Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950–1955)

Four centuries into the future, Cadets Tom Corbett, Roger Manning and Astro are training to become Solar Guards. Their ship, the "Polaris" took them to numerous adventures, usually natural catastrophes rather than villains.

Stars:

Frankie Thomas, Al Markim, Jan Merlin

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Frankie Thomas	...	Tom Corbett (58 episodes, 1951-1955)
Al Markim	...	Astro (58 episodes, 1951-1955)
Jan Merlin	...	Roger Manning (30 episodes, 1951-1954)
Jack Grimes	...	T.J. Thistle (28 episodes, 1954-1955)

Storyline

Set during the middle of the 24th Century at the Space Academy (a training school for the Solar Guards) and aboard the 'Polaris', a Solar Guard training ship, this hugely-popular science-fiction series was one of the very few programs to air on all four major networks, including a brief period in 1951 when it ran on two networks simultaneously (NBC and ABC). It was seen three times weekly over CBS and ABC in fifteen-minute format, and in half-hour episodes on Saturdays over DuMont and NBC.

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Plot Keywords:

early television | spacecraft | rocket | character name in title

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Fan page - History/Schedule

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1950 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rockhill Productions, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

15 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Fiedler's filmed acting debut.

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Quotes

Announcer: Space Academy, USA, in the world beyond tomorrow. Here the Space Cadets train for duty on distant planets. In roaring rockets, they blast through the millions of miles from Earth to far-flung stars and brave the dangers of cosmic frontiers protecting the liberties of the planets, safeguarding the cause of universal peace in the age of the conquest of space!

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Connections

Edited into The Mercurian Invasion (1998)

User Reviews

The Realistic One

Of the three classic 1950s space adventure TV programs, TOM CORBETT SPACE CADET was the most realistic, and SPACE PATROL the most fantastic, with CAPTAIN VIDEO AND HIS VIDEO RANGERS somewhere in the middle. The great appeal of the TCSC series to teenagers and pre-teenagers was that the main characters were students, just like us! Tom, Roger and Astro had problems we could all identify with. And when they weren't sweating out grades or exams, they could take off for a jaunt through the solar system, even hyperdrive voyages to nearby stars, in the mighty rocket cruiser Polaris, as long as academic advisor Captain Steve Strong was along!