Sci Fi TV Finds: Locating hard-to-find sci fi and fantasy TV shows that are available for streaming or on home video.
Men Into Space
Originally Aired: CBS, 1959-60, 1 Season Totaling 38 Episodes
Starring: William Lundigan, Tyler McVey
Created By: Lewis J. Rachmil
What Is It? This late 50’s black-and-white speculative fiction entry was a semi-anthology series (with William Lundigan playing the only recurring character) that chronicled the exploration and colonization of the solar system. The series relied heavily on scientifically accurate data for the time and tried to present a realistic, less fanciful portrayal of space travel (i.e., no aliens, time travel, space battles, etc.). It will certainly seem rather quaint and outdated these days, but it is a rather important bit of sci fi TV that has been mostly forgotten. In the 50’s, the genre was considered mostly for kids and was often represented by shows like Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Space Patrol, Rocky Jones Space Ranger, and more. But Men Into Space eschewed the space opera angle and tried to present more realistic tales about space exploration. The special effects certainly don’t hold up to modern-day standards and the stories could be rather mundane at times, but this is still a decent sci fi entry for its era and worth checking out. You can read more about the show at this link.
The entire series is currently available for streaming YouTube at this link. It appears to have slipped into the public domain, so I don’t believe it is in danger of being yanked due to copyright infringements (though it looks like all of these eps were just posted in October 2021, so we will have to see). The series has never received an official DVD or Blu-ray release, but Classic Radio and TV has compiled a decent unofficial VOD set which you can purchase at this link. The digital channel Comet TV has also played the show from time to time, but it is not currently in their rotation.
ALSO READ: Cancelled Before It Began – Destination Space
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