Space Patrol - The stories followed the 30th-century adventures of Commander Buzz Corry (Ed Kemmer) of the United Planets Space Patrol and his young sidekick Cadet Happy (Lyn Osborn) —- yes, Cadet Happy —- as they faced nefarious interplanetary villains with diabolical schemes. Not surprisingly for the time, some of these villains had Russian- or German-sounding accents. Cmdr. Corry and his allies were aided by such nifty gadgets as "miniature space-o-phones" and "atomolights." Episodes had such pulp-magazine titles as "Revolt of the Space Rats" and "The Menace of Planet X." The special effects used in the live half-hour TV episodes had to be performed in real time. For example, pistols that shot invisible rays necessitated pre-positioning a small explosive charge on the wall. An actor would point the prop at that spot, whereupon a special effects worker would throw a detonation switch. These effects could not have been superimposed on film for the series was done live. For distribution to distant stations, an image of a tiny, bright TV monitor was filmed to make kinescopes, and most of the Saturday half-hour TV broadcasts are available in this form today. The 15-minutes-every-weekday version of the program was at first seen mainly in the Los Angeles viewing area, but also was later distributed nationwide via kinescopes; it was not carried by ABC-TV but was presented in syndication. The show played directly to kids, and each episode shamelessly merchandised various toys and mail-order premiums tied into the series during their commercial breaks. Even the ads for corporate sponsor Chex Cereals used the show's space opera motif in their pitches. A unique feature of the TV and radio adventures was that the premium of the month was often worked intricately into the action of the live adventures. Many if not all of the 30-minute TV episodes are also currently available in various video formats.

THIS EPISODE:
August 15, 1953. ABC network. "Peril Over Jupiter". Sponsored by: Ralston cereals ("Space Patrol Microscope Kit" premium). Two space criminals endanger a woman "space metals" executive and Commander Corry and Cadet Happy as well! Ed Kemmer, Lyn Osborn, Dick Tufeld (announcer), Larry Robertson (producer, director), Lou Houston (writer), Mike Mosser (creator), Mike Devry (executive producer). 29:34.