Space Patrol, Volume 1

Space Patrol, Volume 1 - 10 hours [Audio CDs] #RA131

10 hours - Audio CD Set

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Space Patrol
Volume 1

"High adventure in the wild, vast reaches of space! Missions of daring in the name of interplanetary justice!"

The cast of "Space Patrol" heads off for another interplanetary mission.

The cast of "Space Patrol" heads off for another interplanetary mission.

As the Golden Age of Radio was coming to its regretful close, many of its successful (and even it's unsuccessful) programs were given a reprieve in the new medium of television - but on rare occasions, television would return the favor by instituting radio versions of its popular shows. The best example of this is "Have Gun, Will Travel," heard over CBS Radio from 1958 to 1960, but other TV series like "My Little Margie" and "What's My Line?" became fixtures (however briefly) on radio as well.

Space Patrol also began its life on the tube before becoming a popular radio attraction - even managing to outlive its television twin. The show was one of a myriad of golly-gee-whiz kiddy adventure shows that dotted television's landscape back in the 1950s, along with its outer space brethren "Captain Video," "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger," and "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet" (which was also heard briefly on radio in 1952). It debuted as a fifteen-minute local show on KECA-TV in Los Angeles on March 9, 1950 and made its radio debut over ABC beginning September 18th as a twice-a-week (Mondays and Fridays) offering at 5:30 pm until January 8, 1951. It then returned to radio Saturday evenings at 7:00 pm beginning on August 18th before switching to a 10:30 am morning timeslot about a month later; this time period remained the series' home until its final send-off on March 19, 1955. (The television version had bowed out July 2 of the previous year).

"Space Patrol" was created and produced by World War II Navy veteran Mike Moser as a nod to such past futuristic programs as "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon". It outlined the exploits of Commander Buzz Corry (Ed Kemmer), who was placed in charge of a thirtieth-century police-keeping force operating from a man-made planet known as Terra. The jurisdiction of the Patrol included Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury, collectively known as the United Planets. (Jim Cox in his book "Radio Crime Fighters" observes that one wag dubbed the Space Patrol to be "a sort of interplanetary Mod Squad.") Assisting Corry was his protégé Cadet Happy (Lyn Osborne), a youthful sidekick prone to uttering the exclamation "Smokin' rockets!"; according to Cox: "At times he appeared to have little purpose beyond proffering a simplistic inquiry to Corry, allowing the chief to explain some obvious notion to the listeners."

Corry's constant struggle to maintain law and order on the interplanetary frontier was frequently hampered by the villainous likes of Mister Proteus (Marvin Miller), Agent X (Norman Jolley), and Prince Baccaretti (Bela Kovacs), who also answered to the sinister moniker "The Black Falcon." There was also an evildoer on the distaff side named Tonga (Nina Bara), but she proved to be so popular with listeners/viewers that the producers rehabilitated her and made her a member of the Space Patrol team. Corry's other crew members included Major "Robbie" Robertson (Ken Meyer), Dr. Van Meter (Rudolph Anders) and Carol Karlyle (Virginia Hewett), daughter of the secretary general of the United Planets. Carol also served as Corry's would-be squeeze, although the romance was a bit one-sided (her side) because, as radio fans have learned, keeping the peace "makes a man watchful...and a little lonely." Also heard on the series as the show's announcer was Dick Tufeld, who achieved later television immortality as the voice of the robot on TV's "Lost in Space" ("Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!").

"Space Patrol" was written by Lou Huston and directed by Larry Robertson and, for most of its run (1951-54), was sponsored by Ralston Cereals, which offered a tantalizing series of premiums tailor-made for the show's young fan base - goodies like the Space-O-Phone - "sounds just like a walkie-talkie...looks just like the space-o-phone Buzz Corry himself uses!" Ralston's sponsorship of the show resulted in what could very well be called the crème de la crème of all premiums: a one ton, 30 foot space ship dubbed "The Ralston Rocket" that toured America (on land, of course) before finally being awarded to a lucky fan.

This collection offers you ten fun-filled hours of intergalactic action in twenty full-length ABC network broadcasts of "Space Patrol," featuring a wide range of special offers "just for sending in those box tops from Ralston cereals." Those premiums may no longer be available - some, in fact, collect some pretty hefty bids on eBay these days - but, thanks to Radio Archives, the thrills and chills of the Space Patrol are still just as close as your ear buds.

The Hole in Empty Space
Saturday, October 25, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space-O-Phones premium offer)

The City of the Sun
Saturday, November 8, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space-O-Phone premium offer)

The Queen of Space
Saturday, November 15, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space-O-Phone premium offer)

The Giant Bubble
Saturday, November 22, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space-O-Phone premium offer)

The Electronic Burglar
Saturday, November 29, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals

The Space Shark
Saturday, December 6, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals

The Search for Asteroid X
Saturday, December 13, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals

The Lady from Venus
Saturday, December 20, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals

The Last Voyage of the Lonesome Lena
Saturday, December 27, 1952 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals

The Brain Bank and the Space Binoculars
Saturday, January 3, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space Binoculars premium offer)

The Sleepwalker
Saturday, January 10, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space Binoculars premium offer)

The Scavenger of Space
Saturday, January 24, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space Binoculars premium offer)

The Top Secret D-Ray
Saturday, January 31, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space Binoculars premium offer)

Crash Landing
Saturday, February 7, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space Binoculars premium offer)

The Mysterious Meteor
Saturday, February 14, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space Binoculars premium offer)

The Moon Beetles
Saturday, February 21, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Space Binoculars premium offer)

The Strange Gift of the New Star
Saturday, February 28, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals and Ry-Krisp

The Seed Crystals of Zeldabran
Saturday, March 7, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals and Ry-Krisp

The Magic Space Pictures
Saturday, March 14, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Magic Space Pictures premium offer)

The Caverns of Venus
Saturday, March 21, 1953 - 30:00 - ABC, sponsored by Ralston Cereals (Magic Space Pictures premium offer)

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