TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET
(CBS, ABC, NBC,
Dumont, October 2, 1950-June 25, 1955)
Rockhill Productions
MAIN CAST:
Frankie
Thomas, Jr. – Tom Corbett
Al Markim
– Astro
Jan Merlin
– Roger Manning (season 1-4)
Carter Blake
– Commander Arkwright
John
Fielder – Cadet Alfie “the Brain” Higgins (season 1-2)
Jack Grimes
– Cadet T.J. Thistle (season 5)
Jackson Beck
– Narrator (season 1-4)
Debuting
during the Golden Age of television, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet was one of
the pioneering programs in science-fiction.
 |
| Promo image of Tom Corbett. |
The concept
for the series came from a blending of sources. Joseph Greene,
a writer for various genres across various media, had conceived of a
space-faring hero named Tom Ranger in 1946. He had written the character into a
radio script along with his colleagues, Kit Koo and Bob Bradley, and their
ship, the Space Arrow. The script was submitted to Orbit Feature Services Inc.
under the working title The Space Cadets, and later Space Academy, but
it went unproduced. Greene tried again by adapting his characters into a
syndicated newspaper strip in 1949, but again it never saw production.
 |
| Heinlein's Space Cadet. |
In 1950, CBS was looking to compete with DuMont’s popular
series, Captain Video and his Video Rangers. Green saw an opportunity to
give his Tom Ranger concept another go, but there was a slight hitch. In the
interim, Robert A. Heinlein
published a juvenile novel called Space Cadet in
1948 which featured concepts very close to that of Tom Ranger. Rockhill
Productions, who Greene submitted one of his scripts to, was interested in
developing the concept for their expansion into television. They purchased the
rights for the term “Space Cadet” from Heinlein and used the connection to
bolster publicity for the project. At the insistence of Rockhill’s Stanley
Wolf, the title was expanded to Tom Ranger, Space Cadet. From there Tom
Ranger would go on to become Tom Corbett at the last minute.
 |
| Space Academy. |
Tom
Corbett, Space Cadet was set in the 24th Century, where Earth
had become a commonwealth with cities combined into several megalopolis and had
established colonies and outpost throughout most of the inner solar system
called the Solar Alliance. The peacekeeping force charged with protecting the
Alliance was The Solar Guard, who were also tasked with exploring the unknown
and conducting scientific research. New recruits, called cadets, enlisted into
the Space Academy with the hopes of joining the Solar Guard—provided they can
cut the mustard both in skill and meeting the stringent discipline requirements
of the Academy.
 |
| Tom, Astro and Roger. |
Cadets were
grouped into units of threes with an emphasis on teamwork. Tom Corbett (Frankie
Thomas, Jr., in his 30s at the time he was cast to play a teen) was the command
cadet for his, which also featured Roger Manning (Jan Merlin) and Astro (Al
Markim), and were directly overseen by Captain Steve Strong (Michael Harvey for
the first 6 episodes, replaced by Edward Bryce when he had difficulty
remembering his lines). Astro was an orphan born on the Venus colony with an
extensive knowledge on rockets and their engines, making him the power cadet in
charge of fueling the ship’s engines with radioactive material. Manning, while
being a brilliant astrogator, was a brash and arrogant ladies’ man (an
improvised line cemented his smartass personality) who initially harbored racist
feelings towards Astro until they eventually worked through their differences. He
served as the unit’s radar cadet. A 4th classification, Advanced Science
Cadet, would sometimes accompany the unit on missions but typically stayed
behind at the Academy doing research. Together, the cadets manned the spaceship
Polaris.
 |
| Ad featuring Dr. Joan Dale. |
Other
characters included Commander Arkwright (Carter Blake), the head of the Academy;
Dr. Joan Dale (Margaret Garland, Pat Ferris for 2 episodes), an instructor who
developed the Hyper-Drive (a small bit of progressivism at the time); Major “Blastoff”
Connell (Ben Stone),
an incredibly strict member of the Academy who would had loved to expel the Polaris
crew; Cadet Alfie “the Brain” Higgins (John Fielder, in his first role), science
cadet; and Cadet Eric Rattison (Frank
Sutton), Tom’s rival at the Academy.
