Captain Satellite facts for kids

Captain Satellite was a super cool TV show for kids in Oakland, California. It aired on KTVU-2 in the afternoons. The show was all about space and science fiction. This was a time when everyone was excited about space travel! The main star was Captain Satellite, played by a local TV star named Bob March.

Blast Off with Captain Satellite!

Meet Captain Satellite and His Ship

Captain Satellite wore a special uniform. He had a helmet and a dark suit. Over that, he had a bright, triangular vest. It even had a cool thunderbolt design! His spaceship was called the Starfinder II. It looked like a rocket ship cut open so you could see inside. Each day, the Starfinder II would "blast off" for a new adventure.

Kids from the audience got to be co-pilots with Captain Satellite. While the ship was on "auto-pilot" orbiting space, the kids played fun games. They could win prizes from the "Space Locker." The show also had live commercials. Between segments, they showed old cartoons from the 1930s, like Scrappy. Sometimes, special guests would visit the Starfinder II. Even The Three Stooges came to the show once!

New Adventures with Laser-II

The show ran for ten years, which is a long time for a TV show! The very last episode was on April 25, 1969. Around 1966, Captain Satellite announced a big change. The Starfinder II was going to be retired. The show would get a brand new spaceship! This new ship looked like a "flying saucer."

The show held a contest to name the new spaceship. They picked the name "Laser-II." This was different from the "Jupiter-II" from the TV show Lost in Space. The "Space Locker" also got an upgrade. Instead of keys, it used computer punch cards! Kids would insert five cards. Three cards would say "need more data," giving them more tries. The winning card would open the locker. A losing card would say "does not compute!" This was a funny line from the robot in Lost In Space.

Bob March: Beyond Captain Satellite

After the show ended, Captain Satellite was still very popular. Bob March kept making special appearances. He would visit different events around the San Francisco Bay Area. You could see him at movie premieres for sci-fi films. He also visited amusement parks.

Bob March also acted in some Hollywood movies. He had small roles in famous films. In 1968, he played a reporter in the movie Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen. He was also a councilman in the second Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force. That film starred Clint Eastwood.

Bob March retired from his work in 1995. He lived in Auburn, California. He passed away on August 6, 2020, at the age of 93.