Publicity Stills

The photos seen here are original publicity stills, distributed to the press to promote the series in 1963. Compared to photos reproduced in magazines, the clarity of these photos is superb and show detail impossible to see even on DVD. These also retain a short explanatory text of the photo's subject on the back, as well as the stamp of the ABC Television Picture company. This text is reproduced in full for each photo, as typed, with all errors and punctuation:

Larry Dart Size: 167mm x 242mm (6.5" x 9.5") 'SPACE PATROL' - a new space series for the young in heart - will be presented by ABC Television from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10 p.m. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES). This picture shows Captain Larry Dart, chief of a space patrol crew, the inter-planetary police force, set in 2100 A.D. This new puppet series is produced by ROBERTA LEIGH, who was responsible for the popular puppet series 'Torchy'. Comments: • The main part of Dart's costume is made of a fine weave material with an interwoven glitter thread. • The star and sunburst symbol are made of a metallic material, with the rays woven of a metallic thread onto the costume. • The tunic seems to be one piece, with the 'V' of the upper sleeves sewn onto it. • Small holes are visible in the costume trousers just above the knees where the wires go through. • The photo is taken in the Contamination Control set, and the platform Dart is standing on is made of the same transparent material as the walkway in the Galasphere Control Room. • A fine fibrous material is seen under the bridge. • This photo was used to promote the listing for The Grass Of Saturn in TV Times (Midlands) for the week June 30 1968. • It is interesting to note the text makes note of Torchy as the series by which Roberta Leigh is best known, with no mention of Twizzle or Sara and Hoppity.

Colonel Raeburn Size: 194mm x 243mm (7.5" x 9.5") 'SPACE PATROL' - a new space series for the young in heart - will be presented by ABC Television from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10 p.m. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES). This picture shows Colonel Raeburn who commands Space Patrol - the policemen of space, set in the year 2100 A.D. This new puppet series is produced by ROBERTA LEIGH, who was responsible for the popular puppet series 'Torchy'. Comments: • The most noticeable thing is the crude nature of Colonel Raeburn's left hand, which seems roughly carved with the fingers still joined. • This is in stark contrast to the smooth and detailed left hand of Larry Dart, down to visible joints and fingernails. • The material of Raeburn's outfit is very plain, with no texture or weave apparent, but the trim and decorations are quite fine and detailed. • The plain white material of his trousers makes the holes for the wires just above each knee quite noticeable. • This photo was used to introduce the series for a feature in TV Post for the week June 30 1963.

Galasphere 347 Control - Size: 242mm x 191mm (9.5" x 7.5") Introducing some of the cast of 'SPACE PATROL' - ABC Television's new puppet series - produced by ROBERTA LEIGH which will be screened from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10 p.m. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES). Left to right, HUSKY, the Martian, a crew member of a space patrol - the inter-planetary police force in the year 2100 A.D., JOE, the Jovian from Jupitor, and CAPTAIN LARRY DART, Chief of a space patrol crew. Comments: • Pressure dials are visible above Husky, whose chair lacks a footrest. • The walkway is tramslucent, so this photo is taken during the first shooting block of 13 episodes. • The slot which allows Dart's and Slim's chairs to move back and forth is clearly visible. • The flare of the spotlight is evident above the top of the set, to the upper right. • Joe's feet seem carved out of a similar material to Raeburn's left hand, and there is a slender join between them and the Jovian's legs. • The fur of Joe's arms is wrapped around them like a sleeve.

Professor Haggarty Size: 172mm x 242mm (7.5" x 9.5") 'SPACE PATROL' - a new space series for the young in heart - will be presented by ABC Television from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10 p.m. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES). This picture shows Professor Haggarty, an Irish scientist who is responsible for many of the crazy yet brilliant inventions that make life exciting in the year 2100 A.D. This new puppet series is produced by ROBERTA LEIGH, who was responsible for the popular puppet series 'Torchy'. Comments: • Haggarty is spelt with an 'a', not an 'e' (as in Haggerty). This, as in the TV Comic strips, would appear to be the correct spelling of his name. • While the Haggarty puppet seems a little cruder than Larry Dart, the clothes are amazing works of miniature costuming. Extremely fine knitting has crafted an amazing scale cardigan, while the baggy trousers have a fine check and turn-ups .

