isitback

Is Captain Z-Ro coming back?

Captain Z-Ro (1955–1956) — action · adventure · science-fiction on Syndication

The answer: Concluded June 10, 1956.
Captain Z-Ro poster
Genre
Action · Adventure · Science-Fiction
Network / streamer
Syndication
Premiered
December 18, 1955
Ended
June 10, 1956
Runtime
~25 min per episode
3seasons
29episodes

About Captain Z-Ro

Captain Z-Ro pronounced "Zero", is an American children's television show that ran locally onKRON 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.

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 Genghis Khan, 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".

Captain Z-Ro episode schedule

29 aired

Aired · 29

DateEp.Title
June 10, 1956 S3·E26 King Alfred
June 3, 1956 S3·E25 Adventure in Space
May 27, 1956 S3·E24 William the Conqueror
May 20, 1956 S3·E23 Leonardo da Vinci
May 13, 1956 S3·E22 The Great Pyramid
May 6, 1956 S3·E21 Genghis Khan
April 29, 1956 S3·E20 Aztec Papers
April 22, 1956 S3·E19 Captain Hook and the Hawaiian Islands
April 15, 1956 S3·E18 Meteor
April 8, 1956 S3·E17 Discovery of Gold
April 1, 1956 S3·E16 Molly Pitcher
March 25, 1956 S3·E15 Hernando Cortez
March 18, 1956 S3·E14 The Rosetta Stone
March 11, 1956 S3·E13 Washington and Howe
March 4, 1956 S3·E12 Robin Hood
February 26, 1956 S3·E11 Attila the Hun
February 19, 1956 S3·E10 Blackbeard the Pirate
February 12, 1956 S3·E9 Roger the Robot
February 5, 1956 S3·E8 William Tell
February 5, 1956 S2·E6 William Tell
February 5, 1956 S1·E8 William Tell
January 29, 1956 S3·E7 Pony Express
January 22, 1956 S3·E6 Magellan
January 15, 1956 S3·E5 King John
January 8, 1956 S3·E4 Benedict Arnold
January 1, 1956 S3·E3 Marco Polo
December 25, 1955 S1·E2 Daniel Boone
December 18, 1955 S3·E1 Christopher Columbus
December 18, 1955 S1·E1 Christopher Columbus

Captain Z-Ro cast