Davey and Goliath to Return to TV

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Oh Davey, welcome back. <br><br>Davey and Goliath, the stop-action animated stars of Sunday morning TV in the 1960s who recently reappeared in a soda commercial, are getting their TV

Monday, August 5th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Oh Davey, welcome back.

Davey and Goliath, the stop-action animated stars of Sunday morning TV in the 1960s who recently reappeared in a soda commercial, are getting their TV show again.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will produce 26 new episodes of the Davey and Goliath show.

The denomination's predecessor, the United Lutheran Church in America, produced 65 episodes of the Davey and Goliath show and six specials from 1960 to 1971. In the show featured, Davey, a young boy, and his dog Goliath, whom only Davey can hear, face life together.

The shows were made by Art and Ruth Clokey, who also created Gumby.

The church hopes to introduce a new generation to the characters and create quality children's programming with a moral center and a Christian theme,'' said the Rev. Eric Shafer, the ELCA's communications director.

To help pay production costs, the ELCA agreed to sell the characters for commercial endorsements, leading to their appearance in a commercial for Mountain Dew this year.

The church is also licensing videos of old shows and other memorabilia, including t-shirts and bobblehead figures.

The new shows are expected to go on the air next year.