Samson & Goliath

Plot

The series follows teenager Samson and his dog Goliath as they travel the country on a motorbike. When trouble arises from a mega villain or evil scientist, Samson strikes his golden wristbands together to transform into a superhero version of the biblical Samson. A second slam turns Goliath into a superpowered lion. Samson can also direct shock waves from his wristbands and twist them to increase their powers further.

Characters

Samson, voiced by Tim Matheson, is a teenager who rides a motorbike with his dog Goliath. By crossing his wrists and saying "I need Samson Power" or "Time for Samson Power," he transforms into the biblical strong-man. Goliath, with vocal effects by Don Messick, is a white and black Airedale Terrier who becomes a mighty lion via his bracelets. In dog form, Goliath is an excellent climber and highly intelligent; as a lion, he has super-strength, durability, and the ability to generate heat and energy.

Monatabu is an evil witch doctor who jumped into a volcano and found an Iguanasaurus; each year it attacks a village until Samson and Goliath seal them inside the volcano. The Aurora Borealis Creature is an electrically charged monster from the aurora that attacks an Inuit village; Samson and Goliath lure it onto an ice floe, sinking it. The Colossus of Rhodes, a 100-foot statue of Helios brought from sea by Professor Andor, is animated by meteorites and rampages until sent back to the sea.

The Venusian Ice Men are robots from Venus that freeze a valley; Samson and Goliath deflect their freeze ray with a telescope mirror, melting them. The Terrorists, voiced by Don Messick and John Stephenson, steal Goliath's bracelets but are defeated. P.E.R.I.L. is an evil spy ring that plots to capture Professor Talos to prevent him from delivering Solar Jet plans to the Pentagon; Samson and Goliath rescue him and capture the villains.

Home media

On March 8, 2011, Warner Archive released all 20 episodes of The Space Kidettes and Young Samson on DVD in region 1 as part of the Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection, a manufacture-on-demand release available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. The original network broadcasts split each episode's plot to include additional animated content from the sponsor. After network runs, both series were re-edited into continuous scenarios and joined as The Space Kidettes and Young Samson for syndication; these revised versions are the only ones available for distribution and were used for the DVD release.