1950's "rocketman" TV series and their fans : cadets, rangers, and junior space men

The fourteen essays featured here focus on series such as Space Patrol, Tom Corbett, and Captain Z-Ro, exploring their roles in the day-to-day lives of their fans through topics such as mentoring, promotion of the real-world space program, merchandising, gender issues, and ranger clubs - all the while promoting the fledgling medium of television. The heyday of the televised rocketman - before astronauts like John Glenn, Alan Shepard, and Neil Armstrong were household names, before the 'one small step' that left America's national footprint on the Moon, and before the wonders of science fiction became the wonders of science fact - was a burgeoning time in TV history. It was a time when battles were fought with Para-Ray guns and Cosmic Vibrators, 'Opticon Scillometers' scanned through walls, heroes in jetpacks soared through the skies, and the universe was full of wonder. The fourteen essays featured here focus on series such as Space Patrol, Tom Corbett, and Captain Z-Ro, exploring their roles in the day-to-day lives of their fans through topics such as mentoring, promotion of the real-world space program, merchandising, gender issues, and ranger clubs - all the while promoting the fledgling medium of television Front Matter....Pages i-xxiv Introduction....Pages 1-13 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 Where It All Began: The Flash Gordon Serials....Pages 17-29 Front Matter....Pages 31-31 “A Commotion in the Firmament”: Tom Corbett and the Lost Boys....Pages 33-52 Boy’s Wonder: Male Teenage Assistants in 1950s Science Fiction Serials and Cold War Masculinity....Pages 53-65 Girls and “Space Fever”....Pages 67-82 Front Matter....Pages 83-83 Space Fever: From Fantasy to Reality....Pages 85-96 Shooting for the Stars: Captain Video, the Rocket Rangers, and America’s Conquest of Space....Pages 97-113 Space Opera TV: Seeing the World of Tomorrow....Pages 115-129 Front Matter....Pages 131-131 The Sky Is the Limit: Advertising and Consumer Culture in “Rocketman” Television Series of the 1950s....Pages 133-148 Creating a Sense of Wonder: The Glorious Legacy of Space Opera Toys of the 1950s....Pages 149-162 Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television....Pages 163-177 Front Matter....Pages 179-179 Making the Universe Safe for Democracy: Rocky Jones, Space Ranger....Pages 181-192 “Justice through Strength and Courage”: Captain Midnight and the Military-Industrial Complex....Pages 193-211 “To Learn from the Past ...”: Becoming Cold War Citizens with Captain Z-Ro....Pages 213-227 Front Matter....Pages 229-229 Confessions of a Commando Cody Addict (or, How the Flying Suit Changed My Life)....Pages 231-247 Back Matter....Pages 249-270 "This volume takes readers back - to the days before astronauts like John Glenn, Alan Shepard, and Neil Armstrong were household names; before the "one small step" that left America's national footprint on the Moon; and before the wonders of science fiction became the wonders of science fact - to the heyday of the televised rocketman. It was a time when battles were fought with Para-Ray guns and Cosmic Vibrators, "Opticon Scillometers" scanned through walls, heroes in jetpacks soared through the skies, and the universe was full of wonder. The fourteen essays featured here focus on series such as Space Patrol, Tom Corbett, and Captain Z-Ro, exploring their roles in the day-to-day lives of their fans through topics such as mentoring, promotion of the real-world space program, merchandising, gender issues, and ranger clubs - all the while, promoting the fledgling medium of television"-- Provided by publisher