Class! Class! Let's compare the live action Isis characters to their comic book counterparts...

Okay, class.  Good morning, glad to see you're all here.  We're going to do something a little different today.  That's right, Cindy, this will be on the test.  So pay attention all of you and take notes.  Let's take a look at the DC comics versions of our favorite characters from the Filmation live action TV series Isis-- also known as The Secrets of Isis-- and see how alike or different they are from the real thing.  Yes, Cindy, it will be fun.  Everyone look at the screen...

Here's Andrea Thomas in her everyday guise as a teacher:

(Mike Vosburg/Vince Colletta, Isis #3, Feb.-March 1976-77)

She is smart and pretty, Cindy, and a model teacher.  I completely agree.  And here she is in her Isis identity:

(Dick Giordano, Shazam #25, Sep.-Oct. 1976)

What's that?  How many times has she saved you, Cindy?  Amazing!  Yes, if you'd like, you can write an extra-credit essay about Isis and what she means to today's young women.  Here's Andrea Thomas's colleague Rick Mason:

(Mike Vosburg/Vince Colletta, Isis #2, Dec.-Jan. 1976-77)

Thank you, Cindy.  You're so right.  He is a dedicated teacher and his mustache is quite snappy.  Here's Dr. Barnes:

(Mike Nasser/Frank Giacoia, Isis #2 Dec.-Jan. 1976-77; Mike Vosburg/Vince Colletta, Isis #3, Feb.-March 1977)

Good question, Cindy.  We'll talk about that in just a moment.  Anyone besides Cindy have a question?  Anyone?  No?  No one has a question?  Okay, I hear some talking but no questions.  Let's hold it down and look at the screen.  I think we'll all recognize...

(Dick Giordano, Shazam #25, Sep.-Oct. 1976)

Yes, Cindy, that's you!  And no, Rennie Carol never appeared in The Mighty Isis comic.  The closest anyone came was the depiction of a character named Rennie Roberts (although I could have sworn her first name is lettered as Pennie) in the final issue.  That's also the one where the writer labels you "class president" of Larkspur High, Cindy.

Now, as to your question about why Dr. Barnes looks so different.  Compared to the main cast, the character wasn't on the show that often and some of the artists probably never saw even a single publicity photo of actor Albert Reed.

Actually, as you've noticed, none of the likenesses are exact.  They're more general than perfect caricatures.  I think Dick Giordano's take on the cast Shazam! #25 comes closest, but I have a suspicion this has something to do with licensing.  If you've read Marvel's Planet of the Apes adaptations, you'll notice at no time does George Tuska make Taylor look like Charlton Heston, nor does Alfredo Alcala give his Beneath the Planet of the Apes astronaut more than a passing resemblance to James Franciscus.  To do so would have involved other legal and financial arrangements and it just wasn't considered worth the time, effort or money.

Another good point, Cindy!  As you say, Marvel did occasionally use exact likenesses of the Star Wars actors in that title, and DC made a point of at least trying for perfect likenesses in their Star Trek titles.  Yes, even now at Dark Horse, artists draw Buffy as close to Sarah Michelle Gellar as they can.  These things depend on legal departments and the artist's hand, but sometimes licensing means "make 'em look consistent with all appearance in every medium."  Luke Skywalker looks just like Mark Hamill on every book cover, Captain Kirk is always either William Shatner or Chris Pine these days and so on and so forth.

Anyway, back to Isis.  My guess is we're looking at a similar deal here between DC and Filmation and as long as Isis had long dark hair, Rick Mason his mustache and Cindy Lee her pigtails, no one probably gave a rip.  As for Dr. Barnes, he could be anything or anyone depending on who drew him.

You're right again, Cindy.  I am just a speculating fool.  Still, that was a lot of fun, wasn't it, class?  Comparing these?  We enjoyed it, didn't we?

Class?

