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In the TV Times (Granada region) for the week April 5 1963, a brief introductory article on Space Patrol appeared. Here is the feature reproduced in full.


New series for space puppets

The year is 2,100. The rockets of 1963 are museum-pieces. NATO is a thing of the past, and Earth, Mars and Venus are partners in the United Galactic Organisation.

This is the setting of Space Patrol, a puppet space series which begins on Sunday.

I saw a rehearsal recently at a North London studio. Five puppeteers manipulated 60 different puppets, each one-third human size and chief among them a Space Patrol consisting of Captain Larry Dart, Husky, a Martian and Slim, a Venusian.

There are, in fact, three types of puppet in the series, hand-operated, electrical and mechanical, but all mouth movements are hand-controlled,

"Machines and electronic devices are wonderful aids." producer Roberta Leigh told me, "but they just don't work with the mouth. They give a movement that is too repetitive and automatic looking."



© 1963 TVTimes & John Gough

With thanks to Mike Noon.

Next Feature
Husky's Technical Manual
Galasphere
Freighter
Missiles
Interceptors
Confectionery
Robots
New York
UGO HQ
UGF HQ
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'