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When I was a small child, I went to a play with a character who gave me nightmares for months.

  • Presumably a children's play.
  • Performance was in the early 80s.
  • Performance was probably in the Toronto area.
  • The character what portrayed with indigo/dark blue skin.
  • The character's name was 'Zeeto' or something similar.
  • I don't believe the character or play were intended to be scary.
  • I believe Zeeto was the only alien in the play and probably interacted with human kids?
  • I think Zeeto was played by a man and his face was rendered with paint or a tight-fitting mask, not, for example with an oversized plushy costume and definitely not a puppet.
  • I have a vague impression the theatre was large (but keep in mind I was small) and I'm pretty sure I was seated in a balcony.

Can anyone identify the play?

Somehow I ended up back here and did a little more digging. At least the idea that it could be at the Young People's Theatre came into my mind as a likely destination for a school field trip. Here's a listing of all their shows. 1980-1 Invasion from the Polar Planet looked interesting but I can't find any more information on it, and it's probably too early. It may also be that The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia is of some use.

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    A green-skinned alien named Zeeto is a character in Korean elementary school curriculum. If you poke around ESL instructor pages, you'll see that many teachers are sick of him. :) The Scroungers Trilogy has an alien named Zeeto (or maybe Zeefo), but that's a novel.
    – FuzzyBoots
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 19:09
  • @SeanDuggan: Interesting, but probably not it.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 19:11
  • I keep flashing to Teller's character in Babylon 5, but that can't be it.
    – Politank-Z
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 19:22
  • As a service to future answerers, this was not one of the public service plays / skits involving the blue aliens Binkley and Doinkel that used to happen in the Toronto area in that time period.
    – Praxis
    Commented Sep 19, 2015 at 5:24
  • @Praxis. You should put the answer back. Although incorrect, I was going to give you an upvote just because I was impressed!
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Sep 19, 2015 at 5:41

2 Answers 2

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+100

Binkley and Doinkel

Binkley and Doinkel were blue aliens who used to spread public service messages in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Canadian cities, including the Greater Toronto Area. They appeared in advertisements and, on occasion, in person in safety "skits".

enter image description here

I'm not sure about "Zeeto", but it could have been the name of one of the many anti-safety "villains" they were pitted against.

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  • Sorry man, but no dice. The Praxman can be stumped! No dog. And just the one alien. I'm certain his name wasn't Blinkey or Doinkel.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Sep 19, 2015 at 4:53
  • 2
    Totally incorrect, but take an upvote because I'm impressed.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Sep 19, 2015 at 14:00
  • I'm giving you this +100 bounty only because the rep will vanish otherwise.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Feb 18, 2016 at 16:04
  • @ThePopMachine : Thanks. I'll do right by it, by continuing to work on this... :-)
    – Praxis
    Commented Feb 18, 2016 at 16:19
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Live taping / performance of Read All About It!

Read All About It! was a children's television series produced by TVO (Television Ontario) and filmed in Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area. It aired from 1979-1983. The principal antagonist was an alien named Doneedon, played by a man whose face was painted a blueish-silver. TVO described the show as a "dynamic serial with a science fiction format..."

From IMDb:

When three kids explore a coach house held by a missing uncle, they discover far more than they bargained for when two robots, Otto and Theta, appear to tell them about a conspiracy against the town. By accident, they also discover a teleport machine that can take them to the planet Trialveron controlled by the alien tyrant, Duneedon. Against this threat, the kids decide to use the coach-house as the base for a community newspaper both to keep the building and to investigate the conspiracy. Along the way, they learn about writing and its various practical uses as they fight the alien forces that oppose them.

Although intended for children, many viewers found the show to be quite frightening at the time.

At the height of its popularity around 1982 and 1983, there were live tapings of the show and one or two special live performances in the Toronto area. It also spawned a few novels.

enter image description here

enter image description here

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    I totally remember this show. I can remember its theme song. There was an episode where the bad guy messing with the robotic typewriter (see the picture) and the kids get back to the base and it (he?) types something like Teh badw guy wis here! which they interpret as Badguy was here, but then they realize it meant is here dun-dun-DUN.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Feb 19, 2016 at 15:39
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    But, by the way, it's wrong. Sorry :( Still, have an upvote for effort.
    – ThePopMachine
    Commented Feb 19, 2016 at 15:39

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