Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (January 1, 1952 — June 19, 1952) broadcast “Doomed Cargo” Part 1 on February 5, 1952 and “Doomed Cargo” Part 2 on February 7, 1952 as the 11th and 12th respectively of the show’s 50 episodes. We have run only one two-part Tom Corbett story previously, and that was back in January of 2012, 13 years ago. The Tom Corbett character appeared in comics and comic strips along with its appearance on the first television series for youngsters in 1950. It was inspired by Robert A. Heinlein’s 1948 novel Space Cadet, which espoused many of the moral and ethical values to be found much later in the various Star Trek series’. It came to radio in 1952 as two half-hour episodes per week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Tom and his crew are members of the Space Academy, in training to become members of the Solar Guard, and flit around the stars in the spaceship Polaris. The crew is comprised of Tom, Astrographer Roger Manning, Astro, the alien from Venus who handles the Powerdeck, Dr. Joan Dale, Captain Strong, and Commander Arkwright, head of the Space Academy. As were Heinlein’s juvenile novels, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet was well-written and well received, the stories exciting and full of action, rife with evil of all sorts and plenty of scientific gadgetry (Willy Ley, the science fiction fan and transplanted German rocket scientist, not only wrote a regular science column for Galaxy magazine from its first issue in October 1950 until his death in 1969, but was “technical advisor” for the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet magazine). The radio show ran for 50 episodes from early January to the latter half of June 1952.

“Doomed Cargo” was a pleasant surprise. These Tom Corbett, Space Cadet adventures are aimed at a juvenile or young adult audience to be sure, but they are done with respect for their material and their audience, and as such provide intelligent story lines and do not patronize their intended audience. This two-part adventure begins with the discovery of vanadium on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, and what such a discovery would mean if it could be mined in sufficient quantities. You see, a vanadium alloy could be used in the construction of space vehicles of all kinds, making spaceships almost indestructible, saving both materials and lives. Whoever ended up with the rights to a vanadium mining operation on Io would become instantly wealthy beyond measure, but as in such situations during Earth’s past there are those without the same moral compass who would do anything to gain the inherent riches without doing the proper financial investment or highly regulated legal work. Thus, when certain parties find out about the proposed vanadium operation they plot to steal the valuable transition metal, but only after the mining operation has been approved and the hard extraction of the alloy used to fortify steel has been accomplished. Stealing the fruits of legitimate labor is easier than doing the hard work to obtain it. The tricky part is keeping your plan hidden from official eyes, especially in this young stage in Earth’s space explorations when it is difficult to keep anything a secret, so few are those plying our solar system. That said, and with the game afoot, the plot is liberally strewn with surprises and obstacles worthy of a two-part story, making this episode one to sit up and enjoy even more than expected. Add the verve and upbeat excitement of Tom Corbett and his crew as they face these dangers and it is easy to see why they captured the imaginations of so many youngsters back in the early 1950s, and why they spawned a whole franchise of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet merchandise, whose fans couldn’t wait to buy cereal with a gadget in the bottom of the box, or special Tom Corbett rings or insignia kits, or official space suits and more. It must have driven mom’s and dad’s a little crazy trying to keep their kids up to date with all of the paraphernalia associated with this truly all-encompassing phenomenon. So sit back and set aside some time to enjoy this dandy adventure and imagine how it must have been for youngsters before the true Space Age became a reality, for little did they dream that a few short years after the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet print, radio and TV phenomenon set fire to imaginations young and old in the early 1950s, that the real Space Age was just around the corner when the Soviet Union would launch Earth’s first artificial satellite named Sputnik I on October 4, 1957, giving birth to what would be known as the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States. A trip to, and a manned landing on the Moon was not far off.

“Doomed Cargo” — Part 1

February 5, 1952

Play Time: 25:04

“Doomed Cargo” — Part 2

February 7, 1952

Play Time: 23:33

   

To view the entire list of weekly Old Time Radio episodes at Tangent Online, click here.