Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
B.R.A.T.S.
of the Lost Nebula (later known as Jim Henson’s B.R.A.T.S. of the Lost
Nebula)was a combination puppet and computer animated sci-fi
series. The series was set in a universe that was being dominated by invading
force known as The Shock. Teenaged siblings Zadam (Kirby Morrow) and Triply
(Annick Obonsawin) were spared from the Shock attack on their home world when
their parents sent them to the Lost Nebula. There, on a living planetoid, they encountered
three other similar refugees: mechanically-inclined strongman Duncan (Glen
Cross), the fiercely competitive Ryle (originally named Gnash, voiced by Evan Sabba) and mystical fairy Lavana
(originally named Selene, voiced by Deborah Odell). Together, they decided to band together and form a resistance
movement against the Shock. Aiding them was a long-eared animal named Splock
who had a missile-laden suit of armor, and SMARTS, the smartest computer in the
universe.
The B.R.A.T.S.: Lavana, Zadam, Duncan, Splock, Triply and Ryle.
Despite a
heavy marketing campaign leading up to the premiere of the series, B.R.A.T.S.
was taken off the air after just three weeks. The move came as a surprise
to everyone involved, as they weren’t aware of those plans until the week it
happened. Ironically, that was also the week that TV Guide had selected the series
as one of the Top Ten Children’s Series of the Year. The WB put out assurances
that the series would resume at some unspecified time, however the remainder of
the episodes would only be seen in Canada when the series was broadcast by YTV.
Puppetry of The Shock's leader.
While ratings for the series were
low, ultimately it fell victim to the overall low-ratings of Kids’ WB as a
whole. The programming block had fallen into third place behind FOX Kids and ABC’s One
Saturday Morning. In their attempts to turn their situation around, the
network chose to focus on programming it owned outright. Since B.R.A.T.S. was
a third-party production, it was cut from the network and quietly cancelled. For
various unspecified reasons, Disney, who has
come to own the Jim Henson Company and B.R.A.T.S.
by extension, has deemed it too expensive to release the series onto home
media.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“What Mom Said” (10/10/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Total Bratification” (10/18/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Brain Drain” (10/25/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“A Lozian Necessity” (11/1/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Heart Hunters” (12/2/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Punk Chip” (11/12/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The Runaways” (11/18/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Mutant Freak” (11/25/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Bite for a Day” (12/9/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The Acceptors” (12/30/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Faith” (1/6/99) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Mom and Dad” (1/13/99) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1/20/99) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
Far Out
Space Nuts was the first of two programs developed by Sid & Marty Krofft Productions
exclusively for CBS (the other being Pryor’s
Place), and one of two space-themed shows they released in 1975 (the
other being The Lost Saucer). The show served as a last-minute replacement
for a scrapped cartoon.
Promo image of Barney, Junior and Honk by their ship.
Developed by
the Kroffts, Joe Ruby, Ken Spears,
Chuck McCann and Earle
Doud, Space Nuts followed the adventures of dim-witted Junior (Bob
Denver) and the grumpy Barney (McCann), two NASA
maintenance workers who accidentally find themselves launched and lost in
space. There, they befriended a furry alien named Honk (Patty Maloney) who only
spoke via honking sounds from the horn on top of her head. The three of them travelled from planet to planet, typically having to
escape from hostile aliens to get back to their ship and continue their quest
to find a way home.
Junior getting his mind switched with a sinister computer.
Far Out
Space Nuts debuted on CBS on September 6, 1975, with music by Michael Lloyd for Mike Curb
Productions. Written by Doud, McCann, Dick Robbins, Duane Poole, Buddy Atkinson, Dick Conway, Jack Mendelsohn,
Bruce Howard
and Ray Parker,
the series blended goofball comedy with satire poking fun at movie clichés and
parodies of other movies and shows; blending elements of McCann’s comedy
stylings and Doud’s experience as a writer for Mad Magazine. While the jokes
were generally family friendly, the bulk of the humor was targeted for adults. For
instance, the villain of “It’s All in Your Mind” was named G.A.L 36-24-26 (an
idealized woman’s measurements, voiced by Joan Gerber). Denver actually
had his choice of two Saturday morning programs, having also been offered a
role in Filmation’s The
Ghost Bustersalongside former Dusty’s Trail
co-star Forrest Tucker before
ultimately ending up settling for Space Nuts.
The Nuts meet an alien queen.
Unfortunately
for Denver, Space Nuts fared as well as Dusty’s Trail did. The
show’s adult humor ended up not attracting the child audience CBS would have
liked and it was trounced in the ratings by Speed
Buggyand Return
to the Planet of the Apes. The series remained on CBS until it
was replaced by Filmation’s Ark II the following season. It entered into
syndicated reruns as part of the package program Krofft Super Starsbeginning in 1978, where it began to slowly find its fans. The first two
episodes were released to VHS by Embassy
Home Entertainment in 1985. Rhino Home
Entertainment released another VHS
in 1999 with the episodes “Tower of Tagot” and “Secrets of Hexagon”. In 2002,
they released “Birds of a Feather” to DVD as part of The
World of Sid & Marty Krofftcompilation, and the pilot
episode in the 2005 compilation Saturday
Morning with Sid & Marty Krofft.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“It’s All in Your Mind” (9/6/75) – Junior and Barney end up
on a planet ruled by a brain-controlling computer.
