Space Patrol in colour. Ep.2 The Wandering Asteroid. By Roberta Leigh

The second episode of Space Patrol, The Swamps of Jupiter, aired on June 30th 1963. An asteroid has been deflected from its orbit and is heading straight for the capital of Mars.
There's a weird fluctuation in the sound during the intro of this episode, which is on my original B&W version, but luckily only lasts for a minute or so.
All 39 episodes of Space Patrol are in Black and White but I'm currently starting to colourise them. Whether I manage every episode remains to be seen, but if people enjoy these, I will continue!
The first episode in colour can be seen here
• Space Patrol in colour...
This from Wiki:
Space Patrol is a British science-fiction television series featuring marionettes that was produced in 1962 and broadcast beginning in 1963. It was written and produced by Roberta Leigh in association with the Associated British Corporation.

[@gepmrk]

This show is in a class of its own.

[@TheShootist]

And don't call me Pop.

[@garyrigelseven6929]

My earliest memory of tv was this show. I was too young to understand it but I never forgot it !

[@Chuck883]

Same here. This show was one of my first tv memories. I'm 65 and still watch it. By today's standards it can't compete with the CG industry but considering this was made in the 60's it's pretty amazing.

[@Steeyuv]

It was so far ahead of its time. As a five-year old I couldn't understand why I was so addicted to it. I should have listened to my instincts.

[@stevenlitvintchouk3131]

Back then, spaceships in sci-fi shows were just scaled-up versions of V-2 rockets. But the Galasphere was a totally different ship, like a scaled-up kid's toy gyroscope. I wonder how they came up with that design.

[@MrPanchoPlanet]

Thank you for having these episodes on your channel. 👍👌♥️

[@ClaymateDesigner]

Gamma Rays On. Yobba Rays On. I love this series.

[@biglandl1]

Gamma Ray -on! Che-eck! Yobba Ray - on! Che-eck!

[@robmac6508]

Thanks for sharing and great job with the colourisation - I have fond memories of watching this show as a 6 year old kid in 1967 in Sydney Australia, the show is as good as I remembered it, I especially loved the electronic music soundtrack and the industrial sounds and model visuals behind the end titles , still impress 60 year old me today. F.C Judd who supplied the electronic soundtrack was a true and unsung electronic music pioneer, his was the 1st electronic music that truly fascinated along with the original Dr Who theme of course 😊

[@loneprimate]

Heh. I was well into my 20s in the 1990s when a rather older friend, here in Toronto, showed me a video tape he'd been sent of the first season of the show. Still, I was hooked. It's amazing to see all 39 of the eps, and in colour!

[@MrButtonpresser]

I was 5 and living in Sydney too. This must be amongst the earliest TV memories I have. This and the Three Stooges.

[@DocTinfoil]

Same here! I was 5 in Sydney when it first aired in 1963! LOVED it!

[@MartysWhiteSuit]

Terrific to see again. Scared the hell out of me when I was five, but still like it.

[@stephenwalker8192]

I had nightmares about the robot when I was 5 !

[@MartysWhiteSuit]

@@stephenwalker8192 A lot of it scared me. Yes, the robot, but the eerie music, too, and Marla's voice.

[@stevenlitvintchouk3131]

Me too. They had some pretty dark and serious plots, as I dimly recall.

[@MartysWhiteSuit]

@@stevenlitvintchouk3131 Yes. Dark plots. Wouldn't be allowed in a children's show now.

[@stephenwalker8192]

Got DVD set,watched it as a kid ,but brilliant in colour

[@NicholasFurbear-ry7td]

Superb stuff love the series, very detailed regarding space travel anomalies, excellent thanks guys 😊

[@14147s]

Brings back some great memories. Loved this show. Amazing watching it in colour. Well done and many thanks.

[@Mark-td5ux]

Watching all episodes is on my bucket list.

[@jarniwoop]

The colorizing of this series is just right. It has slightly mute tones which gives it the feeling of an old video recording.

[@nealrogers999]

Yeah the colourisation is immense. Well done and thanks.

[@UKsoldier45]

A truly great show. Memories of the early 60’s! A dialogue error spotted. On take off from Earth they have the callsign 024 to Marla but then later they are 347 when speaking to Rayburn! A good story.

