Space Command (TV series)

Last updated

Space Command
Genre Children's science fiction
Written byAlfred Harris [1] [2]
Directed by Murray Chercover [2]
StarringBob Barclay
James Doohan
Austin Willis
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
Production
ProducerMurray Chercover [1]
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network CBC Television
Release13 March 1953 (1953-03-13) –
29 May 1954 (1954-05-29) [1]
Related
Tales of Adventure [1]

Space Command was a Canadian children's science fiction television adventure series, broadcast on CBC Television in 1953 and 1954, the first time the network aired its own dramatic series. [3] [4]

Contents

Created by Alfred Harris, the series focused on the activities of young space lieutenant Frank Anderson (Robert Barclay) aboard the space ship XSW1, along with his crewmate Phil Mitchell (James Doohan, best known as Scotty on Star Trek ) [5] [6] and XSW1 captain Steve Cassel (Harry Geldard). Their missions dealt with various space exploration and science subjects, including sunspots, space medicine, and the search for extraterrestrial life.

The XSW1 was operated by the worldwide Space Command organization, [5] [7] which concerned itself with space exploration and colonization. Characters at Space Command Earth included Dr. Joseph Edmunds (Andrew Anthony), Ilene Morris (Aileen Taylor), and Dr. Fleming, (Austin Willis). [2] Other actors appearing on the series included Joe Austin, Cec Linder, Barry Morse (later of the TV series The Fugitive and Space: 1999 ), [8] and William Shatner (Star Trek). [2] [9]

Although short-lived, Space Command proved to be a hit dramatic program for CBC's earliest years. [3]

Production details

As stated over the end credits, Space Command originated at CBC Toronto. The show was aired live but was kinescoped to enable distribution to other stations in the CBC's fledgling television network.

Accurate credits are difficult to assemble because only a single episode is known to survive and documentation of the program is scant. The existing episode's technical credits are: Producer Murray Chercover; Technical Producer Vic Ferry. Audio Orm Collier; Sound Effects Bill McCelland; Production Supervisor Robert Allen; Special Effects John D. Lowry and Peter Kirby, which included presentations of rockets and weightlessness. [3]

Other sources identify the Producer as Ross McLean and lists the Director as Murray Chercover. The only known Writer credit is Alfred Harris. Harold Wright was technical advisor to the series. [7] [10] Models were created at producer Murray Chercover's residence, and rocket propulsion material was obtained from T. W. Hand Fireworks. [3]

Scheduling

The series was initially seen on Friday evenings at 19:30 Eastern time on CBLT channel 9 in Toronto. The debut episode on 13 March 1953 featured the topic of sunspots. [7] This first run continued until 17 July 1953. [1] Other topics planned for the series included asteroids, space medicine, meteorites, and evolution. [3]

Initially, the only other CBC Television station was CBFT in Montreal, broadcasting in English and French until the launch of CBMT. During Space Command's run CBOT went on the air in Ottawa on June 2, 1953 and the three stations were networked via microwave. Other CBC stations that signed on while the show was in production and which may have carried the programme for at least part of its run were CKSO Sudbury, Ontario (October 25, 1953), CFPL London, Ontario (November 28, 1953), CBUT Vancouver (December 16, 1953), CBMT in Montreal (January 10, 1954), CKCO in Kitchener, Ontario (March 1, 1954), CBAT in Saint John, New Brunswick (March 22, 1954), and possibly CBWT Winnipeg (May 31, 1954).

From 17 October 1953, the series moved to Saturdays at 18:30, but came back to CBC's Friday schedule on 8 January 1954 for the 18:00 time slot. The final run of the series returned to Saturdays on 1 May 1954, again at the 18:00 time slot. [1] The total number of episodes is undocumented, but the show aired for 51 weeks in total, and if it aired only once weekly the maximum number of episodes would be 51 and claims that report a series length of 150 episodes must be in error.

Preservation status

Nova Scotia media historian Ernest Dick lamented the loss of recordings of nearly all the series episodes, despite the production of kinescopes for distribution to CBC stations across Canada. The only known extant recording is that of one November 1953 episode. [2] That segment was uploaded to YouTube in March 2018, bearing a modern Canadian TV Classification System TV rating of PG, indicating it must have been rebroadcast no earlier than 1997.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Doohan</span> Canadian actor (1920–2005)

James Montgomery Doohan was a Canadian actor and author, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise has become one of the most recognizable elements in the Star Trek franchise, and inspired many fans to pursue careers in engineering and other technical fields. He also made contributions behind the scenes, such as the initial development of the Klingon and Vulcan languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorne Greene</span> Canadian actor (1915–1987)

Lorne Hyman Greene was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western Bonanza and Commander Adama in the original science-fiction television series Battlestar Galactica and Galactica 1980. He also worked on the Canadian television nature documentary series Lorne Greene's New Wilderness and in television commercials.

