Rocky Jones, Space Ranger
January 20, 1954 thru December
1955
39 Episodes
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Character
Name
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Actor
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Rocky
Jones
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Richard
Crane
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Winky
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Scotty
Beckett
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Vena
Ray
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Sally
Mansfield
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Bobby
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Robert
Lyden
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Professor
Newton
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Maurice
Cass
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Secretary
Drake
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Charles
Meredith
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Ranger
Clark
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William
Hudson
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Biff
(Biffen Cardoza)
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James
Lydon
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Professor
Mayberry
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Reginald
Shefield
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Suzerainne
Juliandra
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Ann
Robinson
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Darganto
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Frank
Pulaski
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Griff
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Leonard
Penn
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Pinto
Vortando
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Ted
Hecht
|
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Other
Credits
|
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Directed by
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Hollingsworth Morse
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Produced by
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Guy Thayer, Jr., Arthur Pierson
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A ROLAND REED PRODUCTION
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Distributed by
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United Television Programs
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ERA:
The Twenty-first Century
ROCKETS: The Orbit Jet (X-V2); The Silver Moon (X-V3)
(second season)
Note:
There were thirty nine
episodes filmed, typical of one full season in the 1950's,
with cast changes occurring about half way through filming.
The series, though, was presented over a two season period. It
should also be noted that that Scotty Beckett was one of the
original OUR GANG cast, and Jimmy Lyden played HENRY ALDRICH
in the movies based on the old radio show. There have been
various reasons given for the cast changes, which we’ll
go into once they’ve been confirmed.
Episode 1: BEYOND THE CURTAIN OF SPACE by Warren
Wilson
Feature film version was entitled:
BEYOND THE MOON
1.1 In this initial episode Rocky meets Vena for the first time and his spaceship is nearly destroyed on its journey to
Ophiuchus
1.2 Rocky rescues Professor Newton and Bobby, but learns that there's a
spy planted in Earth's Office of Space Affairs.
Cleolantha: Patsy
Parson.
1.3 The plot to blow up headquarters is stopped when Griff is revealed
to be a spy.
Crane, Becket, Mansfield, Lyden, Meredith, Penn,
Pulaski, Bill Hudson, Patsy Parson, Russ Conklin, John Cliff, Cliff
Ferre, Mort Mills.
Directed by Hollingsworth Morse; Executive
Producer Guy V. Thayer, Jr.; Associate Producer: Arthur Pierson;
A Roland Reed Production.
Director of Photography: Walter Strenge, A.S.C.;
Production Manager: Dick L'estrange; Supervising Editor: Roy Luby,
A.C.E.; Edited by: Roy Maguire, A.C.E.; Production Effects:
Jack R. Glass; Art Director: McClure Capps; Casting
Director: Bill Tinsman; Sound: Chas. Althouse & Joel Moss;
Script Supervisor: Hazel W. Hall; Technical Advisor: Dick Morgan;
Technical Instruments: Loren Sackett; Assistant Director: Dick
Moder; Costumes by Berman Costume Company.
Episode 2: BOBBY'S COMET by Warren Wilson
Feature Film:
MENACE
FROM OUTER SPACE
2.1. Rocky, Winky, Bobby, Vena and Professor Newton take
off for Fornax after a missile that has struck Earth is determined to
have come from that moon.
2.2 Zorovak of Fornax agrees to return to Earth with Rocky
Jones even though Professor Kardos warns him that Earthmen
can't be trusted. Nestor Pava as Kardos.
2.3 Griff teams up with Darganto and Cleolanthe of Ophiuchus
and invade Fornax with the help of the evil Professor
Kardos.
Crane,
Beckett, Mansfield, Lyden, Cass, Meredith; Walter Coy as
Zorovax, Leonard Penn, Cliff Ferre, Frank Pulaski, Nestor Pava, Chas
Horvath, Patsy Parson, Joanne Jordan, Patsy Iannone.
Directed
by Hollingsworth Morse; Executive Producer: Guy V. Thayer, Jr;
Associate Producer: Arthur Pierson; A Roland Reed Production
Director of Photography: Walter Strenge, A.S.C.;
Production Manager: Dick L'estrange; Supervising Editor: Roy Luby,
A.C.E.; Edited by: Roy Maguire, A.C.E.; Production Effects:
Jack R. Glass; Art Director: McClure Capps; Casting
Director: Bill Tinsman; Sound: Chas. Althouse & Joel Moss;
Script Supervisor: Hazel W. Hall; Technical Advisor: Dick Morgan;
Technical Instruments: Loren Sackett; Assistant Director: Dick
Moder; Costumes by Berman Costume Company.
