Space Patrol (1962 TV series)
It consists of 39 episodes, each half an hour long, written and produced by Roberta Leigh in partnership with ABC. The show follows the interplanetary missions of the United Galactic Organization’s military branch, centering on a small team commanded by the bearded Captain Larry Dart. The marionettes’ mouths move in time with dialogue, borrowing elements from Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation technique. Leigh had previously worked with Anderson on *The Adventures of Twizzle* and *Torchy the Battery Boy*, but Anderson developed Supermarionation only after their collaboration ended. Though *Space Patrol* resembles Anderson’s *Fireball XL5*, it was made with a tighter budget. Space Patrol serves as UGO’s military force. The story follows a small unit led by Captain Larry Dart (voiced by Dick Vosburgh). His crew includes two humanoid males: Slim from Venus, who has elfin features, and Husky from Mars, a stocky character obsessed with sausages (both voiced by Ronnie Stevens). From Earth, technical support comes from Irish Professor Aloysius O’Brien O’Rourke Haggarty (voiced by Stevens), who is annoyed at being called “Pop” by his daughter Cassiopeia (voiced by Libby Morris). Haggarty owns a chatty pet “gabblerdictum,” a parrot-like Martian creature (also voiced by Morris), which occasionally joins the crew. Overseeing operations are Colonel Raeburn (voiced by Murray Kash) and his highly efficient Venusian secretary Marla (voiced by Morris), both based on Earth. Male Venusians like Slim have androgynous features, while male Martians are more rustic and virile. The series reflects the gender roles of its era, but the blonde, intelligent Marla often declares, “There are no dumb blondes on Venus.” Notably, the show was created and written by Roberta Leigh, the first woman producer in Britain to own her own film company.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's science fiction
- Creator
- Roberta Leigh
- Director
- Frank Goulding
- Voices
- Dick Vosburgh / Libby Morris / Ysanne Churchman / Ronnie Stevens / Murray Kash
- Composer
- Fred Judd
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Num Series
- 1
- Num Episodes
- 39
- Producer
- Roberta Leigh / Arthur Provis
- Editor
- John Beaton / Roy Hyde / Len Walter
- Cinematography
- Arthur Provis
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Space Patrol was filmed in converted church buildings in Stoke Newington and Harlesden, London. Arthur Provis, Gerry Anderson's former business partner, was responsible for the cinematography. The production was completed in two blocks consisting of 26 and 13 episodes, which together make up a single series. Various puppets from the series were re-used in later Leigh productions including Wonderboy and Tiger and Send for Dithers. The series' only music is avant-garde, the theme music being devised by Leigh herself using electronic equipment that she bought locally after asking an assistant for anything that made interesting sounds. Fred Judd assisted Leigh as an engineer in creating the electronic music.
Reader's Guide
Space Patrol is significant as an early British science fiction television series that used marionettes with moving mouths synchronized to dialogue, incorporating elements of Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation technique. Roberta Leigh, the first woman producer in Britain to have her own film company, created and wrote the series. Despite a lower budget than Anderson's Fireball XL5, the series gained a large fan following and rated strongly with young audiences in many regions, including New York City. Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski has said that it was his favourite TV show as a child. The series was sold overseas and broadcast in the US, Canada, Australia, and Malta. For many years it was believed that all but a few episodes had been destroyed, until a complete cache of 16 mm prints was discovered in the garage of Leigh's home. These were later released on VHS and DVD, with two episodes from original 35 mm prints made available on Blu-ray.
Did You Know?
- The series is also known by its US title Planet Patrol to avoid confusion with the 1950s American series of the same name.
- The Galasphere is constructed of plutonite (a material mined from Pluto) and can travel underwater.
- The closing credits do not feature music; they are accompanied by a throb of industrial machinery sounding like a giant pump or a steam engine.
- The Gabblerdictum bird was bright pink, as revealed by colour films from later Leigh productions.
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