Church revives ‘Davey & Goliath’

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 holiday special, “Davey & Goliath’s Snowboard Christmas,” Sunday on the Hallmark Channel. It airs at noon and will be repeated 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 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.

Although a Christian show, “Davey & Goliath” soft-pedaled religion behind the constant themes that the love of God and parents were unconditional, Shafer said. In one 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 made 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.

Old “Davey & Goliath” episodes would occasionally pop up on cable systems until a year or so ago. The Lutherans have moved to stop those airings in advance of putting VHS and DVD compilations on the market.

The church realized that Davey was both a valuable property with resonance for adults who grew up on the series and an idea that’s still relevant, Shafer said. The characters were licensed for use in a soft drink ad, with the proceeds plowed back into the attempt to get the series up and running again.

The Hallmark special was made by Joe Clokey, son of Art and Ruth. Both parents are still alive, and Art, at 83, worked on the program, coming up with a key plot point.

If the show is a success, Shafer said he would like to make others, with the eventual goal of making “Davey & Goliath” a regular series again.