Episode 3: BLAST OFF
by Arthur Hoerl & Marianne Mosneer
Feature film:
BLAST
OFF
3.1 Upon landing on a strange planetoid, Rocky and his
friends meet the Valley and Hill People.
3.2 Rocky and Bobby are wrecked on a planetoid where the
natives worship them as gods. They find a flying saucer
hundreds of years old and a beautiful girl as well.
3.3 Rocky and Professor Newton save two lives and leave new
friends as they return back to Earth.
CAST: Crane,
Beckett, Mansfield, Lyden, Cass. Donna Martel as Muana;
Walter Coy, Paul Marion, Don McGowan, Peter Ortiz, Cliff
Ferre, Charles Stevens; Bill Lechner.
Photographic
Effects: Jack R. Glass Costumes by Berman Costume
Company
Art Director: McClure Capps.
Episode 4: THE COLD SUN
Feature film:
COLD
SUN
4.1 Rocky and his crew receive word that there is a
strange cold spell on Earth.
4.2 Professor Mayberry determines that a trotanic missile is
needed to ignite the sun before it is too late.
4.3 Rocky starts off his mission to fire trotanic missiles
into the sun.
Episode 5: CRASH OF MOONS
Feature film:
CLASH
OF MOONS
5.1 Rocky saves a space station and his friends when they
are trapped between gypsy moons.
5.2 Cleolanthe tries to destroy one of the gypsy moons with
a barrage of missiles.
5.3 Rocky evacuates they gypsy moon Posetta and stops
Cleolanthe's missile barrage.
Epiosde 6: ESCAPE INTO SPACE
Rocky captures a racket king who has fled to Earth and
tricks him into a confession.
Epiosde 7:
FORBIDDEN MOON
Feature film:
FORBIDDEN
MOON
7.1 Bobby is captured and the Orbit Jet is stolen.
7.2 Professor Newton saves Yarra, the boss of Medina, from
the radiations of the Forbidden Moon.
7.3 Rocky captures a serum from Agar which saves the people
of Medina from radiation.
CAST: Vic Perrin
Episode 8: INFERNO IN SPACE
Feature film:
MAGNETIC MOON
8.1 Rocky and his crew discover all wood and paper
products on their ship has disintegrated.
8.2 Professor Mayberry has a plan to avert the threat of the
moon Cryko.
8.3 Rocky's foes visit Julieandra on the planet
Herculon.
Episode 9: KIP'S PRIVATE WAR by Warren Wilson
Rocky helps Kip, young son of a suspected saboteur, to
find the right track.
CAST: B.G. Norman, Ted Hecht,
Robert Foulk, Robin Morse.
Executive Producer: Guy V. Thayer; Producer: Arthur
Pierson; Director of Photography: Walter Strenge; Production Manager:
Dick L'estrange; Supervising Editor: Roy Luby, A.C.E. ; Edited
by: Roy Maguire, A.C.E.
A Roland Reed Production; Hollywood, California
Episode 10: OUT OF THIS WORLD
Feature film:
OUT
OF THIS WORLD
10.1 Nizam, the sinister ruler of Regalio, plans to use
his planets magnetic force to destroy Earth.
10.2 Rocky and Professor Mayberry are intercepted by a
Regalian flying saucer when they follow Clark's
instructions.4.
10.3 Rocky and Professor Mayberry reveal their true purpose
to Julieandra.
CAST: Ian Keith
Episode 11: PIRATES OF PRAH by Arthur Hoerl
Feature film:
MANHUNT
IN SPACE
11. 1 Vena's spaceship is captured by space pirates from
the planet Prah, and Rocky uses a "cold light" to make his
spaceship invisible, then sets out to battle the
interplanetary gang and their lady boss.
11.2 Rocky is captured but manages to escape to Earth on the
Orbit Jet.
11.3 The pirates learn of Rocky’s new secret weapon,
and uses their knowledge to elude Rocky and his plans to
bring them to Earth for punishment.
CAST: Crane,
Beckett, Mansfield, Lyden, Cass, Meredith, Henry Brandon,
Ray Montgomery, Gabor Curtiz
Episode 12: ROCKY'S ODYSSEY by Warren Wilson
Feature film:
GYPSY
MOON
12.1 Vena is captured and then rescued when the Orbit Jet
lands on Posita.2.
12.2 In return for repairs, Rocky goes to Negato to attempt
a peace between that moon and Posita, the gypsy moon.
12.3 Rocky is believed dead, and an attempt is made to use
recordings of his voice in a fiendish plan.6.
CAST: Crane,
Beckett, Mansfield, Lyden, Cass, Meredith Patsy Parsons,
Erika Nordin, John Banner, Harry Lauter.
