Space Patrol

I've just started watching the television series Space Patrol (known as Planet Patrol in the US), a wonderful kids program created by a protégé of Gerry Anderson from the early sixties that also used marionettes. What really strikes me about this all but forgotten program is how influential it seems to have been on later sci-fi. From the very first episode you can see how Gene Roddenberry must have been heavily influenced by Space Patrol. The aggressive and masculine Martians with their high foreheads are certainly forerunners of the Klingons while the elfin and logical Venusians must have been inspirational in the creation of the Vulcans. Even some aesthetics like room dividers are very similar to those on the Enterprise. The main plot revolves around a close knit trio of friends and their adventures visiting various planets. While obviously Roddenberry had more inspiration than this kid's show, in some ways Star Trek feels like a grown up version of Space Patrol.

Unfortunately the DVD is OOP and sells for around $500 but if you search around the net... (hint, hint), you can find some episodes. The show is really hilarious both intentionally and unintentionally such as in the first episode when the 'brakes' go out on their spaceship and they almost crash into Jupiter. Or anytime they leave the ship there is a cut-scene of a ridiculous looking robot pacing back and forth behind sliding doors. Notice how the Colonel looks like Larry Tate from Bewitched.

I never even heard of Space Patrol until a couple weeks ago when we went out for a movie and one of my friends gave me a disc of episodes, saying I had to watch it. It was definitely a lot of fun! It was not a very good show and definitely looks and feels very old, I'm not sure how much people would have enjoyed it back in the fifties or sixties when it was first on television but it's very campy with bad production values and hammy acting, and you definitely don't want to miss the puppetry, but the show is still a lot of fun. I know it's mostly laugh at it not with it kind of fun but still worth checking out if you can track it down.

This was a quite different and quirky SF puppet production done on the cheap. I am really looking forward to the videos because it will be so evocative of my childhood. There was never anything like it before or after - I don't think it can even be compared with Fireball XL5. Fantastic.

Space Patrol is a series that has stayed vividly in the memory so it must have had something special about it. I loved it almost as much as I loved Fireball XL5. It was quirkier somehow and the characters were lively and varied. I remember giant leeks for aliens and the robots that patrolled the ship while the crew were in suspended animation were a treat. It was a show packed with original ideas. I hadn't realised it ran to three series. What I remember most was the immortal catchphrase used every time a voyage was about to begin and the ship had to be powered up - 'Gamma rays on. Yobba rays on'. The series deserved an award simply for coming up with the idea of yobba rays!

Although for children the content is quite watchable by any age. This series sticks in my mind as one of the best thought out scifi TV programs of the sixties. OK so we know Mars and Venus have no life as such but don't let this spoil your enjoyment. Exceptional animation at times and dialogue thats usually non PC. This is a true treasure that shows what can be done on a budget.

I think Gerry Anderson used some ideas for what followed. Fireball XL5 although had a bigger budget didn't come anywhere near Space Patrols story lines.

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