Captain Cavveeemaaannn
Zowie! The story behind the world's first superhero.
Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels was a comedy cartoon series created by Scooby Doo creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and was produced by Hanna-Barbera for the ABC network. Airing on Saturday mornings from 10th September 1977 to 21st June 1980 the series comprised 40 episodes and, should you want to re-live them, you can still access all episodes on the Boomerang subscription app.
The show follows the adventures of the mystery-solving Teen Angels- Taffy, Benda and Dee Dee and their detective super-hero Captain Caveman, or as he is lovingly known by the Teen Angels – Cavey. The girls discover Captain Caveman in a block of ice that they defrost.
The plot of the show borrowed heavily from other cartoons in the Hanna-Barbera portfolio such as Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones and was based heavily on a parody of the show Charlies Angels which was very popular at the time with the Teen Angels solving mysteries.
The Main Characters
Captain Caveman has some special powers such as super-human strength and a club that gave him the power of flight, although this power often failed him where he would cry ‘Huh, bad time for energy crisis’ (This was in reference to the energy crisis of the 1970s). He also had the ability to find a range of objects that help him solve mysteries in his amazingly long hair. All this is wrapped up in his unique battle cry of Captain CAAAVVVEMANNN! Voiced by Mel Blanc.
He also spoke in caveman speak often dropping ‘the’ from sentences ‘Me know where jewels hide’. Known as ‘the world’s first superhero’ and although we never know his age in one episode, he says that he’ll be two million years old next month.
Finally, he had the random habit of eating unusual things, a TV set, a large bike and a bin to name a few!
Dee Dee was the leader and the unofficial brains behind the Teen Angels. She wore her hair in an afro and usually wore her trademark knee-high boots, skirt and turtleneck jumper with her dress style and mystery-solving skills mirroring those of Velma from Scooby-Doo and her fashion bearing more than passing similarity to Valarie from Josie and the Pussycats.
Brenda acts as the second in command and is the anxious one who is always scared of the monsters wanting to back out from the mystery-solving, much like Shaggy in Scooby Doo. Fashion played an important role and, like Dee Dee, Brenda had a signature look with tank tops and bubble-gum pink trousers.
Taffy rounds up the trio and was famous for her outcry of “Zowie!” whenever she came up with a plan to catch the villains. She had a flirtatious personality and a New York-styled accent. She came across as dizzy at times but was clever and able and often used her ability to seduce Captain Caveman into doing what the Teen Angels needed. Fashion was again detailed with a green dress and matching shoes.
Episodes
In a change to the usual opening credits, Captain Caveman had a voice narration that told us about what had happened to release the world’s first superhero, before the show started, ending with “Get ready for Captain Cavemen and the Teen Angels”.
Each episode was 11 minutes long and a total of forty were produced between 1977 and 1980 with further segmented episodes produced as part of the Scooby-Doo All-Stars. In 1980 Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels were given their own thirty-minute slots that mixed new episodes and 1977-1978 returns.
Like many of the animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the cartoon contained a ‘laugh track’ like many of the productions from the studio that gave the impression of a studio audience.
Spin-Offs
There have been a few spin-offs and crossovers with the Hanna-Barbera studio. Captain Cavemen Junior (Captain Caveman’s son) is brought to life in mini-segment episodes along with a small appearance in the 2020 film Scoob!
Although popular at the time Captain Caveman never had the longevity of Scooby-Doo and, after its three-year peak ratings were less kind to the Teen Angels but none of this takes away from the nostalgia that Captain Cavemen and the Teen Angels will bring to many readers.
Interesting! I remember watching this but had forgotten lots of details. Thanks for sharing : )
Great post! I've heard of this cartoon, but I didn't know anything about it. I love how the show used references to current issues, such as the energy crisis. Thank you for sharing :)