Directors: Hollingsworth Morse, Arthur H. Nadel
Starring: Michael Gray, Les Tremayne, Jackson Bostwick
Distributed by: Warner Archive
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 588 minutes
Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars
If you are a fan of superheros they everyone knows DC Comics’Captain Marvel. “Shazam!” is a live-action TV series based on that series, which ran from 1974 to 1977 and consisted of 28 episodes. Thanks to Warner Archive, this is the first time that this complete live-action series is released on DVD. I have to say though, if you were a fan of this series in its original days…it has aged quite a bit.
Michael Gray plays Billy Batson aka Captain Marvel. He certainly looks sharp in his pajamas and his cape, I mean his superhero costume. The show still has some charm if you are a hardcore fan or just looking for a good laugh but otherwise it definitely has not lasted the test of time. When I was watching this, I couldn’t stop of thinking about the cheesy live-action TV films of “Captain America” and the failed TV movie “Fantastic Four”.
I liked the use of blended animation for the elders and mixed with the live-action. It reminded me of something out of Ralph Bakshi’s mind. Overall, the episodes do not look the greatest. They are presented in 4X3 full frame with the show’s original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. There is no special features included on this release besides the episodes.
Official Premise: 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! Now, the entire series is available in this 3-disc set featuring every exciting episode of this classic television show!