evanoff
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Dec. 17, 2004, 12:11PM
A boy and his dogma
Wholesome 'Davey & Goliath' gets an update, but the message is the same in new special
By DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press
Hallmark Channel
A CONSCIENCE WITH A COLLAR: Davey and Goliath are back to share the love in Davey and Goliath's Snowboard Christmas.
After a nearly 30-year hiatus, Davey Hansen and his faithful dog Goliath are back to teach values to a new generation of young people.
The Lutheran church is reviving the 1960s-era animated series for a holidayspecial, Davey & Goliath's Snowboard Christmas,on the Hallmark Channelat noon today. It will be repeated at the same time on the day after Christmas.
If things go well, Goliath's exasperated "Oh, Davey" will be heard many times again when his master gets into trouble.
The original series was produced from 1960 to '65 and distributed for free to television stations. Many eagerly aired the 15-minute episodes on Sunday mornings; as public licensees, it was a solid PR move to show wholesome children's programming with a religious component.
"If you can find somebody between 40 and 60, they'll tell you a Davey & Goliath story," said the Rev. Eric Shafer, communications director for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a key figure in bringing the series back.
Davey was a typically mischievous boy, constantly being helped out of jams by his dog. Goliath spoke (only Davey and the audience could hear him) essentially as Davey's voice of conscience.
While a Christian show, Davey & Goliath soft-pedaled religion behind the constant themes that the love of God and parents was unconditional, Shafer said. In a typical episode, Davey is trapped in a train but comforted by the realization that God is everywhere.
Shafer said he's received many e-mails from adults with fond memories of the series who say, "when my family wasn't whole, Davey's was, and it got me through."
Ruth Clokey, daughter of a Lutheran minister, and her husband, Art, were the producers. Art created the Gumby character ? remembered as much for Eddie Murphy's Saturday Night Live skits as the original shows ? and the quirky, stop-action animation that was its signature.
Production of Davey & Goliath was discontinued, but the Lutheran church funded more episodes between 1969 and 1971. A handful of specials were also made, the last in 1975. Repeats were a staple on TV until the early 1980s. It mostly disappeared after stations recognized the money they could make by selling advertising for other religious programming, often made by conservative Christians.
Continue story here:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/entertainment/2951104
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Lisa Evanoff
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