raysond 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.

voicemaster71 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.

Dale A. Baker Ernie Devlin was revived for the 2004 episode of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law "The Devlin Made Me Do It". Ernie Devlin is sued when a child is hurt duplicating his stunts and Harvey takes the case. Life hasn't been easy for Ernie. Ernie looked like the many accidents suffered by Evel Knievel had taken their toll. Toby Huss, the voice of Cotton Hill and Kahn Souphanousinphone on King of the Hill, voices Devlin and Adult Swim used different voices Sandy and Tod (originally voiced by Mickey Dolenz) also appear in the HB episode. Ernie makes several cameo appearances thereafter in the series riding his motorcycle or girlfriend through scenes and generally crashing into or through something.

Hastor-2 Hmm, I dunno what they were thinking when they made this cartoon. It seems to be trying to get in on the whole 70's motorcycle fad, and maybe trying to cash in on Speed Racer's popularity. Devlin has some pretty lame plots, but the thing that makes it actually fun to watch is how horrible the animation and art is. I'm the first to admit that I can't draw, and thats why I do not attempt to make cartoons. I only wish the makers of this show had the same frame of mind. The actual characters look like typical Hanna-Barbara humans, though not cartoonish humans, just normal 70's humans. The backgrounds are the really funny part. Almost every background has HUGE, and very visible brush strokes. I dont mean little brush strokes like you might see on other cartoons of the time, I mean these backgrounds look like someone took a huge house painting brush, dipped it in a can of paint, and slapped it across a peice of paper once, then claimed it to be a background. This may sound like an exaggeration, but it isnt. Just see for yourself, this show still comes on Cartoon Network, in the wee hours of the morning on weekends. Also, the animation has a lot of copouts in it. Instead of animating a car or motorcycle, they just move the same drawing of it. And when he turns around on his motorcycle, they dont animate it, they have him drive off screen, then have the same animation cell, flipped over, come back on screen. I don't see how this show lasted as long as it did. The plots were just as bad as the art, I mean Speed Racer might have some bad animation, and bad dubbing, but the plots are wonderful and keep it entertaining. Though with this artwork, I don't think anything could have saved Devlin.