“The Crystallites” (9/13/75) – Junior enjoys being the ruler
of the glass people, until he finds out he has to become glass as well.
“Robots of a Pod” (9/20/75) – Junior and Barney have to
rescue a princess and retrieve a magic belt from an evil robot ruler.
“Fantastic Journey” (9/27/75) – A mad scientist makes Junior
and Barney his assistants.
“Tower of Tagot” (10/4/75) – Junior and Barney have to
rescue a queen from the evil Tagot.
“The Three Space-keteers” (10/11/75) – Junior is mistaken
for a legendary hero and is tasked with rescuing a queen.
“Flight of the Pippets” (10/18/75) – Junior and Barney are
shrunk down and added to a collection of miniatures.
“Birds of a Feather” (10/25/75) – Captured by the bird-like
Vultrons, Junior and Barney are ordered to hatch a giant egg.
“Dangerous Game” (11/1/75) – A woman and her dog-like
henchmen hunt down Junior and Barney.
“Secrets of the Hexagon” (11/8/75) – Junior and Barney are
duped into trading their spaceship for a powerful key.
“Captain Torque, Space Pirate” (11/15/75) – An evil space
pirate forces Junior and Barney to steal a treasure map for him.
“Vanishing Aliens Mystery” (11/22/75) – Junior and Barney
end up on a space station in time for the reading of a will, and all of the
heirs slowly being disappearing.
“Barney Begonia” (11/29/75) – Barney is turned into a
half-man, half-flower creature.
“Destination: Earth” (12/6/75) – Junior and Barney end up
taking a trip through time as a way to get back home.
“Galaxy’s Greatest Athlete” (12/13/75) – Junior is tricked
into competing in an athletic event by two beautiful women.
He was an artist who designed the Scarlet Spider costume, which was seen in an episode of X-Men:
The Animated Series and the finale of Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
Debuting
during the Golden Age of television, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet was one of
the pioneering programs in science-fiction.
Colorized promo image of Tom Corbett.
The concept
for the series came from a blending of sources. Joseph Greene,
a writer for various genres across various media, had conceived of a
space-faring hero named Tom Ranger in 1946. He had written the character into a
radio script along with his colleagues, Kit Koo and Bob Bradley. The script was
submitted to Orbit Feature Services
Inc. under the working title The Space Cadets, and later Space
Academy, but it went unproduced. Greene tried again by adapting his
characters into a syndicated newspaper strip in 1949, but it never saw
production.
Heinlein's Space Cadet.
In 1950, CBS was looking to compete with DuMont’s
popular series, Captain Video and His Video Rangers. Green saw an
opportunity to give his Tom Ranger concept another go, but there was a slight
hitch: in the interim, Robert A. Heinlein
published a juvenile novel called Space Cadetin 1948 which featured concepts very close to that of Tom Ranger. Rockhill
Productions, who Greene submitted one of his scripts to, was interested in
developing the concept for their expansion into television. They purchased the
rights for the term “Space Cadet” from Heinlein and used the connection to
bolster publicity for the project. At the insistence of Rockhill’s Stanley
Wolf, the title was expanded to Tom Ranger, Space Cadet. From there, Tom
Ranger would go on to become Tom Corbett at the last minute.
Space Academy.
Tom
Corbett, Space Cadet was set in the 24th Century. Earth had
become a commonwealth with cities combined into several megalopolises and had
established colonies and outposts throughout most of the inner solar system
called the Solar Alliance. The peacekeeping force charged with protecting the
Alliance was The Solar Guard, who were also tasked with exploring the unknown
and conducting scientific research. Cadets enlisted into the Space Academy with
the hopes of joining the Solar Guard—provided they could cut the mustard both
in skill and meeting the stringent discipline requirements of the Academy.
The original crew: Roger, Tom and Astro.
Cadets were grouped into units of threes with an emphasis on teamwork.
Tom Corbett (Frankie Thomas, Jr., in his 30s at the time he was cast to play a
teen) was the command cadet for his, which also featured Roger Manning (Jan
Merlin) and Astro (Al Markim), and were directly overseen by Captain Steve
Strong (Michael Harvey for the first 6 episodes, replaced by Edward Bryce when
he had difficulty remembering his lines). Astro was an orphan born on the Venus
colony with an extensive knowledge on rockets and their engines, making him the
power cadet in charge of fueling the ship’s engines with radioactive material.
Manning, while being a brilliant astrogator, was a brash and arrogant ladies’
man (an improvised line cemented his smartass personality) who initially
harbored racist feelings towards Astro until they eventually worked through their
differences. He served as the unit’s radar cadet. A 4th
classification, Advanced Science Cadet, would sometimes accompany the unit on
missions but typically stayed behind at the Academy doing research. Together,
the cadets manned the spaceship Polaris.