[@iankirk3537]

I think they re-used part of the take-off sequence from episode 1, when they were in 024.

[@outerrealm]

I want one of those twirling desks, to go with my Captain Kirk chair.

[@Stevesalmonuk]

This is my earliest memory of a space series. I have the DVD collection, which has brought back great memories - but this colourisation just makes it even better! Thank you, and congratulations!

[@IKP1000]

Glad you like it Steve! Not everyone likes my colourised efforts, but I do think it adds a new dimension to these. Thanks for the comment.

[@grandly_strange]

This is more like Dark Star than Thunderbirds. Never heard of Space Patrol till the other day. I thought someone had been messing about with AI but it’s actually real! I’m loving it! It’s unsettling, and weird. I also love the way they walk. Thunderbirds more or less gave up trying to do convincing walks. All hail the mighty Roberta Leigh.

[@Midlander1956]

Wonderful work, Iain….thanks

[@tsr207]

Excellent work - enjoyed Libby Morris's Gabbler bird voice - she was a fine comedian too ! Don't think i could sleep knowing the guardian robot was trundling about !

[@lindaloe]

I'm Almost 70,But Don't Care, I Think It's Lots Of Fun!!

[@PhilDrury]

I often think colourising such old classics detracts from the charm. Not in this case. Pretty Awesome! Pretty Awesome! (that was my bad Gabbler impersonation.) on another note, I was recently listening to "The human Factor" - a TOS story released directly to record in the 70s and I swear it's the same voice actors!

[@IKP1000]

Thanks Philip ;-)

[@charlesflint9048]

This was my favourite show when I was 8-9 yrs old. I have a DVD set of early episodes in b/w, but now it is colourised it is even more wonderful to watch. Thank You!. A superb job!.

[@jesusnodal8948]

I remember this show and I'M happy its here!! Thank so very much for this!!

[@christopherlawley1842]

3 minutes used to last longer in those days

[@austinsandefer649]

This is really a grade A show. Thank You for showing it...

[@madcarew5168]

Those robots,very scary!!

[@ZandaKristy]

The colourisation is limited to shades of brown but it's still nice to see none the less. It helps give Space Patrol an alien atmosphere.

[@IKP1000]

Hi Alex, thanks for the comment. I wouldn't quite say it's only shades of brown though! But I know what you mean, yes, it's not as good as "proper" colourisation, and some come out better than others. The program is the free AI software DeOldify, which is quite easy to use, compared to methods which give you total control over the process. Here you just set some parameters and let it run. I tried it on a B&W snooker match clip the the other day. The result was not pretty...

[@Mark-td5ux]

Wildly imaginative and prescient show !

[@borusa32]

Fantastic work. J Michael Strazynski based the Centauri from Babylon 5 on the Martians from this show.

[@ewaf88]

And 36 years or so later along came Bruce Willis and co with a similar plot

[@Mark-td5ux]

Nothing new under an alien sun.

[@Chuck883]

Sphere 347 mission complete. 👍

[@TheFrog767]

I've never seen this before a marvellous series🍻👏👏

[@IslandGirlKelly]

Many thanks, Iain. I have only just discovered your channel and am now binge watching. Well done on colourising these episodes. I have a feeling that I won't get much sleep the next few nights watching them all. 🛸🚀

[@IKP1000]

Thank you Kelly. Enjoy!

[@ivane5110]

I wish we'd gotten this in Texas when I was a kid.

[@kmac499]

Yuo know what, any of the sound effects from Space Patrol would be perfect for the reversing slow speed warning on an EV..

