{{refimprove, date=April 2014
''Rocketship 7'' was a
children's television series
Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
that aired weekday mornings on
WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and ...
in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
from 1962 to 1978 and from 1992 to 1993.
The host of the show was
Dave Thomas Dave may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* Dave (film), ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
* Dave (musical), ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film
* Dave (TV channel), a digital ...
, who had joined WKBW in 1961. Promo the Robot was the show's other main on-air character. ''Rocketship 7'' featured segments with Thomas and Promo along with cartoons and other short programs such as
Davey and Goliath
''Davey and Goliath'' is a Christian clay-animated children's television series, whose central characters were created by Art Clokey, Ruth Clokey, and Dick Sutcliffe, and which was produced first by the United Lutheran Church in America and la ...
, and
Gumby
''Gumby'' is an American clay animation franchise, centered on the titular green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey. Gumby stars in two television series, the feature-length '' Gumby: The Movie'', and other media. He im ...
. Thomas left the station in 1978 to join
WPVI
WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station ...
in Philadelphia, where he assumed the name "Dave Roberts" (He remained at WPVI until his retirement in 2009). When Roberts left, WKBW canceled ''Rocketship 7''.
When ''The
Commander Tom Show
The ''Commander Tom Show'' was a children's television series that aired weekday afternoons on Channel 7 WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, premiering on December 20, 1965.
The host of the show was Tom Jolls, who had joined WKBW as a weatherman earlie ...
'' was cancelled in 1991, WKBW decided to continue the "Commander Tom" character of
Tom Jolls
Tom Jolls (born August 16, 1933) is a retired television personality best known for his 34-year tenure at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York. At WKBW, Jolls hosted "The Weather Outside" segments during ''Eyewitness News'', performed many of the station' ...
by reviving ''Rocketship 7'' as a weekly Saturday morning series. Airing at 7 AM, Captain Mike Randall assumed hosting duties for this version of the show with his sidekick, Yeoman Bob (Stilson), with Commander Tom Jolls, Promo the Robot, and Captain Comic (Tim Warchocki) making guest appearances.
Bob would always open the show with "Yo!" Cartoons aired included '' Super Chicken'' and ''
George of the Jungle
''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''. The character George was inspired by the story of Tarzan and a cartoon char ...
''. Recurring feature on the 1992 series included "Crummy Cartoon Theater 2000," a parody of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
'' where Randall and Stilson would riff on public domain cartoon shorts, and "Are You Kidding?", where children would tell riddles and jokes). To keep with the "Rocketship" theme, the station used the term "Planet Earth" as part of the station's mailing address for feedback and contests.
''Rocketship 7'' was cancelled for good in 1993, as
infomercial
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
s, public affairs, and educational/informational programming began to dominate the Saturday morning lineup. It was effectively replaced in WKBW's lineup by the late-night hosted movie series ''
Off Beat Cinema
''Off Beat Cinema'' is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout the United States in late-night time slots. It originated from WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York from its launch on Sunday October 31, 1993 until July 2 ...
''.
Former WKBW-TV Graphic Designer and 3D animator Tim Warchocki (who played Captain Comic) is responsible for Promo the Robot's updated fluorescent green and yellow paint job. Prior to the 1992 version of ''Rocketship 7'' Tim was asked to update the robot's look to fit
color television
Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...
and modern design. The original body, designed when the show was still in black and white, was gray and (on color episodes) red.
''Rocketship 7'' is mentioned in " The X in the File", an episode of the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
television series ''
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
''. In the episode, Agent Booth is excited to see a photo from the show, and claims he watched it regularly as a child. Booth is played by
David Boreanaz
David Paul Boreanaz ( born May 16, 1969) is an American actor, television producer, and director known for playing the roles of vampire-turned-private investigator Angel on The WB/UPN ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' supernatural drama (1997–2003 ...