Today’s cartoon review post is a look back at the late 1970s series “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels” (and subsequent spin-offs).
Summary
The show’s premise sees the Teen Angels (Brenda, Dee Dee, and Taffy) solving mysteries, with the assistance of their friend, Captain Caveman, the bumbling “World’s First Superhero.” As the intro’s narrator (Gary Owens of “Laugh-In” and “Space Ghost” fame) explains, Captain Caveman (nicknamed “Cavey”) was found by the Teen Angels frozen Captain America-style in a block of glacier ice, before being thawed. The Teen Angels travel around the country in a van with a small cave-like structure on top, where Captain Caveman lives.
The series is one of the numerous “Scooby-Doo” clones that Hanna-Barbera produced in the 70s, cashing in on the Great Dane’s success. “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels” ran for three seasons (20 episodes, or 40 segments) from 1977 to 1980. Unlike most of the Scooby-Doo clones, “Captain Caveman” aired alongside its inspiration, debuting as part of the anthology show “Scooby’s All-Star Laff-a-lympics”; Cavey and the Teen Angels also appeared in “Laff-a-lympics” as members of Scooby-Doo’s team. The series stuck around for the anthology’s shortened second season, retitled “Scooby’s All-Stars,” and then got its own half-hour show for its final season.
While “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels” follows most of the usual Scooby-Doo formula (mystery solving, a wacky sidekick, a van-like vehicle, etc.), it had a few things to set it apart from the other clones. For one, the main cast besides Cavey are young women (despite the “Teen Angels” nickname, the trio come off as vaguely college age). Additionally, Dee Dee is probably Hanna-Barbera’s most prominent Black character that isn’t based on a celebrity, athlete, or a licensed property.
Cast
Captain Caveman
The aforementioned caveman superhero, Cavey has super-strength and can fly, thanks to his club. Unfortunately for Cavey, his strength and flight powers often gives out at unwelcome times. His club also contains a bunch of Stone Age gadgets to help him, such as a firefly-powered “X-ray beam,” a bird holding a candle and mirror as a “flashlight,” and so on. Cavey also can pull any number of prehistoric creatures (mammoths, dinosaurs, etc.) from his body-length fur.
Unfortunately, Cavey also has a bad habit of eating or trying to eat half of the modern-day items he comes across, including a few of the clues. He generally speaks in stereotypical Hulk-like “caveman” speech, including the nonsense catchphrase “unga bunga.” In general, Cavey uses all the “brutish caveman” jokes that couldn’t be used on fellow Hanna-Barbera series “The Flintstones.”
Captain Caveman was voiced by Mel Blanc.
Dee Dee Skyes
Dee Dee is the “brains” of the Teen Angels, as well as their leader.
One aspect about Dee Dee that’s seen confusion is her last name. Some sources give it as “Sykes,” likely assuming it’s a play on “seeks,” given the adventure themed last names of her friends, “Dare” and “Chance.” However, one episode featuring Dee Dee’s uncle Frank repeatedly gives his last name as “Skyes,” which presumably is also Dee Dee’s last name. “Skyes” is also used for Dee Dee’s appearance in the 2020 movie “Scoob!.”
Dee Dee was voiced by Vernee Watson-Johnson.
Brenda Chance
Similar to Shaggy from “Scooby-Doo,” Brenda is usually nervous about the idea of solving mysteries or facing any sort of danger. It likely doesn’t help that she’s the Teen Angel most likely to be kidnapped by the villain.
Brenda was voiced by Marilyn Schreffer.
Taffy Dare
The blonde member of the group, Taffy usually comes up with the plans to capture the villain (to Brenda and Cavey’s reluctance, calling it a “daffy Taffy plan”). She’d occasionally flirt with Cavey to convince him to go along with said plan.
Taffy’s likely meant to be a caricature of actor Farrah Fawcett, as the Teen Angels are a loose pastiche of then-popular TV show “Charlie’s Angels.” “Charlie’s Angels,” like “Captain Caveman,” also ran on ABC, from 1976 to 1981.
