Customer Reviews

Shazam!

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SHAZAM! Was a show I watched every Saturday Morning
on CBS from 11:00am to 11:30am it came on right after
the Bug's Bunny/Road Runner show and I was so excited
I would grab my Shazam doll(action figure to us guys)
and have a towel safty pinned to my neck.The show is
very much outdated now and had the most god awful effects
and Shazam/Captain Marvel THE LAMEST costume you have ever
seen,I mean he had ankle high yellow boots and his cape
did not cover his(forrest gump)BUTTOCKS! Still I was there
waiting for the car to explode! Watching the boy's Go Cart
go off a 2ft hill(yes Shazam to the rescue???)he saved every
one and everything...Ice cream cone is melting? Not to worry!
Shazam is here.....And speaking of here where is my t.v.
show of CHEESE! I want it released on DVD NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
shazam.Shazam.SHazam.SHAzam.SHAZam.SHAZAm.SHAZAM!!!!!!!!!

CHOSEN FROM AMONG ALL OTHERS BY THE IMMORTAL ELDERS SOLOMAN
HERCULES ATLAS ZEUS ACHILLES MERCURY BILLY BATSON AND HIS
MENTOR TRAVEL THE HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS OF THE LAND ON A NEVER
ENDING MISSION TO RIGHT WRONGS TO DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING AND TO
SEEK OUT JUSTICE FOR ALL IN TIME OF DIRE NEED YOUNG BILLY HAS
BEEN GRANTED THE POWER BY THE IMMORTALS TO SUMMON AWESOME FORCES
AT THE UTTERANCE OF A SINGLE WORD......SHAZAM!

I've been waiting now for Filmation to release the "Shazam!" DVD for a seeming eternity. It's on my Amazon "Wish list" and I've chosen to be e-mailed when it's released. Please hurry! A quality DVD copy of the episodes will be a welcome replacement for my poorly-recorded bootleg videotapes.

"Shazam!" was my favorite Saturday morning program when I was young, and - as a result - Captain Marvel was my favorite superhero. I drew pictures of him at school and in my spare time, and owned the Mego action figure. (Remember those?) I preferred Jackson Bostwick (first season) as Marvel over the later John Davey, and recall being shocked at the sudden appearance, mid-season, of an entirely different-looking Marvel. Jackson Bostwick, in full costume, once came to my city for a Cerebral Palsy Telethon, and I was too shy to go see him or even call the station to speak with him.

Viewed now from a more cynical perspective, the show itself is the epitome of 70s cheese... but it's good viewing for nostalgia's sake. Teenager Billy Batson and Mentor perpetually travel the "highways and by-ways" of America in a Winnebago, like Jack Kerouac with wanderlust, yet never seem to cross the California border. "The Elders" (six animated Greek gods whose initials provide Shazam with his name) deliver fortune cookie riddles to Billy, which then become clear later in the episode - after Billy has encountered a troubled youth of some kind. "In times of dire need," Billy turns into comic book hero Captain Marvel by uttering the word "Shazam" and being struck by a bolt of lightning... but the Captain Marvel of the show isn't your typical superhero: he never fist fights, he stops wrong-doers by lifting the rear wheels of their car off the ground or jamming their car between two trees, he brings in the cops when things get too intense, and he provides a brief moral lecture directly to us at each episode's closing. Cap doesn't throw punches, he "develops understanding." Parents will love the lack of violence and the lessons in humanitarianism. Kids will love the cape. And if you were a fan of the show then, you'll love the 70s flashback now.

This show as a fun part of my Saturday mornings as a kid. As an adult, my 4 yr old son saw a rerun on TVland a few years back and was hooked! He still loves the character (more than Superman, Sponge Bob et al) and I would buy this series on DVD immediately if it were to be released! The Animated episodes need to be released as well (there were only 9).

I was too young too have known of Captain Marvel back in the 1940's and very early 1950's when the Woeld's Mightiest Mortal was at the hieight of his popularity even outselling Superman.

DC Comics had taken Fawcett Publications to court to sue them for infringement of copyright saying that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman. The court ruled in favor of Fawcett Publications.

DC Comics filed and appeal for another court trial. However, Fwacett Publications later had sent them a letter telling them to drop the suit because it was going out of the comic book publishing business.

Captain Marvel and the related Captain Marvel comics were really the only successful titles they had. With comic book sales dropping due to the advent of TV and the comic book scare started by psychologist Dr. Fredrick Wertham with his book, "The Seduction of the innocents,' Fawcett could not see continuing the comic book line because of only one successful character.

In the early 1970's, DC Comics had turned around and purchased the rights to the Fawcett comic book line.

Afer 20 years, Captain Marvel was back in the DC Comics title "SHAZAM!" Comci book fans awaited the return of the legendary Captain Marvel only to meet with disappointment.

