Like several of us whom have commented, I was about seven years old when this show aired and it made a large and lasting impression on me. I actually negotiated a special Wednesday night bedtime in order to be able to see it. I wanted the Col. McCaulley helmet, but alas, we were of modest means in my household. When the Mercury and Gemini projects were underway, I felt that we were right on track and my friends and I would be pursuing our careers in space. I even majored in aero & astronautical engineering - just when the whole thing succumbed to post-Apollo apathy and Watergate nonsense. Imagine my disappointment. As time went on, I found fewer contemporaries that even remembered 1950's space movie and TV sci-fi, so I largely forgot about it. Then about 4 years ago I came across a source of the entire series of episodes on videotape (for $160). Unbelievable! Some of the episodes are exactly as I remembered them. And unlike a lot of childhood memories, the show turns out to be actually pretty good: It is more technically accurate than anything shown on TV since. You can spot actors like Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Robert Reed (pre-Brady Bunch) and Angie Dickenson (as McCaully's wife in the pilot episode). One of the episodes was written by James Clavell (well before Shogun). For a while in the mid-1960's there was discussion of a sort-of sequel to be called "Beyond the Moon" that would feature 1970's missions envisioned by NASA with technical accuracy. TV Guide carried an article on it. But it never materialized and instead we got mindless stuff like "I Dream of Genie." Anyone interested in this should also look for "Riders to the Stars," "The Conquest of Space," and the recent "October Sky," all of which capture the time of Sputnik and big dreams. This is the way space (and sci-fi) should have been in our lifetime! I invite anyone interested in discussing this further to contact me.
21 Reviews
Music was interesting
tgemberl24 April 2017
I agree with what other reviewers have said about how realistic the show was. I just recently starting watching it occasionally on Comet TV (I believe it's only on very late at night, and maybe only Sunday nights). I was struck by how it attempts to give a realistic, non-magical view of space. Magical views of space are okay, but I think it helps to have some more realistic views.
I did not realize I'd ever seen the show before until I heard the music in one episode. I was born in 1952, and I remembered the show Sea Hunt. There's music in that episode that I had assumed for years came from Sea Hunt, which I saw much more frequently. Sea Hunt lasted longer. I do think Sea Hunt's music was somewhat similar to the music in this program. I suppose it's possible that same piece of music was used in Sea Hunt at some point, but my guess is that I heard it on Men into Space and just didn't remember the series well.
The music is a kind of meditative piece that is meant to play when there is no dialogue or other sound. I've now heard it in two episodes. The music was composed by David Rose. I just checked the page for Sea Hunt and could find no evidence Rose worked on that.
I did not realize I'd ever seen the show before until I heard the music in one episode. I was born in 1952, and I remembered the show Sea Hunt. There's music in that episode that I had assumed for years came from Sea Hunt, which I saw much more frequently. Sea Hunt lasted longer. I do think Sea Hunt's music was somewhat similar to the music in this program. I suppose it's possible that same piece of music was used in Sea Hunt at some point, but my guess is that I heard it on Men into Space and just didn't remember the series well.
The music is a kind of meditative piece that is meant to play when there is no dialogue or other sound. I've now heard it in two episodes. The music was composed by David Rose. I just checked the page for Sea Hunt and could find no evidence Rose worked on that.
The Ancient One speaks!
gmr-48 September 2000
I was fourteen when MEN INTO SPACE aired, and missed very few episodes. In those days I had the pathetic notion that I would be involved with space engineering or sciences, a star that was already setting as I augered in at school. MEN INTO SPACE, however, kept the vicarious juices going, and it fuelled my passion for the embryonic space programme. In a way it was so good for television of the late '50s, one could almost consider an instrument of propaganda.
I recall that it a good show, which as per others, did try to be realistic. There was an episode of a runaway thruster on the space station -- a proper Ley wheel, not the contemporary lash-up of ash cans. Another episode treated the ejection of nuclear waste into orbit or the Sun. As some of my juniors have commented, the situations and projects depicted in that humble half-hour show are yet to-day only contemplated, so perhaps MEN INTO SPACE was more science fiction than future faits accompli that my young hopes embraced.
