Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!tronsbox!dfrancis
From: dfrancis@tronsbox.xei.com (Dennis Heffernan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Re: Rocket Ranger in the movies!?
Message-ID: <1640@tronsbox.xei.com>
Date: 24 May 91 16:18:35 GMT
References: <322@texbell.sbc.com>
Organization: The Whole Yuggoth Society
Lines: 45


	The "bullethead" serials were all done by Republic.  The first was 
_King_of_the_Rocketmen_.  The title character, Jerry King (heh), used a rocket
pack invented by a scientist friend to thwart the schemes of Dr. Vulcan.

	A few years after that, Republic did _Radar_Men_From_The_Moon_.  In
this one, "Commando" Cody, "Sky Marshall of the Universe" (who was unfortunately
born without a first name...) was called upon by the US government to stop an
invasion from the moon, led by the evil Retik.  Clayton Moore appeared in this
as one of the bad guys while on strike from _The_Lone_Ranger_.  Unlike that 
wimp Jerry King, Cody was a scientific genius *and* a square-jawed hero: he
built the rocket pack himself, and a rocket that could fly to the moon, and
went out and beat up bad guys.  Of course, he was also the worst shot in the
universe -- he carried a gun, but never managed to hit anything with it...

	The same year, they released _Zombies_of_the_Stratosphere_, with Judd
Holdren (a/k/a Captain Video) playing the hero, Larry Martin.  The invasion
came from Mars this time, and some unknown jerk named Leonard Nimoy can be
found amongst the "zombies"...

	Finally, a year later, Judd Holdren was called back to duty, this
time playing "Commando" Cody in _Commando_Cody,_Sky_Marshal_of_the_Universe_.
While there was a continuing storyline from episode to episode, it was not
filmed in the serial or "cliffhanger" format.  Each episode was a self-contained
story.  This was because Republic wanted to run it on television after its 
theatrical release, and they did -- it ran on NBC, sponsored by General Foods.

	You can find the first two on VHS.  I'm told that the third is also
available, but I've never seen it for sale anywhere.

	_Rocketeer_ was a homage not only to the "rocket men" but to the whole
pulp era.  While Stevens obviously couldn't use the names, anyone reading the
origin story could tell that Cliff Secord got the rocket pack from Doc Savage,
and in "Cliff's New York Adventure" he's clearly working with The Shadow.  An
ironic footnote:  Stevens was hit with a lawsuit remarkably similar to the
controversial "look and feel" lawsuits that are plagiung the software industry.
Marvel Comics sued him because they had a criminal gang called "the 
Rocketeers" in their comics, who flew around and shot at people with "rocket
guns".  I never found out what the ultimate resolution of that suit was.


dfrancis@tronsbox.xei.com   ...uunet!tronsbox!dfrancis     GEnie: D.HEFFERNAN1
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