The Secrets of Isis Episode 18: "The Class Clown"

We never learn why his former high school gave Rudy the boot, but somehow he's landed at Larkspur High where he immediately begins a reign of terror.  In the course of a single day, he shakes up another student's soda, embarrasses the class brain with chewing gum and a roll of paper, nearly kills Rennie Carol by rigging up an inflatable life raft to expand in the chemistry lab (spilling volatile chemicals and unleashing a toxic cloud) and then almost costs himself his own life after sabotaging a school bus on field trip from which he's been punitively prohibited.  Doesn't stop him from chasing the outing halfway around the state.  Is he a would-be comedian, or is he an incipient psychopath stalking his classmates for revenge?  Whatever he is, Rudy is a flake!

They call him "The Class Clown" (aired September 25, 1976), but as played by Alvin Kupperman, despite a slight resemblance to comedian supreme Albert Brooks, Rudy comes across as a destructive, impulsive weirdo and the least pleasant troubled guest student showcased thus far on Isis.  It also doesn't help matters Kupperman was 30 or 31 when this episode aired and looks every bit his age.  His isn't a bad performance by any means; it's just tonally at odds with what we're supposed to be feeling here.  In my experience, class clowns are disruptive but amusing; Rudy is certainly the former but he's only the latter if you think random destructive acts are hilarious.  Well, they can be.  Just not in this episode.  Even Rudy doesn't do a lot of laughing afterwards.  He just kind of blames others for shunning him or whatever the hell his motivation is supposed to be.  Frankly, I stopped caring about the time he started setting up his potentially deadly raft trick.  Andrea Thomas does her best to convince Rudy he doesn't have to pull outrageously dangerous stunts to make friends, but it takes a near-death experience for the guy to find his redemption.

Which takes place off-screen, with Thomas merely telling Rennie and Rick Mason about it, as if the episode itself had grown so sick of Rudy's frantic antics it no longer wants any part of him.  Shot with some menacing low angles and with some more ominous music cues this episode could have been chilling.  Instead, it's just kind of bizarre and haphazard, like Rudy himself.

Joanna Cameron continues to play Andrea Thomas as the most understanding, compassionate teacher since Pete Dixon held forth on Room 222.  She's not as hilarious as her contemporary Gabe Kotter, but Thomas doles out life lessons and gentle yet tough guidance as appropriate.  I haven't spent a whole lot of time praising Cameron's performance as the titular "dual person," but in either incarnation the woman simply rocks.  When dope Rudy sneers, "No one will miss me" when told he can't go on the field trip, Thomas quickly adds, "I'll miss you."  If the guy had an conscience at all that would have been the moment he gave up his murderous ways (I seriously believe the Larkspur authorities need to check his house's crawlspace for bodies).  This episode also sees the welcome return of Albert Reed as Dr. Barnes.  He gives Rudy a quick campus tour and promises him a clean slate.  Dr. Barnes is always a welcome presence.

But the true class clown of Larkspur High is none other than Rick Mason, who cheerfully dons a chaffeur's cap for his role as busdriver.  Brian Cutler has a gift for putting across Mason's corny sense of humor as well as his man-of-action turn when he commandeer's poor Rennie Carol's car for the high speed climax.

"Class Clown" even features some ambitious process shots-- ambitious in Isis terms-- as they show Isis actually flying into the smoking chem lab from outside the school and Mason and Rudy walking up an incline magically conjured from smoke by Isis.  Both effect scenes show their seams, but it's impressive enough the producers decided to spend a little more money this season and not rely on the over-used stock footage from the first year.  The smoke stairway is pretty bizarre, a blurry diagonally-split screen effect that goes on a bit too long for its own good but provides the episode's best visual.  Other than Mason in his cap.

