Sunday School On Videotape.

I didn't know anything about "The Greatest Adventure: Stories From The Bible" until I read about it in "The Art Of Hanna-Barbera." When I read about this direct-to-video animated series, I was intrigued. But in 1989, the year I bought the book, there was no Amazon. And the local book, record, and video stores didn't have the tapes in stock. Nor did a religious goods store, or any of the gift shops at the churches. I have only seen certain episodes online.

I noticed that the animation was rather unique for H-B. Also, Derek, Margo, and Moki bear striking resemblances to Wheeler, Linka, and Ma-Ti from "Captain Planet And The Planeteers," which would soon be animated by H-B. More details on that in another thread.

I'd seen modern youngsters interact with biblical heroes before. But those were the anime shows "Superbook" and "The Flying House." I did like what I saw in TGA. But I still can't bring myself to buy these magnificent cartoons on Amazon. Maybe I will sometime when I'm ready.

Trivia Question 14: Derek, Margo, and Moki were on an archaeological expedition when their adventures began. Where did they discover the hidden door?

Answer: In a subterranean chamber.

Believe it or not, I remember watching a few of those episodes in Hebrew school. I really did not know much about this show--and in fact asked a few years ago on the mystery cartoon thread what this cartoon was--although I think I actually did manage to find out what it was on my own. The three episodes I saw in Hebrew school were Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath, and Joshua and the Battle of Jerico. However, years later when I was in Hebrew high school (no relationship to regular high school, just something I did on Sundays) there was a special presentation on Purim, and they showed clips of the Queen Esther episode from this show--and one from Veggie Tales.

From what I remember, although the characters could easily befriend and interact with the biblical characters, they could not alter anything that happened in the stories--which were basically told straightforward. Moki was the comedy relief and often uttered silly things to lighten the episodes. In the David and Goliath episode, I clearly recall Moki after seeing Goliath remark "Boy, that guy must have eaten his Wheaties this morning."

I also recall that for a childrens' cartoon, there was an awful lot of blood in the David and Goliath episode. As an elementary school student at the time, I was quite grossed out by all that blood suddenly pouring from Goliath's head after being shot in the head with David's slingshot.

Anyhow, it was some pretty decent retelling of biblical stories--and the humor of Moki was pretty funny. So it was a decent teaching tool.