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I saw an episode from the fourth season of Columbo called "Negative Reaction," which starred Dick Van Dyke as a murderous photographer, and couldn't help but take note of the incredibly beautiful young woman that played Dyke's girlfriend. I looked her up on imdb and discovered that the woman, JoAnna Cameron, played the titular heroine in the 70s Saturday morning series "The Secrets of Isis."
This explains my interest in picking up this "Isis" dvd set, as I only vaguely recall the show as a kid; so there's very little nostalgic factor with me.
The set features all 22 episodes on two dvds and a handful of extras, including a 2-hour piece involving interviews with producers and stars, etc.
The show beat out the similar primetime series "Wonder Woman," debuting Sept. 9, 1975. "Wonder Woman" didn't appear until sometime in 1976.
"The Secrets of Isis" was a low-budget Saturday morning series and obviously geared toward kids. Each episode has a moral; the cast is upbeat, likable and multi-cultural; the vibe is simple and wholesome; and the F/X are cheap. Each segment only runs 20 minutes (not including credits) and the last two episodes feature Captain Marvel of "Shazam!" All that said, the show possesses a certain charm. One can't help but respect that JoAnna Cameron took the role seriously.
In the interview section the producers admit that they chose JoAnna to play Isis because she had "great legs." And so she does. In fact, it's the first thing I noticed about her when I saw that episode of "Columbo." JoAnna is fairly short and kind of thin, but curvy at the same time. In any case, her legs are truly exquisite. Her face and presence also exude great intelligence and poise. A very uniquely beautiful woman, to say the least. Lynda Carter of "Wonder Woman," by contrast, was tall and ultra-voluptuous (I personally get sick at the sight of nigh-anorexic women). Another great 70s beauty was Erin Gray of "Buck Rogers."
BOTTOME LINE: Despite its numerous shortcomings noted above, "The Secrets of Isis" is worth picking up for those nostalgic of the show or those fascinated by JoAnna Cameron's great beauty, intelligence and poise; or both. And, by all means, watch it with your kids.
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Nothing beats the 70's first TV heroine like Isis. Before Wonder Woman this Saturday morning superhero was the first of it's kind. Teamed up with the live-action show Shazam!, Isis won in the ratings for Saturday mornings. With great morals and some of the first issues brought up on children's tv such as a death of a pet, this groundbreaking series is a must. Great for all ages.
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First of all, I could not believe this was actually available on DVD. Second, I could not believe I was buying it. But the fact is, when I finally got around to watching it all I did was giggle like a little kid. I remembered this show from years ago and watching it again brought back a lot of memories. The production value is totally cheesy (that's what happens when you have zero budget) and the acting isn't the greatest, but Isis is still a fun show to watch and I am glad that I bought it. The extras were just OK. Nothing much to write home (or a review) about, but interesting none-the-less. I liked seeing what everyone in the series was up to these days. My biggest regret was that Isis, herself, JoAnna Cameron, was not involved.
Overall, if you remember the show like I did from when you were a kid and you're feeling like you want to get in touch with the child you used to be, I'd say that you would enjoy watching this again. I guarantee that if you did, you'd end up giggling just as much as I did.
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They don't make 'em like this anymore, and it's a shame that they don't. If someone decided to "re-imagine" ISIS today, it'd most likely be a dark, dreary, serialized mess (two words: BIONIC WOMAN), chock full of violence and lame attempts at being hip or ironic. Sure, ISIS had special "effects" that Ed Wood would've laughed at, and the show required not just a suspension, but an outright EXPULSION, of disbelief (for example, Isis's dimwitted male teacher pal could never figure out her obvious true identity, yet at one point we're supposed to believe that in his spare time he just so happens to be working for a secret government project in which he's invented a weather-controlling machine!) But this show was charming in its innocence, and star Joanna Cameron was very easy on the eyes. And it always had a positive message and a happy ending.
The extras are a mixed bag. The inclusions of an ISIS cartoon and production stills are to be applauded, but commentary from the show's producers is a waste of time (they don't remember a lot of specifics about the show, and their self-congratulatory remarks about creating a show that respected women are dealt a blow when they state that their main goal in selecting an actress to play the part of Isis was to find someone with "great legs.") My advice: skip the commentary and interviews involving the producers, but check out everything else.
The audio-visual quality of the episodes themselves isn't as sharp as that in the "Wonder Woman" DVD's, to make the closest comparison that comes to mind as far as genre and era of production. However, it's hardly unwatchable, and as others have mentioned, it's all brightly lit (mainly because the series was shot pretty much entirely in daylight to keep expenses as low as possible.)
So watch the adventures of ISIS and her friends and I'm sure you'll agree, they just don't make 'em like this anymore. Long live ISIS on DVD!
Rating:  -
Another one of my back in the day favorites!!!COMMERICIALS were the only thing that took me away from the tv set!
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