WeatherViolet
"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.
Donna Cunningham
When I was growing up, I only saw a few episodes of Davey and Goliath, but now that's it's on DVD I bought volume 1 and 3 and my husband and I can't stop watching it and we are in our 30s. My favorite one was the Good Neighbor when Davey helped a girl, Mary who fell off her wagon and was lost. This series touches my heart. It's better than the garbage they have today. I remember watching it on Sundays and the first things I always noticed that they were made of clay like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. When I was watching Gerald Ford's funeral on TV at Grace Episcipal Church in Michigan at they end they played the song from Davey and Goliath by Martin Luther. I kept thinking about the good times I had watching Davey and Goliath.
k9casanova
This show was great. It pushed morals. It pushed family values. It pushed clean fun.The thing I miss about TV today are shows like this one. Obviously it took many hours to produce one episode, without the advent of CGI. Animation today is weak and pretty much a quick fix to get it done with no care for the art form being produced.The children shows of today are post-MTV, fast cut, quickly produced, often vulgar humored monstrosities that have no lesson to learn -or a bad one overall. I am excited about seeing Davey & Goliath again, now in my 30's, and hope that they will do it justice.I read in the paper that Davey and Goliath's Snowboard Christmas is coming out this year, 30 years later, and I hope that the use the claymation and content that the original series was known for.
ian2050
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.
