Space Academy
Entry updated 19 November 2023. Tagged: TV.
US juvenile tv series (1977). Filmation Associates for CBS-TV. Created by Allen Ducovny. Executive producers Norm Prescott, Lou Scheimer. Producer Arthur H Nadel. Directors included Jeffrey Hayden, George Tyne, Ezra Stone, Nadel. Writers included Samuel A Peeples, Ted Pedersen, Jack Peritz, Martin Roth. Cast includes Ric Carrott, Maggie Cooper (Adrian), Pamelyn Ferdin, Eric Greene (Loki), Jonathan Harris, Erika Scheimer (voice of Peepo the Robot) and Brian Tochi (Tee Gar). Fifteen 30-minute episodes. Colour.
In the year 3732, three-hundred-year-old Commander Gampu (Harris) is in charge of various young space cadets on a "man-made planetoid", actually a colonized Asteroid. There are three teams, the Blue, Yellow, and Red teams, with the senior cadets being in Blue team. Laura (Ferdin) and Chris (Carrott) usually lead each expedition on missions which deal with various Aliens, exploding planets, an encounter with a Black Hole and – perhaps most unusually – a pair of living Comets. Some team members possess various Superpowers, including several types of Psi Power, superhuman strength, and so forth. The special effects were not especially notable, though effective for the period. Harris himself is perhaps best known for the role of Dr Smith in the sf Television series Lost in Space (1965-1968).
A spinoff series was Jason of Star Command (1978-1980). [GSt]
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