Sunday, March 19, 2017

Wondering About Tobor the Robot.

I was remembering some TV shows that I watched when I was a kid growing up.  One of my very favorite was Captain Video.  OK, I am giving my age away again because Captain Video was on the air from June of 1949 through April 1955.  It was estimated that there were 1537 episodes of that show.  It aired Monday through Saturday and I bet I saw almost all of those shows except maybe some of the very first ones.  I am trying to remember when we got our first TV.  There was only a couple of TV stations available, so we didn't have all that many choices north of Pittsburgh.  So, of course the first TV broadcast came from that city.  The channel we watched was WDTY.  What?  You never heard of that channel?  Well, it later became KDKA.

 Now, back to the main subject.  On the show, Captain Video, one of the evil characters was a robot that was put together backwards.  So, instead of being a great help to humans (which it was supposed to be), it became humankind's nemesis.  Even the name stamped on it was backwards.  It was supposed to say ROBOT, but when stamped backwards it read TOBOR, and that is where it got its name, Tobor the Robot.  Here are some pictures:



Dave Ballard played Tobor in the Captain Video series.  Tobor was quite tall so it would take a tall man to play that part.  Dave Ballard was 7'- 6" tall, so he was perfect for the part.  As you can see from a couple of the pictures above that have people with the robot, that it was quite tall.  That made it even scarier.  Now, don't get chased by any bad robots but have a great day, you hear?   

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9 comments:

  1. GypsyMarch 19, 2017 at 8:56 PM

    I watched some of Cpt. Video. The only thing I can remember was when he declared they are going into "space beyond space". That brought hoots of derision from my dad who asked how is there space beyond space. I didn't have a clue, but never took anything about the show very seriously anyway. Now Sky King and a couple of other shows were favorites of mine, and were a believeable. To this day I think I'd rather listen to the radio versions because I made up the scenarios in my own mind, and was so disappointed to see the TV versions.

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 20, 2017 at 7:38 AM

      Oh yes, I watched Sky King and Penny, too. My wife listens to all those old radio shows on her Sirius Radio at night.

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  2. Barney, The Old Fat ManMarch 19, 2017 at 9:57 PM

    The Shadow on radio was my favorite.

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  3. linda mMarch 20, 2017 at 7:07 AM

    I don't remember that show. Looks like a show I would have loved watching tho. Happy First Day of Spring!!

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 20, 2017 at 7:48 AM

      Maybe you were not born yet or too young for sci-fi. That is an old show that started in 1949. No, I am not ready for the first day of Spring. It is already getting hot here and my AC isn't working.

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  4. our awesome travelsMarch 20, 2017 at 7:22 AM

    We never got a TV until 1954, don't remember watching this show.

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    1. Dizzy-DickMarch 20, 2017 at 7:58 AM

      We are now living in a time when all those old sci-fi shows are coming true. . . well, almost.

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