Space Patrol - The Fantastic Adventures of the Spaceship Orion (German: Raumpatrouille – Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffes Orion French: Commando spatial - Les aventures fantastiques du vaisseau Orion) aka Space Patrol Orion or Raumpatrouille Orion as some English sources identify it is a seven episode 1966 German Science Fiction series following the defiant Commander Cliff Allister McLain during a growing war with a race known commonly as 'the Frogs'.
Opening Narration[]
"What may sound like a fairy tale today may be tomorrow's reality. This is a fairy tale from the day after tomorrow: There are no more nations. There is only mankind and its colonies in space. People have settled on faraway stars. The ocean floor has been made habitable. At speed still unimaginable today, space vessels are rushing through our Milky Way. One of these vessels is the ORION, a minuscule part of a gigantic security system protecting the Earth from threats from outer space. Let's accompany the ORION and her crew on their patrol at the edge of infinity."
Episodes[]
- Attack from Space: On their first mission after being reprimanded and transferred to space patrol service, the crew of the Orion investigate an outpost gone silent and promptly discover a new extraterrestrial threat.
- Planet off Course: When the Frogs send a rogue planet on a collision course to Earth, only the Orion may be able to stop it.
- Keepers of the Law: The crew of the Orion investigates a mining outpost and finds an issue with it's robotic workforce.
- Deserters: A human commander tries to defect to the Frogs, later saying he doesn't remember the incident. When the Orion is ordered to the sector where the incident took place, similar things happen to the Orion crew and loyalties are put to the test.
- Battle for the Sun: Variations in the sun's energy output threaten the Earth's climate. The Orion crew investigates and discovers a long forgotten colony of humanity which may be responsible.
- The Space Trap: The Orion takes aboard a writer looking for inspiration for his next novel, which doesn't make things easier when the crew encounter a colony of outcasts with dangerous ambitions.
- Invasion: Unusual behavior by high-ranking intelligence officials makes Commander McLain suspect a conspiracy. No one listens to his warnings until it is too late: the invasion by the Frogs is already underway.
Production[]
The film was produced by Bavaria Films during the year 1966.
Cast[]
Crew[]
Special Effects and Set Decoration[]
Reception[]
The show received mixed reception in Germany at the time with a 59% approval rating. Having lasted for only seven episodes the show wasn't widely known outside of Europe until someone brought up similarities between it and Star Trek which had began to air in the same year (1966). It's since obtained a small international following among retro science fiction fans.
Gallery[]
Colorized still from the show