I have always wanted to see this series, as it is the source for nearly all of the space hardware and FX shots used later in "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits", so I finally broke down and bought a knock-off copy on the Internet.

It is cool!

The DVDs are copied from video tapes made from a cable TV airing of the show so the quality isn't the greatest (but then I didn't pay that much for them either) but they are quite watchable and more than satisfy my curiosity about the show. There are 38 episodes in total.

Considering the era when it was made (1959-60), budget and limited running time (30 minutes each), this show is remarkably well made and they come surprisingly close to actual events of nearly a decade later (like the three-man crew returning from a lunar mission with oxygen running out and having to figure out how to extend their supply so they can make it home).

Obviously this show is no classic (classic TV perhaps) and the stories race by at lightning speed but it is well worth a viewing for anyone interested in early TV science fiction or early thinking about the manned space program (the Air Force is heavily involved in this show). Also, it represents some of the earliest work by a whole host of future notables, people like Bob Kinoshita (Art Director), Jack Rabin and Irv Block (SPFX), writers James Clavell and Fred Freiberger! Many early appearances of performers too, Angie Dickenson, Simon Oakland, and many others.

If you want to have some "retro fun" (pun intended), check this show out.

(Lots of cool ship and space station designs for model building subjects too...)

Phil

One of the cable channels(I think it was Sci-Fi) used to show these years ago at like five in the morning, I thought they were a lot of fun.

Phil, I bought the DVD's last year, and I too, enjoy the series. I like most about the series, on how they kept it all so serious, as to how it might be. Of course, it is a shame that the events, such as a moonbase, never came true.

The first I knew of the series, was the end theme on a CD, in my collection. Also, I'm a fan of the 50's rocketships!

There are a whole host of '50s rocketships that I want to build as models. Now there are more...

. . . I like most about the series, on how they kept it all so serious, as to how it might be. Of course, it is a shame that the events, such as a moonbase, never came true.Never? Don't you mean "not yet"?

If the level of enthusiasm and public support for space exploration that existed in the 1950s and '60s had continued, we would almost certainly have permanent moonbases by now. There would be regular shuttle flights to and from the moon, and one or more manned Mars expeditions would already have taken place. Unfortunately, the Apollo program was reduced to 17 missions instead of the planned 21, and the country became focused on other priorities.

But remember, there's no such word as "never" in science fiction!

If nothing else, I am a realist on most issues and the big problem with the manned moon/mars program is the same now as it was back then, coming up with a compelling reason to go. I know real "rocket scientists" and have had this discussion with them many times. Even they throw up their hands when it comes to "why".

Now personally, I think that having humans living on other celestial bodies and thus preventing them from becoming extinct after a single asteroid impact is compelling enough but it is just too unbelievable a concept for most people to get their heads around. The real motivation will come when someone figures out how to make serious dollars from the venture, nothing motivates like the quest for profit.