 |
| Tom in his space suit. |
Tom
Corbett, Space Cadet made its debut on CBS on October 2, 1950. The series
was written by Art Wallace, Albert Aley, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert,
Richard Jessup, Palmer Thompson, Ray Morse, Alfred Bester, George Lowther, Stu Byrnes and Thomas. Unlike Space
Patrol, which had debuted months prior, Tom Corbett was more character-driven
than action-oriented. Although it would take some liberties, such as creating a
“Hyper-Drive” to allow for faster than lightspeed travel to distant locations, the
series held closely to scientific accuracy (as established at the time)
overseen by technical advisor Willy
Ley; a German scientist and writer who became an expert on rocketry. As a
result, the Polaris crew didn’t employ things like laser guns and didn’t
encounter many aliens. Instead, the series was kept “grounded” with common,
everyday situations familiar to the audience but set in space, and themes
borrowed extensively from old westerns. The small budget and limited technology
were a boon, forcing the scripts to be extremely focused and brisk in their
pacing.
 |
| A cutaway diagram of the Polaris. |
Tom
Corbett became a smash hit, running 5 seasons. It received praise for its
mature storytelling and innovative special effects. Tom Corbett had the
rare distinction of being the first program to be broadcast across all four
major networks during its run. The first season ran on CBS before moving to ABC for the next two seasons. The show was aired
3 days a week, broadcast live for 15 minutes an episode. During the ABC run, three
episodes would be repackaged and condensed into a 30-minute show with narration
by Thomas to serve as a summer replacement for The Victor Borge Show on NBC Saturday nights. After an 11-month hiatus, Tom
Corbett returned airing on the DuMont Network, airing alternate Saturdays.
7 months later, the final batch of episodes would return to NBC on Saturday
mornings. Despite the hiatuses, the show’s popularity remained strong.
 |
| The diminutive T.J. joins the crew. |
After the
DuMont run, Merlin decided he wanted to leave the show to avoid being typecast
as a space cadet for the rest of his career. For the final NBC run he was
replaced by Jack Grimes as T.J. Thistle; a cowardly cadet who tended to have a
chip on his shoulder because of his short stature. The NBC run, sponsored by Kraft, featured a significant reduction to the
already miniscule budget, further limiting the amount of sets used and
resulting in the removal of Jackson Beck as the long-serving narrator. Popularity
for the series did wane, resulting in its cancellation. However, it was
strongly considered as late as 1957 to bring the show back to the airwaves.
 |
| One of the newspaper strips. |
The show’s
popularity led to a wealth of merchandising and spin-off opportunities. A comic
strip ran from September 9, 1951 to September 6, 1953 drawn by Ray Bailey and
primarily written by Paul
S. Newman. Grosset
& Dunlap, for whom Greene worked as an editor, published a series of 8
juvenile novels written by the pseudonym Carey Rockwell
(believed to have been Greene himself). The books generally featured a lot of
inconsistencies when compared to the television show, however Ley did also
serve as scientific advisor. Saalfield Publishing
Co. released a coloring
book in 1952, and Wonder Books published a children’s book in 1953 called Tom
Corbett’s Wonder Book of Space. From January 1 to June 26, 1952, a
radio program aired adapting television episodes into a half-hour show twice a
week with the cast reprising their roles. An album featuring
several songs from the series was released by Golden Sound Records in 1951, as
well as a recorded
adventure in 1952 from Little
Nipper Junior Records.
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| The cover to Dell's Tom Corbett #9. |
Dell Comics began
publishing comics based on the show in 1952. The first three adventures were
featured in Dell’s tryout book for potential new series, 4-Color, in #’s 378,
400 & 421. Satisfied with audience reaction, Dell spun-off the series into its own title beginning
with #4 and in an issue of March of Comics with
issue #102.
As the show tapered off, Dell cancelled the title with #11 in 1954. Prize Comics
took up the license in 1955 and published three more issues. In
1990, Eternity Comics
reprinted the Dell/Prize comics as The Original Tom Corbett,
Space Cadet, along with two of their own 4-issue limited series
in a manga style. The Dell/Prize books were reprinted again in
2017 by PS Artbooks as part
of their Pre-Code Classics series. Bluewater Productions (now Tidalwave Productions) went on to
published a new 4-issue
series in 2009. Bluewater also partnered with The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air
to produce a dramatic
radio version of their series.
 |
| One of the View-Master slide images. |
Tom
Corbett was heavily merchandised during the show’s run. Space Cadet Identification
Badges and miniature spacemen, and a Strato-Treasure Hunt Game were made
available with purchase of Red Goose Emery Oxford Shoes, one of the show’s sponsors.
The spacemen were also available with John C. Roberts Shoes. During Kellogg’s sponsorship, a membership kit was
offered through their Corn
Flakes brand. They also rebranded their cereal Pep into Pep: The Solar
Cereal, which featured cardboard cutouts of space cadet gear and a premium giveaway
of goggles.
