Classic Horrors Club

For the foreseeable future, #TVTerrorGuide is becoming #SciFiSaturday. Every Saturday (beginning November 16) we’ll discuss some of the earliest science-fiction television shows, from Captain Video & His Video Rangers to Tales of Tomorrow... and beyond? (This could be a longer series than even the 1970s TV Movies series that ran for -gulp- over four years!)

For now, though, let’s look at an overview of what’s coming…

A Brief History of Sci-Fi TV, Part 1

The first science-fiction program produced for television debuted on June 27, 1949, and aired live five to six days a week on the DuMont Television Network. It was called, Captain Video & His Video Rangers, a low budget production that appealed to both children and adults. Due in no small part to its success, two more series appeared within eight months: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (CBS, Oct. 2, 1959) and Space Patrol (ABC, March 9, 1950.) 

With every success comes failure, though, and some of the other Captain Video wannabes lasted only a few months. A version of Buck Rogers from ABC suffered from its low budget and a two month summer hiatus during its run. Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers from CBS was cancelled due to copyright infringement because of its similarity to Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. 

The networks weren’t the only entities trying to cash in on the craze. Three series were syndicated and had varying degrees of success. Flash Gordon ran for 39 episodes, beginning on October. 1, 1954. Captain Z-Ro began local production in San Francisco in November, 1951, but was syndicated nationally beginning Dec. 18, 1955. Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, which was shot on film instead of videotape and featured more elaborate special effects, first aired on Feb. 23, 1954. 

The sci-fi adventure star burned bright and strong… for a few years. Fast than you can say, “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” they were all off the air. The last one standing was Tom Corbett, Space Cadet on June 25, 1955. It didn’t air on its original network, CBS, though. During its run, it hopped networks, also airing on ABC, NBC, DuMont, and back to NBC. This made it one of only six shows in the history of television to appear on all four networks.

During the first couple of years of the phenomenon, someone must have realized the number of adults that were watching what were ostensibly children’s shows. There was an audience for smart, adult science fiction as demonstrated by the success of The Day the Earth Stood Still in 1951. So, later the same year, the first science fiction anthology was produced by ABC. The first episode of Tales of Tomorrow aired on Aug. 3, 1951. It would ultimately run for 85 30-minute episodes, all performed and broadcast live. 

The proliferation of copycat shows did not occur as it did with the space adventures; however, another anthology aired two months after Tales of Tomorrow debuted. Out There launched October. 28. 1951, and was one of the first shows to mix filmed material and live action. It was cancelled after only 12 30-minute episodes, falling victim to the same destiny as many other TV shows over the years: a bad time slot and poor ratings.

Next week: Captain Video & His Video Rangers