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Publicity Stills - part two

The photos seen here are newly struck prints from original transparencies and negatives sourced from various libraries. It would now appear a not inconsiderable amount of photo material was shot (though no colour material, regrettably, seems to have survived) though the whereabouts of these remain unknown. If you know of any material, please contact us.

We request that you do not reproduce these images elsewhere, as they remain the copyright of the respective libraries holding them.

Slim
Size: 190mm x 190mm
(7.5" x 7.5")

Comments:
• As a newly produced print, no explanatory text is available.
• The print is square (as requested to get all the image) as the original negatives were shot on 120 format (2" square) film.
• However, when normally printed, the photos would be cropped to an approximate 10" x 8" size, as seen on the previous page.
• Nearly sixty shots exist, though most are variations of the same theme. These include character shots such as:
• Two shots of Larry Dart
• Two shots of Husky
• Two shots of Slim
• Two shots of Colonel Raeburn
• Two shots of Haggarty
• Four shots of Marla
• Two shots of Gabbler
• Two shots of a robot
• Two shots of Joe
•

Roberta Leigh on set
Size: 190mm x 190mm
(7.5" x 7.5")

Comments:
• As a newly produced print, no explanatory text is available. However, a similar original publicity photo held in the archive (also showing Colonel Raeburn) did offer this text:

Producer ROBERTA LEIGH with some of her new family of puppets who will be entertaining viewers in 'SPACE PATROL', a new ABC Television puppet film series which will be presented from Sunday, 7th April, 1963 onwards at 5.10p.m. (MIDLANDS/NORTH/TYNE-TEES).

Left to right, CAPTAIN LARRY DART, Chief of a space patrol crew in the year 2100 A.D., ROBERTA, Joe the Jovian from Jupitor, COLONEL RAEBURN, Commander of the space patrol forces

• A similar photo was used to promote a feature in TV Weekly, dated September 13 1963.
• The attention to detail with regard to labelling is quite stunning. Labels for 'Door Seal', 'Eject Stage 1' & 'Main Boost Off' can be made out.
• Additional publicity shots include:
• Eight shots of Roberta Leigh on the Galasphere control room set with assorted puppets
• Assorted shots of Larry Dart in the Galasphere control room with assorted puppets
• Eight assorted shots of the main cast
• Three shots of the filming
• One shot showing one of the crew adjusting Larry Dart

Saturnians
Size: 127mm x 178mm
(5" x 7")

Comments:
• This rare shot of the two Saturnian puppets would appear to have been taken while filming The Grass Of Saturn.
• At this point, however, the set is devoid of any dry ice effect seen in the episode itself.
• The puppets themselves seem quite crude, with little more than padded fabric bodies with some solid (wooden?) blocking for the hands and feet.
• One detail not immediately obvious from watching a filmed episode is the fact that the Saturnians have six claws and toes.
• The dias the furthest Saturnian is sitting on is the same rotating dias seen on the set for the planet Neptune.
• Two further shots, one showing each of the Saturnians in detail, also exist.

Colour Photos





Size: Unknown. Source: TV Comic Annual 1966 Endpapers

Comments:
• No original colour photographic material appears to exist. The Network Video postcards were scanned from the Annual, and repaired using Photoshop - but then cropped. We have repaired and enhanced the scans in a similar way to show how the originals might have appeared.
• These shots do give some indication of the materials used for some of the planet landscapes, such as twigs, pot plants and artificial turf. However the differing colours make you realise why the televised episodes were more effective in black and white. However, there is no indication these were shot on an actual set, and the setting may have been constructed simply for publicity purposes.
• The uniforms of the Galasphere crew, and the light colouration of Joe's neck (notably darker in later episodes) strongly suggest these photos were taken some time during the first series, possibly towards the end of the first production block.

If you have any original promotional material for Space Patrol that we could feature on the site, we would love to hear from you!
Introduction
Overview
Production
The Pilot
Episode Guide Series One
Episode Guide Series OneA
Episode Guide Series Two
Cast
Crew
The Puppets
Publicity
Marla's Links
Larry Dart's Roll Of Honour
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.'