It was too early, and certainly too "technical" for television then and possibly now. Whereas TWILIGHT ZONE and ONE STEP BEYOND (both of 1959 et seq.) could count on pure fancifulness to secure loyal audiences, MEN INTO SPACE was "hard" S.F. There were just not that many people out there then to sustain a series, and it went the way of its distant cousin THE MAN AND THE CHALLENGE, also from 1959. Having no cable, and not attending science fiction conventions, I have not seen MEN INTO SPACE since the summer re-runs of 1960, which is . . . FORTY years! I am glad, however, it made an important impression on so many young kids, and their comments are actually moving.
I recall that it a good show, which as per others, did try to be realistic. There was an episode of a runaway thruster on the space station -- a proper Ley wheel, not the contemporary lash-up of ash cans. Another episode treated the ejection of nuclear waste into orbit or the Sun. As some of my juniors have commented, the situations and projects depicted in that humble half-hour show are yet to-day only contemplated, so perhaps MEN INTO SPACE was more science fiction than future faits accompli that my young hopes embraced.
It was too early, and certainly too "technical" for television then and possibly now. Whereas TWILIGHT ZONE and ONE STEP BEYOND (both of 1959 et seq.) could count on pure fancifulness to secure loyal audiences, MEN INTO SPACE was "hard" S.F. There were just not that many people out there then to sustain a series, and it went the way of its distant cousin THE MAN AND THE CHALLENGE, also from 1959. Having no cable, and not attending science fiction conventions, I have not seen MEN INTO SPACE since the summer re-runs of 1960, which is . . . FORTY years! I am glad, however, it made an important impression on so many young kids, and their comments are actually moving.
Awesome late 50's Si-Fi
bbanks-614 July 2006
I was only 9 years old when the first episode of men into space came out. I was hooked from then on on all science fiction. Especially those that showed space walks and landing on other planets. The special effects were pretty good for the time period and were very believable. I just throughly enjoyed the program. The whole concept of landing on the moon and space walking was a few years premature and really just what seemed like an impossible dream. However it came to fruition only 10 years later. I think as a kid that grew up in this time period, there were many fantasies that us kids would share with our friends. We had very little TV, but the movies were only a quarter and I loved many of the movies like: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Red Planet, War of the worlds, and many of the Japanese made space movies like the Misterians. Of-course you cannot leave out the Twilight Zone and Outerlimits. What great fun!
A mix of crystal ball, bad science, and soap
guyzradio16 June 2018
In the 1950's, space sci-fi (movies, Rocky Jones, Captain Video, etc.) were a must see for me. When Men into Space hit television, I was glued to the screen. Ratchet forward 60 odd years, and episodes don't have quite the dazzle they did in 1959.
Each episode seems to have the same mix of the following:
So do I like it after decades? Definitely. Part of the appeal is purely nostalgic, and the other part is looking for examples of the above and how they were woven together in a half hour show in 1959. The show tells us a lot about ourselves two years before Alan Shepard's first US manned space flight, and a mere 10 years before the moon landing. "2001: A Space Odyssey" with its attention to scientific detail is just nine years off. As a kid, I would have given Men Into Space 11 stars, Today, not so many.
Each episode seems to have the same mix of the following:
- Relatively mature themes with a hint of soap opera that stressed science, over fiction. These would have appealed to adults as well as kids back then.
- An moment of clairvoyance, in which they explore, or at least mention a concern of science or space flight that won't become relevant for at least 50 years, women astronauts being an example. One episode has striking similarities to the Apollo 13 mission.
- Silly science, including floating stars whizzing by, "tanker" rockets for refueling in space, and walking the moon in space suits about as thick as pajamas. The various rockets appear to be about as big externally a mini van, but a Greyhound bus on the inside. In one story, we see meteors pummeling the surface of the moon, and we hear the thud of each impact.
- A formulaic, fairy-tale ending where the astronauts face some life-threatening ordeal Through clever MacGyver improvisation and a stroke of ever-present luck, everyone lives happily ever-after.
- Actors we'll see in the coming years becoming stars of note to varying degrees. In Episode 1, McCauley's wife is played by Angie Dickenson.
