Bobby discovers the value of a classical education as Rocky and the rest of crew of the Orbit Jet are drawn into the ongoing conflict between a pair of rogue moons (Posito and Negeto) that are linked by a strange 'atmospheric bridge'. Meanwhile the intrepid Space Ranger's lovely nemesis, Cleolanta (the 'Suzerain' of the planet Ophecius) takes advantage of his disappearance to trick the 'The United Worlds of the Solar System' into conceding planets to her evil empire. Even by Rocky Jones standards, this episode is pretty silly. Perhaps to placate critics of vapid TV programming, Bobby is told to read Homer's Odyssey and conveniently Odysseus' solutions to his problems are applicable to the dilemmas faced by Rocky's team. Spotting the references to the famous epic in the less-than-epic space opera is the most entertaining aspect of this far-fetched fusion of episodes 3-6 ('Rocky's Odyssey' parts 1-3). As well, there are some interesting, almost surreal shots of the strange troubled skies of the bipolar moons, and of the two 'sirens' on Negato whose strange, hypnotic music is their world's most formidable weapon. Having resolved the twin-moons' problems, the Orbit Jet heads for an bazaar Arabesque world, allowing the 'Odyssey theme' to continue as Bobby and the Professor disguise themselves as beggars (and Vena as a belly-dancer) in an attempt to ferret out Cleolanta's duplicitous plot. As science-fiction goes, the story-arc is pretty fanciful but showing that Vena's translator machine actually has to 'learn' an alien language is relatively sophisticated for the tele-genre and the show's visual effects team seem to have been able to do a lot with limited resources (although some shots are recycled from the Rocky's first adventure). Entertaining if viewed through a 70 year old lens (and easier to follow than James Joyce's spin on the Homeric opus).
3 Reviews
Rocky Jones and his crew are at it again...unfortunately
Red-Barracuda6 June 2014
Rocky Jones and his buddies happen upon two strange moons orbiting each other. They soon discover that both are inhabited by civilisations at war with each other. Needless to say, Rocky and his crew do their utmost to bring about peace.
I can't say I am a fan of these Rocky Jones TV movies. All of them were brought to feature length by editing episodes of the 'Rocky Jones Space Ranger' TV series together. They are so antiquated and lame that they will only appeal to the most hardened fan of 50's sci-fi. This one is basically exactly the same as the others I have seen – lots of wisecracking unfunny comedy, a female villainess and lots of very old school special effects. In fairness, these films have really lost their relevance as they must have been aimed at children back in the day but kids nowadays aren't too likely to want to watch something like this. This means that the intended audience is long gone and these flicks are of pretty limited interest beyond that. Definitely products of their time, so interesting from a historical point-of-view but beyond that you're basically struggling.
I can't say I am a fan of these Rocky Jones TV movies. All of them were brought to feature length by editing episodes of the 'Rocky Jones Space Ranger' TV series together. They are so antiquated and lame that they will only appeal to the most hardened fan of 50's sci-fi. This one is basically exactly the same as the others I have seen – lots of wisecracking unfunny comedy, a female villainess and lots of very old school special effects. In fairness, these films have really lost their relevance as they must have been aimed at children back in the day but kids nowadays aren't too likely to want to watch something like this. This means that the intended audience is long gone and these flicks are of pretty limited interest beyond that. Definitely products of their time, so interesting from a historical point-of-view but beyond that you're basically struggling.
TALES OF ULYSSES
nogodnomasters4 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I loved watching this film. In many ways it is a preview for greater things to come such as "Star Trek." The film is unashamedly copied from the epic Greek classic. I liked the script as it not only is based on a classic, but there are several "Star Trek" episode ideas within the film.
Rocky (Richard Crane), our "Captain Kirk/Ulysses" is the leader of the group. He brokers peace between two warring moons. They use their primitive version of a universal translator, one which assumes everyone in the universe uses the same alphabet. Their ship is trapped in a magnetic field (tractor beam). The doors open and close by themselves and they have a viewing screen. The women wear short skirts and even aliens where their hair like it was the 1950's. They even had a mind sifter mounted on the wall used to control people.
The United World (Federation) is peaceful and extends to a number of planets. They are of course in conflict with the Klingons, or in this case the Orpheusians. Most likely their home planet is in the constellation of Orpheus.
The film by today's standards is campy. It is similar to an old Flash Gordon serial. Most people won't enjoy or appreciate this missing link in sci-fi evolution as much as I did. Might go good with the funny stuff Colorado.
Rocky (Richard Crane), our "Captain Kirk/Ulysses" is the leader of the group. He brokers peace between two warring moons. They use their primitive version of a universal translator, one which assumes everyone in the universe uses the same alphabet. Their ship is trapped in a magnetic field (tractor beam). The doors open and close by themselves and they have a viewing screen. The women wear short skirts and even aliens where their hair like it was the 1950's. They even had a mind sifter mounted on the wall used to control people.
The United World (Federation) is peaceful and extends to a number of planets. They are of course in conflict with the Klingons, or in this case the Orpheusians. Most likely their home planet is in the constellation of Orpheus.
The film by today's standards is campy. It is similar to an old Flash Gordon serial. Most people won't enjoy or appreciate this missing link in sci-fi evolution as much as I did. Might go good with the funny stuff Colorado.
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