More fond Bob Wilkins' memories from ages past. Wilkins' kept his understated persona behind this getup, but his unmistakable voice and mannerisms gave away his secret identity as he presented many scifi shows, mostly from Japan, although I think the animated Star Trek series may have had a run.
You know, I still have my Captain Cosmic Godzilla Fan Club membership card somewhere in the junk drawer archive locked away in storage. And it's no wonder, as per the other reviewer Wilkins showed "Spectreman", "Space Giants", "Johnny Soko and his Giant Robot", and of course, "Ultraman" with Hayata as the star who could change into the giant superhero with his beta capsule. It was a great time to be alive.
To be fair I had actually seen Ultraman and Johnny Soko in Sacramento before moving to the Bay Area, and Johnny Soko actually skews to a much younger demographic than your almost-pre-teen ten- year old. But showing boys and girls how science and technology can fight monsters, and having it presented to American audiences by the likes of Wilkins as Captain Cosmic, was a real treat.
I remember Wilkins interviewed Anthony Daniels (C3PO of Star Wars' fame) in both Berkeley and San Francisco, and had him on the Captain Cosmic show. And I remember seeing extended footage of the asteroid chase sequence from the Empire Strikes Back. Footage that has not seen the light of day since (if I understand correctly, Lucas may have been a Creature Features fan). That's the kind of show it was.
It was campy, it was low key, it was meant for children or the young at heart, and of course, who could forget his green slow servo moving pal, 2T2, who took several seconds just to take one step and is now forever restored and preserved at that comic book store in Santa Cruz that Bob used to mention every so often on his show (I went one time, and rain was coming through the roof, but Captain Cosmic gave the place his personal stamp of approval).
I guess the reason I'm writing this commentary is because Wilkins and the rest of the gang who helped produce the show were aware that the show was self aware of itself, and that kids (even the dumb ones) knew who he was, but that was part of the gag, reinforced by the cheap SFX used in the intro. That was part of its charm.
I didn't always watch it. There were some non-action shows that Wilkins' aired, and I think "Space Giants" got pre-empted every now and then after cable came to the peninsula because some station in Atlanta Georgia that had a national reach via cable was airing it at the same time. But Hyata, Johnny Soko, Goldar, Silvar and Gam, Rodak and all the rest made for some really good boyhood memories.
If you get a chance, scope it out on one of the online video sites and relive some memories, if only briefly.
Good memories. Thanks Bob.
You know, I still have my Captain Cosmic Godzilla Fan Club membership card somewhere in the junk drawer archive locked away in storage. And it's no wonder, as per the other reviewer Wilkins showed "Spectreman", "Space Giants", "Johnny Soko and his Giant Robot", and of course, "Ultraman" with Hayata as the star who could change into the giant superhero with his beta capsule. It was a great time to be alive.
To be fair I had actually seen Ultraman and Johnny Soko in Sacramento before moving to the Bay Area, and Johnny Soko actually skews to a much younger demographic than your almost-pre-teen ten- year old. But showing boys and girls how science and technology can fight monsters, and having it presented to American audiences by the likes of Wilkins as Captain Cosmic, was a real treat.
I remember Wilkins interviewed Anthony Daniels (C3PO of Star Wars' fame) in both Berkeley and San Francisco, and had him on the Captain Cosmic show. And I remember seeing extended footage of the asteroid chase sequence from the Empire Strikes Back. Footage that has not seen the light of day since (if I understand correctly, Lucas may have been a Creature Features fan). That's the kind of show it was.
It was campy, it was low key, it was meant for children or the young at heart, and of course, who could forget his green slow servo moving pal, 2T2, who took several seconds just to take one step and is now forever restored and preserved at that comic book store in Santa Cruz that Bob used to mention every so often on his show (I went one time, and rain was coming through the roof, but Captain Cosmic gave the place his personal stamp of approval).
I guess the reason I'm writing this commentary is because Wilkins and the rest of the gang who helped produce the show were aware that the show was self aware of itself, and that kids (even the dumb ones) knew who he was, but that was part of the gag, reinforced by the cheap SFX used in the intro. That was part of its charm.
I didn't always watch it. There were some non-action shows that Wilkins' aired, and I think "Space Giants" got pre-empted every now and then after cable came to the peninsula because some station in Atlanta Georgia that had a national reach via cable was airing it at the same time. But Hyata, Johnny Soko, Goldar, Silvar and Gam, Rodak and all the rest made for some really good boyhood memories.
If you get a chance, scope it out on one of the online video sites and relive some memories, if only briefly.
Good memories. Thanks Bob.