So do I like it after decades? Definitely. Part of the appeal is purely nostalgic, and the other part is looking for examples of the above and how they were woven together in a half hour show in 1959. The show tells us a lot about ourselves two years before Alan Shepard's first US manned space flight, and a mere 10 years before the moon landing. "2001: A Space Odyssey" with its attention to scientific detail is just nine years off. As a kid, I would have given Men Into Space 11 stars, Today, not so many.
Fans need help
sameosameo-2722523 January 2022
How does one watch a show? It is very discouraging to have all these wonderfully described, vintage shows appear on the app, only to leave one hanging on the procedure to actually watch one. Beguiling at best. I rate Imbd one star and that is only because they have a list of great vintage shows. Try adding a "watch now" button.
Willy Ley-Influenced Space Series...
cariart24 December 2003
"Men Into Space" was one of two 1959 TV series created to 'cash in' on the burgeoning NASA space program, as the first astronauts were being selected, and this CBS production benefited from the participation of two space 'legends' in the production team; for technical advice, Willy Ley, America's best-known space 'expert', provided uncredited assistance, and Chesley Bonestell, the 'father' of space illustration, was listed as 'creator', and provided the remarkably accurate 'look' of the series. As the pair had also worked on George Pal's production of Robert Heinlein's DESTINATION MOON (1950), the series had a very similar 'feel', with aerodynamic multi-stage rockets with fins, a classic 'wheel-within-wheel' space station, correctly envisioned 'pressure-suit' inspired spacesuits, and a 'moon' that was composed of jagged peaks and sharply defined craters (a conception that would carry over to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and would only be modified when astronauts discovered the clinging dust that actually covers the lunar surface, and 'softens' the appearance).
With Ivan Tors as an executive producer, the stories were 'kid-friendly', with plots focusing on fundamental space issues (weightlessness, oxygen, navigation in space), although, with the Cold War raging, sabotage and politics were also touched on, if only lightly. Veteran actor William Lundigan starred, as 'no nonsense' commander Col. Edward McCauley, and while he seemed a bit old for hopping around space, he was an adequate 'father-figure' for the young cast assembled.
CBS expected the show to become a hit with kids, and marketed a variety of merchandise (including a 'lunch box' that I was a proud owner of!), but the special effects turned out to be cost-prohibitive, and the series was canceled after a single season, and never syndicated.
Considering the fanciful 'space opera' series ("Lost in Space", "Star Trek") that would dominate the airwaves within a few years, "Men Into Space", with it's realistic approach to space flight, was far ahead of it's time.
With Ivan Tors as an executive producer, the stories were 'kid-friendly', with plots focusing on fundamental space issues (weightlessness, oxygen, navigation in space), although, with the Cold War raging, sabotage and politics were also touched on, if only lightly. Veteran actor William Lundigan starred, as 'no nonsense' commander Col. Edward McCauley, and while he seemed a bit old for hopping around space, he was an adequate 'father-figure' for the young cast assembled.
CBS expected the show to become a hit with kids, and marketed a variety of merchandise (including a 'lunch box' that I was a proud owner of!), but the special effects turned out to be cost-prohibitive, and the series was canceled after a single season, and never syndicated.
Considering the fanciful 'space opera' series ("Lost in Space", "Star Trek") that would dominate the airwaves within a few years, "Men Into Space", with it's realistic approach to space flight, was far ahead of it's time.
Show was already obsolete by the time it went off the air.
dimplet25 November 2011
Realistic? Give me a break!
Yeah, it was "realistic" by the standards of the illustrated children's books about space travel from the 1950s. And they came up with some pretty fancy sets. But didn't anyone talk to NASA? This was probably the shortest lived science fiction on record, given that manned space flight was just two years away.
I don't recall seeing this the first time around; I was a bit young, but I don't recall even seeing it when flipping the dial. Was it syndicated? Judging from the comments, it wasn't on during prime time. And I didn't see it in reruns, because by the time the series ended, the real astronauts were going into space, and it looked nothing like this fantasy show.
Yeah, let's take a spacewalk, and while the hatch is open, the other astronaut will stick his head out, while not wearing any space suit. It sounds like this was supposed to be the very first manned space flight, too. The booster is stuck; good thing they brought along a welding outfit. This is so funny. What else you got in the trunk? A jack and spare tire?