Ad featuring Dr. Joan Dale.
Other characters included Commander Arkwright (Carter Blake), the head
of the Academy; Dr. Joan Dale (Margaret Garland, Pat Ferris for 2 episodes), an
instructor who developed the Hyper-Drive (a small bit of progressivism at the time);
Major “Blastoff” Connell (Ben Stone),
an incredibly strict member of the Academy who would had loved to expel the Polaris
crew; Cadet Alfie “the Brain” Higgins (John Fielder, in his first role),
science cadet; and Cadet Eric Rattison (Frank Sutton), Tom’s rival at
the Academy.
Donning the space suits for a trip outside the ship.
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet made its debut on CBS on October 2, 1950. The
series was written by Art
Wallace, Albert Aley, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert,
Richard Jessup, Palmer Thompson, Ray Morse, Alfred Bester, George Lowther, Stu Byrnes and Thomas. Unlike Space
Patrol, which had debuted months prior, Tom Corbett was more
character-driven than action-oriented. Although it would take some liberties--such
as creating the Hyper-Drive to allow for faster than lightspeed travel to
distant locations--the series held closely to scientific accuracy (as
established at the time) overseen by technical advisor Willy Ley; a German
scientist and writer who became an expert on rocketry. As a result, the Polaris
crew didn’t employ things like laser guns and didn’t encounter many aliens.
Instead, the series was kept “grounded” with common, everyday situations
familiar to the audience but set in space, and themes borrowed extensively from
old westerns. The small budget and limited technology were a boon, forcing the
scripts to be extremely focused and brisk in their pacing.
A cutaway diagram of the Polaris.
Tom Corbett became a smash hit, running 5 seasons. It received praise for its mature
storytelling and innovative special effects. Tom Corbett had the rare
distinction of being the first program to be broadcast across all four major
networks during its run. The first season ran on CBS before moving to ABC for the next two seasons. The show was aired
3 days a week and was broadcast live for 15 minutes an episode. During the ABC
run, three episodes would be repackaged and condensed into a 30-minute show
with narration by Thomas to serve as a summer replacement for The Victor
Borge Show on NBC Saturday nights. After
an 11-month hiatus, Tom Corbett returned on the DuMont Network, airing
alternate Saturdays as it shared the timeslot with Captain Video—the very program it was designed to compete against. 7
months later, the final batch of episodes would return to NBC on Saturday
mornings. Despite the hiatuses, the show’s popularity remained strong.
The diminutive T.J. joins the crew.
After the DuMont run, Merlin decided he wanted to leave the show to
avoid being typecast as a space cadet for the rest of his career. For the final
NBC run he was replaced by Jack Grimes as T.J. Thistle; a cowardly cadet who
tended to have a chip on his shoulder because of his short stature. The NBC
run, sponsored by Kraft, featured a
significant reduction to the already miniscule budget, further limiting the
number of sets used and resulting in the removal of Jackson Beck as the
long-serving narrator. When its popularity did finally begin to wane, the show
was ultimately cancelled; however, it was strongly considered as late as 1957
to bring the show back to the airwaves.
One of the newspaper strips.
The show’s popularity led to a wealth of merchandising and spin-off
opportunities. A comic strip ran from September 9, 1951 to September 6, 1953
drawn by Ray Bailey
and primarily written by Paul
S. Newman. Grosset
& Dunlap, for whom Greene worked as an editor, published a series of 8
juvenile novels written by Carey Rockwell
(believed to be the pseudonym of Greene himself). The books generally featured
a lot of inconsistencies when compared to the television show, however Ley also
served as scientific advisor for them. Saalfield Publishing
Co. released a coloring
book in 1952, and Wonder Books published a children’s book in 1953 called Tom
Corbett’s Wonder Book of Space. From January 1 to June 26, 1952,
a radio program aired adapting television episodes into a half-hour show twice
a week with the cast reprising their roles. An album featuring
several songs from the series was released by Golden Sound Records in 1951, as
well as a recorded
adventure in 1952 from Little
Nipper Junior Records.
Space Cadet
Identification Badges and miniature spacemen, and a Strato-Treasure Hunt
Game were made available with purchase of Red Goose Emery Oxford Shoes; one of
the show’s sponsors. The spacemen were also available with John C. Roberts
Shoes. During Kellogg’s sponsorship, a membership kit was
offered through their Corn
Flakes brand. They also rebranded their cereal Pep into Pep: The Solar
Cereal, which featured cardboard cutouts of space cadet gear and a premium
giveaway of goggles.
When Kraft took over sponsorship, a Space
Cadet Membership Kit was offered for .25 cents and a Kraft tab or wrapper. Among
other merchandise was various tin and plastic toys made by Marx, including
a pistol
and playsets;
metal
lunchboxes made by Aladdin; a
plastic space
helmet from Plasti-Cole Products, Inc.; a costume
from Yankiboy Play Clothes; a three-reelView-Master set; and
more.
