heyman@imsvax.UUCP (Hank Heyman) (02/14/85)
To: @RUTGERS.ARPA:wesm@mitre-bedford Subject: Re: Commander Cody and Flash Gordon References: <582@topaz.ARPA> Commando Cody was a mid 50s NBC series starring Judd Holdren. It was based on two or three earlier movie serials about heroes using rocket suits, including King of the Rocket Men, and Zombies of the Stratosphere. At least one of the series feature the Commando Cody character and one starred an actor named George Wallace. More information on the serials is in a book called To Be Continued, which includes information on all serials. The serials were also syndicated on Saturday morning TV. There was also an early 50's TV series on the old Dumont network called Flash Gordon which starred Steve Holland and was filmed in West Germany. Some information on these series appears in the book Fantastic Television (1978). While The Prisoner TV show is interesting and has some SF elements, it is only marginally SF. I didn't think it was so good because if they wanted the information so bad, they would have just tortured him which is what the Nazis did. The TV series V has gone downhill because it has no direction; no one can win or the series would end. Otherworld is starting to remind me of The Fugitive. A society so advanced to build androids with full logic and emotions would surely encode a serial number identification into the "access crystal." This has become a device to make life easy for the American family. I saw the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers and thought it was better than the 1978 remake. Hank Heyman, IMS, Rockville, MD