The inaugural 30 minute episode of the seminal TV space-opera introduces Commander Buzz Corry (Ed Kemmer) and neophyte Space Cadet Happy (Lyn Osborn) when, on their way to Terra (the artificial planet that houses capital of the United Planets), they are threatened by a guided missile launched from Mars by renegade Major Gorla (Peter Mamakos). Initially a local 15 minute series (KECA Los Angles), 'Space Patrol' was a big hit for ABC when launched in a 30 minute format late in 1950, becoming one of the most popular and long-lasting (1950 - 1955) of the early sci-fi series (along with Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950 - 1955) and Captain Video and his Video Rangers (1949 - 1955)). The budget was quite low (especially in the early episodes) so the special effects are quite rudimentary but are imaginative at times and serve to illustrate the story. The show was aimed at kids (but had a substantial adult following as well), so there is limited violence: most conflicts are solved with a fist fight (in which no one seems to get really hurt) and United Planets has a 'brainograph' that can turn villains into good citizens (useful when an 'evil' character becomes popular with viewers). As entertainment, the show is simplistic and dated but as a piece of television history, 'Space Patrol' (and this episode in particular) is significant. Modern fans and scholars of the genre are lucky that it survived (many early kinescope recordings of 'live' shows were destroyed or lost). The copy I watched on-line still has the original station-breaks (plugs for ABC's 'Pulitzer Prize Playhouse' and a public service announcement about traffic safety). Good fun from the earliest days of broadcast TV.
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