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Maurice Mission Specialist
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 485 Location: 3rd Rock
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 4:53 am Post subject: Captain Z-Ro (1951–53 & 1955–56) |
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So, I had seen this named before but never seen it, until today when I stumbled upon a episode on YouTube titled "The Great Pyramid", which is silly but actually quite charming.
Intro narration:
Quote: | Captain Z-Ro! Research explorer in time and space! Somewhere in a remote uncharted region of a planet called Earth stands the laboratory of CAPTAIN Z-RO. In this secret location, known only to a few in the outside world, Captain Z-Ro and his associates experiment in time and space to learn from the past -- to plan for the future.
(morse code signal)
Contact has been established. We now transmit you direct to the laboratory of Captain Z-Ro. Please stand by. |
I also found all 26 filmed episodes on the Internet Archive here (link).
The show was believed lost for many years until its creator made it available in the late 2000s from film prints he had saved.
Captain Z-Ro, that "Research Explorer in Time and Space" who, with his youthful sidekick Jet, and sometimes assistant by Micro, Tetro, Arcro, etc., would have adventures in space via his ZX-99 rocket and throughout Earth history via his Time Projector, which was basically a Wayback Machine long before Mr. Peabody thunk of it. He defended himself with a Pararay Gun that paralyzed victims for 60 seconds, and was occasionally assisted by Roger the Robot (who once got lost in mid-1950s San Francisco where hilarity ensued).
A children's show in the vein of Space Patrol and the like but with an educational bent. It started as a live show on KRON-TV in San Francisco and reportedly the first "live" dramatic show in the Bay Area recorded on kinescope, airing from 1951 to 1953.
After this point the show expanded to a half hour format (24 minutes) and was shot on film by filmmaker, inventor and audio recording pioneer William A. Palmer (webpage about him via archive.org). Palmer produced 26 episodes of Captain Z-Ro for syndication. Some of them used footage from kinescopes of live programs. But a battle over rights erupted with the syndicating company Atlas Television Corporation and that pretty much shut down the distribution of the program.
The details are a little confusing after that, because some sources say the later filmed episodes were aired in syndication from the end of 1955 through June 1956 and then continuing to be syndicated til 1960. But the copyright dates of some of those episodes are 1954 and 1955, and it's hard to imagine they would have sat on finished shows for a year, but it is possible.
The show was the creation of and starred Roy Steffens (1914-2012). Apparently, Roy was for seven years the official KRON-TV Santa Claus during the holiday season and introduced his friend Captain Z-Ro and his two-way television that enabled Santa to "see" the excited children as they viewed him. Roy then launched Z-Ro as a weekly program, and his wife Kim played many of the female roles on the show.
His youthful sidekick Jet was played by at least two different actors, first Bob Turnbull, the latter being Bruce Haynes.
The entire series fell into the public domain in 1978 due to lack of copyright renewal.
The show got accolades from several organization, such as...
*Honorable Mention from The Institute for Education by Radio-Television, 1956
Here are a few web pages about the show.
*Roy Steffensen obituary
*Captain-Z-r0.com
*Captain Z-Ro, "Good luck in time and space"
*A bit about the photo at the top of this post here
*Science Fiction on Television in the 1950s: Captain Z-Ro
*SFE Science Fiction Encyclopedia entry on Z-Ro.
Quote: | Be sure to be standing by when we again transmit you to the remote location on planet Earth where Captain Z-Ro and his associates will conduct another experiment in time and space. |
The filmed episodes (26) are:
Christopher Columbus
Episode 1
12/18/55
A mishap with the Time Projector drops Jet onto the Santa Maria, where he discovers a plot to mutiny against Columbus. The Captain assists from the future by teleporting objects around for Jet, saving him from mishap.
Daniel Boone
Episode 2
12/25/55
Captain Z-RO and Jet travel back in time to see Daniel Boone as a boy and his adventures dealing with Indians.
Marco Polo
Episode 3
1/1/56
Captain Z-RO provides extra protection for Marco Polo against opposing warlords.
Benedict Arnold
Episode 4
1/8/56
Z-RO's mission is to warn General George Washington that Benedict Arnold is about to betray him to the British.
King John
Episode 5
1/15/56
Z-RO and Jet become a part of the signing of the Magna Carta.
