Customer Reviews

Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television

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This "labor of love" for Bassior is a must read for those interested not only in "kid vid" but in how "television" was born. The reader quickly realizes that the producers of "Space Patrol" were true pioneers...inventing special effects, developing camera techniques and working up stage settings that defined "live" TV in it's first decade. While operating at the lowest end of the budget scale, "Space Patrol" was live sci-fi drama as good as ABC's "other" futuristic adult-themed drama of the same era: "Tales of Tomorrow." There were no digital special effects, no computer-generated images, and the line between good and evil was always crystal clear. The actors and the story were central, NOT the special effects. Plus there were only three commercials in each half-hour episode! How sweet it was! This book is more than a nostalgic look at a childhood memory, it's a well-documented historical review of how television programs were created and produced at a time when there was no "instruction manual" to follow. You will find it fascinating. Wonderful pictures are included, too.

One of the ironies of the Golden Age of Television is that some of its most ambitious programming coincided with the primitive infancy of the medium, 1949 -- 1955. Given that all programming was being broadcast "live" as it happened, in "real time," TV directors and producers nevertheless dared to present, in CAPTAIN VIDEO (1949-55), TOM CORBETT SPACE CADET (1950-55) and SPACE PATROL (1950-55), often action-packed science-fictional adventures with complex practical and special effects... and anywhere from 30 minutes once a week to 30 minutes every weekday!

As the casts and crews of these series are steadily taken away from us by time, we are also losing all personal contact with this most heroic (in several senses of the word!) era of early live television broadcasting. So it is very welcome to find this 400-plus-page book by Jean-Noel Bassior, entirely devoted to SPACE PATROL. She began work on the book in the early 1980s, when almost all the cast and crew except for Lyn Osborn (Cadet Happy) were still alive and available for interview, and portions of more than 50 separate interviews are incorporated throughout the book. The book is also copiously illustrated with a large number of clearly-reproduced and often quite rare photos.

More than 20 individual chapters cover almost every aspect of the series, including cast, crew, and writers. About the only significant omission that struck me was that of Carl Macauley, designer of the very impressive and spacious sets... there's not much about him compared to other key crew members. Readers will also find appendices contributed by various experts, describing various Space Patrol-related toys and premiums, the 30-minute network TV episodes, some of the surviving 30-minute radio episodes, and the most-often-seen miniature buildings and spaceships of the series.

Mike Moser's sudden death in the spring of 1953 (struck by a car as he stepped off a dark curb) tolled the end for SPACE PATROL. When Nina Bara (Tonga) reminded Moser's widow of various unkept promises made by Moser to the cast, she was promptly fired. The daily 15-minute broadcasts vanished from the lineup, a development welcomed by the greatly overworked cast and crew. More ominously, by the fall of 1953, kids and their parents who ordered from the impressive catalog of SPACE PATROL toys and merchandise were receiving only a letter explaining that neither the items nor a refund would ever be forthcoming... from a company Moser had mainly operated out of the trunk of his own car! Moser's widow Helen didn't really know what to do with the program she inherited, and as soon as the key sponsor pulled out, that was the end, except for a syndicated series of old kinescope recordings on 35 mm film that could be seen spottily on TV in the late 1950s.

Many kinescoped episodes of SPACE PATROL are available for viewing today on video tape. Seen more than half a century after they were broadcast, and by jaded adults rather than starry-eyed children of the early Space Age, they don't usually hold up well. The weakest element by far is the scripting, while the sets are often extremely impressive. Ed Kemmer (Commander Buzz Corry) is a completely convincing hero; Lyn Osborn (Happy) is as funny and charming as his often poorly written part allows, and his character's relationship with Kemmer's is always believable. Virginia Hewitt (Carol) and Nina Bara (Tonga) come across as simultaneously sexy and intelligent; Ken Mayer (Robbie) is reliable as the only other SPACE PATROL officer we usually get to see; and whatever the name of the villain he plays, Bela Kovacs is always just on the verge of a terrifying burst of hysterical ill-temper. You don't have to watch many episodes to like these people, and to wonder how this unique series came into being. And here's the book to answer almost any question you might have!