DC Comics had decided that since they already had Superman, they decided to do the new Captain Marvel series comical as it was done in the 1940's and early 1950's. Simple, comical, cartoony superheroes went out back in the 1960's.

It was a disappointment. However, about a year or two later, Filmation had put out a live-action Saturday Morning TV series on CBS based on "SHAZAM!" Even though it was educationally oriented for kids, the series was done on a serious note unlike the DC Comics version. The show proved successful and popular. It returned on CBS for two more seasons and a superhero series called "Isis" was spun-off from it to also become successful and popular and to return for a second season on CBS.

The live-ation TV series "SHAZAM!" dealt with the adventures of teenage reporter Billy Bason played by Michael Gray and his Mento named "Mentor" played by Les Tremain who are on the road traveling in their van. At the beginning of each episode Billy is contacted by the Elders by a dvice in the van. The Elders being: Solomon, Atlas, Zues, Achiles, and Mercury who have all grant Billy the use of their powers when he calls out the magic word "SHAZAM!" which transformes him into Captain Marvel, the mightiest of mortal beings, originally played by Jackson Bostwick in the first season, who was later replaced by John Davey in the following two seasons.

Each episode dealt with Billy and mMentor meeting some problemed kid or kids and then with the help of advise given to Billy by the Elders at the beginning of each episode, illy and Mentor with the help of Captain Marvel help to resolve the problem and to also stop a disaster or stop someone from getting hurt or saving their lives in the process. This would result with the problemed kids or kids learning a lesson and some morale value for the week.

In the first season, each episode would end with Captain Marvel (Jackson Bostwick) landing from the sky who would then talk to the kids out in TV land about the lesson and morale learned in the story. In the following two season, after Jackson Bostwick left the series, Billy Baton (Michael Gray) would give the talk at the end of each episode.

Years later, Filmation made a "SHAZAM!" animted cartoon series that appeared with another cartoon series "Hero High" in the CBS Saturda Morning TV Show, "The Kid Super Power Hour with SHAZAM!"

The animated cartoon series, however, was done comical like the DC Comics version. As a result, the animated cartoon series did not have the same sucess as the live-action series did.

I'm glad to see this series finally
comming out in a DVD box set.

IN ADDITION: You migh want to look into the 1940's Republic Pictures cliffhanger movie serieal "Adventures of Captain Marvel." Adventures of Captain Marvel [VHS]

I was glued into my chair every Saturday morning in the '70s. SHAZAM appeared alongside ISIS The Secrets of Isis - The Complete Series, as the SHAZAM ISIS hour. The episodes were entertaining as well as educational. They made me think about my life as a growing child and what was expected of me then. The episodes introduced me to a new word, "Morals"...and it explained in every episode how to live with them. And thanks to SHAZAM and ISIS, I still do my best to do right and to respect all others, and to abide by the laws of our lands, whether they are man's laws or God's laws. Thank you SHAZAM!

Cameron

IT FUNNY OUT OF ALL THE FILMATION'S T.V LIVE SHOWS , THAT SHAZAM THE FIRST LIVE ACTION SHOW FROM FILMATION, WAS THE FIRST SHOW THEY PRODUCE , AND ITS NOT ON DVD YET? I REALLY MISS THIS SHOW , AS WELL AS SPORTS BILLY, AND LASSIE CARTOON SHOW, AND WALDO KITTY SHOW , I NOT ASKING MUCH BUT PLEASE CONSIDERING PUTTING SHAZAM ON DVD. PEACE. FROM THE BIG KID , I GUARANTEE IT WILL SELL LIKE HOTCAKES AT ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET.

Having already purchased The Secrets of Isis,I sincerely hope that Shazam will be released on DVD very soon! The lessons taught by these two shows are just as important now as they were when the shows first aired in the 70s.

i watched the shazam/isis hour every saturday morning. isis is out lets put out the captain to, also put out the cartoons as well for the captain. most likely the john davey shazam season 2 and 3 will come out first since he is the only actor to appear on isis as captain marvel. i hope the entire series is comes out together not in volumes or seasons.

this show is great a little cornie but has lessons that can still be used today .

Why is it that "The Secrets of Isis" complete series can be released but not "Shazam" especially when both were back-to-back for an entire hour? It's hard to believe that there's much greed and control over whose to get most royalties. Though most who do buy "Shazam" probably will be mostly from those who grew up watching it and perhaps, maybe, just maybe, will not be worth producing on DVD comparing it to "Isis" sales alone. But then, ask yourself, " isn't a devoted fan club over a 35 year span worth the effort and appreciation?" Alas, the junk on television these days is no where compared to the quality producers they had back then. Television today lacks presentation of setting good examples and using better judgment. It's all about violence, adultry, and reality. We need to return back to when television was great with quality programming. Honor those past producers who gave their best. Please release "Shazam" on DVD.