Most writers in Hollywood seem to feel they can make everything up, whether fiction, non fiction or science fiction. Either these writers were afraid the facts would get in the way of their imagination, or they weren't getting paid enough to do some research.
Watching this, it was as though a TV program had dropped through a wormhole from an alternate universe. In that alternate universe, astronauts take the elevator up to the capsule six minutes before launch time.
I do have to give it credit that at least it was slightly more realistic than Lost in Space.
Yeah, it was "realistic" by the standards of the illustrated children's books about space travel from the 1950s. And they came up with some pretty fancy sets. But didn't anyone talk to NASA? This was probably the shortest lived science fiction on record, given that manned space flight was just two years away.
I don't recall seeing this the first time around; I was a bit young, but I don't recall even seeing it when flipping the dial. Was it syndicated? Judging from the comments, it wasn't on during prime time. And I didn't see it in reruns, because by the time the series ended, the real astronauts were going into space, and it looked nothing like this fantasy show.
Yeah, let's take a spacewalk, and while the hatch is open, the other astronaut will stick his head out, while not wearing any space suit. It sounds like this was supposed to be the very first manned space flight, too. The booster is stuck; good thing they brought along a welding outfit. This is so funny. What else you got in the trunk? A jack and spare tire?
Most writers in Hollywood seem to feel they can make everything up, whether fiction, non fiction or science fiction. Either these writers were afraid the facts would get in the way of their imagination, or they weren't getting paid enough to do some research.
Watching this, it was as though a TV program had dropped through a wormhole from an alternate universe. In that alternate universe, astronauts take the elevator up to the capsule six minutes before launch time.
I do have to give it credit that at least it was slightly more realistic than Lost in Space.
Possibly the most accurate "hard" sci-fi series of all time
Uthman30 January 2000
As with other reviewers, my impression of this never-syndicated, never-published-on-video series rests on childhood memories, in my case from age 7. However, at the time I had read a lot of popular books on the prospect of manned space flight, and "Men Into Space" resonated perfectly with the best that scientist-author Willy Ley and colleagues had to offer a 50's audience. As the episodes progressed, we witnessed man's first space flight, EVA, moon landing, and moon base operation. Space was depicted as silent (no "whooshing" spacecraft); multistage rockets were used; and full pressure suits were de rigueur.
I suppose this series stood on the broad shoulders of the Heinlein-penned film DESTINATION MOON (1950), but you have to credit the TV show's producers with a level of scientific integrity not seen in in network sci-fi before or since.
I suppose this series stood on the broad shoulders of the Heinlein-penned film DESTINATION MOON (1950), but you have to credit the TV show's producers with a level of scientific integrity not seen in in network sci-fi before or since.
Cool Sci-Fi for the period
md67788 March 2002
This show was another that vanished after one season but appealed to the imaginations of kids with unfamiliar concepts as weightlessness and a "hard vacuum". The show featured the McCauley character and crew blasting off on missions in a standardized multistage (?) vehicle, and doing space walks, rendezvous and powered landings. One episode had McCauley rescue a colleague on a very small asteroid doomed for destruction. As they departed the asteroid, the viewer sees petroglyphic markings on the space rock evidently left by an alien civilization (is this the episode titled "Is There Another Civilization?"). Shows of this genre inspired a generation of scientists and science buffs.
As I recall viewing this show as a 6 year old.
t4421632 October 1998
This was a quite good pre-Mercury attempt to show the future of space travel with emphasis on the team work of the crews involved. I recall shows dealing with landing on the moon and what man would find there. As well as working on building a space station and what would be involved. It did try to be factual but took dramatic license on a number of occasions.
I am possibly the only one who still has his official Col. McCauley space helmet (still in the original box).
I am possibly the only one who still has his official Col. McCauley space helmet (still in the original box).
A lot of fun
Kirasjeri27 July 1999
But it was as adult as could be expected. A fine depiction of men (and women? I forget) on the moon operating from space bases. Forty years later we STILL have no moon bases! I remember best the great fear they all had about their space suits being punctured (what WOULD happen, besides "instant death"?). A well done drama. Never rerun, unfortunately.
45+ years latter
djoyjr3 June 2005
This ran against Ozzie and Harriet, as I remember, as well as my Cub Scout base ball games. It was a fight against the whole family to let the one sci-fi nut of the group to see the one show he really cared about.
