Zokko!

[Steven Smith]

This I believe is a Children's TV Series from around 1970, of which I have hazy memories. Anyone else remember watching it? It was based around a pinball machine, and features were shown dependent upon the Bonus that was scored (I think). Can't remember what the inset features were though. Do any editions of these still survive? I assume they've never seen the light of day since then anyway...

[Jeff Vagg]

Score 4 - Felix (Felix the cat - pre-war cartoon).
There was also a space cartoon (stills, not animated)
I can't remeber much else apart from the fact that it went out on Saturday mornings.

[Steven Smith]

Impressive Jeff!! What a memory!! I seem to recall that the pinball animation was good (for its time), but my mind may be playing tricks on me. It spoke with a strange electronic voice too, didn't it?

[Jeff Vagg]

:)Yes, a bit like Metal Mickey but deeper

[William]

I think there may be a thread about zokko somewhere on the message board in some of the early pages probably

[Laurence Piper]

Yes, I watched this. 1968 - 70, two series. Only two from the end of the run survive unfortunately - by which time the pinball machine concept had been jettisoned and only odd fragments of the original format remained.

The pinball macine used to be a linking device to weld together lots of different features; magicians, old film clips, animations etc. The pinball would strike a hit and each score would represent a different feature in the show. The music would start up and Zokko's electronic voice would intone "Zokko! Score 12" (or whatever). Sadly (for those not familiar with the show already), this clear format is not apparent in the surviving editions...

[Zokko score 5 reply]

they made a film a few years back - 'The Mark of Zokko'.

[Lester]

I remember it well...had a voice like the the little metal men on the old " Smash" advert....i was young then....

[Steven Smith]

Thanks for that guys. Nice that others remember it. Sadly another programme consigned to oblivion that only lives in the memory...

[Ian Abrahams]

What about the Saturday morning show that pre-dated Zokko! and I think was called "Outer Space". As I recall, it featured "the music of the spheres" and a serial about a new ice age? Guess this is long gone in its entirety as well?

[Gary]

Outa Space was a successor to Zokko! It was screened in 1973. Some or all still survive.

[John Miller]

According to Adam Lee of BBC archive the pinball concept was retained throughout all of 'ZOKKO'. The form was adapted into a new design for 'ED & ZED' the follow up featuring Ed Stewart in 1971 someone told me. The episodes that exist are not quite from the end of the run as one is circa Jan 1970, half way through the second series & April 1970, near the end. The first series started around the time of 'Dr Who - Invasion' in 1968. This would have been monochrome with presumably the second being made & transmitted in colour.

[Laurence Piper]

That's right, John. The first series was in monochrome with (presumably) the second in colour, coming in after the official start of the BBC-1 service, although i've only seen b/w copies of those two surviving shows (one t/r, one VT).

The pinball machine concept had definitely changed by the surviving editions of series 2 though; all that's left are the machine itself as a backdrop (the look of which has changed somewhat anyway) and the title itself, although it's not really clear to newcomers who / what Zokko really is any more!

Ed And Zed really is a different show completely with not really much of a Zokko link (more like Serendipity). Outa Space was really the show which took on the Zokko-syle format again.

[Andy Hurwitz]

www.panatropic.net/Yak/yak1/yak1.html

[C Jordan]

I have very vague memories of Outa Space - at the time it was one of my favourite programmes and was devestated when I had to go into hospital to find that on Staturday mornings the TV set was rigidly glued to ITV.

I seem to remember a regular feature each week was a kind of predecessor to Walking With Dinosaurs - each week a different dinosaur fould be featured in its native habitat.

I also remember the 'letter of the week' being delivered via a very Heath Robinson type machine.

Wonder if it all still exists. I'm sure that at least a few editions still survive.