The album.
Tom Corbett had a lasting impression on science-fiction, as well as introduced the
terms “space cadet” and “blastoff” into the lexicon that would become closely
associated with the genre. Following the conclusion of the series, Rockhill
came under possession of the IRS for failure
to pay taxes. Direct Recordings, Inc. ended up purchasing Rockhill’s property
from the IRS, including the rights to Tom Corbett. The remaining
artifacts from the show retained by Wolfe were donated to the University of Southern California. In 1984,
Greene gave his personal kinescopes of the show to nostalgia merchant Wade Williams, who also
possessed a number of the half-hour, 15-minute and radio shows. In 1993,
Thomas, Markim and Merlin were reunited to perform one of the old episodes as a
radio broadcast for Friends of
Old Time Radio. Thomas, who viewed the Corbett role as the role of a
lifetime, requested to be buried in his space cadet uniform upon his death in
2006.
EPISODE GUIDE (some information
not available):
Season 2/3 (incomplete):
(11/12/51) – Tom sets out to prove Captain Strong is
innocent of ignoring a flight plan filed by Captain Wynn.
(12/26/51) – The Polaris heads for a crash-landing on
Mars.
(7/14/52) – A saboteur comes aboard the Polaris
disguised as a writer and takes over the ship.
(9/15/52) – The Polaris heads to Titan to administer
a vaccine to deal with a plague, and Roger becomes infected when he sneaks away
against orders.
(9/19/52) – Infected with the plague, Roger sets the Polaris
on the wrong course sending it too close to a comet.
NBC Reruns:
“Space Week” (7/7/51) – A competition between the cadet
units at the Academy is marred in controversy when it seems like a member of
the Polaris stole an exam paper.
“The Martian Revolt” (7/14/51) – A plan to split up the
Space Academy actually masks a deeper plot to destroy the Solar Guard from
within.
“Trial in Space” (7/21/51) – Astro appears to have
contracted space fever, which could remove him from the unit permanently.
“Graveyard of the Rockets” (7/28/51) – The cadets head on a
mission to find a missing scientist in a rocket ship graveyard.
“The Asteroid of Death” (8/4/51) – A stowaway may provide
the only way Roger and Captain Strong won’t collide with an anti-matter
asteroid.
“The Mystery of Alkar” (8/11/51) – The cadets are menaced by
a visitor for Alkar, but an even more deadly threat could destroy the Solar
Alliance.
“The Lost Colony of Venus” (8/18/51) – A stowaway
commandeers the ship and forces the cadets to help him search for the legendary
Lost Colony.
“Summer Space Maneuvers – Part 1” (8/25/51) – The Polaris
is damaged on a mission to destroy an asteroid has to land on Jupiter for
repairs.
“Summer Space Maneuvers – Part 2” (9/1/51) – Jupiter’s
strong gravity and harsh environment make repairing the Polaris a
difficult and dangerous task.
Season 4:
“The Million Dollar Patrol” (8/29/53) – While the Space
Academy is in danger of closing, the cadets have to rescue the passengers of a
crippled rocket liner a million miles away.
“The Trojan Planets” (9/12/53) – The deserted planets
orbiting Jupiter turn out to be anything but.
“The Outpost of Danger” (9/26/53) – The cadets are tasked
with saving the Minas outpost from a rampant disease.
“Target Danger” (10/10/53) – The cadets find themselves
targeted with real weapons during a mock invasion, and a feud between cadets
leads to the wreck of the Commander’s flagship.
“The Mountains of Fire” (10/24/53) – The cadets use the Polaris
to prevent the destruction of an important agricultural station.
“The Ghost Ship” (11/7/53) – The cadets investigate a
mysterious ship that seemingly crashes into other ships accidentally.
“The Beacon of Danger” (11/21/53) – A crooked mechanic
disables a beacon in the hopes of causing a treasury ship to crash.
“Spaceship of Death” (12/5/53) – An exploding spaceship
threatens an airport.
“The Raiders of the Asteroids” (12/19/53) – The cadets go
undercover in order to capture space gangsters.
“The Planet of Doom” (1/2/54) – Two auxiliary cadets crash
their spaceship on Jupiter because of negligence.
“Cargo of Death” (1/16/54) – A negligent captain kidnaps
Roger for the crew of his next poorly-maintained ship, leading to Tom and Astro
going undercover to save Roger and the ship.
“The Iron Major” (1/30/54) – The cadets are forbidden to
leave the ship while in port.
“The Space Projectile” (2/13/54) – Tom has to stop the
sabotage of a cargo firing tube.
“Rescue in Space” (2/27/54) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The Earth Digger” (3/13/54) – The crew goes to clear a
cave-in in the tunnels under the moon’s surface.
“Space Station of Danger” (3/27/54) – The cadets have to
rescue a space station from a dangerous compound in the air and a bomb planted
by saboteurs.
