Jason of Star Command

Unrelated to the similarly named Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.
Jason of Star Command
Created by Arthur H. Nadel
Directed by Arthur H. Nadel
Presented by Filmation
Starring Craig Littler
Charlie Dell
Sid Haig
Susan O'Hanlon
James Doohan[1]
Tamara Dobson[2]
John Russell
Composer(s) Yvette Blais
Jeff Michael
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 28
Production
Executive producer(s) Norm Prescott
Lou Scheimer
Producer(s) Arthur H. Nadel
Running time 30 min. (with commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run September 9, 1978 – September 5, 1981
Chronology
Related shows Space Academy

Jason of Star Command is a live action television series by Filmation which ran between 1978 and 1981. The show revolved around the exploits of space adventurer Jason (Craig Littler) and his colleagues, including Professor E.J. Parsafoot (Charlie Dell) and the pocket robot "Wiki" (formally W1K1). The show also starred Sid Haig as the evil Dragos, and, in the first season, James Doohan of Star Trek fame.[1] Jason was a spin-off of another Filmation live action show called Space Academy, which starred another sci-fi luminary, Jonathan Harris of Lost in Space fame.

Overview

Season 1

Its first season, which was a segment of Tarzan and the Super 7, was done in the style of the movie serials of the past, telling a single overall story with sixteen "chapters" of approximately fifteen minutes' length, each ending in a cliffhanger.[3] The second season was a stand-alone, half-hour series.[4] Filmation would later revisit the serial format with both their rendition of The New Adventures of Flash Gordon and "The Great Space Chase" segment of The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle.

Jason flew a "Starfire". This fast spaceship had a "star pod" that could separate from the ship in an emergency. Dragos commanded the vast "Dragonship", similar to the Space Academy in that it was built on a large asteroid. Dragos's fightercraft were unmanned drones. This was a choice made by the show's producers and repeatedly pointed out in the plot, so that the destruction of these craft would not involve killing a pilot. The show aired on Saturday mornings, and deadly violence had to be kept to a minimum.

Season 2

James Doohan left the show at the end of the first season to join the rest of the original Star Trek cast in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He was replaced by John Russell, who played the blue-skinned "by the book" Commander Stone. Originally, Jonathan Harris was to have reprised his role as Commander Gampu from Space Academy, but according to the DVD booklet, he "had a falling out" with Filmation, thus the creation of Doohan's character.

The asteroid prop used for Space Academy was re-used for Jason, where Star Command was stated to be "in a secret part of the Space Academy". Other than the appearance of the robot Peepo and the appearance of a Seeker shuttle piloted by Lt. Matt Prentiss (John Berwick), no references were made to the characters or situations in Space Academy.

Episode list

Season One (fifteen-minute segments from Tarzan and the Super 7):

Season Two (30 minute episodes aired as Jason of Star Command):

DVD release

BCI Eclipse LLC (Under license from Entertainment Rights) released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 on May 8, 2007.[5] The three-disc set contains all 28 episodes from seasons one and two, as well as an array of special features including commentary tracks and photo & art galleries. The galleries also contain characters sheets for the proposed but never produced animated version of the show.[4]

As of 2011, this release has been discontinued and is out of print as BCI Eclipse has ceased operations.[6]

Streaming

As of May 2012, the entire series is available for viewing through Netflix.

Currently, the entire series is available for viewing through Hulu/HuluPlus.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Erickson, Hal. "James Doohan". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Tamara Dobson, star of 'Cleopatra Jones' movies, dies at 59". Sun Journal (Lewiston, ME). Associated Press. October 6, 2006. p. A4.
  3. ↑ Margulies, Lee (September 8, 1978). "Action-Packed Kidvid". Los Angeles Times. p. F1.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Galbraith, Stuart, IV (May 8, 2007). "Jason of Star Command - The Complete Series". DVD Talk.
  5. ↑ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Jason-Star-Command-Complete-Series/6510
  6. ↑ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Site-News-BCI-Shut-Down/11064

External links