Flash Gordon and Rocky Jones Space Ranger by traveler

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

Flash Gordon and Rocky Jones Space Ranger

POSTED BY: TRAVELER
UPDATED: Thursday, June 8, 2006 13:21
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Tuesday, June 6, 2006 4:09 PM

I'm showing my age but Flash Gordon, the one with Buster Crabbe, And Rocky Jones were the start of science fiction on T.V. In Flash Gordon they actually opened the hatch to throw out a time bomb. The wind made it difficult to open the door. No vacuum in space before 1940 I guess. And on Rocky Jones the set of an atomic explosion while hiding behind a rock. But you have to start somewhere and these are series that started it. I went into shock when I heard Rocky tell the spacestation they could pull them in with their "tractor beam", this is more than ten years before Star Trek used this term. Of course the Flash Gordon series was originally made for the theater but adapted well for television. I think they used sparklers and roman candles for rocket exhaust on Dr. Zarkov's spaceship. Rocky is a little better because they had the V2 as an example of a true rocketship. As corny as they appear today they were the shows that got me hooked and I watch everything from Red Dwarf to Farscape because of them. Copies are available if you would like to see how it all began.

And what do we do with the chain of command?

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Tuesday, June 6, 2006 4:36 PM

DROCCULARI

I'm right there with you Traveler, age and all. But I'm a little vague on Rocky Jones. I remember two shows that might have been it; one where the hero could fly around with a backpack rocket and had a stubby spaceship that landed and took off horizontally using landing skids, and another with a long sleek needle-nozed ship that landed and took off vertically on it's tail fins. Does either one sound familiar?

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Thursday, June 8, 2006 1:21 PM

TRAVELER

DROCCULAR:

You got it. It was the second one with the needle nose spaceship. I had a hard time finding anything about this series myself because I forgot the name, then suddenly while exploring the Web it just popped out and lay before me like Mose had parted the sea. I got my DVD's from Amazon, but the company that produces them is called Passport Video. Some episodes are in better shape than others. Some are still only on VHS.

And what do we do with the chain of command?

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