The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
What Is It?
This was one of the first sci fi series to debut during the early days of television and it followed the adventures of Commander Buzz Corry of the United Planets Space Patrol, his sidekick Cadet Happy, and the rest of his team as they face the many nefarious villains that threaten Earth in the 30th Century.
Aired: ABC, 1950-55, 5 Seasons Totaling 210 30 Min Episodes & 900 15 Min Episodes
Starring: Ed Kemmer, Lyn Osborn, Ken Mayer, Virginia Hewitt
Created By: Mike Moser
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
This early sci fi TV entry is one of the first examples of the “kiddie space operas” that came to represent the genre during the early years of television. Space Patrol along with Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Tom Corbet: Space Cadet, Rocky Jones Space Ranger, and more appealed to a younger audience and gave the genre a reputation as for-kids-only in the 1950s. But these shows also spurred the imagination of the youths that tuned in, and they set the stage for later sci fi TV shows that would follow.
Space Patrol was a low-budget affair with simplistic plots and characters that adhered to the the gender stereotypes of the time. The heroes were about as tidy white as possible and the women were mostly there to look pretty as the men defeated the villain-of-the-week. But at the same time, the show set many of the early standards for the space opera and science fiction entries that would follow in the years and decades to come. It also gave us full-on science fiction stories that introduced to television genre tropes such as androids, time travel, space battles, and more (including early versions of the transporter and cloaking device later used in Star Trek). And while the women were typically relegated to lesser roles, they still had responsible jobs like piloting the space ships. (You can read more about the show at this link.)
So while the series was definitely kid-friendly and did not attempt to deliver more complex science fiction stories, it helped to popularize the genre and many of its fans likely grew up to appreciate shows like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Star Trek, and more. Space Patrol certainly counts as a formative sci fi TV series that will not hold up as well to the eyes of modern viewers, but it was an important early entry for the genre and should be considered one of the greatest of all-time.
ALSO READ: 20 of the Greatest Sci Fi and Fantasy TV Shows of All Time
Argument Against:
Space Patrol may be considered a notable sci fi TV series for its day, but it has definitely not stood the test of time. Most of the stories are juvenile at best and the special effects are not even as good as the movie serials and B-films that were coming out at that time. It is a male-dominated show with the women mostly there to serve coffee or get into trouble, and it did little to break through the gender stereotypes of its day. And the show is also quite repetitive with the heroes defeating the mostly-generic bad guys on a weekly basis across five seasons and over a thousand episodes. This is an important series from a historical perspective as one of the first and longest-lived early genre shows, but it hardly counts as one of the greatest of all-time.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
I know there are those who believe Space Patrol should not be considered in the conversion of the greatest sci fi TV entries because it is such a retro series, but what’s not to like about this show? It gave us space battles and journeys to distant planets and alien races and all in a fifteen to thirty minute episode. The good guys are clean as a whistle (no moral ambiguities here), always coming out on top as the viewer is treated to plenty of 50s-style machismo, heroines in peril, cackling villains, and xenophobic glee. I perfectly captures the attitudes of its day while still also suggesting a brighter future (just like Star Trek did in the 1960s). And while the special effects were crude, they are not bad for a television budget. This is certainly not the type of show that you will go binge-watch a bunch of episodes, but viewing a few at a time can still be plenty of fun as you slip back into its 50s naivety with a spirit of adventure.
One could argue that the similar Captain Video and His Video Rangers should be considered here because it was the first of the early space operas (more on that at Cult-SciFi.com). But only a handful of episodes of that one have survived whereas Space Patrol still has a very good representation of its run. And it was also a little more accomplished than Captain Video, having slightly higher production values and maybe just a notch up on the scripts. Sure, it does not hold up as well today, but there is plenty to glean from this early sci fi TV entry and I would agree that it should be considered among the greatest genre shows of all time.
Read More About the Series: Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television by Jean-Noel Bassior
Where Can You Watch It?
A fair number of episodes have been released on DVD, though many of those are now out of print (the Blu-ray set on Amazon is for the British show mentioned above and it is PAL format). The show is currently streaming for free (with ads) on Tubi TV, and since it is in the public domain you can find episodes on YouTube as well (the ones with the old-style adds are a hoot).
Stream Space Patrol
Do you consider Space Patrol one of the greatest sci fi/fantasy shows of all time or has it not stood the test of time? Chime in with your thoughts below or at our discussion thread at r/SciFiTV.
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