Space Patrol (Oct. 4, 1952–March 19, 1955) aired “The Hole in Empty Space” on October 25, 1952, as the 4th episode of 129. This radio version was a spinoff of the ABC television show which ran from March1950–February1955, which by 1954 routinely ranked in the top 10 shows broadcast on Saturday mornings. The premise of the show (which often used the same actors, writers, and directors in both TV and radio episodes). can be summed up nicely from its wikipedia entry: “The stories followed the 30th-century adventures of Commander-in-Chief Buzz Corry of the United Planets Space Patrol and his young sidekick Cadet Happy, as they faced interplanetary villains with diabolical schemes.“
The main and some of the often recurring characters (also from wikipedia) were:
Ed Kemmer as Commander-in-Chief Edward “Buzz” Corry – Corry is the senior officer of the Space Patrol whose assigned task including clearing the space lanes and maintaining peace in the galaxy. As the series continued, his mission expanded to exploring the outer regions of intergalactic space and time.
Lyn Osborn as Cadet Happy Osborn – Osborn is a graduate of the Space Patrol’s Space Academy who is given an initial training assignment as cadet and aide to Commander Corry.
Virginia Hewitt (photo at right) as Carol Carlisle – Carlisle is the daughter of the Secretary General of the United Planets who works in both an administrative and scientific capacity at the United Planets’ Headquarters.
Ken Mayer as Maj. Robbie Robertson – Robertson is the Security Chief of the Space Patrol and friend and fellow adventurer with Commander Corry.
Nina Bara as Tonga – Tonga had been a villain in earlier episodes known as The Lady of Diamonds. She is converted from the “dark side” and became the Chief Assistant to Major Robertson and a valuable ally of the Space Patrol.
Bela Kovacs as Prince Baccarratti, and other villains and characters appearing in the series – However, it is his portrayal as Bacarratti or the “black falcon” for which he is probably best remembered. He is also Associate Producer for 16 episodes.
Norman Jolley as Agent X – Agent X is one of the original recurring arch villains in the series. Jolley is also the “chief writer” for the show and served double duty.
Marvin Miller
as Mr. Proteus – Mr. Proteus was a popular recurring villain who could assume many disguises making him extremely difficult to capture. Of interest to science fiction fans is that Miller was the voice of Robby the Robot in the classic 1956 SF film Forbidden Planet.
Paul Cavanagh as The Secretary General of the United Planets – He is the chief executive for the government of the United Planets. Commander Corry reported directly to him.
Glen Denning as Commander Kit Corry – the original star, Denning was replaced by Ed Kemmer very early in the series (after about 25 episodes). Kit Corry is Buzz’s older brother and original “Commander-in-Chief” of the Space Patrol.
To give but a hint as to Space Patrol”s popularity, it began as a 15-minute Monday through Friday ABC TV program out of what is now KABC in Los Angeles. On December 30, 1950 ABC added a half hour Saturday morning version of the show and it became an immediate success. With the 15-minute shows airing on TV 5 times a week and now the 30-minute Saturday morning show, it nearly wore the actors and writers to a frazzle from doing all of the crossover live work for both shows. Wanting to cash in on the double exposure and immense popularity of the show, the sponsor added the radio show in early October 1952 which placed even more pressure on the cast and production crews. Hardly having time to memorize their lines or block out scenes or coordinate the special effects (such as there were at the time), the cast and crew, when a flubbed line or missed cue occurred, had no option but to continue as if nothing had happened. Even so, the radio show continued to gain in popularity as did its television counterparts. While the show was aimed at kids, it also accrued a sizable adult audience along the way, its storylines revisiting some of SF’s early, golden years with broad scale adventure stories from the pulp magazines of the 1930s. The potentially dangerous exploration of space reflected in these radio plays revealed the still current interest in science fiction and related scientific subjects into the early 1950s, with our space race with the Soviets much in the news. The most memorable of the American 1950s radio shows (aimed at youngsters or adults) included 2000 Plus (March 15, 1950), Dimension X (April 8, 1950), Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, (January 1, 1952), X Minus One (April 24, 1955), and Exploring Tomorrow (December 4, 1957). Space Patrol was the perfect fit for its time and it delivered.
“The Hole in Empty Space” is a perfect example of one of the large concept stories explored in the early days of the SF pulp magazines. It is a problem-solving adventure set against a strange anomaly in space and how human ingenuity, intelligence, and perseverance wins the day. The tension and drama are built to an exciting pitch as our heroes find themselves in a life and death situation against the unknown, and I think you’ll get a real kick out of it.
Play Time: 28:50
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