Has Davy Crockett changed between 1955 and 1988?
I can't recall Davy eyeing a beautiful young woman (Cheryl Arutt) skinny-dipping in the original 1954-55 shows, as he does in the two-hour "Rainbow in the Thunder," the first of five new "Davy Crockett" episodes that will appear on "The Magical World of Disney" this season (Sunday at 7 p.m., Channels 4, 36 and 39).
Still, the new Davy (Tim Dunigan) doesn't forget about his unseen wife and kids. While he obviously enjoys the view of the naked woman (his view is probably more detailed than ours), he doesn't let it blind him to the sight of some marauding Creek Indians who also have their eye on the skinny-dipper. Needless to say, his warning saves the young woman.
This Davy is relatively sensitive to the plight of the Indians themselves--in a way that would have been surprising in a '50s show. That is to say, he doesn't question the premise of the war against the Indians, but he does protest the excessive cruelty toward them displayed by young Andrew Jackson (Matt Salinger).
