Created By | Roland D. Reed |
Cast | Richard Crane Sally Mansfield Robert Lyden Scotty Beckett |
Rocky Jones, Space Ranger was a short-lived television series created by Roland D. Reed. Conceived in 1951, a pilot was filmed in 1952. Following some re-casting, the series proper went into production in 1953 and began airing for the first time on television in 1954.
The series chronicled the exploits of Rocky Jones, an heroic Space Ranger, as he battled villains in outer-space. It is notable for being the first real "space opera". Shot on film, (which was rare for television at the time) it is remarkably well-preserved and complete compared to other science fiction shows produced during that time. Its optical effects and production design were groundbreaking and the series established many ship design principles that would by staples in science fiction in the following decades: such as the large forward view screen; the automatic sliding doors; and the radarvex you peered into for a read out, for example.
The series would go on to spawn a short series of successful Comic Book adventures and many of the episodes would later be edited into longer Movies which aired on television in 1956 and in later years.
Episodes[]
- In Production Order
- Beyond the Curtain of Space
- Bobby's Comet
- Escape Into Space
- Rocky's Odyssey
- Pirates of Prah
- The Forbidden Moon
- Silver Needle in the Sky
- Kip's Private War
- Crash of Moons
- Blast-Off
- The Cold Sun
- Inferno in Space
- Vena and the Darnamo
- Out of This World
- The Trial of Rocky Jones
Principle Cast[]
- Richard Crane as Rocky Jones
- Sally Mansfield as Vena Ray
- Robert Lyden as Bobby
- Scotty Beckett as Winky
- Charles Meredith as Secretary Drake
- Maurice Cass as Professor Newton
- Patsy Parsons as Cleolantha
Principle Crew[]
- Directed - Hollingsworth Morse
- Director of Photography - Walter Strenge
- Production Manager - Dick L'Estrange
- Supervising Editor - Roy Luby
- Editor - Fred Maguire
- Photographic Effects - Jack R. Glass
- Art Director - McClure Capps
- Casting Director - Bill Tinsman
- Sound - Chas. Althouse
- Sound - Joel Moss
- Script Supervisor - Hazel W. Hall
- Technical Advisor - Dick Morgan
- Technical Instruments - Loren Sackett
- Assistant Director - Dick Moder
- Costumes by Berman Costume Co.
- Executive Producer Guy V. Thayer, Jr.
- Associate Producer Arthur Pierson