Kelly Izaj
Of all of Hanna-Barbera's superhero cartoons of the 1960's; YOUNG SAMSON & GOLIATH (to use the series' full title) was not as well known as such contemporary Hanna-Barbera superhero series such as SPACE GHOST, BIRDMAN, and THE HERCULOIDS; but was just as enjoyable and memorable none the less. It stands out as one of the best examples of Golden Age styled comic book plotting in an animated cartoon context.The premise was simple. Teen-age hero Samson (voiced over by Tim Mathieson) traveled around the country - or other parts of the world - on his motorcycle accompanied by his dog Goliath. And when a major menace bursts on the scene, he raise his wrists and strikes the magic bracelets on them together (often accompanied by the phrase "Samson Power". His favorite variation being the title of this essay) transforming himself into a modern day incarnation of his Biblical namesake. A second strike of the bracelets transformed his dog Goliath - a dog with the heart of a lion - into a super-powered lion. In their superhero forms Samson had super-strength (naturally!), could leap tremendous distances, had limited invulnerability, and could defy gravity for short periods. While Goliath had super-strength, could leap great distances, fire "power beams" from his eyes, had claws that could rip through steel, and a roar that could shatter a mountain. And they were to need all that power to kayo the menaces they were to face.(SPOILER ALERT!) In the space of twenty ten-minute cartoons Samson and Goliath faced a variety of menaces. Among them; a prehistoric monster controlled by a witch doctor; a killer robot in the form of a six-armed bronze idol; an animated Colossus of Rhodes; a creature composed of energy from the Aurora Borealis; and a monster let loose by an aborted missile test. Not to mention such villains as Salamandro, Baron Von Skull, Zarno the Cruel, and the agents from PERIL among others (all designed by the brilliant Alex Toth). All threats that could have only be handled by the power of these two heroes in twenty pieces of pure, old-school super-heroic adventure. (END SPOILER!)YOUNG SAMSON & GOLIATH first aired on the NBC network in September of 1967, but would disappear from TV screens in late 1968 due to the backlash against violence on children's television. But the series was surprisingly syndicated during the 1970's (along with THE SPACE KIDETTES) and would eventually appear on the USA Networks' USA CARTOON EXPRESS and recently been shown on the Turner owned Boomerang Network and is available on DVD through the Warner Archives. Oddly enough, YOUNG SAMSON & GOLIATH was paired with 1966's THE SPACE KIDETTES for most of the series revivals (a pairing that was started as early as 1967 by NBC). And it's this pairing is how it is currently being made available through home video.
Servoprogram
Next to the original 60s Space Ghost series, Samson & Goliath was my all-time favorite Hanna-Barbera cartoon.Most episodes began with Samson & Goliath riding around on Samson's motorscooter where the pair would be summoned by some kindly scientist or military official to oversee some sort of project which typically proved too great a temptation for the criminal element. Namely some evil terrorist controlling a syndicate or some type of super-monster.That's when Samson & Goliath went into action. Samson would yell "I need Samson power," then smash his magic bracelets together "explosively transforming" himself into a more biblical (and far more powerful) version of himself. For added muscle, Samson would smash his bracelets together sending waves of energy toward Goliath's general direction explosively transforming the dog into a massive lion. In lion form, Goliath was really fearsome looking, could leap astounding distances and fire energy beams from his eyes.I remember a rare instance where Samson yelled "I'll need SUPER Samson power!" He gave both bracelets a twist, then he literally blew up with even more bulging muscles. Tim Matheson (Space Ghost's Jayce and Jonny Quest), who voiced Samson, provided excellent vocals as his voice was appropriately amplified when Samson was in super-form. As was Goliath's lion roar which could be used to shatter objects or cause cave-ins. The show was pure escapism and I loved every second of it.Highly recommended classic Hanna-Barbera series!
