Classic Horrors Club

While similar in some ways to every other 1950s sci-fi space opera we’ve discussed in this series, Captain Z-ro came to us a bit differently. It was originally a 15-minute children’s show produced locally in California, airing only on KRON-TV in San Francisco and KTTV in Los Angeles. While its run lasted for two years, between 1951 and 1953, it was nationally syndicated beginning December 18, 1995. This run of 30-minute episodes ended on June 10, 1956; however, the show remained in syndication into 1960.

The original episodes were captured on kinescope for local broadcast and the syndicated shows were shot on 16mm film. If you’re keeping track of the dates, there was a two-year gap between the 51 original episodes and the 26 filmed episodes. The latter set is in the public domain and readily available to watch. I found all of them on YouTube and watched two of them for this week’s discussion.

Again, Captain Z-ro is similar to other series; however, it places an emphasis on time travel. In each episode, Captain Z-ro (series creator Roy Steffens) monitors history from his remote, uncharted location on Earth. I don’t know where this location is supposed to be (it’s secret), however it has a barren, moon-like landscape and an active volcano that erupts at the end of each episode. He uses his time machine, the ZX-9,  to transport characters to actual past events to prevent history from changing.

For example, in one of the episodes I watched, “Christopher Columbus,” the captain’s teenage “associate,” Jet (Bruce Haynes), is in the 15^th century aboard the Santa Maria, attempting to warn Columbus of an impending mutiny. Jet is actually the person who climbs into the crow’s nest to shout, “Land ho!” just as a mutineer is raising his sword. Well, he doesn’t climb. He’s in contact with Captain Z-ro, who somehow transports him there instantly. Luckily, they really have reached land.

Episode titles alone tell us that Captain Z-ro, Jet, and another “associate,” Tetro (Jack Cahill), have adventures with other historical characters such as Daniel Boone, Marco Polo, and Benedict Arnold. A handful of episodes take a different approach and deal with typical sci-fi adventures: “Roger the Robot”, “Meteor”, and the one I watched, “Adventure in Space.”

In “Adventure in Space,” the captain blasts his rocket into space to follow a strange flying saucer. Lest you think there’s no lessen for the kiddos, landing on the moon provides a great opportunity for learning, even while slowing the action. Tetro is suspicious of the saucer’s motives and much of the episode is spent with him and Captain Z-ro arguing how to proceed. Likewise, much of both episodes I watched is spent with characters spinning dials, flipping switches, and pushing buttons.

I’m not aware of any merchandising for Captain Z-ro, but look at this awesome t-shirt that’s currently available at Tee Public:

Next week: Rocky Jones, Space Ranger…