Ferdinand Magellan
Episode 6
1/22/56
Ferdinand Magellan gets some much needed help from Captain Z-RO and Jet concerning a mutiny that is about to take place. (Because this plot was too good to use just in the Columbus episode.)
Pony Express
Episode 7
1/29/56
Nether rain nor sleet nor snow will prevent this Wyoming postmaster from getting important mail through, and Z-RO is there to lend a hand.
William Tell
Episode 8
2/5/56
William Tell is visited by Captain Z-RO and Jet while Tell's troops battle for Swiss independence.
Roger The Robot
Episode 9
2/12/56
Captain Z-RO and Jet decide to build their own robot to study how robots work, only they can't control their robot once it's finished, and it ends up in San Francisco causing panic.
Blackbeard The Pirate
Episode 10
2/19/56
Jet gets in trouble while digging for buried treasure and ends up in the den of Blackbeard the Pirate.
Attila The Hun
Episode 11
2/26/56
Attila the Hun, the warrior leader of the Hunnic Empire which stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the River Danube to the Baltic Sea during the 5th century, takes Jet captive.
Robin Hood
Episode 12
3/4/56
The Sheriff of Nottingham is fast on Robin Hood's trail so Captain Z-RO comes to the famous outlaw's aid.
Washington And Howe
Episode 13
3/11/56
Seeing that a courier carrying an important message to George Washington at Valley Forge in 1778 is waylaid by the British, Captain Z-RO goes back in time to retrieve the document and help the man escape.
The Rosetta Stone
Episode 14
3/18/56
Captain Z-RO goes to Egypt to help Napoleon find the Rosetta Stone and to try to keep it safe from thieves.
Hernando Cortez
Episode 15
3/25/56
Hernando Cortez' men are planning to mutiny and steal his gold, so Captain Z-RO attempts to alert the explorer of the danger. (Because this mutiny plot apparently has to figure every single time Spanish sailors are involved in a story.)
Molly Pitcher
Episode 16
4/1/56
As Molly Pitcher grows weary during the Battle of Monmouth, Jet comes to help her hold off the British attack.
Discovery Of Gold
Episode 17
4/8/56
Z-RO and Jet look for nuggets as they participate in the 1849 California gold rush.
Meteor
Episode 18
4/15/56
As Captain Z-RO and Jet study about heavenly bodies, their rocket ship is about to be destroyed by a shooting star.
Captain Cook And The Hawaiian Islands
Episode 19
4/22/56
Captain Cook gives Captain Z-RO a personal tour of the Hawaiian Islands.
Aztec Papers
Episode 20
4/29/56
While time traveling back to 1519, Z-RO enters the temple of a powerful Aztec war god.
Genghis Khan
Episode 21
5/6/56
Z-RO travels to the 13th century to learn the reason why Genghis Khan moved away from China.
The Great Pyramid
Episode 22
5/13/56
The Captain's crew attempts to solve the mystery of why the Great Pyramid of Giza was empty, and end up being mistaken for grave robbers. Roger the Robot returns.
Leonardo da Vinci
Episode 23
5/20/56
Leonardo da Vinci is given a peek by Captain Z-RO of the effects that his inventions have had on modern society.
William The Conqueror
Episode 24
5/27/56
Captain Z-RO is transported into the time of William the Conqueror when an English nobleman becomes the target of murder.
Adventure In Space
Episode 25
6/3/56
Shortly after Z-RO detects weird signals from Venus a flying saucer buzzes his secret laboratory. A fearful Tetro wants to shoot it down, but Z-RO prefers to board the ZX-99 and blast off in pursuit, following the UFO towards the Moon in hopes of discovering who is on it and what they want.
King Alfred
Episode 26 6/10/56
Time travelers Captain Z-RO and Jet drop in on King Alfred and his fight with the Danes. _________________ * * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles
Last edited by Maurice on Tue Jul 24, 2018 6:28 am; edited 10 times in total |
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Gord Green Galactic Ambassador
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Joined: 06 Oct 2014 Posts: 2948 Location: Buffalo, NY
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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Great post!!!
I remember watching Captain Z-ro as part of my Saturday morning ritual in the early 50's. The only episode I actually remember was the one on the Magna Carta, which I tied in with Robin Hood. My 7-8 year old brain only had a rudimentary understanding of History, so I found this show making me spend hours with my encyclopedia and local library.
I think this was an early predessesor to DOCTOR WHO which was also centered on time travel to historical eras. Z-ro was a decade before!
