I've been re-watching Roberta Leigh's almost forgotten Space Patrol puppet TV series which is now being shown, after an eternity on Talking Pictures TV here in the UK.
Although I did have copies of the Space Patrol Super 8 cine films on video, and later, the complete series on DVD I do like to watch the odd episode live, as it were.
As a point of interest, I understand that Roberta Leigh had 16mm film copies of the series stored in her garage for years, and it was these that Network DVD remastered and released ,first on VHS and following that on DVD with extras, and later, without extras, on Blu-ray.
The show was produced by Leigh, and Arthur Provis, Gerry Anderson's ex-partner from A.P.FILMS, and was aired on British TV from April, 1963..
The series was known as Planet Patrol in the US to avoid confusion with an existing 1950's live action American series of the same name.
The series is set in 2100, and concerns the missions carried out by the United Galactic Organization, made up of representatives from Earth, Mars and Venus. The action is centred on Captain Larry Dart, Husky the Martian, and Slim the Venusian who crew Galasphere space craft 347 or occasionally 024.
Comedy writer, Dick Vosburgh voiced Dart, while actor and revue artist , Ronnie Stevens, comedy actress, Libby Morris , her husband, Murrray Kash, and Ysanne Churchman, known to classic Doctor Who fans as the voice of Alpha Centuri in the Peladon stories, complete the voice artist line up.
When it came to spin off merchandise, Space Patrol appeared mainly in print, although I believe there was a 'Space Patrol Frizzbie produced.
Gold Token books AKA Super Mag produced two comics. Both featured fairly simple plots and artwork .
In 1965 TV Comic carried 52 full colour centre page strips written by Roberta Leigh and drawn by Bill Melvin.
The 1966 TV Comic annual featured two comic strips, and two colour photos on the end papers, apparently the only colour photos known to exist from the series.
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The Beezer comic, not generally known for Television tie-ins featured 26 2 page colour episodes. Sadly I don't have any decent examples of these in my collection, so apologies for the poor scans.
World Distributers published a television story book in 1965 titled Space Patrol and The Secret Weapon..
The book featured two text stories written Roberta Leigh, with illustrations by cover artist, R.W. Smethurst..
Primrose Confectionery produced Space Patrol sweet cigarettes which featured a set of painted generic space race picture cards to collect.
I've seen a couple of episodes on YouTube and thought they were fun. It's neat to see all the associated literature, stills, tie-ins etc. Great job Scoop!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ed. I have a fondness for Space Patrol. It's a lot different to the Anderson productions, quite nieve at times, but quite scary. The weird electronic soundtrack instead of music helps with the otherworldly mood of the series.
DeleteLovely post! I love love love Planet Patrol (in the US). I had the entire VHS set for years. The miniatures in this series were spectacular in my opinion. And that avant-garde electronic score by F C Judd really rocked. Planet Patrol was syndicated in the New York area on Channel 9, and for awhile, was the top-rated children’s program in the NY Metro area! Long live Planet Patrol! SFZ
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, Zigg. It's good to hear of a fan of the series from across the pond.
DeleteI only recently discovered Space Patrol, thanks to Rob Craig in the USA. What strikes me as odd is that the series was made in Britain in 1962, and broadcast in 1963, yet most of the merchandise associated with the show carries a copyright date of 1965. Including those Sweet Cigarettes and the Space Patrol and the Secret Weapon book. A couple of years after the series was first shown. Why the delay ? Especially as the Gerry Anderson shows all had merchandise out when the programmes were on air.
ReplyDeleteThe question has been raised before, although I can't find a definitive answer. I assume it's the year when merchandise and publishing licences for Space Patrol were first created.
DeleteThere's an interesting article by Alister McGown on Arthur Provis in the 2024 Fanderson FAB Annual, which obviously mentions Space Patrol , and the other two space-themed Roberta Leigh TV pilots, Paul Starr, and the proposed live action series, The Solarnauts, both of which never made it to full production. Sadly the only mention of merchandise is pretty much what I've already covered, apart from the cover of a Space Patrol annual published by the Daily Mirror, which I've never seen before, but it would be interesting, to see what copyright year it might contain.
I’ve seen Paul Starr and The Solarnauts pilot episodes, and they both looked promising. SFZ
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