Davey and Goliath

What great memories! In the DFW Metroplex, kids got to watch this show on "The Children's Hour", a Sunday morning entertainment/educational show that ran just before Oral Roberts weekly proclamation that "something good is going to happen to you!".Davey & Goliath was a Lutheran church based show with heavy religious and moral overtones, but it never came across as heavy handed as did "Jot", the other long running series featured on the Children's Hour. The show featured a young boy, Davey Hansen, his dog Goliath, his family & friends and the everyday moral choices young people face, as well as the consequences of those choices, right or wrong. It's been well noted

by other reviewers that this kind of show would never fly in todays ultra PC "don't offend anybody" world, and I find that unfortunate. Regardless of your religious beliefs,this show preached a higher standing of morality and common courtesy toward your fellow man that I find sorely lacking in todays world. No matter if you're Christian, Muslim, Buddist, Atheist or whatever, the values of responsibility and consequences for you own actions, love of your neighbor and moral awareness that this show emphasized are values we could all benefit from. I do find it humorous that the moral sounding board and conscience for Davey, his dog Goliath, was voiced by the town drunk from the Andy Griffith show, Hal Smith. If you've never seen this show and have an opportunity, watch it if for no other reason than to get a pulse on what children's TV was like before "Cat Dog" and all the other mentally and spiritually bankrupt garbage our kids have to watch today.

I can recall waking up super early on Saturday mornings and this was on from 6:00AM-6:30AM. I never thought about it as being overly religious, I was so busy enjoying the adventures of Davey, Goliath, Davey's family and friends that this never seemed to cram anything down my throat, but some early morning fun. Now, years later, I sit and watch the one DVD I have with three episodes, including the thirty minute Christmas special and while I recognize a bit more of the moral theme, I still don't feel like I'm having anything forced on me....but pure nostalgia and fun. I remember watching the holiday specials for Easter and Christmas and much like the Rankin & Bass holiday specials, my holiday wouldn't be complete without a dose of Davey & Goliath and now enjoying a few episodes, again, I will probably feel the same way, come this Christmas!

Watching "Davey and Goliath" today is almost sad because it's the type of decent and moral program that today's "entertainment industry" wouldn't bother to create. Indeed, it would probably be scorned because it is decent and tells a moral with each story. We can't have that today thanks to political correctness.

The soft drink, Mountain Dew, of all things reminded me of this show as they are currently running ads featuring characters from this series. As a kid in the mid to late 70s, I watched "Davey and Goliath" on Saturday afternoons and I'm glad I did. The stories were entertaining and made me understand the value of friendship, community and faith.

Thankfully, you can buy "Davey and Goliath" on DVD & VHS and I am looking forward to watching this fine program with my kids. The best thing about it is that you don't have to hesitate to do so unlike with many of today's programs on TV.

"A Mighty Fortress is Our God" (Martin Luther, circa 1529) serves as the theme song for this well-received children's series, produced by the Lutheran Church in America, and often written by children's book author Nancy Wible, who initially would also voice this program's female characters.

But while the message remains constant, times do change. Beginning at a time when ladies, gentlemen and children would continue to wear their finest clothing to Sunday services, difficult choices may lie between selecting a dress or blouse and skirt, hat or veil, or between a suit and blazer, necktie or bow-tie, and fedora, which gentlemen were expected to remove upon entrance, whereas the ladies were expected to retain hair coverings indoors. Today, while few fellowship retain such mandates, this series helps to reminisce upon changes reflected by society, while politeness toward others remains, of course, virtuous.

Between 1960 and 1965, the series of 314 fifteen-minute episodes would gain in recognition and popularity, to air across network lines for broadcast to a height of a 90% market share on Saturday mornings or sometimes on Sunday mornings between presentations of church services or sermon programs.

For a period, the fifteen-minute format was set aside in favor of recurring 30-minute "Davey and Goliath" specials, before resuming in its regular format for several additional seasons.

Vocal Talent for this clay animation (or Claymation) series is provided by an assortment of performers in the roles of parents (voice), John Hansen (Hal Smith, 1961-1976) and Elaine Hansen (Ginny Tyler, 1961-1962, also doubling as Sally), daughter Sally Hansen (Nancy Wible, 1960-1968), son David 'Davey' Hansen (Dick Beals, 1960-1964; Norma MacMillan, 1965-1975), and various friends, neighbors and community leaders. Goliath the pet dog stands nearly as tall as Davey, who is able to hear his voice whereas nobody else in the cast may.

Davey's peers would differ in configurations, usually three friends, including an African-American buddy, as the youth would learn a moral lesson of the day, initially regarding a topic of respect or reverence, then segueing into topical concerns of the period, whether they apply these lessons immediately or learn by episode's ending.

But the presentation would remain non-didactic, but open to connect with audiences of all faiths and creeds in beneficial manner, suitable to manners then and now, for "Davey and Goliath" remains a Classic from age to age, and for audiences of all ages.

Believable characters and situations, and a main character who was a real boy, not a dunce like Beaver Cleaver. Great stop-motion performances from the principals.

A painfully obvious moral in every episode. This show wouldn't fly if it were made today. What a shame.