You've given me a lot to check-out! Thanks again! |
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orzel-w Galactic Ambassador
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Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1876
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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I don't have any recollection of seeing the Captain on TV as a kid, although if I watched enough episodes it might trigger a memory. (I doubt I'm up to the task, however.)
He did appear to have a logo fetish. _________________ ...or not...
WayneO
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Custer Space Sector Commander
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Joined: 22 Aug 2015 Posts: 932 Location: Earth
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 8:47 am Post subject: |
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He does seem to have had a lot of examples of "Z" embroidered on his costume. I don't think the shows ever made it across the ocean to Britain... where we would have had a slight problem with the name, as we'd have pronounced it "zed-ro." After all, ending the alphabet with "zed" makes a good conclusion, yes? I suppose we should be grateful that even Americans pronounce "Q" as "kue," as "Kwee" would sound a bit eccentric... ![Wink](images/smiles/icon_wink.gif) |
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Maurice Mission Specialist
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 485 Location: 3rd Rock
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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What's funny about the show is how they keep going back in time to fix things so they'll happen as they remember them, which is funny because no one goes into the past to cock things up in the first place. The "history" is rather laughable too.
I like their occasional space episodes better than the time travel ones because the latter are too much of the Captain and Jet watching TV. _________________ * * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles
Last edited by Maurice on Sun Feb 02, 2020 6:32 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Custer Space Sector Commander
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Joined: 22 Aug 2015 Posts: 932 Location: Earth
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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Time travel is tricky like that... if you remember the past as you always have, then the bad guys have failed to make a change. Or have your memories changed, and you don't know it? Plenty of stories have tackled most of the possibilities. Perhaps it takes a while for a change to work its way up through the years, though that seems unlikely... or a new reality just takes a while to "set."
Or would a government-style agency be trying to change things for (in theory) the better, by killing some guy, or negating the killing of someone else... and some other group, seeing that such disruptions to the river of time would have unintended results further down the line, might act against that. A bit more boggling that Captain Z-ro. At least with Doctor Who he tended to spend a fair amount of time in the present, the future, or elsewhere in space, and didn't spend too much energy assisting Marco Polo, etc. |
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Gord Green Galactic Ambassador
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Joined: 06 Oct 2014 Posts: 2948 Location: Buffalo, NY
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2020 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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How about revisiting this foundation series from the Sci-Fi Fifties----
"Somewhere in a remote, uncharted region of the planet Earth stands the laboratory of CAPTAIN Z-RO. In this secret location, known only to a few in the outside world, CAPTAIN Z-RO and his associates experiment in TIME and SPACE ...to learn from the past ...plan for the future..."
CAPTAIN Z-RO and his associates experiment in Time and Space via their Time Refractor apparatus and their space ship. They become involved with notables of the past and events of history, i.e. Genghis Khan, The Battle of Chalon, Christopher Columbus, Leonardo DaVinci, Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth and many others (see episodes posted above by Maurice.).
Captain Z-ro was hailed for being both educational and entertaining, applauded by adults, teenagers as well as children.
Media releases allege that this Sci-Fi-Fact production was written by and starred Roy Steffens, a man who lived in Palo Alto, California in what is now the Silicon Valley.
Captain Z-Ro (pronounced "zero") is an American children's television show that ran locally on KRON-TV in San Francisco and KTTV in Los Angeles, from November 1951 through 1953, and was later nationally syndicated in the United States, beginning December 18, 1955 and ending its run of original episodes on June 10, 1956.
I remember watching his show religiously Saturday mornings and being engrossed in his adventures!
It remained in syndication until 1960. Modeled on the science fiction space operas popular at the time (cf. Captain Video and Space Patrol), it featured sets and costumes emulating the futuristic designs of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.
Scientist Captain Z-Ro, working in his remote laboratory, "Somewhere in a remote area of the Earth.." and looking more like the surface of the Moon, safeguarded mankind and history from impending harm. He had a time machine and a spaceship, the ZX-99, both to view history and to send someone back in time, as well as to explore space..
Each week, he and his teenage assistant Jet would view an episode in time and inevitably see that some event was unfolding contrary to history (e.g., King John not signing the Magna Carta). Captain Z-Ro would then send Jet back in time to intervene and ensure that history played out as originally recorded.
Some episodes were involved with the Captain and Jet in space adventures reminiscent of the "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet" series right down to the use of the greeting "Spacemen's luck!".