[@jimsteele9261]

Interesting show,,, better with the science than most from that era. When it popped up on the recommended list, I thought it was the earlier US radio & tv series by the same name, :-)

[@IKP1000]

Thanks for the comment Jim. It's interesting that it came up on your recommended list. I often wonder how people "find" my content! Yes, they renamed it for the US audience to avoid that confusion. I always thought it was funny how they presented the planets so "wrongly" and only found out later that it fitted in with the (lack of) scientific knowledge of the time. This from Wiki: Whereas Gerry Anderson had a rocket ship in Fireball XL5 that could travel light years to planets around other stars as though they were just a few million miles away, Space Patrol took a more realistic approach. Because of limited speed, trips to other planets in our solar system could take weeks or months and this was facilitated by the crew of the Galasphere going into a freezer chamber and being put in suspended animation for the trip. A robot would then take over (its movements were said to cost £2,000 a time rather than being just a puppet.) The zirgon ray (faster than light) could be used from Earth to wake them up in an emergency. The term "galaxy" was used inaccurately, but consistently, to refer to a solar system in the series, so "Galactic Control" only supervised the local planets and "other galaxies" referred to nearby star-systems. On other planets, they would use dial-selector translators (dial P for Pluto) to talk to alien beings - at the time, even some serious scientists considered the possibility of life on Venus, Mars and maybe elsewhere. Unusually for a TV show, the translators didn't instantly pick up new languages; they had to be programmed on Earth before they could be used, a lengthy process requiring recordings of the alien language. Life support in hazardous atmospheres was provided by a "Mo-lung" (short for 'Mobile Lung')- a sealed cylindrical transparent helmet, and the crew would often ride around on "Hover Jets", or more rarely, an "Ion Gun" which looked like a giant sparkler firework. Neptune was said to have atomic heating but none of the planets were really cold, such as when Dart walked about on Pluto (in "The Buried Spaceship") without any extra protection in what would be temperatures of about −230 °C.

[@jimsteele9261]

@@IKP1000 I'm sure that if I looked for this show, the youtube search engine would not find it. It's pretty terrible. I can't recall ever seeing this series in the US back in the day, but we didn't watch too much TV back then. Oddly enough, the original Battlestar Galactica misused "galaxy" in exactly the same way. Speaking of Fireball XL-5, which I do remember as a kid, there is a guy here on youtube remaking the original episodes using CGI and the original soundtrack. Fun stuff. 🙂

[@skateboardist1686]

This man Goulding, he’s too creative for me, he’s too good, too worldly. Iv been beaten fair and square. I concede to you sir.

[@kwillykelly]

Nice one!

[@theotherstuffguy2882]

10:38 'We don't keep Explosives on the Moon.' Proof this isn't the Gerry Anderson Universe.

[@stevenholland3821]

GREAT SHOW

[@littlebirdling238]

Excellent job with the color!

[@IKP1000]

Thanks mate. Not everyone likes my colourising efforts, which is fair enough, but the positive feedback is appreciated and keeps me going ;-)

[@highwindsclarke2685]

The robots have their own theme tune. Why does Professor Haggarty not like to be called Pop? The Galasphere's engine sound was used as the theme tune to the series.

[@jamessnee7171]

At 8:01 Captain Dart tell his little Venusian companion... "You better go to the restroom and wait for me there." Now if I had a dirty mind... wait a minute. I do have a dirty mind.

[@normanby100]

Slim must have been the inspiration for Ziggy Stardust.

[@CrankCase08]

Did anyone else notice that Husky the Martian looks like Max Keiser from 'Russia Today'?

[@alexcarrillo5510]

Did this group work for Gerry Anderson??? It was the same time when Fireball XL5 was shown here in the US back in 1963 to 1965 on Saturday Morning. Is this series available on DVD?

[@oldskertonion]

These puppets seem more lifelike than the Botox skin stretched prat’s On t v today. Even the acting and delivery is more convincing and the story is even more intriguing . 😊

[@squidfartz]

This is amazing -was the broadcast originally in color? I had only seen black and white (kinoscopes I think) prior to this. Nice post. Keep up the good work. -ah, I read about your colorization. Excellent job!!!

[@IKP1000]

Thanks mate. No, it was only ever in B&W, and I've colourised them using Deoldify and with some further adjustments in PowerDirector 10. It was quite a learning curve, and I learned as I went along, doing all 39 episodes, so some are better than others.... Enjoy!

[@squidfartz]

@@IKP1000 your work is a pure delight.

[@gareth5000]

Very entertaining: )

[@snorfallupagus6014]

Let’s get Trey Parker and Matt Stone to jazz this thing up.

[@LiamGallagher-x9h]

Professor Haggerty is a sadist. He ‘can’t be a serious scientist all the time, and needs relaxation” so for fun this man invents the concept of the Square Egg. Imagine the openings of the poor chickens being gouged, punctured and ruptured during this. That’s like a woman giving birth to a cheese grater.

