The pilot for Destination Space was competing with Men Into Space for a slot on the CBS schedule in 1959 and never continued its journey because the other series received the greenlight from the network.
What Is It?
This TV movie takes place in a near-future setting when humans have established a space station in orbit around Earth designed to act as a launching point for the exploration and colonization of the Moon and beyond. The story is set partially on the space station dealing with attempts to launch a rocket to the Moon, and partially on Earth dealing with the astronaut’s personal lives and the politics of the space program. Accidents and malfunctions impede the lunar launch while politicians on Earth cast doubt on the usefulness of the space station.
Aired: Uncertain
Starring: Harry Townes, John Agar, Charles Aidman, Edward C. Platt
Created By: Rip Van Ronkel
Why Didn’t It Fly?
Destination Space is actually a solid bit of sci fi for its day, and it presents a serious look at space exploration based on the scientific knowledge from the 1950s. It does have some soap opera asides, likely intended to broaden the show’s appeal to the Prime Time audience. But those do not get too much in the way of the bigger story. The script was written by Rip Van Ronkel who also worked on the script for the classic 1950 sci fi film Destination: Moon (another serious representation of space travel, more on that at Cult-SciFi.com). It also uses the models and stock footage from 1955’s Conquest of Space as both productions came from Paramount. And it offered an early use of tropes that would become common in later sci fi shows such as the camera “rock and roll”, with the actors tumbling about the set as the ship is in distress (which became a weekly standard on shows like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Star Trek). Plus, it had somebody commanding a switch to auxiliary control when the main power goes out as well as the countdown with somebody grimly reading off the numbers to add tension (both frequently used in Trek).
Science fiction scholar Gary Westfahl believes that this pilot was competing with Men Into Space for the 1959-60 season on CBS, and the latter ended up winning out between the two. Both offered an intelligent look at space travel based on the science available, though Destination Space threw in more interpersonal drama. It certainly could have turned into a decent series if CBS had given it the greenlight, and perhaps it would have lasted longer than Men Into Space‘s one season if the drama elements had given it more appeal to Prime Time viewers. MIS took a much more straightforward approach that focused mostly on the space program and still delivered a very good sci fi series (more on that one at this link), though it tended to go heavy on the technical side. Obviously, CBS did not want two space-based shows on its schedule and went with Men Into Space, but Destination Space could have become a sci fi gem as well.
Should It Be Rebooted?
A retro-reboot of this pilot or the Men Into Space series would certainly be fun, especially if it brought back the look and feel of those shows along with the early optimism towards the space program. It could follow a different path than Apple TV+’s For All Mankind and tap into the adventurous spirit around space travel that emerged in the ’50s and ’60s. And it need not be based on either of these two properties as it could follow on from George Pal’s Destination Moon and Conquest of Space, or just borrow enough from those to manifest a similar spirit. It would be a fun trip, but I’m not sure if there is enough interest among entertainment industry execs to go in that direction.
Where Can You Watch It?
The film has been released on DVD and you can also purchase it VOD. It is available to stream for free (with ads) at Cineverse.com and you can also watch it on YouTube.
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