“Treachery in Space” (4/10/54) – Tom is expelled on the
suspicion of treason.
“Comet of Death” (4/24/54) – The crew is put in danger when
the Polaris runs into a comet.
“Death Trap” (5/8/54) – A routine flight turns into a rescue
mission when a distress signal is received.
“The Runaway Rocket” (5/22/54) – The cadets escort the speed
trial of a new rocket that malfunctions and careens towards the sun.
Season 5:
“The Atomic Curtain” (12/11/54) – Two cadets end up trapped
behind an atomic curtain.
“Astro’s Trial” (12/18/54) – After Astro’s orders lead to a
spaceship crash, Tom has to prove his friend innocent of negligence.
“The Runaway Asteroid” (1/1/55) – The crew sets out to alter
the course of an asteroid and transform it into a space station orbiting
Jupiter.
“Suit Up For Death” (1/8/55) – Major Bemus refuses to
believe that the oxygen tanks on the Academy spacesuits are defective.
“Mystery of the Mothball Fleet” (1/15/55) – The cadets are
assigned to the Solar Guard’s fleet anchorage where a crew member was reported
dead.
“The Life Ray” (1/22/55) – The crew must restore the life
ray.
“A Mighty Mite” (1/29/55) – T.J. feels discouraged about his
role in the crew until a fuel leak allows him to prove himself.
“Ace of the Space Lanes” (2/5/55) – Captain Cowan’s reckless
desire to break a speed record puts the whole crew in danger.
“The Asteroid Station” (2/12/55) – A reporter comes to
investigate the Solar Guard’s asteroid station, a project which his paper was
against.
“The Grapes of Ganymede” (2/19/55) – The crew searches for
the source of contaminated grapes that are causing sickness throughout the
solar alliance.
“Assignment: Mercury” (2/26/55) – A technical error by T.J.
puts Tom and Major Connel in danger on Mercury.
“Smugglers of Death’ (3/5/55) – The cadets have to stop
smugglers from sending a crystal that breaks down ores from space to Earth.
“The Mystery of the Missing Mail Ship” (3/12/55) – In
revenge for his dishonorable discharge, Captain Cowan hijacks the Titan Mail
Ship.
“The Gremlin of Space” (3/19/55) – A punishment assignment
leads the cadets to deal with transporting a troublesome chip to the zoo at
Venusport.
“Terror in Space” (3/26/55) – An accident sends Astro
floating away in space, but even when he’s rescued the psychological impact of
the ordeal may keep him from space forever.
“Spaceship of Danger” (4/2/55) – The cadets take a ship home
from vacation, unaware that its captain plans to scuttle it for the insurance
money.
“The Magnetic Asteroid” (4/9/55) – T.J.’s feud with a rival
ship may hinder a mission to track and stop an asteroid with a strong magnetic field.
“The Danger in the Asteroid Belt” (4/16/55) – The cadets end
up trapped on a training ship as it’s about to enter an asteroid belt.
“False Alert” (4/23/55) – A phony distress call lures the Polaris
into a trap.
“The Space Projectile” (4/30/55) – A mission to retrieve
data from a robot rocket sees T.J. and Captain Strong ending up careening
towards a white star.
“The Outpost of Terror” (5/7/55) – The cadets visit a Triton
outpost to discover the body of a radiation victim.
“Exercise for Death” (5/14/55) – The cadets try to impress a
higher-up during a training exercise, but they end up sending their target
flying into other ships.
“Ambush in Space” (5/21/55) – Roy Cowan escapes from prison
and lures the Polaris into a trap to enact his revenge.
“The Stowaway” (5/28/55) – A new reactor test is hampered by
the Defense Minister’s daughter, who stowed away on the Polaris.
“A Fight for Survival” (6/4/55) – The cadets fly an old ship
to Venusport to be scrapped, but its reactors malfunction and leaves them
stranded in a Venusian jungle.
“Space Blindness” (6/11/55) – An eccentric scientist who
wants to photograph a nova named for him leads to his escort, Commander
Arkwright, going blind from the nova’s intense light.
“Comet of Danger” (6/18/55) – A photographer riding along on
the Polaris insists the crew take it through a speeding comet.
“The Final Test” (6/25/55) – The cadets take their final
exam which includes a dangerous flight into deep space.
Taking
inspiration from the massive success of Star Wars: The Empire
Strikes Back, Hanna-Barbera
decided to enter the space business with a new program set in the final
frontier (as Star Trekwould call
it). The result was the 60-minute programming block called Space Stars.
The return of old friends: Space Ghost and The Herculoids.