Episode 13: SILVER NEEDLE IN THE SKY
Feature film:
SILVER
NEEDLE IN THE SKY
13.1 Cleolantha, leader of Ophiuchus, forces her way into
a United Worlds Conference.
13.2 Cleolantha takes her revenge on the conference by
capturing the delegates.
13.3 Rocky and his crew are taken prisoner but escape to
Earth on the Orbit Jet.
Episode 14: THE TRIAL OF ROCKY JONES by Warren Wilson
Feature Film:
RENEGADE
SATELLITE
14.1 Rocky, Vena, Bobby and Biff land their rocket The
Silver Moon for refueling on Ankapore, a planet that is a
haven for criminals, since it refuses to sign extradition
treaties with the United Planets. Griff, Rudy DeMarco and
Dr. Reno see a chance to settle old scores against Rocky and
contrive a fight. Rocky is accused of assault, attempted
murder, and finally piracy when Griff's space ship the YC-47
disappears.
14.2 Biffen Cardoza defends Rocky at his trial, and in a
series of flashbacks we watch Rocky battle Griff, Brinkman,
Dr. Vanko, Cleolantha and Dr. Reno. Meanwhile, the YC-47,
under the command of Zandorf enters the United Worlds Space
Station O-W-9, where Clark discovers Pinto Vortando is being
held a hostage.
14.3 Pinto Vortando and Clark are called as witness in the
Trial of Rocky Jones, and just as LaVolga is about to pass
judgment on Rocky an Earthquake hits the underground city,
endangering many lives.
CAST:
Crane, James Lydon, Mansfield, Lyden, Sheffield, Meredith.
Griff: Leonard Penn; Rudy DiMarco: Richard Avonde; Pinto
Vortando: Ted Hecht; La Volga: Dayton Lumis; Dr. Reno: Tom
Brown Henry; Zandorf: Bob Bray; First Native: James
Griffeth.
Episode 15: VENA AND DARNAMA
Mandora, a little speck in the universe, is Rocky's
destination.
Cast: Miss Pilkington: Ida
Moore; Clark: William
Hudson; First Mandoran: Charles Horwath.
What probably set Rocky Jones, Space Ranger
apart from almost every space adventure television show of its time was
the fact that it was filmed, and the ongoing continuity of the program.
The series followed the adventures of Rocky Jones and the Space Rangers
in the twenty-first century, and the episodes had a running story line
featuring villains, alien (albeit always humanoid) races, and good
guys. If I have any complaint it has to do with the fact that
they never truly explained why Winky was suddenly replaced by Biff as
Rocky's co-pilot. Finally it should be noted here that every
episode of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger are currently available on
tape. The correct sequence of episodes are as follows:
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Beyond the Curtain of Space
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Bobby's Comet
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Pirates of Prah
-
Forbidden Moon
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Escape Into Space
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Rocky's Odyssey
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Kip's Private War
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Silver Needle in the Sky
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Crash of Moons
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Blast Off
season two:
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The Cold Sun
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Inferno In Space
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Vena and Darnamo
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Out of this World
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Trial of Rocky Jones
Thanks to Robert Blau, Mike Elmo and Jack Stinson for
the above information!
reprinted from VARIETY January 20, 1954
"ROCKY JONES, SPACE RANGER
with Richard Crane, Scotty Beckett, Sally
Mansfield, Robert Lyden, Maurice Cass, others
Producer: Roland Reed Productions
Producers: Guy Thayer, Jr., Arthur Pierson
Director: Hollingsworth Morse
writer: Warren Wilson
26 half-hours
Distributor: United Television Programs
"What's going on behind the iron curtain is of
small concern to the little shavers, who must stick their heads into
the set when Rocky Jones "blasts off". Of greater immediate
interest to them is what goes on beyond the curtain of space.
For the young 'uns this is a dish to be devoured avidly and with
childish imagination they must have the vicarious thrill of riding the
tail of the rocket ship high into the wild blue yonder.
"A field day must be enjoyed by the men who invest special
effects, create miniatures and weird sounds. Here it must look
like the real thing to the junior rocketmen and is ably presented by a
good cast topped by Richard Crane, the kind of hero who wouldn't think
of missing his Wheaties. He gets the proper help from Scotty
Beckett and Sally Mansfield and incidental characters that roam the
planet Ophiuchus. So you never heard of it.
"Surprising that 'Rocky' isn't in the sponsored column
considering that such figments of science-fiction are enjoying a
healthy fad just now and this is every bit as good as the others.
Donald Duck took the time to go on a quack for March of Dimes."
(Reprinted as published. Don't ask me what that last line means.)
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