Marla Size: 172mm x 242mm (7.5" x 9.5") 'SPACE PATROL' - a new space series for the young in heart - will be presented by ABC Television from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10 p.m. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES). This picture shows Marla a secretary from Venus. This new puppet series is produced by ROBERTA LEIGH, who was responsible for the popular puppet series 'Torchy'. The 'SPACE PATROL' series is set in 2100 A.D. Comments: • Marla has long eyelashes, visible above the almond shaped iris of the eyes. • The material of her costume has the look of velour, while her 'corset' and boots are made of the same metallic material as Dart's star and sun symbols. • The high boots seem to be made by wrapping material around the lower legs and sticking the bottoms to the foot/shoe of the puppet. These have been painted silver to match the material. • The wire for her left hand is tied around one of her fingers. • The nails of her right hand appear to show a light coloured polish.

The Main Characters - Size: 243mm x 192mm (9.5" x 7.5") 'SPACE PATROL' - a new space series for the young in heart - will be presented by ABC Television from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10pm. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES). This picture shows the resident cast of the 'SPACE PATROL' series. Left to right, they are, JOE the Jovian from Jupitor, with the head that can revolve at 20 revolutions a minute, COLONEL RAEBURN, who commands Space Patrol the policemen of space, MARLA, the secretary from Venus, CAPTAIN LARRY DART, Chief of a space patrol crew, HUSKY, the Martian, SLIM, the Venusian (both HUSKY and SLIM are members of CAPTAIN LARRY DART's crew), CASSIOPEIA - CASSIE for short - daughter of PROFESSOR HAGGARTY, PROFESSOR HAGGARTY, an Irish scientist who is responsible for many of the crazy yet brilliant inventions that make life exciting in the year 2100 A.D., and finally - far right - the GABBLER BIRD, a very unusual creature who lends a light-hearted note to the series. This new puppet series is produced by ROBERTA LEIGH, who is responsible for the popular puppet series 'Torchy'. Comments: • This collective cast shot gives a good indication of the height of each puppet in relation to each other, and the rough edges of the set construction. • The Husky puppet can be seen to be taller and bulkier than the others, with bigger feet. • Slim is standing on tip toe in the photo. • Cassie has her nails painted, and there is a loop detail at the bottom left of her tunic. • A spotlight can be seen supporting the set floor to the lower right. • This photo was used to promote the series in a feature in TV Times for the week November 24 /30 1963.

Joe the Jovian Size: 190mm x 241mm (7.5" x 9.5") 'SPACE PATROL' - a new space series for the young in heart - will be presented by ABC Television from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10 p.m. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES). This picture shows Joe the Jovian from Jupitor, who plays an important part in the series, set in 2100 A.D. This new puppet series is produced by ROBERTA LEIGH, who was responsible for the popular puppet series 'Torchy'. Comments: • Joe's eyes can be made out as a series of overlapping loops which give them a faceted insectoid look. • The join between the feet and leg are less obvious in this photo than the Galasphere one as it is slightly out of focus, but the 'sleeve' effect of the fur on the arm is quite visible.

Further research uncovered more stills in another archive. While some of the photos held were the same as those seen above, the standard shot of a robot and Husky were among them with the accompanying text: 'Mak the Elektran' Size: Unknown 'SPACE PATROL' - a new space series for the young in heart - will be presented by ABC Television from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10 p.m. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES). This picture shows MAK, an Elektran who automatically translates the various languages into your own tongue: set the dial to 'V' for Venus or 'M' for Mars and the language is broken down into microdots. These dots are then imprinted on to a mechanised roller giving a vocabulary of a thousand words - more than enough for comprehension. This new puppet series is produced by ROBERTA LEIGH, who was responsible for the popular puppet series 'Torchy'. Comments: • While it is interesting to see the robot definitively refered to as 'Mak' (the title given to it in a couple of episodes), it is the description of the robot as 'an Elektran' which totally bewilders. A change in concept (was the robot in the crew originally supposed to translate) or a terrible publicity error? • Mistake aside, the description of the Elektran itself is fascinating - though the 'mechanised roller' brings to mind a pianola... • This photo, with the background masked out to black (see left), was used in the Young World Gold Token adaptation of The Water Bomb.

If you have any original promotional material for Space Patrol that we could feature on the site, we would love to hear from you!

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