Devlin

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.

I have seen this cartoon many times from the time I was a little kid to now.

This show is good because you get to see a motorcycle rider doing ramp stunts and solving problems for other people. The scenes where it shows Ernie Devlin in the air when his bike is doing the jumps what looks like to others as him just going 10 Miles per hour is where they are really showing him doing his stunt in slow motion because real motorcycle stunts like that have those motorcycles going so fast that many people who are on the opposite side of the big top could not focus in time to see the rider going up the ramp. This show has him in slow motion so everyone watching can see how he does his stunts. This show should have all of it's episodes released on DVD box sets like some of the other Hanna-Barbera shows because it is a classic and much better than the shows that have been made in the last 11 to 15 years.

It has been over 30 years since I have seen an episode of "Devlin", but back then my 9 year old self loved every minute of it. Like most young boys in the US at that time, I was hooked on the outrageous antics of daredevil/showman Evel Knievel. Everyone had the toys; everyone watched his motorcycle jumps on ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Now, when you are 9 years old, you don't really ponder copyright issues all that much....but even back then, I realized "Devlin" was very much "inspired by" Evel's popularity and stunts.

It was great to be able to watch a weekly TV show inspired by a real life hero. I've noted other comments complaining about the quality of the animation in this series, but at the time it was never something I noticed...and I am sure I *was* the target demographic. The show was fun and exciting and featured dramatic mysteries with cycle jumping thrown in. What more could a kid of the day ask for?

Interestingly, I also recall about this same time a live action series along the lines of "Devlin" (but licensing Knievel's name) was proposed, and a pilot episode filmed. Too bad it didn't sell. I remember seeing the pilot on TV in 1970s - it aired one time, in a summer replacement timeslot occupied each week by a different failed series pilot!

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.

I was born a Devlin in Keene, New Hampshire in 1967. How did this book come about? How come it's called "Devlin?" I'd like more information and perhaps get a video?