[@loneprimate]

8:03 Isn't waiting for another guy in the restroom what caused Alan Turing all those problems?

[@dunning234]

Never seen this show thanks.

[@IKP1000]

Hi Jon, thanks for your comment. I only discovered it a few years ago myself, though it has quite a cult following! All 39 episodes are here, so enjoy ;-)

[@Neil070]

This episode could be retitled Armageddon Out of Here 😅

[@gerry5134]

I wonder did the writers of Star Trek take some tips from this show. "You Venusians are so logical "

[@snorfallupagus6014]

Pretty sure it was a dude doing Marla’s voice.

[@alantaylor353]

Wow.... That Slim sure is pretty.! 😂

[@paulhundy2986]

Marla is a hottie 😅

[@Frank_Nemo]

2024 - Libby Morris ( the voices of Marla / Gabbler / Cassiopeia ) is still going at the age of 94/

[@normandunford5747]

Space patrol was itv's answer to dr.who. SP was on at the same time as dr.who on a Saturday evenimg.

[@Neil070]

I don't think it was on at the exact same time. I watched both, and in those days, if you didn't see it live, you didn't see it at all, unless it was repeated the following year. No VCR, no PCR, no streaming service. How did we survive those dark times?

[@Mark-td5ux]

Both in 1963

[@flirtwithdanger_les]

When I was a kid, many years ago, I regarded Space Patrol as inferior to whatever 21st Century Productions turned out. The sound fx / electronic music are brilliant, though

[@jsl151850b]

For years I thought Slim was a woman despite seeing Marla in each episode. Why did they say Dynomite instead of antimatter or some fantasy explosive?

[@greggmoldovan1165]

Wonder what kind of watch they used for the timer.

[@bob-sb2zu]

Why has the sound of the Galasphere been changed from the original ??

[@StarsManny]

When i watch this, i can see team america world police!

[@eleicyhernandez758]

interesting video

[@christineburns5246]

Did I hear Slim call the craft Galasphere 027 at one point instead of 047?

[@christineburns5246]

Sorry, 347

[@stephengarratt5076]

Is this original film footage or has it been digitally colourised? Very enjoyable anyway, part of my childhood TV viewing.

[@IKP1000]

Hi Stephen, glad you are enjoying these. B&W originally but I've colourised them using Deoldify. More info in the description. Iain

[@evanescapades2513]

Wtf?? ❤❤❤❤

[@sandman9705]

If you made this in color is there an app to Do this can you please let me know

[@PlanetaryCitizen]

I'm not sure I remember this. So it predated Gerry Anderson's series?

[@jamessnee7171]

Anderson's Supercar was a year or two before and this is around the same time as Fireball XL-5

[@dazzlingdavedainty]

This was first aired April 63...fireball xl5 was first aired October 62. Arthur Provis who was behind Space patrol was in joint partnership with Anderson but they split after fireball.

[@Neil070]

Roberta Leigh worked for GA on Torchy, before Supercar. She left to create and write Space Patrol. Imagine if she had stayed and contributed her genius to Anderson Puppet Productions!

[@michealallison8756]

Excellent writing. Just a well made play but with Marionettes...

[@sandman9705]

Was this show made in color ?

[@skateboardist1686]

He’s making mistakes on purpose so rite here I know I’m being lied to or buttered up as they say. Sending messages through space with sonar?? Why are they specifying the means in which a message is sent?? That’s not 1963ish that’s more like since the age of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, infrared blasters, 1g, 3g, 4g, 5g, microwave ovens, chi, ki, high speed. Etc.. also there are other points where they are making purposeful mistakes to sound like it was made in a less advanced time. Not being able to calibrate size in space??? That means nothing can have a size anywhere we are in space now. I need to find some space girls if sizes cannot be calibrated. I could go into any endeavor without having to worry about any …short comings that one might encounter earth side.

[@lotanerve]

May I add, whoever created these puppets were bad at creating puppets.

[@aalexjohna]

Husky looks like Ant McPartlin.

[@arobatto]

It has an Eastern European feel to it.