This was a historically significant show, despite the astonishingly stingy prop budget of $25 per week. Why? Because it was the first and most successful of three children’s science fiction shows that seduced kids into the axioms of the Space Opera genre, the other two being ‘Space Patrol’ and “Tom Corbett–Space Cadet.” It can be argued that this created some of the popular support that allowed for a genuine space program only a few years later. A wonderful book about these shows is ‘The Great Television Heroes’ by Donald F. Glut and Jim Harmon.
The government played no significant role in scientific genius Captain Video single-handedly saving the world out of a sense of civic duty. By so doing, he not only defeated evildoers such as Dr. Clysmok, Dahoumie, Heng Foo Seeng, Kul of Eos, Mook the Moon Man, and Nargola, but also had a chance to field-test his gadgets, including The Atomic Rifle, the Discatron, the Optical Scillometer, the Radio Scillograph, and the Cosmic Ray Vibrator (stop giggling, will you?).
His most fiendish adversary was Dr. Pauli, who had his own set of super-duper hardware, including the Barrier of Silence (later parodied on ‘Get Smart’), the Cloak of Invisibility, and the Trisonic Compensator. The Dumont Network (whose demise alone could end this popular show) sold to their viewers such premiums as Decoder Rings, Space Helmets, and plastic copies of Captain Video’s weaponry, almost all of which are highly collectable today.
Late in its life, the show was retitled ‘The Secret Files of Captain Video’ and they stopped editing in stock footage of Westerns through the money-saving “Remote Carrier Beam.” Captain Video’s spaceship was called the “Galaxy” — and every child wished to be Captain Video’s sidekick ‘The Ranger’ and ride the Galaxy to exotic destinations, whether or not the instruments on the control panel were obviously painted on.
Captain Video (1949-50) — Richard Coogan
Captain Video (1950-55) — Al Hodge (formerly the voice of ‘The Green Hornet’ on radio)
The Ranger — Don Hastings
Dr. Pauli (1949) — Bran Mossen
Dr. Pauli (1949-55) — Hal Conklin
Creator/Producer — James Caddigan
Producer — Larry Menkin
Writer — Maurice C. Brockhauser, and later: Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Sheckley, and Jack Vance
Music — Wagner’s Overture to the Flying Dutchman