The Friendly Giant is a children's television program that aired on CBC Television from September 30, 1958, through to March 1985. It featured three main characters: a giant named Friendly, who lived in a huge castle, along with his puppet animal friends Rusty, and Jerome. The two principal puppets of the CBC version of the show were manipulated and voiced by Rod Coneybeare. Originally in Wisconsin, they were manipulated and voiced by Ken Ohst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBWT-DT</span> CBC Television station in Winnipeg

CBWT-DT is a CBC Television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It has common ownership with Ici Radio-Canada Télé station CBWFT-DT. The two stations share studios on Portage Avenue and Young Street in Downtown Winnipeg; CBWT-DT's transmitter is located near Red Coat Trail/Highway 2 in Macdonald.

CBET-DT is a CBC Television station in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The station's studios are located on Riverside Drive West and Crawford Avenue in Downtown Windsor, and its transmitter is located near Concession Road 12 in Essex.

CBLT-DT is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the English-language service of CBC Television. It is part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé outlet CBLFT-DT. The two stations share studios at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre on Front Street West in downtown Toronto, which is also shared with national cable news channel CBC News Network and houses the studios for most of the CBC's news and entertainment programs. CBLT-DT's transmitter is located atop the CN Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBMT-DT</span> CBC Television station in Montreal

CBMT-DT is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, broadcasting the English-language service of CBC Television. It is owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation alongside Ici Radio-Canada Télé flagship CBFT-DT. The two stations share studios at Maison Radio-Canada on René Lévesque Boulevard East in Downtown Montreal; CBMT-DT's transmitter is located atop Mount Royal.

CICI-TV is a television station in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, and has studios on Frood Road in Sudbury; its transmitter is located near Huron Street.

<i>Flight into Danger</i> 1956 television film by Gabriel Axel

Flight into Danger is a 1956 Canadian live television play starring James Doohan, Corinne Conley and Cec Linder. It was written by Arthur Hailey, produced and screened by CBC Television, and broadcast on April 3, 1956, on the General Motors Theatre series. It was later adapted into two different feature films, a parody feature film, a novel, and international television versions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia.

CKNC-TV was a television station in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The station was in operation from 1971 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television, and then continued until 2012 as a network-owned rebroadcaster of the network's Toronto affiliate CBLT.

CBFT-DT is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the French-language service of Ici Radio-Canada Télé. It is owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation alongside CBC Television outlet CBMT-DT. The two stations share studios at Maison Radio-Canada on René Lévesque Boulevard East in Downtown Montreal; CBFT-DT's transmitter is located atop Mount Royal.

CBC Television is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952, with its main studios at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto. Its French-language counterpart is ICI Radio-Canada Télé.

CJIC-TV was a television station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The station was in operation from 1954 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television.

This is a list of Canadian television-related events in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKRN-DT</span> Defunct TV station in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec

CKRN-DT was a privately owned Ici Radio-Canada Télé-affiliated television station licensed to Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada, which essentially functioned as a semi-satellite of Montreal Radio-Canada flagship station CBFT-DT due to not having alternative non-network sources of programming available. It broadcast a digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter near Chemin Powell in Rouyn-Noranda.

R.C.M.P. was a Canadian television drama series about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The series ran a single season, consisting of 39 weekly half-hour episodes that aired from 28 October 1959 to 19 October 1960 on CBC.

Living is a group of regional Canadian lifestyle television programs that aired on CBC Television stations. The initial broadcast was on January 15, 2007. Due to budgetary issues, the Living programs were not continued past the end of the 2008–09 television season. The final episodes of each Living series aired on August 28, 2009.

Murray Howard Chercover was a Canadian television producer and executive, particularly known as the president of the CTV Television Network from 1967 until 1990.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Allan, Blaine. "(Seven to Sprockets) Space Command". CBC Television Series 1952 to 1982. Queen's University. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Dick, Ernest J. (7 July 2006). "Vanishing Media: Space Command" (PDF). AVTrust. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Rainsberry, F. B. (1988). A history of children's television in English Canada, 1952–1986. Scarecrow Press. pp. 117, 118. ISBN   0-8108-2079-X.
  4. ↑ "CBC CA Image of the Day: Space Command".
  5. 1 2 CBC Arts (7 July 2004). "TV's 'Scotty' has Alzheimer's". CBC News . Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  6. ↑ Hayward, Anthony (22 July 2005). "James Doohan (obituary)". The Independent . Archived from the original on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 "Television / CBLT-TV Channel 9". The Globe and Mail . 13 March 1953. p. 35.
  8. ↑ Morse, Barry (2004). Pulling Faces, Making Noises: A Life on Stage, Screen & Radio. iUniverse, Inc. p. 159. ISBN   0595321690.
  9. ↑ Corcelli, John (April 2002). "Space Command". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  10. ↑ "Space Command | History of Canadian Broadcasting". www.broadcasting-history.ca. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.