The Secrets of Isis Episode 11: "No Drums, No Trumpets"

It's the big Larkspur High Science Fair and Fred Weiting is sure to win because, as Rick Mason says, he's the school's favorite radio ham... er... amateur radio operator.  I'm not exactly sure how a demonstration of a readily available technology deserves first place over homemade baking soda volcanoes and whatever amazing demonstration Cindy Lee has no doubt devised and sure enough, when Fred can't even contact Dr. Barnes by radio from fifty feet away his effort is doomed.  Infuriated at losing, he roars out of the parking lot.  He even takes his car!  Andrea Thomas, Rick Mason and Fred's friend Dorothy give chase, but it takes Isis to save the guy from himself.  On the way back to the city-- they must have chased Fred a good twenty miles-- Ms. Thomas and students end up prisoners of a group of mild-mannered crooks in a ghost town.  Thomas can't find her Isis amulet, so she has to convince the downhearted Fred to use his ham-- er --- radio skills to save the day.

Incredibly, Cindy Lee has only a minor part to play in "No Drums, No Trumpets" (airing November 15, 1975), and there's precious little Isis.  Most of the episode is given over to Ms. Thomas Fred, Dorothy and their unfortunate happenstance with the criminals.  And, as per usual, the desperate outlaws aren't so desperate they'll add murder to their list of depredations.  No one is in any real danger.  Suspense comes from Ms. Thomas's efforts at outsmarting the villains while keeping her identity as Isis a secret.

This is a solid episode, kind of a live-action Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? complete with crooks trying to fool people into thinking a ghost town is, in fact, haunted.  I've never understood this logic.  If anything, ghosts would attract more interest and visitors.  This particular ghost town is more dusty than creepy, but it's a nice change from the same old mountain, woods or lake settings for these little morality tales.  There's an exciting car chase, and a last-minute wind assisted rescue by Isis-- all in the first seven minutes.  The most remarkable thing about "No Trumpets," however, is Mark Lambert's performance as Fred.  He's the kind of guy who bristles when called a "ham," quick to point out the correct nomenclature in a supercilious way, but Lambert gives the moment an ever-so-slight tongue-in-cheek spin.  He reminds me a lot of Peter Scolari, an underappreciated actor if there ever was one.

Lambert is apparently one of the most accomplished and well-rounded performers among the Isis guest students.  According to IMDB, he's performed in Eugene O'Neill plays as well as Shakespeare at the Young Vic in London and movies with Cate Blanchett, Pierce Brosnan and Kate Winslet.  Almost as impressive is his musical work.  He contributed singing overdubs to the film Cabaret (1972) and originated the role of Henrik Egerman in the musical comedy A Little Night Music.  That is, if IMDB and the IBDB (Internet Broadway Database) are to be believed.  He's not listed on IMDB as having anything to do with Cabaret, but with plenty of UK television drama credits.  There are other Mark Lamberts in the world, you know and IMDB is full of screwed-up credits.  I prefer to believe all of the above information is correct because it sure would be cool to think someone like that passed through the Isis call sheets.

His gal pal Dorothy is played by Christopher Norris, who went on to become a regular on the TV series Trapper John, M.D., co-starring as Nurse Gloria Brancusi.  This much I know is true.  I was a huge Trapper John fan so I would recognize Norris and her name anywhere.  Okay, I wasn't that much of a Trapper John fan.  I just watched it because it was on, and most of the time I had to miss the last half of every episode because of my bedtime and I assumed the patient died at the end of each story.  These days I wonder, "Why was I watching half an episode of Trapper John, M.D. each week?  What did I gain?  A pessimistic worldview?"

A few notes-- Ms. Thomas's Firebird is still yellow.  Mr. Mason, on the other hand, drives a white VW Thing.  Remember the VW Thing?  We learn Thomas spends at least some of her free time exploring the desert, going into caves and whatnot.  Cindy does have a little comical moment to call her own-- Dr. Barnes mistakenly refers to "hams" and she tells him, "Not hams, Dr. Barnes.  Radio amateurs."  Lucky for her Dr. Barnes is such a kindly soul.  Larkspur High must be in the city of Larkspur, since Fred refers to his location as the "Larkspur ghost town."

