Captain Z-Ro

Infobox Television
show_name = Captain Z-Ro


caption = Jet and Z-Ro
genre = Science Fiction
Children,
Educational
creator =
developer =
presenter =
starring = Roy Steffens, Bob Turnbull, Bruce Haynes
voices =
narrated =
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons =
num_episodes = 77
list_episodes =
producer = Kathleen K. Rawlings
executive_producer =
location = San Francisco
camera = Joseph P. Dieves
runtime = 15 min (1951 - 1954)30 min (1954 - 1956)
network = KRON, Syndication
picture_format =
audio_format =
first_run =
first_aired = November 1951
last_aired = June 10, 1956
preceded_by =
followed_by =
related =
website = http://www.captain-z-ro.com/
imdb_id = 0147753
tv_com_id = 10083:"For the rap musician, see Z-Ro."

"Captain Z-Ro" (pronounced "zero" audio|en-us-zero.ogg|Audio (US)) was a children's television show that ran locally on KRON in San Francisco beginning in November 1951, and was later nationally syndicated in the United States, ending its run of original episodes on June 10, 1956. 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.

Premise

Scientist Captain Z-Ro, working in his remote laboratory, safeguarded mankind and history from impending harm. He had a time machine, the ZX-99, both to view history and to send someone back in time. 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. Over the years, plots involved Z-Ro and Jet rescuing a wide range of historical figures, including Marco Polo, Magellan, William the Conqueror, and Daniel Boone.

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 conundra (such as the grandfather paradox) were likewise glossed over.

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."

Format and effects

The special effect to represent time travel was a simple dissolve shot, set among flashing lights, blinking oscilloscopes and innumerable levers and knobs.

"Captain Z-Ro" was one of the first shows to be shot on videotape.Fact|date=May 2007 As a result, VHS and DVD copies of early episodes of somewhat higher than normal quality are available. Later episodes were shot on film, as the show moved from a 15 minute format on local station KRON in San Francisco to a 30 minute nationally syndicated format.Fact|date=May 2007

External links

* [http://www.captain-z-ro.com/ Captain Z-Ro official site]
*imdb title|0147753
* [http://home.earthlink.net/~joesarno/tvscifi/captainz.htm "Captain Z-Ro"] at Science Fiction on Television in the 1950s
* [http://www.tv.com/captain-z-ro/show/10083/summary.html "Captain Z-Ro"] at TV.com
*The [http://www.tvacres.com/spacecraft_time_zx-99.htm ZX-99] time machine at TVacres.com