"Caaaptain Caaaavemaaaan!"
I was that kid who would plop himself down on his grandparents’ living room floor — even when they had brand new white carpet — turn on the USA Network, and get lost in USA Cartoon Express for an hour or two, depending on the day. The vast majority of the cartoons came out in the 1970s, but that never mattered to me. I could watch Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Herculoids, Thundarr the Barbarian, Space Ghost, Jabberjaw, and the rest of the gang just as easily as I watched newer shows like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe, Shirt Tales, Kissyfur, and The Wuzzles. If it was a cartoon, I was all in. It didn’t matter how old it was or when it originally aired — if it was animated, it had my full attention.
One of the shows I loved most was Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. If you’ve never seen it, think a mix of Scooby-Doo and Charlie’s Angels, with the addition of a caveman accidentally thawed from a block of ice by three teen girls. Cavey quickly joins them, and before long, he’s right there alongside Dee Dee, Brenda, and Taffy as they travel around solving mysteries and catching the bad guys.
There was something about Cavey — ridiculous as he was — that stuck with me. Between his Cousin Itt-like appearance, his “Me Tarzan, you Jane” way of speaking, and powers that never quite worked the way they were supposed to, he shouldn’t have worked as well as he did. And yet he did. He never gave up. No matter how often things went wrong, he would shake it off and keep going, completely content with the life he had found with the Teen Angels.
They only solved mysteries for 40 episodes, but those adventures have stuck with me far longer than that. It’s still one of those shows I find myself going back to every now and then — not just for the nostalgia, but for the simple joy it always managed to bring with it.
14 comments:
I used to love this show.
I don't think I ever watched this show which is too bad because it is definitely something I would have loved!
Beautiful blog
I've never seen this one around, though apparently, it aired on some Italian channel. When I saw the artwork my mind automatically went "Hanna & Barbera", and Wikipedia proved me right LOL (I've watched my share of Flintstones and Jetsons). What a quirky premise!
Yes!!! Loved when he shouted 'Captain Ca-aa-ve Man!"
This character is completely new to me, but it sounds like a character that would appeal to kids. I remember loving the Jetsons and Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie, all of which had quirky characters.
Carol, it was sooooo much fun.
Katherine, you should give it a try.
Rajani, thank you.
Roberta, Hanna-Barbera definitely had a look that stayed close to. And I can't think of a single cartoon they did that I don't still love.
Sophia, what I didn't menation earlier, is that I have the Funko Pop! of him and everytime I see it, those words pop in my head.
Deb, Bewitched is one of my favorite sitcoms of all time. Endora was my favorite.
My daughter had a scoobydo phase
Linda, I never let that phase. 😃😃
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