wfn.org | ELCA's 'Davey' Documentary to Begin Airing in September

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 17, 2003

ELCA'S 'DAVEY' DOCUMENTARY TO BEGIN AIRING IN SEPTEMBER
03-128-JAC*

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On Sept. 14 the ABC television network will
begin airing "Oh Davey ... History of the 'Davey and Goliath' Television
Series," a documentary featuring Davey and Goliath, a value-based
children's program that aired on commercial television networks from
1960 through the mid-1980s.
     ABC-TV affiliates will show the documentary beginning Sept. 14.
Affiliates will determine local broadcast times.
     The original "Davey and Goliath" television series, created and
owned by the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA), promoted "basic
Christian values," said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director, Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Department for Communication.  It
reached an estimated 1.7 million children and was aired in seven
languages in 19 countries around the world.
     Premavision/Clokey Productions, Los Osos, Calif., producers of the
"Gumby" television series, also produced the original "Davey and
Goliath" programs with the LCA.
     "Davey and Goliath" is now a property of the ELCA, formed through
the 1987 merger of the LCA, the American Lutheran Church and the
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches.
     "The ELCA was chosen to produce a documentary by the National
Council of Churches and the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission, which
works closely with the networks to bring faith-based programming to
general market television," said Ava Odom Martin, broadcast production
manager, ELCA Department for Communication, and producer of the
documentary.
     "There is no other pop-culture icon owned by a church," Shafer
said.
     The documentary will be hosted by Clifton Davis, from the
television sitcom "Amen," and Mary McDonough, best known for her role as
Erin on the television series "The Waltons."  Set in a 3-D virtual
environment and to be taped in Chicago by Post Effects Studio, the
documentary will move through the history of "Davey and Goliath"
beginning with its inception in 1958 and continuing through the decades
to the program's current productions, Martin said.
     Initial screenings for the documentary are planned for Sept. 7 in
Chicago, and Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C., she said.  Screening dates
are to be announced for sites in New York and Los Angeles.
  Created by both Art and Ruth Clokey, the original series was made
through a technique known as stop-motion animation, a process where
puppets are staged and moved little by little in each frame of film to
give the illusion of movement when shown at broadcast speed. "These are
real things in real environments," said Martin.  It takes 24 still frame
images to create one second of video, she said.
  "The most appealing quality of Davey is that he presented
scenarios that children could relate to," Shafer said. "The plots were
often similar -- Davey got into trouble, Goliath acted as his
conscience, and Mom and Dad saved the day."
  "Davey and Goliath" dealt with issues facing children in the 1960s
and 1970s and was progressive for its time, Shafer said.  Themes
included racism, gangs and guns in school, he said.
  Though it dealt with controversial themes, "Davey and Goliath"
always focused on God's love for children, he said. "The basic message
throughout was that God loves you no matter what," Shafer said.
  The ELCA is also merchandising many "Davey and Goliath" items such
as lunch boxes, toys, bobble head dolls and neckties through the
official Web site http://www.daveyandgoliath.org and through Augsburg
Fortress, the publishing house of the ELCA.  Proceeds from merchandising
will go to fund new "Davey and Goliath" episodes, said Shafer.	The ELCA
is seeking $5 million in financial gifts for future productions, he
added.
-- -- --
Augsburg Fortress maintains a site at http://www.augsburgfortress.org on
the Web.

*Jessica A. Crane is completing her bachelor of arts degree at Concordia
College, Moorhead, Minn.  This summer she is an intern with ELCA News
and Media production.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html