Space Stars was a mixture of old and new. Hanna-Barbera took it as an opportunity to
revive two of their series from the 1960s: Space
Ghostand The
Herculoids. However, they didn’t just throw up old reruns--they created
all-new stories for both programs. Gary Owens, Virginia Gregg, Mike Road and
Don Messick all reprised their respective roles from the original shows (with
the exception of Frank Welker replacing Messick as Space Ghost’s animal
mascot, Blip). Steve J. Spears and Alexandra Stoddart replaced Tim Matheson and Ginny Tyler as the voices of
Space Ghost’s young allies, Jace and Jan, respectively, while Sparky Marcus
replaced Ted Eccles as the
voice of Tara and Zandor’s son, Dorno. Space Ghost, Jace, Jan and Blip
continued to patrol the spaceways in a sleeker version of The Phantom Cruiser,
encountering some new foes including an evil version of Space Ghost from
another dimension, Space Spectre (John Stephenson). The Herculoids, meanwhile,
continued to protect their home planet of Quasar (renamed from Amzot) from
threats both terrestrial and alien. The anti-technology slant of the original The
Herculoids seemed to have been abandoned as the heroes now seemed to
possess the ability to summon intergalactic aid, such as Space Ghost.
Astro and his new friends.
Another
classic 60s character made a return appearance in the form of Astro (Messick),
the family dog from The
Jetsonsfour years before Hanna-Barbera would launch their syndicated
revival. However, Astro had traded in his cushy home life for one of
adventure in Astro and the Space Mutts. Astro was one of three dogs, the
others being Cosmo (Welker) and Dipper (Lennie Weinrib), who was partnered up
with intergalactic police officer Space Ace (Michael Bell) as they bumbled
their way into protecting the galaxy from a wide variety of thieves and
smugglers.
Kid Comet leads Moelculad and Elektra with the Astromites.
Completely
new was Teen Force. Teen Force was a team of space-faring young
superheroes who dwelled in another universe from the other Space Stars characters,
but could cross over back and forth easily through Black Hole X. It was
comprised of Kid Comet (Darryl Hickman), who possessed super speed; Moleculad
(David Raynr), who could alter his molecular structure; and Elektra (B.J.Ward),
who had psionic abilities and teleportation. They were joined and aided by a
pair of diminutive aliens known as the Astromites, Plutem and Glax (both human
sound box Michael Winslow). Typically, Teen Force battled the evil Uglor (Allan
Lurie) and his various schemes at conquering the universe.
Uglor and his many attempts to conquer the universe.
Space
Stars debuted on NBC on September 12,
181. Each episode was broken up into several story segments, with two Space
Ghost stories opening up both half hours, and followed by Teen Force and
The Herculoids in the first half hour and Astro in the second.
The final segment was called Space Stars Finale, which featured two or
more sets of characters coming together to battle a major threat. However, Finale
wasn’t the only place where the characters interacted. It was common for
characters to cross-over into each other’s individual segments. For instance,
members of Teen Force could be seen helping Space Ghost (it also seemed as if
Jan and Kid Comet were dating), or Space Ghost could aid the Herculoids in
protecting their planet, or Uglor’s nephew could find himself causing trouble
on Space Ace’s beat. At the beginning and half hour interval, a preview montage
of the upcoming stories was shown. To mark the halfway point of the program, a
set of characters from one of the segments would be shown flying around a black
background with colorful stereoscopic lines moving about rendered by Iraj Paran
and Tom Wogatzke.
Teen Force and The Herculoids.
Additionally,
there were four interstitial segments starring a rotating roster of each story
segment’s characters designed to provide a little interactivity for the viewing
audience, as well as fulfill the FCC’s
educational mandates. “Space Magic” would have one character demonstrating a
magic trick to another, typically involving coins or cards. “Space Fact” gave
scientific information about various celestial bodies, the day/night cycle, how
astronauts survive in space and more. “Space Mystery” was essentially a short
story segment that tied into that week’s “Space Fact”, whose information
provided the clue the audience could use to deduce the solution to the
presented mystery. “Space Code” was a coded message given to the audience to
reveal the identity of the Finale villain or how that villain could be
defeated. “Space Code” was broken up into three parts shown between each of the
second half hour’s story segments: the first gave the code, the second provided
a clue as to how to break it, and the third started the process of decoding it.
Space
Stars only ran for 11 episodes; however, it stayed on NBC’s schedule until
the fall of 1982. When the series entered syndicated reruns on USA Network, it was reduced to 30
minutes with only one Space Ghost, Teen Force and The Herculoids being
shown. Cartoon Network and Boomerang would air the all of the story
segments except Teen Force as interstitial segments between shows, never
airing the complete episodes. In 2013, Warner Archive
released the complete
series to DVD as part of their Hanna-Barbera
Classics Collection. In 2020, the Space Stars logo was featured on an arcade cabinet in
an abandoned amusement park arcade in the film, Scoob!
