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| TV SPACE HEROES OF THE EARLY 1950s--- | ||||||||||||||||
| We still remember these pioneers of live TV broadcasting, who dared to do science fictional adventures in the age of the conquest of space, live on set, with (usually) live special effects, and the ability to keep on track no matter what catastrophies occurred in front of the audiences of millions... guest performers who forgot all their lines, stagehands who wandered by carrying stepladders in the void of interstellar space, airlock hatches that wouldn't open or close, space helmets that broke in two, or fell off onto the floor, "stone" walls that fell over backward when someone leaned against them, weapons that didn't fire, corpses that didn't stay dead, and rampaging monsters that didn't do any damage because the performer though it was the dress rehearsal rather than the live broadcast and was therefore careful not to break any props! In these days of multi-million-dollar (and soulless) special effects, implausible-looking computer-generated imagery, and... alas... very weak plots and acting, it's refreshing to revisit the days when intricate plots, mind-expanding concepts, sympathetic characters and fine acting were required to hold audience attention! |
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| Captain Video and his Video Rangers (in this case, just one, The Video Ranger himself). Click on the photograph for accurate information on this nearly-forgotten DuMont program. | TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET featured three cadets in 2350 AD, namely Roger Manning, Tom Corbett and Astro the Venusian. Their tough commanding officer was Captain Steve Strong. (Click the photo for accurate information on this program that ran on all four Golden-age networks, CBS, ABC, DuMont and NBC.) | |||||||||||||||
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| Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers was a lot like Tom Corbett of the Space Cadets, except he had a comical sidekick, Wilbur Wormser, and his commanding officer was Commander Swift, not Captain Strong. (Click here for a page on the rocket ships of the Solar Guard Space Academy, not the Rocket Rangers... sorry.) | ||||||||||||||||
| SPACE PATROL featured high adventure in the wild, vast reaches of space, with Buzz Corry, Commander in Chief of the Space Patrol, comical sidekick Lyn "Happy" Osborn, and lovely aide Carol Carlyle. (You can click on the photo for more information on this always-exciting live space adventure series.) | ||||||||||||||||
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| The Rocket Ranger space suits looked like low budget versions of the Solar Guard space suits from TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET. For more on this poorly remembered program, click on the photo. | ||||||||||||||||
| Rod Brown was actor Cliff Robertson's first starring role. No kinescope recordings of this live program are known to exist today. | ||||||||||||||||
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| "Golly, Commander, what about those early 1950s shows that were filmed rather than live? Smokin' Rockets, those space bums had it easy!" (Click here for an answer to Hap's question.) |
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| But it was Captain Video that came first, and was in many ways the best-loved. For more album pages on this unique (and virtually only) hit of the DuMont TV network, click here. | ||||||||||||||||