The Secrets of Isis

This was a great Saturday morning show for more than the kids. The dads too enjoyed seeing JoAnna Cameron as Isis dealing with all kinds of 20th century trouble.

By day Cameron was Andrea Thomas mild mannered archaeologist who came into possession of an ancient amulet, purportedly the property of Queen Hatshepsut back in the day. Worked properly and the spirit of ancient Isis entered the body of presumably a female and could give one superpowers.

JoAnna Cameron was one drop dead gorgeous goddess. Many a pubescent teen had some fantasies about her. Like Clark Kent she kind of dressed down in Andrea Thomas mode and had the requisite pair of dorky looking glasses as I recall.

I wouldn't mind seeing this again sometime.

As a little boy in during the "70's; Isis (JoAnna Cameron) was my second crush, after Batgirl (Yvonne Craig). And then, after Isis; was WonderWoman; my crush on Lynda Carter was never broken after seeing her play the super-heroine. When they teamed Isis up with Captain Marvel; I was in kid heaven. I always thought there was something going on between those two; whenever they winked at each other. I'm after all; Isis is a goddess and of fertility;no less and then you have Captain Marvel; not really a god but man created and endowed with powers by the gods. The Immortals new what they were doing. I hope they release both Isis/Shazam! shows on dvd at the same time; when the long talked about Shazam! movie makes it to the theaters.

o zepher winds that blow on high, lift me now so i can fly...she used to say that when she flew away. Did Isis ever actually fight a bad guy. Seems like she was always putting out fires and rescueing kids in 70's gear from a disabled boat! Great show, i wish i could see it again.

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 the "Isis" DVD set. I only vaguely recall the show as a kid; so there's very little nostalgic factor with me.

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 of the DVDs 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."

BOTTOM 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.

Today's tribal kiddies have nothing on Isis for piercing endurance. That woman wore earrings the size of soup tureens...and flew! How could she do that? I just don't know!

Seriously, it was a fun show, perfectly targeted for its audience.

Isis also had good advice for the kids, like "don't talk to strangers", "don't prank call the police", or "don't share needles with the junkie ho's on south avenue". She was way ahead of her time.

But I think Trinity could have kicked her ass.