Shazam!
Series, 1974, The '60s and '70s, Set in A motorhome across America
Shazam! is #6 of 18 in release order and #6 of 18 in chronological order in the CBS Saturday Morning Cartoons.
The story
The live-action adventures of Captain Marvel! By uttering a single magic word young Billy Batson transforms himself into the world's mightiest mortal, Captain Marvel. The acronym of the first letters of the names of the six elders who train Billy with their respective special gifts: Solomon, wisdom; Hercules, strength; Atlas, stamina; Zeus, power; Achilles, courage; and Mercury, speed, in a word ... SHAZAM!
Shazam! recap
Shazam! (1974) is a live-action series in which teenage Billy Batson says a magic word and becomes the superhero Captain Marvel. Filmation made it for CBS Saturday mornings, adapting the Captain Marvel comics that began in Whiz Comics and were by then owned by DC. Billy (Michael Gray) travels the country in a motorhome with his guardian, Mentor (Les Tremayne), a character created for the show whose background is never explained. They stop wherever someone, usually a young person, is in trouble or about to make a bad choice, and Captain Marvel steps in when strength is needed. Jackson Bostwick plays Captain Marvel at first; John Davey takes over partway through, starting with the episode "Debbie". The show ran three seasons and 28 episodes: 15 in 1974, 7 in 1975 and 6 in 1976. From 1975 it formed the first half of The Shazam!/Isis Hour with The Secrets of Isis, and the two heroes cross over, with Joanna Cameron's Isis appearing in three Shazam! episodes and Davey's Captain Marvel in three of hers.
Shazam! ending explained
Shazam! ends with "Out of Focus", aired October 16, 1976, in which two thieves try to get hold of a young filmmaker's footage of their crime, because he would rather enter it in a film festival than hand it to the police. Captain Marvel and Isis help him see that winning at any cost is wrong. There is no farewell for Billy and Mentor. The live-action version did not return, but the character, renamed Shazam, later led the films Shazam! (2019) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023).
Where to watch Shazam!
Shazam! isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.5/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, before Dungeons & Dragons.
- Chronological order: after Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, before Dungeons & Dragons.
Cast
- Michael Gray as Billy Batson
- Les Tremayne as Mentor
- Jackson Bostwick as Captain Marvel
- John Davey as Captain Marvel
- Greg Mabrey as Jackie
- Andrew Stevens