He had a really decent "Destination Moon" type spaceship and talked about plans to construct a Space Platform and exploring the Moon and planets.
Over the years, plots involved Z-Ro and Jet rescuing a wide range of historical figures. As the series progressed these historical episodes took the lead and were as educational as they were melodramatic.
Like early episodes of Doctor Who, which premiered in the UK more than a decade later, most episodes were melodramatic history lessons for children.
No serious effort was made to explain how the time machine worked, and time travel conundrum (such as the grandfather paradox) were likewise glossed over. They not so much "changed" time, but put it on the right track.
This series was far ahead of its time. Time travel, language translators, and materialization are part of almost every sci-fi program and movie since, but these inventions were all part of a T. V. series that had its start in the early 1950's
Each week after the last commercial, the announcer would intone:
"Be sure to be standing by when we again transmit you to the remote location on planet Earth where Captain Z-Ro and his associates will conduct another experiment in time and space."
_________________ There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child. |
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tmlindsey Mission Specialist
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Joined: 18 Jul 2022 Posts: 409 Location: NW Florida
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2023 12:05 pm Post subject: |
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I probably would have loved this show when I was a kid, but I only ever heard about it as an adult...and the Captain looks a bit on the creepy side to me _________________ "Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?" |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17148 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2023 12:58 pm Post subject: |
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__________________________________________________
I don't remember ever watching this series as kid in 1950s, but based on the superb posts by both Gord Green's and Maurice I'm sure I'd have been a big fan if I'd watched it.
The Classic TV Channel has provided all the episodes of season 1 at the link below, although the aspect ratio is wrong (stretch out to fill the computer monitor). However, it you download them and play them on television, you correct that.
The opening shot of the strange landscape and Captain Z-Ro's headquaters is impressive. I watched the first episode and was surprised by the imaginative story and the good acting,
Give it look, guys!
Captain Z-RO - Season 1 - Episode 1 - Christopher Columbus | Roy Steffens, Bruce Haynes
___________![](https://i3.ytimg.com/vi/ltcvnBZVQHE/hqdefault.jpg) _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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tmlindsey Mission Specialist
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Joined: 18 Jul 2022 Posts: 409 Location: NW Florida
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Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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Tubi recently added this show and I've burned through about half of the existing episodes so far (over a hundred 15minute eps were apparently done "live" in the first year)...
It's enjoyable for what it is; a painfully low-budget, mostly educational show for youngsters. The odd couple of space episodes makes me wonder if they were trying to copy what other shows were doing to expand their audience.
The re-use of actors within the same episode and giving them "clever" credits makes me laugh
They did manage quite a bit with an obviously minuscule amount of money. _________________ "Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?" |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17148 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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__________________________________________________
IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production.
__________________________________________________
~ It started out as a live-action series broadcast on the San Francisco TV station KRON in 1951. In 1953 the series was aired on the Los Angeles TV station KTTV, again live action. All 51 live-action episodes were 15 minutes in length.
Note from me: If they'd aired these early episodes in Atlanta when I was five years old I would have loved them. I was already watching sci-fi at that age. On Saturday mornings a local station showed the Flash Gordon serials — three at a time, which provide a whole hour of sci-fi bliss!
~ In 1954 the series was picked up for syndication. Episodes were shot on videotape and to fit in a 30-minute time slot. There were 26 half-hour episodes.
Note from me: There were a few sci-fi series I watched in the 1950s, and I might have scene the syndicated versioln.
~ The opening credits were shown on the series finale of another time travel series, Quantum Leap (1989): Quantum Leap: Mirror Image - August 8, 1953 (1993).
Note from me: I've come to realize that the original Quantum Leap had fun episodes like that one, while the new version has yet to appeal to me quite as much. It spends too much time promoting the rights of the LGBTQ community. I'm getting a bit weary of hearing sermons on that subject. ![Rolling Eyes](images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif) _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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tmlindsey Mission Specialist
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Joined: 18 Jul 2022 Posts: 409 Location: NW Florida
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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I finished out all of the available episodes last night. Overall, I enjoyed some, especially the two space episodes and the pyramid one. Only one, the Robin Hood episode, was a silly waste of time to me. But I still can appreciate what they were doing overall and still think it could be re-done and aired today, though the historical accuracy would have to be seriously updated. ![Embarassed](images/smiles/icon_redface.gif) _________________ "Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?" |
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