Pathfinders in Space
I have fond memories of the Pathfinders in Space trilogy of TV shows broadcast on ITV around 1960. It was about the time I was getting interested in science, science fiction, and especially space travel. One of my earliest memories is seeing the reporting of Sputnik 1 in 1957, followed by the US attempt to launch a satellite shortly after, which blew up on the pad. This scared me so much that I did the old "hide behind the sofa" thing whenever anything about space came on for about two years. It was only the realisation that Dan Dare, my favourite strip in The Eagle, was set in space that got me interested in the subject. And, in 1960, the BBC broadcast the US series Men in Space in what would become the Saturday evening Doctor Who slot, followed by Pathfinders in Space a few months later.
I discovered recently that all three Pathfinders series were now available on DVD and my brother got them for me for Christmas. But I approached the first episodes with trepidation. I was 7 at the time it was broadcast. And even at that age, when in Pathfinders to Venus you see two characters discussing the dinosaurs they see in the distance, I realised that you didn't see them on screen because they couldn't afford the special effect.
My first discovery was that there were actually four series. Target Luna does not survive, and I have no recollection of it, but the events therein are referred to throughout the first episode of Pathfinders in Space. Apparently, in this, Professor Wedgwood is attempting to send a rocket to orbit the moon with a test pilot on board. When the pilot falls ill before launch, somehow Wedgwood's son Jimmy stows away and goes in his place.
Secondly, although my memory is that these series were spread out over some years, in fact the first episode of Target Luna went out 24th April 1960 and the last episode of Pathfinders to Venus was broadcast 23rd April 1961. There seem to be only a couple of months between each series.
So, I've now seen the first two episodes and they are quite fun, despite the dodgy acting, and dodgier special effects. The sound is occasionally bad, as if the mikes were in the wrong position.
The plot involves Professor Wedgwood's follow-up mission, sending a manned rocket to land on the moon. A second, unmanned, rocket is to carry supplies to enable them to survive two weeks on the moon. When the autopilot on the second rocket develops a fault before it is launched, it becomes necessary to crew it and the crew is Henderson, a science journalist, and Wedgwood's two sons, Jimmy and Geoffrey.
Valerie, their sister, also wants to go, but she's told, "You're a girl, you'll be frightened," and the female technician tells her she can help with the computers in the control room. Of course, Valerie stows away. (Wow, who saw that coming?) To be fair, one of the scientists on board the first rocket is a woman, and a Canadian, to boot.
The first rocket has now landed, but a mysterious third rocket has turned up in lunar orbit. Let's see what happens next.
I discovered recently that all three Pathfinders series were now available on DVD and my brother got them for me for Christmas. But I approached the first episodes with trepidation. I was 7 at the time it was broadcast. And even at that age, when in Pathfinders to Venus you see two characters discussing the dinosaurs they see in the distance, I realised that you didn't see them on screen because they couldn't afford the special effect.
My first discovery was that there were actually four series. Target Luna does not survive, and I have no recollection of it, but the events therein are referred to throughout the first episode of Pathfinders in Space. Apparently, in this, Professor Wedgwood is attempting to send a rocket to orbit the moon with a test pilot on board. When the pilot falls ill before launch, somehow Wedgwood's son Jimmy stows away and goes in his place.
Secondly, although my memory is that these series were spread out over some years, in fact the first episode of Target Luna went out 24th April 1960 and the last episode of Pathfinders to Venus was broadcast 23rd April 1961. There seem to be only a couple of months between each series.
So, I've now seen the first two episodes and they are quite fun, despite the dodgy acting, and dodgier special effects. The sound is occasionally bad, as if the mikes were in the wrong position.
The plot involves Professor Wedgwood's follow-up mission, sending a manned rocket to land on the moon. A second, unmanned, rocket is to carry supplies to enable them to survive two weeks on the moon. When the autopilot on the second rocket develops a fault before it is launched, it becomes necessary to crew it and the crew is Henderson, a science journalist, and Wedgwood's two sons, Jimmy and Geoffrey.
Valerie, their sister, also wants to go, but she's told, "You're a girl, you'll be frightened," and the female technician tells her she can help with the computers in the control room. Of course, Valerie stows away. (Wow, who saw that coming?) To be fair, one of the scientists on board the first rocket is a woman, and a Canadian, to boot.
The first rocket has now landed, but a mysterious third rocket has turned up in lunar orbit. Let's see what happens next.