Last night I was introduced to Space Patrol -- actually, Raumpatrouille -- a German science fiction television series that was broadcast one year before the original Star Trek. It was really good! The costumes, sets, and special effects were all impressive, especially for Germany in 1966. The story was engaging: In the first episode, the crew of the spaceship Orion investigates what has become of the human inhabitants of a remote space station and discover an alien threat. The lead, Captain Cliff McClane, is something of a rule-breaker, just like Kirk, and is often in trouble with his own government. The story was, in turns, both whimsical and suspenseful, just like the original Trek. Actually, being German, the show may have taken itself a bit more seriously. Except we had to laugh at the futuristic "dancing" (if you can call it that) in the Starlight Casino-- that was hilarious.
I am looking forward to more; sadly, however, the show only lasted for seven episodes. It was very popular, but it became too expensive to make, so it fell out of production. But it has its own cult following in Germany, just as Star Trek does here in the States, so perhaps one day it will be revived.
See the IMDB page for more.
98 Days til the Burn
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