Conference noted::sf

TOBOR THE GREAT (1954).

--- jerry

	And while we're on the topic, there was a series when I was a kid
	that I can't think of the name of. ["And in this ever changing world
	in which we live in..."] It was a filmed comic strip, with some hero
	who had a flying suit. The suit was basically a divers helmet with
	an oven knob on the chestpiece - the guy would twist the knob, take
	a short run, and take off. Lots of outlaws and pistol shots. Anyone
	have a name for this masterpiece? I haven't seen it since maybe 1964.
	I also recall another comic strip series set in and about a space
	station - same time frame. The exceptional thing about this series
	was the design of the space station - a torus with spokes about a
	non-rotating hub - which is a popular design among Hogan, Kubrick,
	et al. This series was definitely pre-L5 society.

	If you have names for these, please resolve my frustration.

	mm

The second one doesn't sound familiar, but the first one sounds like the
Republic movie serial, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON (1951), or its sequel,
COMMANDO CODY, SKY MARSHALL OF THE UNIVERSE (1953). I recall seeing one
of these (along with other serials) on Saturday mornings sometime in the
'60s.

--- jerry

If you are in the NH area, Channel 11 has a "movietime" feature that starts
about 2 o'clock on saturday afternoons.  Surprisingly enough, I believe I
saw the man/thing/diver/whatever taking the running start and jumping off
into the wild light-grey yonder.  It was only in the last few weeks that I
saw this so a Channel 11 show guide might provide you with the information
you seek (at least on the first one).

Re .-1:

The "movietime" show on Channel 11 is called "Matinee at the Bijou". It's
a fun show. Usually includes some short subjects, old cartoons, newsreels,
and a "feature" (usually a really *bad* B-movie). Great stuff!

-- Bill

The first must have been Commando (er?) Cody. It was always one of my 
favorite Saturday shows back in the 50's.

The second might have been the "Men in Space" series that was on around
1959-1960 or so. Had lots of interesting shots of space maneuvers and
was supposed to be set in the 1990's when space travel (at least by the
military) was routine.

	Jerry

I remember going to see that man/diver/thing serial, but I'm pretty sure 
that the name was ROCKET MAN, or was that just the name he was called IN 
the film?

	Roger.

	It just might be Commando Cody - and thanks for the channel 11 tip.
	I wonder if "Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen" got their
	name from the series - sounds likely. This reminiscing reminds me
	of another great series of the same (late 50s, early 60s) period:
	it was a set of NASA non-fiction shorts narrated by John Cameron
	Swazy (sp?) or a similar honcho announcer. As a kid I thrived on the
	stuff - it was about rockets, astronauts, satellites and the solar
	system, when "satellite" was such a high-tech term they named a car
	model after it. Pretty neat stuff. Ah, for real television again...

re:.7

There *was* a movie called THE ROCKET MAN, but it has no relation to the
Commando (definitely -do, not -der) Cody serials.

One really confusing thing, though, is that Republic, who did the Cody
serials, also did another serial along the same lines (but a few years
earlier - 1949) called KING OF THE ROCKET MEN. This serial was later
released in a feature-film version under the title LOST PLANET AIRMEN.
	So, the old rock group, Commando Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
(do you remember the song "Hot Rod Lincoln"?) actually got its name from
two unrelated (other than studio) sources.

--- jerry

When I saw the feature length version (on TV about 10-11 years ago) it was
called King of the Rocket Men, the same name it ran under as a serial.  I
saw one episode as a kid and it was fun to finally see the whole thing.  I
read someplace that they used the same rocket suit in the Commander Cody
serial.

						JDM

Was the Commando Cody movie mention the one where the peole who live on the
moon are allied with Germany during World War II?  I remember the scene where
they were using a ray gun (provided by the moon men) to blow up a troop train.

Steve