Space Command (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Space Command |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Children's science fiction |
| Written by | Alfred Harris |
| Directed by | Murray Chercover |
| Starring | Bob Barclay James Doohan Austin Willis |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 150 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Murray Chercover |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBC Television |
| Original release | 13 March 1953 – 29 May 1954 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Tales of Adventure |
Space Command was an exciting Canadian TV show for kids. It was a science fiction adventure series. It aired on CBC Television in 1953 and 1954. This was the first time CBC made its own drama show!
The show was created by Alfred Harris. It followed the adventures of a young space lieutenant named Frank Anderson (played by Robert Barclay). He was on a spaceship called the XSW1. His crewmate was Phil Mitchell (played by James Doohan, who later became famous as Scotty on Star Trek). The XSW1 captain was Steve Cassel (played by Harry Geldard). Their missions explored space and science topics. These included sunspots, space medicine, and looking for alien life.
The XSW1 spaceship was part of a group called Space Command. This group worked on exploring space and setting up colonies. Characters at Space Command Earth included Dr. Joseph Edmunds (Andrew Anthony) and Ilene Morris (Aileen Taylor). Dr. Fleming was played by Austin Willis. Other actors who appeared on the show were Joe Austin, Cec Linder, and Barry Morse. William Shatner, who also starred in Star Trek, was on the show too!
Even though Space Command was short-lived, it was a very popular drama. It was a big hit for CBC in its early years.
When Space Command Aired
The show first aired on Friday evenings at 7:30 PM in Toronto. It was on VHF channel 5. The very first episode was on March 13, 1953. It was about sunspots. This first set of episodes ran until July 17, 1953. Other topics planned for the series included asteroids, space medicine, and meteorites.
On October 17, 1953, the show moved to Saturdays at 6:30 PM. But it came back to Fridays on January 8, 1954, at 6:00 PM. The final episodes of the series returned to Saturdays on May 1, 1954, also at 6:00 PM. The exact number of episodes isn't known. However, the show aired for 51 weeks in total. If it aired once a week, there would be 51 episodes. So, claims of 150 episodes are likely incorrect.
What Happened to the Episodes?
Sadly, most of the episodes of Space Command are now lost. This is according to Ernest Dick, a media historian from Nova Scotia. Even though copies were made for other CBC stations, almost all recordings are gone. Only one episode from November 1953 is known to still exist. This episode was put on YouTube in March 2018. It has a modern Canadian TV rating of PG. This means it must have been shown again after 1997.
