The Pirates in the Sky Experiment

Rocky Jones, Space Ranger is the show for May, 1954, with four new episodes. I like the fact the studio accepts having almost no budget to make the show as just an inconvenience. They are still trying to tell big stories on other planets with space battles and such. To save money all the different rockets in the show have the same interior bridge (something Star Trek is known to do). But to differentiate between them the prop people change the seat covers.

Pirates of Prah, part I- Vena (in a totally new outfit) is with Reggie, on cargo rocket CM7, on her way to see her brother, Paul. They are disabled by pirates, lose their cargo and are left to float in orbit of Cassa VII [sic] for eternity. It turns out a pirate group has been preying on cargo ships for the past week, including one from Mars known as Double M. Rocky and Winky are on vacation when they get the call Vena has dissappered. They launch with Bobby (for some reason) and a new piece of tech from Professor Newton, Cold Light. It should only be used in emergencies and emits Gamma Radiation. The Orbit Jet gets to the last known area of space CM7 broadcasted from when they come across the Double M. It shoots at them, but Winky easily destroys it. The pirates had burned off all the call letters from the tail fins of CM7, so when Rocky finds their ship he doesn't recognize it (even though it looks exactly like the Orbit Jet). All power (except gravity and life support) is out on CM7 so Vena pushes a missile through a missile tube to dump it into space. Rocky recognizes it as a sign of communication and they dock with the rocket. Now suddenly rockets have airlocks. CM7's airlock is on the bridge and we never see where the Orbit Jet's is, but at least Rocky stopped cutting through his own hull. Maybe the airlock was part of the upgrade last episode. They bring Vena back to Orbit Jet (leaving Reggie on his ship), hear her sad tale and tow it back to Cassa VII. TO BE CONTINUED. Rocky makes reference to going to the far edge of the solar system, which sounds like no one was done before. I am suddenly struck with the realization this whole show takes place in our solar system yet there are extra planets and people everywhere. Lazy Sci-Fi writers.

Pirates of Prah, part II- Cold Light is finally explained as essential a cloaking device. It emits a field of light around the Orbit Jet that makes it so cold that it becomes invisible (I'm guessing at Zero Kelvin, molecules stop moving so you can't see them). It's bad science, but it goes something like that. It doesn't make the inside cold, though. Nor does it require radiation shielding like we were warned about last episode. Everyone lands on Cassa VII, which has a way better space port than Earth, and everyone meets Paul Ray, Vena's brother. They go over some astronomy notes for the next day or so and Rocky thinks they're operating out of the planetoid Prah. No one has ever been able to land because the defenses are too great. On Prah, the pirates, Rinkman, Dr. Vanko, Markoff and some other guy, drop off all the stolen goods and call their boss, Cleolanthe. She learns that they failed to kill Rocky and she orders her second-in-command Atlasande to have them assassinated. Rocky, meanwhile, tricks Bobby and Vena into staying on Cassa VII while he and Winky blast off for Prah. They engage the Cold Light device and land on one of the pirate's landing pads. The pirates hear a ship but they don't see one. Rocky pops out and confronts the pirates but gets captured. Cleolanthe gets word they are holding Rocky prisoner, stays their execution and heads to Prah (with Atlasande). Rocky learns what he needs and escapes Prah just before Cleolanthe arrives and they both head to Cassa VII. TO BE CONTINUED. I just can't get over how repeatedly dumb all the bad guys seem to be.

Pirates of Prah, part III- This story is beginning to fall apart. Cleolanthe orders all the pirates (like about 5 people) to land on Cassa VII and take over. They have a contact, Ken, who works in space traffic control. Everyone wants Rocky's Cold Light device (something that shouldn't have been shared with everyone in the story, but Rocky has a big mouth). Ken knocks out Rocky and stashes him in his own engine room, then turns Orbit Jet invisible so everyone thinks Rocky left. Rocky gets loose and begins working against Ken and the pirates on his own. Once the pirates are on Cassa VII then kidnap Winky, Robby and Vena, planning to take them back to Ophiuchus. This way Rocky has to come to them and they'll get the Cold Light thing. Some muddled things happen which ends with Rocky and Winky beating up all the pirates, who they refer to as traitors so they must be humans, and they head back to Earth with everyone on board; Winky still trying to get a date. THE END. An okay story with some promise until the writers get in the way by the end. No new abuses of science in this episode, unless you count the continued use of Cold Light. For the first time in the series we are introduced to Martians, which I think are supposed to indigenous (not just a human colony). They seem a little barbaric but are technologically capable as we see with Haggar Nu, Ken's assistant set up as a scape goat. I forgot to mention the painful moment Winky chooses to sing, playing an instrument that looks way cooler than the space station models already in use.

Silver Needle in the Sky, part I- There is to be an Interplanet Peace Conference held in space and the crew of the Orbit Jet are tasked with taking the Space Ambassadors there. One of the few outstanding things I like about this show is the use of alien languages. Vena wants to go along as navigator and interpreter but Drake explains the conference is being held in neutral territory so the Universal Language will be spoken. I'm pretty sure that means English. They are headed to Space Station XO7 in the orbit of Peritane [sic], a planet in the Jupiter equalateral. I can only assume they mean it shares Jupiter's orbit but at a distance, and no where near Fornax, or they could have saved Rocky a lot of trouble in Bobby's Comet. There are asteroids way ahead and way behind Jupiter's orbit that are in a gravitationally stable position, so maybe that's what they intended? Winky worries about the Outlaw Planets respecting the neutrality of the conference which leads me to believe that any planet not part of the United Worlds is considered an outlaw. Not everyone is invited, either. Cleolanthe of Ophiuchus is mad (I don't blame her this time), so orders her human agent on Earth, Duveen, to blow up the Orbit Jet on the ground. A new alarm system warns the crew, they stop Duveen and then successfully blast off for XO7. Cleolanthe has a new idea and sends Atlasande to crash the conference and kidnap the ambassadors. Rocky gets everyone where they have to go and plans for a layover on Peritane for a re-fuel and some R&R. As soon as he leaves the station, Atlasande forces his way aboard and takes everyone captive. TO BE CONTINUED. Every space station in the show has only one Space Ranger crew member, but all rockets have at least two. It's good to see Rocky let Vena be the navigator (a job Winky used to do) and give the job of updating the log to Bobby. Another point I have in favor of the show is the use of uniforms, with rank stripes on the arms, but Winky and Bobby are the same rank and that's bull$#!7. They even have a unit affiliation symbol on the upper left of their uniforms, not unlike Star Trek. Each different culture on every planet also has a different planetary symbol. These are details I like. Now my big complaint I've seen throughout the series: rockets can only carry about a dozen people, yet we haven't seen a planet (except Ankapore) with more than a few people. It is so easy for the bad guys (pirates or Ophiuchians) to take over a space station or a planet with one rocket and some ray guns. This is so unrealistic, yet the writers kept moving forward as if nothing is wrong with the plot. Don't get me wrong, I still like the show.