When Kraft took over sponsorship, a Space
Cadet Membership Kit was offered for .25 cents and a Kraft tab or wrapper. Among
other merchandise was various tin and plastic toys were made by Marx, including
a pistol
and playsets;
metal
lunchboxes made by Aladdin; a
plastic space
helmet from Plasti-Cole Products, Inc.; a costume
from Yankiboy Play Clothes; a three-reel
View-Master set; and
more.
 |
| The album. |
Tom
Corbett had a lasting impression on science-fiction, as well as introduced the
terms “space cadet” and “blast off” into the lexicon that would become closely
associated with the genre. Following the conclusion of the series, Rockhill came
under possession of the IRS for failure to
pay taxes. Direct Recordings, Inc., ended up purchasing Rockhill’s from the IRS,
including the rights to Tom Corbett. The remaining artifacts from the
show retained by Wolfe were donated to the University of Southern California.
In 1984, Greene gave his personal kinescopes of the show to nostalgia merchant Wade Williams, who also possessed
a number of the half-hour, 15-minute and radio shows. In 1993, Thomas, Markim
and Merlin were reunited to perform one of the old episodes as a radio
broadcast for Friends of Old
Time Radio. Thomas, who viewed the Corbett role as the role of a lifetime,
requested to be buried in his space cadet uniform upon his death in 2006.
EPISODE GUIDE (some information
not available):
Season 2/3 (incomplete):
(11/12/51) – Tom sets out to prove Captain Strong is
innocent of ignoring a flight plan filed by Captain Wynn.
(12/26/51) – The Polaris heads for a crash-landing on
Mars.
(7/14/52) – A saboteur comes aboard the Polaris
disguised as a writer and takes over the ship.
(9/15/52) – The Polaris heads to Titan to administer
a vaccine to deal with a plague, and Roger becomes infected when he sneaks away
against orders.
(9/19/52) – Infected with the plague, Roger sets the Polaris
on the wrong course sending it too close to a comet.
NBC Reruns:
“Space Week” (7/7/51) – A competition between the cadet
units at the Academy is marred in controversy when it seems like a member of
the Polaris stole an exam paper.
“The Martian Revolt” (7/14/51) – A plan to split up the
Space Academy actually masks a deeper plot to destroy the Solar Guard from
within.
“Trial in Space” (7/21/51) – Astro appears to have
contracted space fever, which could remove him from the unit permanently.
“Graveyard of the Rockets” (7/28/51) – The cadets head on a
mission to find a missing scientist in a rocket ship graveyard.
“The Asteroid of Death” (8/4/51) – A stowaway may provide
the only way Roger and Captain Strong won’t collide with an anti-matter
asteroid.
“The Mystery of Alkar” (8/11/51) – The cadets are menaced by
a visitor for Alkar, but an even more deadly threat could destroy the Solar
Alliance.
“The Lost Colony of Venus” (8/18/51) – A stowaway
commandeers the ship and forces the cadets to help him search for the legendary
Lost Colony.
“Summer Space Maneuvers – Part 1” (8/25/51) – The Polaris
is damaged on a mission to destroy an asteroid has to land on Jupiter for
repairs.
“Summer Space Maneuvers – Part 2” (9/1/51) – Jupiter’s
strong gravity and harsh environment make repairing the Polaris a
difficult and dangerous task.
Season 4:
“The Million Dollar Patrol” (8/29/53) – While the Space
Academy is in danger of closing, the cadets have to rescue the passengers of a
crippled rocket liner a million miles away.
“The Trojan Planets” (9/12/53) – The deserted planets
orbiting Jupiter turn out to be anything but.
“The Outpost of Danger” (9/26/53) – The cadets are tasked
with saving the Minas outpost from a rampant disease.
“Target Danger” (10/10/53) – The cadets find themselves
targeted with real weapons during a mock invasion, and a feud between cadets
leads to the wreck of the Commander’s flagship.
“The Mountains of Fire” (10/24/53) – The cadets use the Polaris
to prevent the destruction of an important agricultural station.
“The Ghost Ship” (11/7/53) – The cadets investigate a
mysterious ship that seemingly crashes into other ships accidentally.
“The Beacon of Danger” (11/21/53) – A crooked mechanic
disables a beacon in the hopes of causing a treasury ship to crash.
“Spaceship of Death” (12/5/53) – An exploding spaceship
threatens an airport.
“The Raiders of the Asteroids” (12/19/53) – The cadets go
undercover in order to capture space gangsters.
“The Planet of Doom” (1/2/54) – Two auxiliary cadets crash
their spaceship on Jupiter because of negligence.
“Cargo of Death” (1/16/54) – A negligent captain kidnaps
Roger for the crew of his next poorly-maintained ship, leading to Tom and Astro
going undercover to save Roger and the ship.
“The Iron Major” (1/30/54) – The cadets are forbidden to
leave the ship while in port.