The episode's  title intrigues me.  Some Google research shows a 1961 non-fiction book by Barry Wynne by the same name.  It's about a French woman who helped children and British soldiers during WWII.  There's another book by that name by Mary Ferebee Howard.  It tells of her own Red Cross work during the war.  There's also a 1966 episode of The Virginian.  And finally, a 1988 episode of the sci-fi cartoon Bravestarr.  The two books could possibly relate to Isis-- a strong woman aiding others in need.  As for the others, I detect no common theme.  Is this a phrase from a poem?  Is there an allusion to something here I've missed?

I could research this further but it's almost 9pm on a Sunday night and I'm dead tired.  Good night , Isis fans, wherever you are!

The Secrets of Isis Episode 7: "Bigfoot"

The Larkspur High kids-- including some we've never seen before and will probably never see again because they're already old enough to be parents of high schoolers themselves-- enjoy a school picnic complete with a mellow performance of "Home on the Range" on guitar by Rick Mason.  Of course who else but center-of-every-event Cindy Lee (wearing her baby blue overalls, an outfit that gets quite a workout in the first ten or so episodes) and a male classmate also named Lee come running back with reports of having seen Bigfoot.

Actually, I should point out Cindy first sensibly suggests it may have been a bear; a rational, down to earth explanation despite her hectic state of mind.  One can understand her reluctance to commit to cryptid species identification when considering her association with the science faculty and her recent misadventures involving the worst bear costume ever captured on film.  Also, take into account Mason's openly irritated response to Lee's insistence what they saw was, in fact, Bigfoot.  He is pissed!  Cindy Lee's fun-loving and outgoing, but she's been around Mason long enough to judge his moods.  No fool that Cindy Lee.

But even the science teacher's remonstration can't stop Lee from becoming obsessed with obtaining photographic evidence of Bigfoot's existence, to the point of endangering his own life.  Once again it's Isis to the rescue.

"Bigfoot" (aired October 18, 1975), features some solid guest star work from Scott Colomby, later to play Tony D'Annunzio in Caddyshack.  He's got a cool James Franco-ish vibe.  But gosh darn it, when you promise Bigfoot you have to deliver Bigfoot, not a bearded 7'3" Bill Engesser in a floppy hat and plaid shirt along with a lot of sermonizing (with a melancholy harmonica on the soundtrack no less) about how people can be cruel to those they think are different, but you should still give them a chance.

I mean, yeah, I agree with the message; respect and cherish each other for the things that make each of us unique and all that.  Joanna Cameron certainly delivers it in a stately cadence befitting a wise goddess.  But Bigfoot, man.  Bigfoot.  You promised us Bigfoot and then you wimped out on us.  Although considering the show's bad luck with animal costumes, perhaps I should be a bit more charitable.

I haven't talked much about Albert Reed, Jr. as Dr. Joshua Barnes.  Mainly because he's not exactly a major character-- after all, the DC comic based on the show couldn't get his age, race or even his academic credentials right most of the time.  Dr. Barnes's function is to appear, offer a few words of wisdom, then glide away and let the rest of the episode bear out his gentle admonitions.  His air of calm, benign authority probably has something to do with his steady, longtime gig at Los Angeles International Airport where he retired as its Chief of Security in 1983.  Reed even played a version of himself and his job in the 1969 air-disaster flick Airport.

Nowhere is Reed's presence as Barnes felt as much as it is in this episode where he espouses a gentle, leave well enough alone philosophy regarding Bigfoot.

"Too many people think that anything they don't understand is dangerous," he tells Lee, who's ready at this point to join an armed mob to hunt down Bigfoot without really knowing why.  "That's wrong.  If you don't know what something is, you should be cautious, but not afraid.  Not set out to hunt it down.  As far as we know Bigfoot is only a fable, just like vampires and ghosts.  So let's not have anymore idle talk about it, okay?"

Words worth remembering, and Reed is convincing.  If only all our leaders were as sensible and open-minded as Dr. Barnes.  Could Larkspur High ask for a better principal?