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After Space Patrol: Paul Starr Despite limited screenings in the UK, Space Patrol proved quite a success for Roberta Leigh, Arthur Provis and National Interest Pictures and was shown around the world. It would appear that most of this success was based on it achieving the highest ratings for any children's series in New York. So this time, a full pilot episode was filmed in colour in the hope of once again breaking into the American and international market: Atomic explosions... fire on land... sabotage in the air! Introducing Paul Starr, Space Agent! Wherever there's danger, you'll find the men of the Space Bureau of Investigation. Roberta Leigh and Arthur Provis present  Five atomic power stations have exploded on Mars. The Chief of the Space Bureau of Investigation meets with the Martian President, who tells him General Darinx has threatened to destroy all the power stations unless control of Mars is handed over to him.  The Chief calls on Paul Starr and his oriental assistant Lightning to investigate.Launching their Solarscope craft from the S.B.I.s underwater base, Starr and Lightning arrive at one of the remaining power stations in the Boshay Desert on Mars and take undercover positions as security guards. After one false alarm where Starr suspects a Martian worker of sabotage but who in fact had simply smuggled an illegal radio to listen to music on, Lightning sees one of the native desert Pilling birds lay an egg on the roof. Fascinated by the birds, he takes the egg back to his quarters and attempts to incubate it. But as he prepares a box the egg begins to vibrate and suddenly explodes violently, knocking Lightning unconcious as the room starts to blaze...Believing that Lightning may have fallen asleep, Starr goes to the quarters and on discovering the fire pulls his assistant to safety. With the fire extinguished Starr reports to the Chief, who has his own problems with newly arrived assistant Dr Lesley Mann. Forced on him by Land Control because of stress, the lovely Mann also makes an impression on Starr via the photon communication system. A recovered Lightning, back on his patrol on the roof, sees another Pilling lay an egg and takes it back to his room. Starr has a hunch about the egg and narrowly averts disaster by throwing it out of a window when it also starts to vibrate. Realising that the Pilling that 'laid' it must be a robot of some form, Starr and Lightning wait for it to return. Their patience is rewarded and Lightning is able to hold the mechanical Pilling until the robots at the S.B.I. and a local Martian tracking station are able to lock on to the frequency controlling it so Starr can track it to its base and a final confrontation with Darinx...
A National Interest Picture Production • © Wonderama 1964 Created and written by Roberta Leigh Directed by Roy D Baker Character Voices: Ed Bishop (below left, credited as Edward Bishop), Patricia English (centre), Peter Reeves (below right) and Dick Vosburgh (credited as Dick Vosborough). Puppets made by    Martin and Heather Granger.Puppetry - Joan Garrick, Martin and Heather Granger. "Paul Starr' Song & Lyrics by Roberta Leigh. Arranged by Tony King and sung by Jerry Dane. Models - Derek Freeborn Art Director - Roland Whiteside Editor - Denis Skelton Camera Operator - Roy Lacey Effects - Jock Speirs Titles - Brian Stevens Review: Pilot episodes of series are rarely their finest hour and Paul Starr is no exception. While filmed in colour and featuring a upbeat brassy theme evidently written to compete with the Supercar & Stingray end titles, it falls flat on a number of levels despite having a promising format and better production values. The first is the effects, which again try and compete with the Gerry Anderson productions without any of the slickness or impact. Starr's Solarscope, a tripodic ship straight out of pulp sci-fi magazines, tries to mimic the impressive launch sequences by emerging from its 'solar cell' to turn onto its landing legs, ready to lift off through an air tube to the ocean surface. The pyrotechiques are less than impressive and resort to footage of a real atomic explosion for the finale, as well as opening the episode.  Other elements that chafe are the inclusion of Dalek-like robots that man the S.B.I. complex, clearly aimed at cashing in on the Dalekmania of the time, and the story and plotting itself. As a mystery it doesn't quite work. Lightning is given some quirks, like a habit of napping when bored, but he and Paul Starr come over as fairly characterless. The irony is that the Chief and Dr Lesley Mann (left) do come over as characters but they are back at base and, one presumes, would not be involved in adventures.On the plus side, the sets are quite plush and more expansive than the smaller claustrophobic ones seen in Space Patrol. The opening shots of the office of the Chief are reminiscent of entering the lair of a James Bond villain, and the long shot of Starr and Lightning on the platform of the Martian atomic station is equally impressive, especially when you zoom in on the puppets and realise it is not a model shot. The use of back projection also opens up the production by allowing the view from Starr's Solarscope cockpit to be seen. The other innovation, as well improving on the walking techniques from Space Patrol, are the puppets. The jaws of the heads flex, giving a slightly more realistic look when they talk and approaching the technique used in Gerry Anderson's later series Terrahawks. Another nice touch, though one which you might miss, are the Martian puppets blinking, quickly and realistically. While there is room for the characters to expand as much as the ones in Space Patrol did, there is less innovation, ingenuity and morality to the format than the earlier series. Paul Starr seems to ask questions with a gun in his hand - something rare in Space Patrol. It is faster paced and colourful but somehow this somehow it seems to have lost the qualities that made Space Patrol stand apart from the Gerry Anderson series, rather than - on the surface - appearing to imitate them. "There's only one Starr," the end title song croons. Regrettably, for whatever reason, this remains true but at least this one example does survive...   'Nice try, guys.'  