1950s sci-fi television from the United States and Britain
Captain Video weekday episodes (1949-53) 30m
Network executives decided early-on that sci-fi was strictly for kids. Captain Video ("The guardian of the safety of the world") and his Video Rangers regularly confronted all sorts of alien menaces, and even had a few big-name authors penning the occasional script for them. Unfortunately, budgetary restrictions kept things pretty basic.
As normal for sci-fi TV of its day, budgetary restrictions kept sets and effects to a pedestrian level. To make matters worse, the old cinematic serials were still getting air time and just as popular as ever. Buck and cohorts fight all manner of foe from their secret hidden base behind Niagra Falls. Had its moments, but all too few.
Space Patrol 210 episodes (1950-55) 30m
Commander Buzz Corry and his sidekicks undertake several faster-than-light journeys to distant stars where they have all sorts of adventures. Kids were invited to become space cadets in order to purchase merchandise only available to patrol members. Attention was occasionally paid to scientific plausibility. Classic kitsch.
Tom Corbett: Space Cadet 217 serial episodes (1950-55) 15/30m
Like Captain Video, this show was performed live in the studio and only a handful of episodes have survived. Inspired by Heinlein's Space Cadet, most of the action took place in outer space - a first for shows of its type. With no demographic info to go by, the networks had no way of knowing that adults were watching in droves.
Rocky Jones, Space Ranger 39 serial episodes (1953-54) 30m
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Most of the Rocky Jones serials were later made into feature films and, accordingly, their ongoing popularity is more durable than most. Rocky is a 21st century Space Ranger commander for the United Worlds. He and his crew roam the galaxy in the Orbit Jet, defending justice and doing other ranger stuff. One of the 50s' best and available free online.
The Quatermass Serials 18 serial episodes (1953-59) 30/35m
All three Quatermass cliffhanger serials aired on UK television in the 1950s were later made into feature films. An investigative scientist faces such perils as metamorphosised vegetable monsters, alien invaders and paranormal phenomena. "Psychokinetic" special effects were a feature of the third serial which was released on video.
Flash Gordon 39 episodes (1954-55) 30m
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Male model Steve Holland proved he was no actor in this typically tacky TV version of the FG saga. Flash and his sidekicks work as agents for the Galactic Bureau of Investigation. Perhaps the show's greatest claim to cult status lies in being named before a US Senate subcommittee for its lurid and violent content. Retro-rockin'!
The Invisible Man 26 episodes (1958-59) 30m
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Future Doctor Who sidekick Deborah Watling stars alongside the voice of Tim Turner in this story of a scientist who has inadvertently condemned himself to invisibility. Unlike the H G Wells original, the often-copied premise has the Invisible Man as a do-gooder who helps people out while searching for a cure.