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Microworld / Space Magic / Space Fact / Nebulon / Space
Mystery / The Firebird / Space Code / Planet of the Space Monkeys / Will the
Real Mr. Galaxy Please Stand Up / Polaris” (9/12/81) – Toymaker takes Certia 3
hostage in exchange for Space Ghost’s power bands. / Space Ace shows Astro a
magic trick by pulling a particular name out of a helmet. / Space Ghost
explains comets to Jan and Jace. / Uglor is forced to work with Teen Force to
stop the energy creature he created. / Space Ghost determines that a comet is
really the smuggler ship they’re looking for. / An erupting volcano awakens the
firebird that was residing within. / Kid Comet and the Astromites give the
audience a clue about the upcoming threat. / Feeling neglected, Blip runs away
and finds a planet of space monkeys. / Space Ace and the Mutts have to get the
First Galaxy’s bank vault back from Mr. Galaxy. / Space Ghost and Blip have to
be saved from a space warp dimension created by Polaris.
“The Starfly / Space Magic / Space Fact / The Death Ray /
Space Mystery / The Ice Monster / Space Code / The Anti-Matter Man / Reverso /
Dimension of Doom” (9/19/81) – A Starbeast attacks a space transport ship. /
Space Ace makes a solid object pass through another. / Space Ace tells Astro
about the tides. / Uglor plans to destroy Teen Force’s access to the other
universe to destroy them. / Space Ace investigates a fellow officer’s claim
about a sea beast that ate his lunch. / An indestructible robot emerges from
its icy slumber. / Elektra and the Astromites give the audience a clue about
the upcoming threat. / An accident turns a scientist into the Anti-Matter man.
/ Reverso threatens to reverse everything unless he’s made ruler of the
universe. / Space Ghost and Teen Force have to rescue Jan and Jace from Uglor.
“City In Space / Space Magic / Space Fact / Prison Planet / Space
Mystery / The Snake Riders / Space Code / The Toymaker / The Education of
Puglor / Worlds in Collison” (9/26/81) – Elektra joins Space Ghost in saving a
floating city from falling into the sun. / Space Ace shows Astro an alien in a
box. / Tara explains stars to Dorno, Gloop and Gleep. / Teen Force goes to
Uglor’s prison planet to rescue the Solvanite president. / The Herculoids
encounter an alien who promises to bring them to a paradise planet. / The
Herculoids have to stop the Snake Riders from conquering Quasar. / Space Ghost
and Blip give the audience a clue about the upcoming threat. / Toymaker
captures Jan, Jace and Blip while they vacation. / Uglor loans Puglor his tools
so he can conquer the resort world of Solar Springs. / Elektra joins Space
Ghost and the Herculoids in stopping Uglor’s plan to crash the Ghost Planet
into Quasar.
“Nomads / Space Magic / Space Fact / Trojan Teen Force /
Space Mystery / The Invisibles / Space Code / The Space Dragons / Wonder Dog /
Mindwitch” (10/3/81) – The people Space Ghost saves from a giant space snake
may not be the victims they appear to be. / Jan and Blip show Jace their
mind-reading trick. / Tara explains traveling at the speed of light to Dorno. /
Teen Force must save a royal family from Uglor and keep him from marrying the
princess. / An alien comes to Quasar demanding the planet’s minerals and to
enslave the Herculoids. / The Herculoids get aid from Space Ghost when a chunk
of Magnlilite turns their foes invisible. / Space Ghost learns that one of the
Herculoid animals will betray Zandor. / Space Dragons attack mining operations
to steal an element to make fuel. / Space Ace is given a new robotic dog
partner while Scavenger steals the Aceship. / An evil witch is accidentally
revived and sets her sights on conquering Quasar.
“Eclipse Woman / Space Magic / Space Fact / Decoy of Doom /
Space Mystery / The Energy Creature / Space Code / Attack of the Space Sharks /
Menace of the Magnet Maniac / Magnus” (10/10/81) – Kid Comet helps stop Eclipse
Woman from draining planet Halcion’s energy. / Moleculad shows the Astromites a
coin trick. / Zandor explains the moon to Dorno. / Uglor lures the Teen Force
into a trap so he can steal their powers. / An alien from the moon comes to
conquer Quasar. / An energy creature crashes onto Quasar and can assume the
form of any being it grabs. / Space Ghost discovers a secret about the alien
menacing Quasar. / Space Ghost battles shark-like warships while his associates
end up their prisoners. / Space Ace has to stop a rash of metal robberies. / Space
Ghost helps the Herculoids deal with Magnus and a childlike alien with
dangerous toys.
“Time Chase / Space Magic / Space Fact / Elektra’s Twin / Space
Mystery / The Purple Menace / Space Code / The Haunted Space Station / The
Night of the Crab / The Crystal Menace” (10/17/81) – Kid Comet ends up sending
himself and Jan back in time. / Moleculad shows the Astromites his teleporting
coin trick. / Teen Force relies on the international dateline to make it to an
Earth party on time. / Uglor uses a double of Elektra to capture Teen Force and
keep them from saving the star Helios. / Teen Force has to apprehend a criminal
before the statute of limitations on his crimes runs out. / Glowing rocks lead
to purple vines becoming a menace to the planet. / Space Ace uses a crystal
ball decoder to figure out how to defeat a crystal creature. / Investigating a
distress signal from a space station reveals a soul vampire has turned its crew
into obedient zombies. / The Crab steals the Space Awards from the Space
Palace. / Space Ghost helps the Herculoids deal with Crystal Cyborg to keep all
life on Quasar from being crystallized.
