"Captain Z-Ro" (1955) TV series

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Director:

David Butler

Writer:

Roy Steffens (writer)

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot Keywords:

Syndicated | Laboratory | Live Broadcast | Rocket Ship | Time Travel

Cast

Joe Miksak	...	Daniel Boone as a Man / ... (3 episodes, 1955-1956)
Richard Glyer	...	Finley (2 episodes, 1955-1956)
Jack Sullivan	...	Soldier / ... (2 episodes, 1956)
Sydney Walker	...	Guthram / ... (2 episodes, 1956)

(more)

Series Directed by
David Butler		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Roy Steffens		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Henry Brown	....	associate producer (unknown episodes)
Kathleen K. Rawlings	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Joseph P. Dieves		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Lew Smith		(unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Florence Dieves	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Leslie Green	....	set designer (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Captain Z-RO Productions
• W.A. Palmer Films Inc.

Distributors

• Atlas Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Satellite Media Productions (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Shout! Factory (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

USA:15 min (1951 and 1953) | USA:30 min (1954-1955)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Captain Z-RO Productions

Trivia:

In 1954, the series was picked up for syndication. Episodes were shot on videotape and to shot to fit in a 30 minute time slot. There were 26 half-hour episodes.

Quotes:

[first lines of each episode]
Announcer: 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 begins]
Announcer: Contact has been established. We now transmit you direct to the laboratory of Captain Z-Ro. Please stand by.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Science Fiction: A Journey Into the Unknown (1994) (TV)

A prelude to Doctor Who

This show was made in 1955, 7 years before Doctor Who made his debut on British TV. This show is clearly a forerunner of that one. It's meant to be educational, Z-RO goes back and forth in time in his time machine, and viewers learn about history.

It was quite enjoyable, and very good for its day. Yes, it was made for kids, but we're not talking about teletubbies or other crap here, we're talking about quality programming, with a hero kids could look up to.

These shows are now available on DVD, as the star is still alive, and had the originals on 16mm film. Why he waited until last year to release them................ that's a mystery!