Spacemens Luck

 

Where Tom Corbett, Captain Video, CMDR Corry and Other Spacemen Still Live

The state of America’s manned space travel program today is in disarray. With the US having no spaceship in it’s fleet capable of carrying personnel into space. And the only other means for American’s to get into space is via the Russian space fleet which has been temporarily (Hopefully) de-certified due to the failure of last weeks cargo flight to the ISS space station.

The reason we are in this position is because our national leadership has failed to keep their eye on the ball over the last ten or fifteen years and allowed our space program to decline to the point it is today.

What prompted me to right this article is I came across a classic failed pilot for a CBS TV series from 1959 named “Destination Space”. The movie over all is standard science fiction for day. But what I found interesting was the speech before a congressional sub-committee criticizing the congress and other leaders on their leadership in the space program. It is to my knowledge the first time that space travel was shown in a plausible political context that is relevant to this day. A leader of the congressional sub-committee suggests that space travel was not just a technological triumph and a great adventure but also costly and that financial justification is an important consideration as well.

I regret that there was only this one pilot episode and not at least one season of the show made. The film used a lot of stock footage from the earlier 1955 space travel movie “Conquest of Space”. Specifically the views of the “The Wheel” (space station) and the spaceship which is bound for the moon. In the source movie of the stock footage “Conquest of Space” A team of American astronauts leave their space station on the first mission to Mars.

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The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon

In the last episode Flash, was drugged with lethium by Queen Azura with lethium, forcing him to forget his friends and fooling him into believing that she is his beloved. Under the influence of the drug, Flash rejects Dale and declares Azura the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and swears his loyalty. The Queen has Tahl bring Dale and Captain Kahn back to life and Flash declares he does not know them.

Our story continues this episode in the the Kingdom of the Hawkman where King Vultan and Dr. Zarkov are missing their comrades Flash and Dale when they receive a spacephone call from one of Captain Kahn’s Lieutenant’s reporting that Flash, Dale and Captain Kahn have been captured by Queen Azura’s Blue Magic Men. King Vultan dispatches Dr. Zarkov as head of a relief expedition.

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Journey into Space

In our last episode the crew of the Luna now stranded on Earth of as much as 20 thousand years ago are preparing to launch the Spaceship Luna when they took one last scan around the ship with their Televiewer and they saw what must be the “creatures of the forest” the Time Traveler has been going on about. Only now that they see them and realize that they are men, prehistoric men. Their ancestors!

This episode opens with the crew of the Spaceship Luna are watching the “creatures of the forest” gathering about a hundred yards off from the ship. Using their Televiewer they scan the sky for the alien ships who will be needed to assist them on their departure from the earth.

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Cast of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

In the last episode Buck and Wilma were back onboard the pursuit rocketship and were again picking up Black Barney’s rocket trail, where they had left it when they were diverted to Dr. Huer’s laboratory. The trail is strong and as they arrive in the vicinity of the ruined city of Philadelphia the rocket trail makes a sudden turn then suddenly the trail disappears.

We pickup this episode still aboard the pursuit rocketship puzzling over where Killer Kane and Ardala’s stolen rocketship has gone. While circling around the ruined city of Philadelphia they finally encounter another rocket trail. But the Gas Analyzer readings are indicating a different reading, one that would indicate a Rocket Dampener was in use. Their problem is that they understood the test rocketship that was stolen had been stripped down and all unnecessary equipment removed. Buck and Wilma are uncertain if the Rocket Dampener had been removed from the test ship so they decide to contact Dr. Huer to find out. Unfortunately, the Central Radio Bureau reports Dr. Huer is on his way to the City of Omaha to see Elmo the head of the city. The Central Radio Bureau operator suggests they wait a few minutes and try to contact Dr. Huer at Elmo’s office.

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The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon

Last episode Flash and Barin win the tournament of death and Ming proclaims both Flash and Baron Kings. To Prince Barin and Ming’s daughter Aura he gave the Kingdom of the Forest. To Flash Gordon and the Earth girl Dale he gave the Kingdom of the Caves. Ming’s treachery is that neither kingdom has been conquered. Ming declares that these are brave men, let them try.