AstroViewer Working: • This pilot exists as a colour 35mm film print, and is in excellent condition. • Running time: 26 min. • Paul Starr has so far received two public screenings - the first was at the Cult TV Weekend in 1998, shortly after its discovery, and the second was at Fanderson's Stand By For Action covention in 2002. • Unlike Space Patrol, no year is given for the setting of Paul Starr and it would not appear to be set in the same 'universe'. • Dick Vosburgh reprises his infamous robot voice for the S.B.I. automatons. • Regrettably, Paul Starr voice artist Ed Bishop recalls little about the pilot after so long a period and missed it at the recent Stand By For Action convention. Mention of Dick Vosburgh - "a fellow American and a very funny guy"- did bring "a tiny recollection. I recall the recording session - we did it in the attic of someone's house in London. I was very impressed with the conversion, being a DIY enthusiast!"  • Actor Peter Reeves remembers a good time being had, "I recall going to an address in Hampstead several times and recording character voices in a studio in the house, which I think was on the top floor. I do know that I enjoyed the recording sessions very much. I was working with good friends, like Dick Vosburgh, the scripts were fun, and the atmosphere was relaxed. As far as I can remember we did not record to picture but recorded the voices 'wild' under Roberta's direction."• And on Roberta Leigh herself, Peter recalls, "I cannot recall how I first came to work for Roberta Leigh... but I was also doing a fair amount of radio and voice-over work at the time. She seemed to be a one-woman industry, with a quiet and relaxed manner, under which was a very determined and precise requirement... she knew what she was looking for and would persist until the voice or the delivery of the line matched her requirements. I think she used to book me for the sessions direct... and we didn't earn much out of them, but I think it was probably 'scale' for the time." • While only one Paul Starr pilot was filmed, Peter Reeves - prompted about the fact he made several visits to record voice tracks - believed that possibly more than one story was recorded... • Peter Reeves would work for Roberta Leigh again on Wonder Boy And Tiger, • He would also work alongside Dick Vosburgh again, on The Tommy Cooper Show in the early 1970s. • Both producer Arthur Provis and puppeteer Heather Granger cite this as one of the best puppet productions they've done. • Arthur Provis, in a 1992 interview, cites the reason the Paul Starr pilot did not sell was due to a reshuffle of television franchises at the time, with the regions not buying programmes as their futures were uncertain. In this reshuffle, Associated-Rediffusion (the backers of Sara and Hoppity) became Rediffusion-London, and underwent a change of management. • Editor Denis Skelton also edited Roberta Leigh's later puppet series Send For Dithers, and went on to produce the latter Century 21 Mini-Albums, featuring original Captain Scarlet adventures. • Director Roy D. Baker is, we believe, the same Roy Baker who edited Sara and Hoppity. He had to add the initial to avoid confusion with another director, Roy (Ward) Baker, who worked on ITC series such as The Saint. • The Martians, curiously for a race on a desert planet, seem amphibious with frog-like faces and webbed fingers. They also have a similar accent to the Martians in Space Patrol, again courtesy of Dick Vosburgh. • The Chief's robot is called Rex, and uses a very Prisoner-like circular platform lift - initially hidden under a table - to descend to the robot control room under the Chief's office. • When agitated or contradicted, the robot's head unit spins.  • The Chief is fond of antiques, hence his plush looking office.• The occasional prop or set piece from Space Patrol can be seen; the SBI robot control room utilises a lot of the control panels from Galasphere 347 (left), one of the rockets is destroyed in the title sequence, and a monobile port makes an interesting plantpot in Starr's quarters! • Lightning is a black belt in Judo. It would have interesting to see how this would have been realised with puppets... • The Solarscope can fly (by ionic power, and later by hover power), travel through space (by solar energy) and underwater, and is armed with missiles, an infra-red ray and a powerful Atom Gun. • Paul Starr's Solarscope has the serial number SBI-5 on its 'wings', and launches from Solar Cell 5.  • Unfortunately, a kind of 'blooper' can be seen in the title sequence as Starr's Solarscope enters Cell 5's underwater entrance. The shadow of (presumably) a hand can be seen on the nose, and the model jerks slightly as it is pulled through the door.• The cry of the Pilling birds is the untranslated Jovian speech from Space Patrol. • Use is made of back projection, especially with the cockpit scenes in Starr's Solarscope where the view out (either of clouds or flying over the ocean) can be seen. These scenes are also used for the end titles with Brian Stevens animated captions zooming in each time. • Doctor Lesley Mann, going by her accent, hails from the deep south of the USA and is on assignment as the Chief's assistant for four months. • She has a somewhat laidback approach to the job, and is seen reclining on a couch with her feet up and a cup of tea in her lap! • When the Martian hits the window for Starr to throw the egg out, it shatters in a different place. • The Martian in charge of General Darinx' missile launcher has his console immediately behind the missile. So what does he do when the missile launches? Duck behind his console! (Yes, seriously!) • The end title song is something of a cross between the themes of Supercar and Stingray:  Wherever there’s danger on land or on seaWhenever you need him then there he will be Paul Starr Just send for Starr You can search in the sky and all over the Earth But an army of men will never be worth Paul Starr There’s only one Starr Tell him there’s trouble and he’ll be along Paul Starr He’s your defender and he’ll right a wrong Paul Starr Starr in the sky Wherever there’s danger on land or on sea Whenever you need him then there he will be Paul Starr Just send for Starr Riding the sky Send Paul Starr • An instrumental version of the theme comprises most of the incidental music for the pilot, including a solo guitar arrangement heard on the Martian's smuggled radio! • The S.B.I. is also mentioned in the Space Patrol And The Secret Weapon storybook, implying Colonel Raeburn is in charge of it.. • It has now been released for the first time as one of the extras on the Space Patrol DVD Box Set. As well as Paul Starr, Roberta Leigh and Arthur Provis later made a live action SF pilot called The Solarnauts which also exists, having been stored with the entire series of Space Patrol. |
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