“The Space Projectile” (2/13/54) – Tom has to stop the
sabotage of a cargo firing tube.
“Rescue in Space” (2/27/54) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The Earth Digger” (3/13/54) – The crew goes to clear a
cave-in in the tunnels under the moon’s surface.
“Space Station of Danger” (3/27/54) – The cadets have to
rescue a space station from a dangerous compound in the air and a bomb planted
by saboteurs.
“Treachery in Space” (4/10/54) – Tom is expelled on the
suspicion of treason.
“Comet of Death” (4/24/54) – The crew is put in danger when
the Polaris runs into a comet.
“Death Trap” (5/8/54) – A routine flight turns into a rescue
mission when a distress signal is received.
“The Runaway Rocket” (5/22/54) – The cadets escort the speed
trial of a new rocket that malfunctions and careens towards the sun.
Season 5:
“The Atomic Curtain” (12/11/54) – Two cadets end up trapped
behind an atomic curtain.
“Astro’s Trial” (12/18/54) – After Astro’s orders lead to a
spaceship crash, Tom has to prove his friend innocent of negligence.
“The Runaway Asteroid” (1/1/55) – The crew sets out to alter
the course of an asteroid and transform it into a space station orbiting
Jupiter.
“Suit Up For Death” (1/8/55) – Major Bemus refuses to
believe that the oxygen tanks on the Academy spacesuits are defective.
“Mystery of the Mothball Fleet” (1/15/55) – The cadets are
assigned to the Solar Guard’s fleet anchorage where a crew member was reported
dead.
“The Life Ray” (1/22/55) – The crew must restore the life
ray.
“A Mighty Mite” (1/29/55) – T.J. feels discouraged about his
role in the crew until a fuel leak allows him to prove himself.
“Ace of the Space Lanes” (2/5/55) – Captain Cowan’s reckless
desire to break a speed record puts the whole crew in danger.
“The Asteroid Station” (2/12/55) – A reporter comes to
investigate the Solar Guard’s asteroid station, a project which his paper was
against.
“The Grapes of Ganymede” (2/19/55) – The crew searches for
the source of contaminated grapes that are causing sickness throughout the
solar alliance.
“Assignment: Mercury” (2/26/55) – A technical error by T.J.
puts Tom and Major Connel in danger on Mercury.
“Smugglers of Death’ (3/5/55) – The cadets have to stop
smugglers from sending a crystal that breaks down ores from space to Earth.
“The Mystery of the Missing Mail Ship” (3/12/55) – In
revenge for his dishonorable discharge, Captain Cowan hijacks the Titan Mail
Ship.
“The Gremlin of Space” (3/19/55) – A punishment assignment
leads the cadets to deal with transporting a troublesome chip to the zoo at
Venusport.
“Terror in Space” (3/26/55) – An accident sends Astro
floating away in space, but even when he’s rescued the psychological impact of
the ordeal may keep him from space forever.
“Spaceship of Danger” (4/2/55) – The cadets take a ship home
from vacation, unaware that its captain plans to scuttle it for the insurance
money.
“The Magnetic Asteroid” (4/9/55) – T.J.’s feud with a rival
ship may hinder a mission to track and stop an asteroid with a strong magnetic field.
“The Danger in the Asteroid Belt” (4/16/55) – The cadets end
up trapped on a training ship as it’s about to enter an asteroid belt.
“False Alert” (4/23/55) – A phony distress call lures the Polaris
into a trap.
“The Space Projectile” (4/30/55) – A mission to retrieve
data from a robot rocket sees T.J. and Captain Strong ending up careening
towards a white star.
“The Outpost of Terror” (5/7/55) – The cadets visit a Triton
outpost to discover the body of a radiation victim.
“Exercise for Death” (5/14/55) – The cadets try to impress a
higher-up during a training exercise, but they end up sending their target
flying into other ships.
“Ambush in Space” (5/21/55) – Roy Cowan escapes from prison
and lures the Polaris into a trap to enact his revenge.
“The Stowaway” (5/28/55) – A new reactor test is hampered by
the Defense Minister’s daughter, who stowed away on the Polaris.
“A Fight for Survival” (6/4/55) – The cadets fly an old ship
to Venusport to be scrapped, but its reactors malfunction and leaves them
stranded in a Venusian jungle.
“Space Blindness” (6/11/55) – An eccentric scientist who
wants to photograph a nova named for him leads to his escort, Commander
Arkwright, going blind from the nova’s intense light.
“Comet of Danger” (6/18/55) – A photographer riding along on
the Polaris insists the crew take it through a speeding comet.
“The Final Test” (6/25/55) – The cadets take their final
exam which includes a dangerous flight into deep space.
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