The Secrets of Isis

I saw an episode from the fourth season of Columbo called "Negative Reaction," which starred Dick Van Dyke as a murderous photographer, and couldn't help but take note of the incredibly beautiful young woman that played Dyke's girlfriend. I looked her up on IMDb and discovered that the woman, JoAnna Cameron, played the titular heroine in the 70s Saturday morning series "The Secrets of Isis." This explains my interest in picking up the "Isis" DVD set. I only vaguely recall the show as a kid; so there's very little nostalgic factor with me.

The show beat out the similar primetime series "Wonder Woman," debuting Sept. 9, 1975. "Wonder Woman" didn't appear until sometime in 1976.

"The Secrets of Isis" was a low-budget Saturday morning series and obviously geared toward kids. Each episode has a moral; the cast is upbeat, likable and multi-cultural; the vibe is simple and wholesome; and the F/X are cheap. Each segment only runs 20 minutes (not including credits) and the last two episodes feature Captain Marvel of "Shazam!" All that said, the show possesses a certain charm. One can't help but respect that JoAnna Cameron took the role seriously.

In the interview section of the DVDs the producers admit that they chose JoAnna to play Isis because she had "great legs." And so she does. In fact, it's the first thing I noticed about her when I saw that episode of "Columbo." JoAnna is fairly short and kind of thin, but curvy at the same time. In any case, her legs are truly exquisite. Her face and presence also exude great intelligence and poise. A very uniquely beautiful woman, to say the least. Lynda Carter of "Wonder Woman," by contrast, was tall and ultra-voluptuous (I personally get sick at the sight of nigh-anorexic women). Another great 70s beauty was Erin Gray of "Buck Rogers."

BOTTOM LINE: Despite its numerous shortcomings noted above, "The Secrets of Isis" is worth picking up for those nostalgic of the show or those fascinated by JoAnna Cameron's great beauty, intelligence and poise; or both. And, by all means, watch it with your kids.

I remember this show like it was yesterday;a modern day high school teacher that see trouble coming and goes into a room has a secret ring on her finger and says,"Oh,mighty Isis!" and changes into a Egyptian princess named Isis with superpowers who helps out kids who get into trouble and fights off evil doers. It came on Saturday Mornings around 10:00am and I can remember this show being on. This was a dynamite show to watch by the way since it only was on for two seasons and went right off the air(and its reruns) for much of the decade(as part of the Shazam/Isis Hour). However,there was Isis who comes out at the end of the show to give a message or two about certain things(which became part of a Filmation staple and a big winner during its run on CBS). The series lasted two seasons on Saturday Mornings from September 6, 1975 until October 23, 1976 and it produced 22 episodes where CBS repeated it entirely until 1979 when it was combined "The Shazam-Isis Hour". Since the show's star was a fashion model before she became an actress,Joanna Cameron was a knockout to watch as Isis. She was beautiful. By the way,whatever happened to her after that? After her stint as "Isis" Joanna Cameron went on to star in the short-lived series based on "Spider-Man",and from there was a guest star in several television shows until she retired from show business and Hollywood altogether in the 1980's. Today,she does public appearances but she left Hollywood for the hotel marketing business based in Hawaii.

Revised on July 8, 2015

o zepher winds that blow on high, lift me now so i can fly...she used to say that when she flew away. Did Isis ever actually fight a bad guy. Seems like she was always putting out fires and rescueing kids in 70's gear from a disabled boat! Great show, i wish i could see it again.

70s Saturday morning kid's show about a female superhero: Isis.

I had two reactions to this series so here we go:

My 1970s childhood reaction. I thought this series was one of the great wonders of the world. Isis seemed supercool to me, the series plots were fine, the action scenes were outstanding and this series was generally speaking: must-see-TV.

My current middle aged adult reaction. Today I often proudly go down memory lane and watch TV shows of my youth, and I have a great time. But I am sorry to report that this Isis series is missing a lot of the punch it had but related series of the day - Shazam! (1974-76) - still stands tall the way it did decades ago.

But that does not mean that Isis is not worth a look in this century. There are a few episodes that are still wonderful entertainment - mainly "Lucky" and "The Sound Of Silence". "Lucky" is a touching tale of a kid's relationship with his pet dog. "Silence" actually introduces science fiction into the series as a stolen force field makes trouble for all concerned.

And there were a few episodes where John Davey (Captain Marvel in Shazam!) made a guest appearance, and this was a thrill. Isis and Shazam! also shared many of the same music cues during the run of both shows. I would say the music cues were about 40% of the entertainment value in Isis.

However, the Isis series really ran into problems towards the end and the last three episodes - Year Of The Dragon, Now You See It..., ...And Now You Don't - rank as some of the worst Saturday morning TV of the 70s.

If you wish to re-visit all those old live-action 70s Saturday morning TV shows I would consider watching Shazam!, Ark 11, Land Of The Lost, Bigfoot and Wildboy...and maybe leave Isis to the end of your viewing list. Enjoy!

As a little boy in during the "70's; Isis (JoAnna Cameron) was my second crush, after Batgirl (Yvonne Craig). And then, after Isis; was WonderWoman; my crush on Lynda Carter was never broken after seeing her play the super-heroine. When they teamed Isis up with Captain Marvel; I was in kid heaven. I always thought there was something going on between those two; whenever they winked at each other. I'm after all; Isis is a goddess and of fertility;no less and then you have Captain Marvel; not really a god but man created and endowed with powers by the gods. The Immortals new what they were doing. I hope they release both Isis/Shazam! shows on dvd at the same time; when the long talked about Shazam! movie makes it to the theaters.