1950s “Rocketman” TV Series and Their Fans

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiv

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Cynthia J. Miller, A. Bowdoin Van Riper

      Pages 1-13

3. Prologue

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

      PDF

   2. Where It All Began: The Flash Gordon Serials

      • Roy Kinnard

      Pages 17-29

4. Learning to be Rocketmen

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 31-31

      PDF

   2. “A Commotion in the Firmament”: Tom Corbett and the Lost Boys

      • John C. Tibbetts

      Pages 33-52

   3. Boy’s Wonder: Male Teenage Assistants in 1950s Science Fiction Serials and Cold War Masculinity

      • Robert Jacobs

      Pages 53-65

   4. Girls and “Space Fever”

      • Amy Foster

      Pages 67-82

5. Reaching for Tomorrow

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 83-83

      PDF

   2. Space Fever: From Fantasy to Reality

      • Howard E. McCurdy

      Pages 85-96

   3. Shooting for the Stars: Captain Video, the Rocket Rangers, and America’s Conquest of Space

      • Patrick Lucanio, Gary Coville

      Pages 97-113

   4. Space Opera TV: Seeing the World of Tomorrow

      • J. P. Telotte

      Pages 115-129

6. As Seen on TV

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 131-131

      PDF

   2. The Sky Is the Limit: Advertising and Consumer Culture in “Rocketman” Television Series of the 1950s

      • Lawrence R. Samuel

      Pages 133-148

   3. Creating a Sense of Wonder: The Glorious Legacy of Space Opera Toys of the 1950s

      • S. Mark Young

      Pages 149-162

   4. Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television

      • Jean-Noel Bassior

      Pages 163-177

7. Looking at the Earth

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 179-179

      PDF

   2. Making the Universe Safe for Democracy: Rocky Jones, Space Ranger

      • Wheeler Winston Dixon

      Pages 181-192

   3. “Justice through Strength and Courage”: Captain Midnight and the Military-Industrial Complex

      • Mick Broderick

      Pages 193-211

   4. “To Learn from the Past …”: Becoming Cold War Citizens with Captain Z-Ro

      • Cynthia J. Miller, A. Bowdoin Van Riper

      Pages 213-227

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.

• advertising
• America
• cold war
• culture
• democracy
• essay
• flash
• gender
• opera
• space
• television
• video
• media research

"From nostalgic views of space adventure to the cultural importance of 1950s sf TV series, Miller and Van Riper's anthology is an informative read and a much-needed work on an often-overlooked period in television history. Understanding the cultural impact of these series - and the symbols of heroism and Americana contained within them - is an important step in learning why we care at all about sf media and the affective relationship we share with the genre.' - Science Fiction Studies

"A significant contribution to our understanding of sf in the 1950s." - Foundation

Jean-Noel Bassoir - writer Mick Broderick - Murdoch University Gary Coville - media historian Wheeler Winston Dixon - University of Nebraska, Lincoln Amy Foster - University of Central Florida Gary A. Hughes - filmmaker Robert Jacobs - Hiroshima City University Henry Jenkins - University of Southern California Roy Kinnard - writer Patrick Lucanio - writer Howard McCurdy - American University Lawrence R. Samuel - Founder of Culture Planning LLC J. P. Telotte - Georgia Tech John C. Tibbetts - University of Kansas S. Mark Young - University of Southern California

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