Classic Horrors Club

The knowledge we have about Captain Video & His Video Rangers (1949-1955) hasn’t come from watching its estimated 1,537 episodes; most of the original broadcasts have been destroyed. However, we have a surprising amount of knowledge about it.

The low budget show first aired on June 27, 1949, and was televised live five to six days a week, usually opening the DuMont* Television Network’s prime time schedule from 7:00 to 7:30 PM EST. For the first five years, the adventures of the titular characters filled only 20 minutes. The remaining time was spent with Captain Video’s undercover agents back on Earth; or, footage from Western movies introduced by Ranger Rogers in the middle of the episodes. For its final two seasons, its running time was reduced to 15 minutes.

The show was about a group of fighters for good  in Earth’s distant future. Operating from a secret mountain top base, Captain Video, his teenage companion, “The Video Ranger,” and the team received orders from “The Commissioner of Public Safety.” While original episodes took place at headquarters, later episodes took place in outer space. The original Captain Video was played by Richard Coogan, but after 17 months, Al Hodge assumed the role. The Video Ranger was played for the entirety of the series by Don Hastings.

Captain Video! Master of space! Hero of science! Captain of the Video Rangers! Operating from his secret mountain headquarters on the planet Earth, Captain Video rallies men of good will everywhere. As he rockets from planet to planet, let us follow the champion of justice, truth, and freedom throughout the universe!

Supposedly , only 24 episodes remain and are held in the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Three of these have been made available on home video. I found and watched two episodes on YouTube. In general, at the beginning of each episode, I didn’t know what was going on, indicating the serialized nature of the show. However, it didn’t take me long to figure out enough about what was happening to enjoy them. I have no idea which episodes these were…

…but one had Richard Coogan, so I assume it’s an early one. It opens with an attempt at a story recap, I think. One of the characters tells another, “Remember… you saw…” It also opens a bit Phantom Menace-y with talk of policy and trade agreements among “aliens” dressed in togas. On another planet, a trap is set for Captain Video. “He must never see that beautiful planet again.”

At a break in the story, a “Video Ranger Message” teaches us about Betsy Ross, there there’s the aforementioned Western segment. There will be a second one later. I believe the man on the other planet is Dr. Pauli, one of Captain Video’s regular foes. He promises to use atomic disintegration like he did “last time.” Planning a stop on Mars to teach the aliens’ men how to “kill men with their bare fists,” Captain Video heads toward the trap.

The other episode featured a fun concept: intergalactic mail and a threat to cause its delay. Out in space, “people long for a letter from a loved one.” The good guys have fought to prove the service can be of “value and use.” Bad guys capture good guys aboard a spaceship called “the Orion,” but Captain Video has fooled them. Planetary time is seven hours ahead of Earth time, so the mail is not late.

This episode has only one Western segment, but a vintage commercial for one of the show’s sponsors, Raisin Bran. “Nice plump raisins are like candy. Guaranteed fresh or three times your money back!” It also has at the equivalent of a public service message about combating prejudice in schools. “It’s up to you to ensure your schools are strong.”

Both episodes end with cliffhanger language. In the first, it’s “Things are really starting to happen now!” In the second, it’s “You know as much as we do about what’s going to happen.” I’d love to see a complete story arc. With production values that make Dark Shadows look like Merchant-Ivory, there’s great charm in Captain Video & His Video Rangers.

Merch

Lest you think motion picture and TV merchandising is a product of modern capitalism, the popularity of the show gave birth to flying saucer rings, a “secret seal” ring, cast photos, electronic goggles, a “secret ray gun,” a rocket ship key chain, decoders, membership cards, and more.

Most thrilling for me, a 6-issue bi-weekly comic book series from Fawcett ran from November of 1950 through October of 1951. I found four three issues on archive.org and present some images below. Visit Mike’s Amazing World for details and cover images of each issue.

Then, on December 17, 1951, Columbia Pictures released a 15-chapter movie serial by the name of Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere, starring Judd Holdren. It was, and is, the only movie serial ever based on a television program! Categorized as an “adventure horror science-fiction film,” we’ll discuss it right here on Monday, November 25.

But come back next Saturday for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet…

*The DuMont Television Network (“the forgotten network”), along with NBC and CBS, was one of the United State’s first commercial networks. Launched on August 15, 1946, it ended operations almost exactly a decade later on August 6, 1956. As with Captain Video & His Video Rangers, much of DuMont’s program archive was destroyed by the 1970s.