“Time of the Giants / Space Magic / Space Fact / Uglor’s
Power Play / Space Mystery / The Buccaneer / Space Code / The Sorceress / Rock
Punk / The Olympians” (10/24/81) – The Phantom Cruiser goes through a space
cloud that shrinks it and its occupants. / Kid Comet shows the Astromites his
disappearing wand trick. / Space Ghost tells Jan and Jace about how Earth
astronauts survive in space. / Uglor mimics Teen Force’s powers in his latest
plot to conquer the galaxy. / Space Ghost and Blip pursue the Tinkerer to a
moon. / Space pirates come to Quasar in search of buried treasure. / Elektra
and the Astromites get a coded message as to what Uglor wants to steal from
Quasar. / The Sorceress plans to control Space Ghost and force him to marry
her. / Space Ace has to retrieve Mount Spacemore from Rock Punk. / The
Herculoids and Teen Force have to keep Uglor from stealing all of Quasar’s
energy rock deposits.
“Space Spectre / Space Magic / Space Fact / Ultimate Battle
/ Space Mystery / The Thunderbolt / Space Code / The Big Freeze / The Greatest
Show Off Earth / Endangered Species” (10/31/81) – Space Ghost must battle his
evil double from another dimension. / Dorno challenges Gleep into tying a rope
into a knot without letting go of it. / Teen Force explains to Glax why it gets
dark at night. / Uglor challenges Teen Force to a battle on a planet full of
creatures he’s already turned against them. / Teen Force pursues a bank robber
to the arctic region of a planet. / Saiju eats some electrically-charged rocks
and is turned into an electrical monster. / Space Ghost detects a threat
heading for Quasar. / Feron plans to freeze all the planets in the galaxy to
make them inhabitable for his people. / Space Ace has to rescue the Spaceling
Brothers Circus from the Cosmic Clown. / Dorno, Zok and the Space Mutts must
rescue Space Ace, Sandor and Tara from an alien zoo.
“Devilship / Space Magic / Space Fact / The Space Slime /
Space Mystery / Return of the Ancients / Space Code / The Deadly Comet / Jewlie
Newstar / The Outworlder” (11/7/81) – Investigating a shuttle leads Jace to
fall under the power of The Wizard. / Dorno shows Tundro how to magnetize a
stick to attract a straw. / Space Ace explains the sun’s heat to Astro. / Teen
Force must stop Uglor’s new biological weapon. / Space Ace pursues a cosmic car
thief through the solar system. / The descendants of Quasar’s original
inhabitants return to the planet after a 1,000-year mission. / Space Ghost gets
a message on how to trap the Outworlder. / Space Ghost asks Kid Comet to help
deal with some weaponized comets. / Jewlie Newstar steals the Jupiter Jewel
from the interplanetary museum. / Space Ghost and Teen Force deal with an
energy vampire while a threatened freighter’s captain recklessly tries to save
his ship.
“Spacecube of Doom / Space Magic / Space Fact / Wordstar /
Space Mystery / Space Trappers / Space Code / The Time Master / Galactic Vac is
Back / Uglor Conquers the Universe” (11/14/81) – A space cube steals all the
precious metals in the universe. / Jan shows Blip a card trick. / Space Ghost
explains stars to Jace. / Teen Force must stop Uglor from getting a
tremendously powerful weapon. / A new alien addresses the United Worlds asking
refuge for his people from a dying sun, but Space Ghost learns he’s up to
something. / The Space Trappers want The Herculoids for their intergalactic
circus. / The code computers go crazy when Teen Force gets a message on how to
defeat Uglor. / Time Master turns time back on planet Glax-3 in order to
harvest the material needed for his Time Shredder. / Galactic Vac returns to
suck up everything in the galaxy. / Teen Force, Space Ghost and the Herculoids
have to stop Uglor who has gained omnipotent power by absorbing a neutron
galaxy.
“Web of the Wizard / Space Magic / Space Fact / Pandora’s
Warp / Space Mystery / Mindbender / Space Code / The Shadow People / Rampage of
the Zodiac Man / The Cosmic Mousetrap” (11/21/81) – The Wizard plots to use an
illusion to force the Phantom Cruiser to crash. / Jan shows Jace a card trick.
/ Space Ace explains black holes to Astro. / Uglor summons help from another
dimension to destroy a vital power plant. / A smuggler attempts to escape Space
Ace through a black hole. / Dorno, Gloop and Gleep accidentally release a
member of the race that previously ruled Quasar from his prison. / Space Ghost
shares the threat he’ll face with Teen Force. / Elektra joins in the
investigation of a hastily-abandoned space refinery. / Zodiac Man steals the
Stardust Constellation Ring from the Moona Lisa Museum. / Megamind captures
Space Ghost, Jace, Blip and Elektra in order to study their weaknesses.