Some might think it's a waste of time to read a book about a television show that one never saw. But, although I never saw an episode of "Space Patrol" (it had gone off the air before I was five years old), this is one of the best books I've read in years. A 20-year labor-of-love, it clearly reflects the author's interest and dedication to the subject. She managed to interview virtually all of the surviving cast and production crew members, and their anecdotes bring the story of this live-action television series from the early 1950s to life. It's packed with details about the characters, the performers, the production challenges, the sets, the special effects and the marketing of spin-off toys. Even better, it examines the positive effects that "Space Patrol" had on children of the time, some of whom, inspired by the show, grew up to be NASA engineers, "rocket scientists" and astronauts. Back in the days of clear-cut moral values and before political correctness reared its ugly head, the "Space Patrol" crew served as excellent role models for the first of the baby-boomers. Reading this book will transport anyone who grew up in that era back to a simpler time when the world was a more pleasant place to live and when there were well-defined good guys and bad guys. It's a great read about a fascinating subject--highly recommended.

This book is a must for anyone who has fond memories of the old early 50s TV space shows, or who has an interest in early television. Bassior has done an incredible job of gathering more information on the show and the people who made it than I would have imagined possible. The thing I found most astonishing about the book was how hard it was to put down once I started reading it. My only complaint is that, although it is over 400 pages of small print, it's too short! Please Jean-Noel, give us more! Nevertheless, a FULL FIVE STARS to Jean-Noel Bassior and "Space Patrol."

At first I thought that the price of the book was excessive, however, upon deciding to spend the money I feel it was well spent. If you, like me, grew up with early television this book will take you back to a time when the world was simplier and TV was a miracle.

The author of "Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television" has taken a long and loving look at one of the best Sci Fi programs of the 1950's. The information gathered is informative, refresing, and above all (to my knowledge) never before put in print. The interviews with former cast members is a delight, and the behind the scenes look gives you and idea of how the then infact television industry operated.

I recommend spending the $49.00 and take a trip back in time and re-live your youth with Buzz Corey, Cadet Happy, Carol Carlyle, Major Robinson, and Tonga... its worth it.

Bassior's book is an intimate slice of history. On the surface, it may seem trivial to examine the story of a hit TV show from half a century ago, but in her two decades of unrelenting research, the result of Jean-Noel Bassior's dilligence (while maintaining her career as a top-level journalist) is a book that set out to document an ephemeral pop culture phenomenon, and became a supremely positive inspiration to a generation who went on to live lives by a sincere code of ethics, and some of whom made Neil Armstrong's "small step" possible. Inside the story, the star of the show, Commander Corry turns out to be actor Ed Kemmer, a bona fide World War Two hero.

In short, this book is a unique, intimate look at a pop culture phenomenon, and the remarkable people who made it happen.

Before Star Trek popularized TV, there was Space Patrol, a science fiction television show which ran from 1950-1955 when space travel was even more of a dream. In Space Patrol: Missions Of Daring In The Name Of Early Television, Jean-Noel Bassior provides interviews with the Space Patrol cast and background workers, including episode logs for TV and radio shows, and even provides a guide to surviving memorabilia from the show. Recollections from actors, vintage black and white photos from the show, and accounts of early television programming challenges and follies makes for an involving in-depth coverage - even for those who have long missed the series.

I started watching Space Patrol at its very beginning.
In 1951, inside the radio studio while broadcasting the Steve Allen show, where Ed Kemmer & Lyn Osborne were guests, I asked the question, "What ever happened to Kit Corry, the 1st Space Patrol Commander, before Buzz?"
In 1961, ten years later, I had the chance to work with Ed Kemmer, at Four Star Studios in Studio City (the Old Republic Studio). During that time I became acquainted with Ed. His regular personality was so much different then the one he portrayed on the show. He was a very talkative, and a nice fellow.

Ron Gregus, busmeg@aol.com

This is a very nice book for those of us who grew up watching Space Patrol. Well written - information on the show, its production, the cast as well as the products that you could get by sending in 'box tops', etc.

Wonderful photos of the cast, as well as models of the sets/rockets and props. A chronological listing of the TV shows as well as the Radio ones. Very nice addition to a collection of information on Science Fiction on the airwaves.

Jean-Noel Bassior has written the definitive work on Space Patrol. The book interweaves first-hand interviews, archival information, and great images into an unbeatable treatment of the subject. From the first few pages, the reader understands Bassior's direct connection to the material. Meeting Lyn Osborn (Cadet Happy) at age 9 left an indelible mark on Bassior who then spent many years thinking about and ultimately fashioning this great book.