The gentleman know as Captain Video is the TV descendant of Superman, Flash Gordon, et al., and in a matter of a few months has already taken the measure of Howdy Doody and Kukla, Fran and Ollie in at least one set of ratings. The program's success suggests that children will continue to go on picking their own favorites, blithely ignoring what their parents would like them to like. No wonder poor old Kukla and Ollie are threatening to take a vacation this winter.

Captain Video is a triumph of carpentry and wiring rather than of writing. The hero, who would be Captain V., is the boss of the group of clean-shaven and energetic inforcers of the law who have to cope alterantely with the machinations of one Hing Foo Sung, billed, of course, as "a wily Oriental," or an even more menacing individual, Dr. Pauli, the "sinister electronic wizard." From week to week it goes on, always much the same.

It is in the use of setting, props and special effects that CAPTAIN VIDEO derives its appeal, and each testifies to the imagination of M. C. Brock, the program's creator. The action takes place primarily in the headquarters of the Video Rangers--- a room equipped with flashing bulbs, microphones, panels, dials, telephones, etc. By comparison, the central office of A T & T is just for beginners.

Captain Video and the Video Rangers scorn such old-fashioned stuff as radar or handcuffs. In emergencies, they use the "opticon scillometer," which can look through cement and steel, or the cosmic vibrator, which gives the villain a case of the violent jitters, and makes him easily apprehended. But the menaces on the DuMont Network have their weapons, too. Dr. Pauli can set up a "barrier of silence," where everything--- even a televison set--- is completely without sound. In a pinch, too, he can wrap himself in "a cloak of invisibility."

The acting? Well, Don Hastings plays the Video Ranger, Bram Nossem is Doctor Pauli, and Henry Norrel is Hing Foo Sung. The title role is portrayed by Richard Coogan, who is easily the most adaptable member in Actors Equity. When he is finished with CAPTAIN VIDEO, he goes over to "Diamond Lil" on Broadway and plays opposite Mae West!

Mr. Brock is not, however, a program creator who puts all his plots in one sequence. Just to be on the safe side, Captain Video has a number of agents "in the field," who, by happy coincidence, get involved in situations requiring that they ride horses and shoot guns. By further coincidence, these agents happen to appear on film. Who would have thought that the electronic era would go thataway?

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