Looking back at the tapes from this future perspective, it is still the most accurate portrayal of space flight on TV. It is the space program us baby boomers from the 60's wish we had developed and followed thru.
If you get a chance, watch it. For a half hour 50/60's series, it's hard to beat. I still remember wishing my parents had bought me that Colonel McCauliffe space suit from the 1960 Sears catalogue.
Looking back at the tapes from this future perspective, it is still the most accurate portrayal of space flight on TV. It is the space program us baby boomers from the 60's wish we had developed and followed thru.
If you get a chance, watch it. For a half hour 50/60's series, it's hard to beat. I still remember wishing my parents had bought me that Colonel McCauliffe space suit from the 1960 Sears catalogue.
I was going on eleven
PhilK-28 February 1999
I think it was on Wednesday nights. It was absolutely my favorite program at that time. I have never seen a single clip of this show since it went off the air. The only scene from an episode I can remember is the time Col. McCauley got separated from his space craft and started drifting away in space. All he did was repeat his name: "McCauley.....McCauley...." until he was located and rescued. Around 10 years later I remembered this scene while watching "2001: A Space Odyssey" when the astronaut, Dr. Frank Poole, was terminated by the HAL 9000 computer and was left to drift in space. I kept expecting to hear Poole repeat his name. But it was not to be. Poole was expendable. McCauley wasn't.
Yes, we got this series in Australia, too!
leemrmg15 May 2003
I was around 6 or 7 (like everyone else it seems). My clearest episode memory is one where they are all walking around on the moon, and one man notices some sort of sand streaming down off a large rock, so he walks over & cups his gloved hands under the stream. He immediately starts screaming in agony, but I don't remember why. Maybe it was super hot, or else some extremely corrosive substance.
In another episode, one member of the team is terrified because he swears he saw something moving while he was walking around on the moon. Eventually they all discover that he had seen his own reflection in a sheet of ice. This was their first discovery of ice on the moon, and they realise the implications.
This show significantly helped to define the exciting world I was lucky enough to be growing up into. Now the world has regressed thousands of years.
In another episode, one member of the team is terrified because he swears he saw something moving while he was walking around on the moon. Eventually they all discover that he had seen his own reflection in a sheet of ice. This was their first discovery of ice on the moon, and they realise the implications.
This show significantly helped to define the exciting world I was lucky enough to be growing up into. Now the world has regressed thousands of years.
would love to see some of these episodes today...
jbrotychoorion23 June 2004
I'm a huge scifi buff, but was much too young to get a grasp of what this show was all about (I was 3 or 4 at the time). However, every time I saw William Lundigan in anything else I always thought about the show. What struck me (and these are the compressed memories of a child, remember) was that it seemed that while in every episode I saw the Col. on some sort of space mission, it always seemed that he was always home in time for dinner, as if this were a 9 to 5 job, and like Ward Cleaver would tuck the kids in at night....but perhaps I'm confusing this with something else......the effects and space outfits reminded me a lot of the old outer limits episode where "space spores" invaded a space station.....
Just about the earliest memory I have of television... maybe.
roarshock3 August 2000
Can I comment on a show which may or may not be the show that I barely remember? Although I seem to have definitely misremembered it's title for all these many years, this isn't too surprising... I was pre-literate when it originally aired. After all this time I don't really remember the show itself, rather I remember that I remember the show. Judging by the comments here though, it's most probably the one I'm looking for; it has the ring of the show that enthralled me each week. However, not since I first saw it have I EVER heard even a hint that the show ever existed, nor met ANYONE who remembered it... and believe me, I've hunted. If anyone can confirm that this is my show or can tell me if I'm wrong, email me please. Prove to me I didn't imagine it all. Here is all I can remember:
I remember quonset huts on the Moon, and one episode where a singing, guitar-playing member of the Moon crew dies (how, I don't remember). This was the same episode where they detect radio signals from deep space which spent (quite properly) years in transit. They briefly debate what their response will be, but one of them decides to transmit a recording of their dead comrade singing a song which, after years in transit, will be mankinds first reply.
