Marvel was done by two different actors. The same can be said for another Filmation live-action series as well.........Isis! Only the appearance of actress Joanna Cameron was enough to give guys and some horny boys well glued to the sets,since she was a knockout to watch and she does put you in mind of actress Catherine Zeta-Jones,striking resemblance! Don't you think?

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[–] The-Uber-Geek 20 years ago

Anyone remember the live action/animated show "The Kids SuperPower Hour with Shazam"?

"It's a dangerous thing to confuse children with angels."

-Henry Gibson
Magnolia
(2000)

[–] hereminton 17 years ago

With my having turned 40 last month I've been reflecting on my life alot recently, and this has come to mind. I did watch this show most Saturday mornings on CBS when it originally aired (was 6, 7, 8 and in early elementary school), and really liked it. I was especially into the way Billy would change into him, by shouting "SHAZAM!" (best hero change ever I thought).

"I happen to be a vegetarian". Lex, from Jurrasic Park