Captain 11

When the final episode of "Captain 11" was broadcast in late 1996, the show was one of the last of its kind. Locally-produced children's shows like "Captain 11" had once been common during the 1960's and 1970's. During the 1980's, cable television began to draw audiences away these shows; and, the local kids' shows began to disappear from the airwaves. "Captain 11" remained on the air long after most of the others were gone.

During its peak, "Captain 11" was broadcast live five times per week from the studios of KELO-TV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dave Dedrick wore the familiar blue Captain 11 uniform as he interviewed children in the studio and introduced cartoons. The show offered viewers the opportunity to enter contests to win prizes. For nearly forty-two years, "Captain 11" entertained generations of children from the upper Midwest and offered them the rare opportunity to be on television themselves.

Dave Dedrick frequently made public appearances as Captain 11 at local events in the small towns which surround Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This provided local children with opportunities to meet their TV hero in person. Dave Dedrick's Captain 11 was something of a cross between a superhero and Santa Claus.

Years after Dave Dedrick's death, both Dedrick and his alter ego, Captain 11, were still both easily recognized in South Dakota. The end of "Captain 11" represented the end of an era. Children's television will never be as friendly, as local, or as accessible ever again.