Now I saw my show in the San Francisco area, and just on the chance that my memory wasn't wrong and that there was some freak name change, I've always thought it was called "Journey to the Moon." Whatever it was called, it was THE television show I HAD to see every week and one of the earliest bits of television memory I have. I've almost haven't forgotten it.
I remember quonset huts on the Moon, and one episode where a singing, guitar-playing member of the Moon crew dies (how, I don't remember). This was the same episode where they detect radio signals from deep space which spent (quite properly) years in transit. They briefly debate what their response will be, but one of them decides to transmit a recording of their dead comrade singing a song which, after years in transit, will be mankinds first reply.
Now I saw my show in the San Francisco area, and just on the chance that my memory wasn't wrong and that there was some freak name change, I've always thought it was called "Journey to the Moon." Whatever it was called, it was THE television show I HAD to see every week and one of the earliest bits of television memory I have. I've almost haven't forgotten it.
This program jump-started my interest in space and astronomy.........
Scouter-35 August 1999
As a 7 year old, I was virtually glued to the TV set every night this program was on. I was probably too young to be objective, in terms of the poetic license taken by the writers, but at least to a young boy each episode seemed believable and fascinating. I understand that the Sci-Fi Channel may occasionally broadcast some of these re-runs. I'd like to see them on Video tape if they're ever made available.
Remember it fondly
rudge4925 April 2007
I remember this short lived (alas) series, the first IIRC "realistic" space fiction series aimed at an "adult" (in the older sense) audience. I was 10 when it premiered in September 1959 and self designated sophisticate that I was I applauded its attempts at scientific accuracy and integrity (though I avidly devoured comic books at the time as well). I even had the "official" Colonel McCauley Space Helmet, long gone, alas. Needles to say a lot of it went over my head and I wrinkled my nose at those stories that dealt with other than heroic situations. I recall one where McCauley is trying to deal with the problems on the space station while back on Earth his son has been the victim of a hit and run. Not having seen it since about 1960 my memories are hazy. Recall reading (forget where)that while its ratings were acceptable it was simply too expensive, hence it was canceled
Yes a realistic series, very well made, but not for all audiences.
searchanddestroy-125 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
That's not I first thought about of when I started watching this TV show. In this series, I remembered Nathan Juran's FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, Irving Pichel's DESTINATION MOON, Kubrick's 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY, Phil Kaufman's THE RIGHT STUFF, Rich Donner's X15, Robert Altman's COUNTDOWN, Byron Haskin's CONQUEST OF SPACE...
Well, nothing to do with other space operas where aircrafts have to fight monsters of all kinds. I am not a pure sci-fi specialist, and this TV show is made for those die hard buffs looking for authentic details, speaking of truly facts, close to actual events. Too technical for me. Sorry. I prefer the ALIEN kind, or IT THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE.
But I insist: this is a truly good TV series. There must exist this kind of stuff, and not only monsters all over the space.
Well, nothing to do with other space operas where aircrafts have to fight monsters of all kinds. I am not a pure sci-fi specialist, and this TV show is made for those die hard buffs looking for authentic details, speaking of truly facts, close to actual events. Too technical for me. Sorry. I prefer the ALIEN kind, or IT THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE.
But I insist: this is a truly good TV series. There must exist this kind of stuff, and not only monsters all over the space.
Cool space show for the time
sullymangolf7 September 2009
We were stationed at Saufley Field NAS in Pensacola, Florida from 1962-64. Dad was a Navy pilot and I liked all things military. I was 9-11 years old when we lived in Pensacola. I don't remember this show being on Wednesday night. I remember it came on Sunday mornings at 11 or 11:30 because our family would usually go to Mass at the base chapel at noon. I would only get a chance to see part of the show. If we attended services out at the Main Base at 5:30 I would get to watch the whole show. The only episode I remember is the one where 3 astronauts were walking around the moon and had only a little oxygen left in their tanks. They had a reserve tank but it needed a wrench to get it open and usable. Well one man had the wrench but it was inside his spacesuit. By the end of the show he had saved the others by opening his space suit (sacrificing himself) and getting the wrench. I remember the colonel talking with the hero's son on earth telling what a hero his dad was. Soon we would be off to Keflavik, Iceland and a new adventure. I never saw the show again, but I do have good memories of it.
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