The Secret Saturdays

I confess that the cartoon, The Secret Saturdays, is a show that I am really beginning to love a lot. Why? Because it reminds me of what the fate of my favorite Justice League couple, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, could have been if the writing staff hadn’t gotten so caught up in the “let’s not give them what they want” crap. (Yes, I’m still angry. Thank you for asking.)

 Solomon (Doc) and Drew Saturday are no superheroes, but they remind me a great deal of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern in their approach to their relationship and their values. Let me get the big thing out of the way first: Doc and Drew are a married interracial couple and probably the first in a network cartoon. Now, some will say but what about Hawkgirl and Green Lantern on Justice League? To be clear, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern are an inter-species couple, not interracial. Green Lantern is a black man, but Hawkgirl, who certainly appears to be a white woman, is an alien (the wings coming out of her back are a dead giveaway that she’s not human). So, Doc and Drew are probably a first. (But feel free to tell me if you know of another.)

As I stated earlier, neither Doc nor Drew have superpowers, but both carry weapons which again amazingly remind me of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern. Drew Saturday carries a fire sword and handles the device with as much talent as Hawkgirl does with her mace. Doc Saturday wears a power glove which glows green in use and the way he uses it can’t help, but bring to mind the picture of the Green Lantern using his power ring. The banter between the two when they fight the bad guys is really funny and so reminiscent of the good HG/GL stuff. For example, when their home is invaded by bad guys, Drew, who had been fighting with her sword, puts the weapon away and rips her flat screen TV off the wall and throws it at the villain (who ducks as it smashes against the wall after nearly hitting Doc). Doc, who is fighting off the other bad guy, glances at his smashed TV and chastises his wife with a, “Why would you throw the TV?” Drew shrugs sheepishly and says, “I’m sorry. I…I get in a zone.” At that moment, I fell in love with this couple and this show.

Doc and Drew have an eleven year old son, Zak, who they care for and love and try to protect. The way they encourage Zak is exactly the way that I had envisioned that Green Lantern and Hawkgirl would love and encourage their son, Warhawk, had the writers saw fit to let that relationship flourish. I acknowledge that perhaps I’m drawn to this show more than I really should be because I was so disappointed with the Justice League finale.

The Secret Saturdays is far from being a perfect show. To be honest, the writing for the first couple of episodes was a little stiff, and after watching successive episodes, I do get a little tired of Drew being, what I perceive to be, overly protective (almost to the point of nagging) of Zak. But I thought the writings and characterizations really improved in the episode, Twelve Hundred Degrees Fahrenheit. And the voice actors, Phil Morris as Doc and Nicole Sullivan as Drew, are really talented and make the most out of what is sometimes stilted writing. Maybe this is an indicator of good things to come.

The Secret Saturdays is a good show worthy of continued viewing. I don’t know how long it will be on, but I intend to watch for as long as it has air time. It has my attention.

(photo courtesy of Animation Insider)