One of my all time favorites.

A Masterpiece!

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The short-lived animated Hanna-Barbera series DEVLIN was shown mostly on Saturday Mornings on ABC-TV's Sunshine Saturday Morning Line-Up that lasted one season and produced 17 episodes,all in color. DEVLIN was loosely based on the motorcycle daredevil stuntman Evel Knieval. The synopsis of the story consisted of the Devlins. They were a trio of orphans who supported themselves through their daredevil motorcycle act. The lead character and support figure,Ernie Devlin(Michael Bell)was a 22-year old professional stuntman who drove the motorcycle and the car during the stunts while his younger brother,teenager Tod(Mickey Dolenz) oversaw the mechanical work and designed routines for Ernie's acts. Ernie's kid sister,11-year old Sandy(Michele Robinson)basically provided assistance and support whenever she was needed,plus other additional duties. They work,lived and travel on the highways and byways of the country in their huge Winnebago motor home as part of a traveling circus. Hank(Norman Alden),the owner of the circus in which they worked,served as a surrogate father figure whenever Ernie or his teenager brother or kid sister needed support and guidance during troubled times.Interspersed with some of the stunts along with the hair-raising thrills and high adventure along with some interpersonal drama were tips on motorcycle safety(given by Ernie himself)to let young viewers know the Devlin's occupation and to let them know about using the proper equipment when riding a motorcycle as well. Out of the 17 episodes that this show produced,DEVLIN had plenty of risks and cliffhanging suspense that came along with the territory. Also to point out,and since this was a Saturday Morning animated cartoon aimed at pre-teenagers and older kids under 12 years of age,DEVLIN was ABC's answer (or Hanna-Barbera)to cash in on the craze of Evel Knieval(who was in 1974 at the peak of his fame),and the whole motorcycle fad of the early and mid-1970's along with cashing in on the huge popularity of the Japanese-produced animated series Speed Racer(which became a HUGE HIT during the 1970's when it was shown in syndicated repeats). The original episodes ran as part of ABC's Sunshine Saturday Morning schedule from September 7, 1974 until August 30, 1975. After its run on Saturday Mornings,ABC moved to Sunday Mornings in repeated episodes from September 7, 1975 until its last telecast on February 15, 1976.

From what I've gathered, this series came on Saturday mornings when I was three years old and too young to be watching TV at that time. It wasn't until the summer of 1982 when I first discovered this series. I was in Panama City Beach Florida on vacation with my parents and I turned on the TV at our summer cottage where we were staying and I came across the USA Network and a show called the Cartoon Express. They were playing old Hanna Barbera cartoons and I discovered Devlin. Amazing to find out this show was inspired by Eval Keneval, but I guess it doesn't surprise me with the stunt suit that Ernie Devlin wore. Ernie Devlin, a very handsome and easy going guy is the star of the show and is voiced over by renowned voice actor, Michael Bell. He and his brother and sister are on their own since their parents were deceased. They travel with a circus and in their own RV. Ernie, the eldest brother,is the one in charge of the three and he is the big star of Hank's circus. Todd, Ernie's brother is the top mechanic who keeps Ernie's Bike going. He was voiced over by Monkees star Mickey Dolenz, who also did a voice on a cartoon called Butch Cassidy and the Sundnace Kids, a very forgettable cartoon in comparison to Devlin. And finally, Sandy is the kid sister. I don't know who did her voice. Finally, Hank, the Ringmaster and the boss, was voiced over by Norman Alden, the camera man from Ed Wood, the Diner owner from Back to the Future and best of all, the original voice of Aquaman on the SuperFriends!!! Alden apparently did this show in between the two SuperFriends series he did in 1973 and in 1977. Devlin was 1974. Oddly enough, Hank looked dead on like the late Jim Davis in his Jock Ewing role on Dallas, who oddly enough, Norman Alden acted in a scene with Davis in that series 3rd episode in 1978. The episode that sticks out in my mind the most is the one I first saw in Florida. The one where Todd feels unappreciated for his work as mechanic and gets no credit and is considering leaving, but his mechanic skills help out when a tornado hits the town they are in. I know there is one where Ernie wrecks and his confidence as a stunt rider is weakened. And I recall one where Sandy goes to live with an aunt and uncle, but misses the fun she had with her big brothers. I wish Hanna Barbera would release this series on DVD or I wish somebody could have recorded these shows and put them on youtube.com where I did at least find the intro.

It has been over 30 years since I have seen an episode of "Devlin", but back then my 9 year old self loved every minute of it. Like most young boys in the US at that time, I was hooked on the outrageous antics of daredevil/showman Evel Knievel. Everyone had the toys; everyone watched his motorcycle jumps on ABC's Wide World of Sports.Now, when you are 9 years old, you don't really ponder copyright issues all that much....but even back then, I realized "Devlin" was very much "inspired by" Evel's popularity and stunts.It was great to be able to watch a weekly TV show inspired by a real life hero. I've noted other comments complaining about the quality of the animation in this series, but at the time it was never something I noticed...and I am sure I *was* the target demographic. The show was fun and exciting and featured dramatic mysteries with cycle jumping thrown in. What more could a kid of the day ask for? Interestingly, I also recall about this same time a live action series along the lines of "Devlin" (but licensing Knievel's name) was proposed, and a pilot episode filmed. Too bad it didn't sell. I remember seeing the pilot on TV in 1970s - it aired one time, in a summer replacement timeslot occupied each week by a different failed series pilot!

I have seen this cartoon many times from the time I was a little kid to now.This show is good because you get to see a motorcycle rider doing ramp stunts and solving problems for other people. The scenes where it shows Ernie Devlin in the air when his bike is doing the jumps what looks like to others as him just going 10 Miles per hour is where they are really showing him doing his stunt in slow motion because real motorcycle stunts like that have those motorcycles going so fast that many people who are on the opposite side of the big top could not focus in time to see the rider going up the ramp. This show has him in slow motion so everyone watching can see how he does his stunts. This show should have all of it's episodes released on DVD box sets like some of the other Hanna-Barbera shows because it is a classic and much better than the shows that have been made in the last 11 to 15 years.