 | Captain FathomOriginal Medium: Television Animation Produced by: Cambria Productions First Appeared: 1965 Creator: Alex Toth (designer) image: © Cambria Productions. |
Captain Fathom was either the last or second-last production of Cambria Studios Productions, depending on whether it came out before or after the studio's other 1965 production. But since that other production was simply a partially animated re-packaging of The Three Stooges, it was certainly the last gasp of any creative spark the studio may once have displayed. For all its faults (which were largely endemic to early television animation) this series was all new, an original product of creators working directly for the studio — and its final such all-new series.
Its most egregious faults were shared by Cambria's two earlier
animated series, Clutch Cargo and
Space Angel, stemming mostly from
budgets so threadbare they made Jay Ward
and even Terrytoons productions look
lavish. Animation was so limited, even jiggling the camera to
simulate an earthquake or explosion seemed like manic action. But
what distinguished them from the rest of the low-production-values
crowd was the use of Synchro-Vox, a patented technique whereby
actual human lips, speaking the necessary lines, were superimposed
on animated faces, making characters standing absolutely still look
like they were talking.
But Captain Fathom also had a valuable asset in common with Space Angel — both were designed by comic book impressario Alex Toth, whose credits just at DC Comics include Eclipso and Green Lantern. After Cambria, Toth accepted design work at Hanna-Barbera, where his credits include Shazzan, Herculoids and The Mighty Mightor.
Captain Fathom (first name Bill) commanded The Argonaut, a submarine. His crew consisted of Cookie (no relation), Ronnie, Scotty and Miss Perkins — plus, a porpoise named Flip tagged along on their adventures. Not all of Cambria's credits are available today, but Captain Fathom's voice seems to have been by Warren Tufts, better known as a comics artist with such diverse credits as Casey Ruggles and The Pink Panther. The director was Clark Haas, who worked on all of Cambria's cartoons, and whose comics credits include ghosting Tim Tyler's Luck.
The show was formatted as 30-minute stories that could be either broadcast as such or broken up into cliffhanger form and syndicated to local TV shows with a live host showing old theatrical cartoons like Popeye alongside TV productions like Col. Bleep. 17 half-hours were made, and broadcast mostly in the form of 4-5 minute serial episodes.
The serials were shown over and over again, for years. Gradually, they were supplanted by more high-end cartoons. They're scarcely even remembered today.
— DDM
The show was formatted as 30-minute stories that could be either
broadcast as such or broken up into cliffhanger form and syndicated
to local TV shows with a live host showing old theatrical cartoons
like Popeye alongside TV productions like
Col. Bleep. 17 half-hours were made, and
broadcast mostly in the form of 4-5 minute serial episodes.
The serials were shown over and over again, for years. Gradually,
they were supplanted by more high-end cartoons. They're scarcely
even remembered today.
