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Supesu Patororu - Space Patrol in Japan

It was reported in the UK media press in early 1964 that Roberta Leigh had successfully sold the series to Japan, where it was to be redubbed as Uchu Patororu - a literal translation of Space Patrol. Even Roberta Leigh herself was transliterated into Roberuta Rii!

Lithia Mica recently emailed us about Space Patrol in Japan, with these lengthy and informative recollections, and recent research:

"I saw Space Patrol on Japanese TV. First run was 1964, and it was repeated in 1966 (at least --- in my district, Aichi Prefecture, around Nagoya-city. I do not remember it was repeated nationwide or not.). I saw the repeat, not the first run. The title was Space Patrol ('Supesu Patororu' - in the Japanese syllabary) and the word of 'uchu-patororu' was used as the translation of 'space patrol' in the conversation.

Japanese children were excited at Stingray in 1964,and Thunderbirds in 1966.(Even now, Thunderbirds (is) repeated on every Sunday evening on educational channel of NHK-- all over Japan) Space Patrol could not get so much popularity in Japan. But I loved its quiet and decent world. It was broadcast from July to August in 1966 (Monday to Friday at 5.00pm). It was the most fantastic summer in my childhood. Every evening after seeing Space Patrol, I looked up (at) the sky and searched for Husky's Mars and Slim's Venus.

The cast of voice actors was very splendid, though Kayoko Moriyama was a pop singer, not a voice actress primarily. I checked the fan sites of voice actors and dubbed movies about the very first run of Space Patrol.
Japanese Voice Cast
Opening Narration
Larry Dart
Husky
Slim
Col. Raeburn/Prof. Haggarty
'Laura' (Marla)
Cassie/Gabbler
......
......
......
......
......
......

 Keiroku Seki
Yasuo Hisamatsu
Kenta Kimotsuki
Isamu Tanonaka
Takeshi Aono (unconfirmed)
Kayoko Moriyama
Unknown
31 October to 26 December 1964 ~ Saturday evening 7:30 on Tokyo 12 channel (TV Tokyo - at present) (Usually autumnal new program begins at the first week of October. But the Tokyo Olympics was held from 10 Oct. 1964, so the beginning was delayed). The staff of TV Tokyo ('Tokyo 12 Channel' when the first run )phoned and told me additionally that the first run of Space Patrol began in October and ended on 26 December 1964... too short (This run was once a week). I don't know why but I have read the management was in a difficult position. The company was very new, and covered only Kanto region (including Tokyo). The programming was devoted to the education and culture. --- people may prefer showy entertainment to educational program. (This is nothing but my supposition).

Planet Patrol Advert

A short introduction article was found on 7 July 1966 on Mainichi Newspaper (see above). It says:
"This is a science fiction adventure story in the 22th century. Captain Larry Dart, taking a leading part, fights wickedness in (the) solar system with Martian Husky and Venusian Slim. Professor Haggarty devotes himself to invention which improves the 22th century. Speaking Plants appear,and Captain Dart and his crew went to Uranus where they are growing. This Plants treat strangers coldly and ignore (the) Captain and the crew. They trouble themselves to record the plants' voices, but...."

Repeat screening - weekdays, from Thurs 07 July, 1966 at 5pm
CBC(Chubu-Nippon Broadcasthing Co.,Ltd.) CBC covers mainly Aichi and neighboring prefectures but belongs to major TV networks. This repeat run might have been seen in other area more widely than the first run, which was restricted in Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region.
A Mystery Plant
(The Dark Planet)
07.07.66
 Crisis Of Earth
(The Invisible Invasion)
26.07.66
Laura Has Been Abducted*
(The Planet Of Thought)
08.07.66
 (The Wandering Asteroid?**)
27.07.66
Discover The New Planet
(The New Planet)
11.07.66
 A Mystery Clock
(Time Stands Still)
28.07.66
Invisible Man Trouble
(Husky Becomes Invisible)
12.07.66
 The Robot Revolution
29.07.66
Crisis Of Pluto
(The Fires Of Mercury)
13.07.66
 Miracle Tree
(The Miracle Tree Of Saturn)
01.08.66
Friendship Of The Jovian
(The Shrinking Spaceman)
14.07.66
 The Swamp Of Jupiter
(The Swamps Of Jupiter)
02.08.66
Monstrous Fish Of Venus
(The Human Fish)
15.07.66
 The Buried Spaceship
03.08.66
Plant Man
(The Talking Bell)
18.07.66
 The Slaves Of Neptune
04.08.66
The First Landing On Saturn
(The Rings Of Saturn)
19.07.66
 Mystery On The Moon
05.08.66
The Cloud Of Death
20.07.66
 Volcanoes Of Venus
08.08.66
Water Of Jupiter
(The Walking Lake Of Jupiter)
21.07.66
 A Messenger From Delta
(Message From A Star)
09.08.66
Explosion On The Sun
22.07.66
 Glowing Egg
(The Glowing Eggs Of Titan)
10.08.66
Counterfeiters Of Mars
(The Forgers)
25.07.66
 Luminous Man
(The Planet Of Light)
11.08.66
Notes: Literal title translations by Lithia Mica. Some of these are identical to the English titles.
*Marla was renamed 'Laura' in Japan
**Episode title given is Secret of Paradai KIngdom - Lithia believes this to be a mistake, because 'Paradai KIngdom' appeared in another children's program )

Lithia continues:

'I checked Japanese Google and according to the list of TV show in 1960's the title of first run was 'Space Patrol' too. (There was another program which used the title of 'Uchu-Patororu'. This was the 2nd and3rd season of 'Star Trek' broadcasted in Japan.) And I found one another TVshow with the title of Uchu-patororu. Susume! Uchu-Patororu (1967)---(Susume means go forward) .This is the Japanese title for the SF series Rocky Jones,Space Ranger made in U.S.A. in 1954.

And I read the notes that there were various kinds of merchandise of this Rocky Jones series, which was sold as Space Patrol goods at that time in Japan. (with logo Space Patrol on it) I have never seen any merchandise product on my favorite Space Patrol. But they might have been made in 1964. I checked Yahoo Japan auction. I found many goods with the name of Space Patrol. But they are different things. There were Space Patrol Tin-toy series (round-shaped space ship, air car etc.) These were made around 1962, and the design is different.

Thanks to your site, I know that DVD is on the market in the UK. And now I've obtained it. I'm so happy to meet the crew of Galasphere 347 again. I am deeply grateful to you.'

And we are deeply grateful to you too, Lithia, for sharing all of this with us.



Space Patrol - The Website would welcome any information on screenings in other countries.



Production
The Pilot
Episode Guide Series One
Episode Guide Series OneA
Episode Guide Series Two
Cast
Crew
The Puppets
Publicity
Overseas
Gabblings
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.'