Taffy was voiced by Laurel Page.
Spin-offs and other appearances
After the original series ran its course, Cavey went on to appear in several “Flintstones” spin-offs, retconned into having been Bedrock’s resident superhero (despite his more “primitive” appearance/behavior versus Fred and Barney). Said Flintstones spin-offs include:
- “The Flintstone Comedy Show” (1980-82). Cavey has his own segment of this Flintstones anthology series, where he protects Bedrock as its resident superhero. Parodying Superman, Cavey has an alter-ego as “Chester,” a glasses-wearing clerk for the “Daily Granite,” working alongside newspaper reporters Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble. A running gag sees Chester needing an over-the-top transformation sequence to turn into Captain Caveman—which consists of just taking off his glasses and unfolding his bow tie into his cape.
- “The Flintstone Kids” (1986-88). The “Captain Caveman and Son” segment of this series sees Cavey and his newly-introduced son, Cavey Jr. (voiced by Charlie Adler), fight villains in Bedrock. Unlike the previous series, here Captain Caveman is shown as the star of a TV show the Flintstone Kids watch; the “episodes” feature a plot that ties into some moral the Kids need to learn. Cavey Jr., unlike his dad, speaks fluid English, and is less bumbling. While the rest of the show has its moments, the “Captain Caveman and Son” segments are one of the best parts of “The Flintstone Kids.”
Cavey makes an appearance in the 2020 movie “Scoob!,” where he’s voiced by Tracy Morgan. Here, he’s not with the Teen Angels (living in an isolated valley), and speaks in complete sentences. Of the Teen Angels, only Dee Dee appears in the film, as the tech assistant for Dynomutt and Blue Falcon; she’s voiced by Kiersey Clemons.
Cavey’s also a supporting character on “Jellystone!,” which debuted in 2021 on Max/Cartoon Network. Here, he’s shown living in a van (based on the one from “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels”) alongside Cavey Jr. Unlike in “Flintstone Kids,” Cavey Jr. here acts even more stereotypically caveman-like than his father.
Cavey and the Teen Angels also appear in DC Comics’ Hanna-Barbera/DCU crossover series “Hanna-Barbera Beyond.” Unfortunately, nobody at DC seem to have thought about pitting Captain Caveman against DC’s own caveman villain, Vandal Savage. If there’s ever a sequel, maybe something to consider?
Highlights
- Cavey’s catchphrase—yelling his own name. One “Teen Angels” episode ending gag has Cavey accidentally destroy a factory by yelling his name!
- The “Captain Caveman and Son” segments feature an origin story for Cavey: as a child, his mother gives him his father’s club. He soon debuts as a Superboy-style child superhero, complete with fighting a child version of his future mad scientist arch-nemesis, Mr. Bad.
- Vernee Watson-Johnson, Dee Dee’s voice actor, is familiar to sitcom fans from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” where she played Will’s mother. Watson-Johnson’s also had recurring roles on ABC’s “General Hospital” and the 2019-2024 CBS sitcom “Bob Hearts Abishola.” She’s also done numerous other roles, including in live-action, animation, and video games. YouTube has an interview from a few years ago where she briefly mentions (at the 36 minute mark) working on “Captain Caveman” and meeting Mel Blanc.
On video
“Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels” is available in its entirety on a DVD set. Unfortunately, it’s a very barebones set: just the episodes, without any extras.
As for the spin-offs, some of the “Flintstone Kids” episodes are available on DVD, though “The Flintstone Comedy Show” isn’t on modern physical media. “Jellystone!” also isn’t on DVD as of this writing.
Theme songs
Here’s the opening credits for “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.”
Also here’s the intro for “Captain Caveman and Son.”
Conclusion
While it’s no “Scooby-Doo,” “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels” has its virtues. The DVD set might be of interest to Hanna-Barbera fans, Flintstones completists (since Cavey’s technically also part of that franchise), or Scooby-Doo fans interested in the 70s Scooby clones.
Image: “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.” (Warner Bros.)