The story continues this episode Flash, Dale, Captain Kahn and a company of King Vultan’s Hawkmen they set out to conquer Kira the unconquered Kingdom of the Caves. Their first stop is to the Caves of Zoog, Chief of the Cavemen. After landing Zoog comes out of their underground dwellings and Captain Kahn orders Zoog to bow before King Flash the First there new King. But Zoog refuses and Flash takes him on in hand to hand fighting and wins. Zoog who lost to Flash concedes that Flash is the King of the Cave World.

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Cast of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

In the last episode Buck reads the letter Willie delivered from Kane and it is a taunt to Buck to find them at their new headquarters, if they can find it. Buck quizes Willie to find out the general location of where he was near Philadelphia. With this information Buck and Wilma take their rocketship, now equipped with a Gyro Cosmic Relativator, and their Gas Analyzer to attempt to pick up Killer Kane’s rocket trail before it disapates.

This episode begins in Dr. Huer’s laboratory where he is tending to Willie’s injury’s. While waiting for an ambulance from the medical center to arrive Dr. Huer gets an idea to throw Killer Kane off in his planning. He calls the Central Radio Bureau and has them put out a phony message saying for all persons to be on the look out for Willie. It announced his Rocket Roadster was found crashed on the outskirts of the city of Niagra with a piece of Willie’s jacket but him missing.

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The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon

Last episode Flash Gordon, Dale Ardin, Dr. Zarkov, Thun, Prince of the Lionmen, and Prince Barin were held prisoner by King Vultan in the city of the Hawkmen perched five thousand feet above the ground on the planet Mongo. Flash and his friends in their attempt to escape the atomic furnaces of the Hawkmen destroy the furnaces causing the city in the sky to begin to fall.

The story continues this episode in the crumbling palace of Vultan in the Sky City. Vultan has his sword at Flash Gordon’s throat. Zarkov yells Stop! Stop! Wait! I can save your city. But if you harm Flash Gordon, I will doom this city and all of your Hawkmen to destruction.

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Cast of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

In the last episode we were at Dr. Huers laboratory where they are installing the new Gyro Cosmic Relativator. Just as Buck heads out to his rocketship he, Dr. Huer and Wilma see a crash landing.

We pickup this episode with the crash having just happened and they find that Willie is the one who was flying the Rocket Roadster. They take the unconscious Willie into Dr. Huer’s laboratory and put him under the Healing Ray.

Buck inspects the Rocket Roadster and finds that it is the same one that Ardala stole from Dr. Huer’s laboratory earlier. This convinces Dr. Huer and Buck that Killer Kane has hijacked the test rockeship with the first Gyro Cosmic Relativator and Black Barney under Kane and Ardala’s control.

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Journey into Space

In the previous episode of our story Operation Luna episode 10 Jet, Mitch, Doc and Lemmy are in the city of the Time Traveling stranger and have been lead through the city to the strangers quarters. They were standing outside his door when it opened and they peered inside the dome and suddenly they all exclaim as if the saw something horrible and Lemmy yells out in horror and runs off screaming. The others call after him to come back.

We pick up the story with Jet going after Lemmy and bringing him back. Their initial shock and horror of seeing the alien has subsided and they are standing around the outside of the now closed door where the alien is located. They are discussing among themselves what they saw and they appear to agree that it appeared like a giant man sized armadillo standing up on it’s hind legs.

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Cast of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

In the last episode aboard a Battle Cruiser Buck Rogers contact’s the Central Radio Bureau with a message for Dr. Huer that they are following Black Barney’s rocketship exhaust gas trail with the Gas Analyzer which is leading them to the ancient city of Philadelphia. But the Central Radio Bureau tells Buck that Dr. Huer wants them back at his laboratory right away despite whatever they are doing.

This episode begins aboard Buck and Wilma’s Battle Cruiser which is returning to Dr. Huers laboratory. Buck is still uneasy about leaving Black Barney’s rocket trail and is convinced that Barney would never have run off with the rocketship with the Gyro Cosmic Relativator installed. He is convinced someone namely Killer Kane has taken over the rocketship from Barney and he is now their prisoner.

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