Commando Cody

For the American rock musician, see Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.

Commando Cody
Commando Cody in Radar Men from the Moon!
Also known as	Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
Genre	Science Ficton
Starring	Judd Holdren Aline Towne Gregory Gaye Craig Kelly
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12
Production company(s)	Republic Pictures
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	16 July 1955 – 8 October 1955

Commando Cody was the hero in a 12-episode science-fiction serial made in 1952 by Republic Pictures entitled Radar Men from the Moon, which was followed up 1953 with the 12 episode Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe.

After Radar Men from the Moon!

Another 1953 Republic serial, Zombies of the Stratosphere, was originally written as a sequel to Radar Men from the Moon but, for unexplained reasons, the lead character's name was changed from Commando Cody to Larry Martin at the start of shooting, which occurred after the first three episodes of "Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe" were completed, thus interrupting production of Commando Cody. Further complicating the picture is that "Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe" was originally planned for television, with each episode running 25 minutes, but was subsequently put out theatrically two years before being sold to television. Because of its origins, the length of the episodes, and the lack of the cliffhanger style of episode endings, many entrenched serial fans refuse to acknowledge it as a serial, although it clearly has a single story line and the plot progresses from chapter to chapter with no capacity to run any of them individually or in any but one order (the episodes carried chapter numbers and titles on the theatrical prints).

Commando Cody serials are sometimes confused with King of the Rocket Men (1949), because the rocket-powered flying suit worn by the title character also became a wardrobe piece worn by Cody. To add to the confusion, Larry Martin wore the same suit again in Zombies of the Stratosphere. Referring to these different Republic Pictures characters wearing this prop suit collectively as "The Rocketman" is a concept formalized on film by Walt Disney Productions in their 1991 film, The Rocketeer.

The Rocketeer is based on a comic book series by Dave Stevens, which was in turn a nod to the various Republic Rocketman characters. However, some have noted that the original Cody rocket suit design appears to have been "lifted" by Republic from a preliminary flying suit design for the 1940s Fawcett comic book character called Bulletman, whose adventures the studio had once considered adapting into a serial. The strange character name "Commando Cody" was possibly an attempt to make children think they were going to see the adventures of Commander Corry, the hero of the ABC TV and radio series Space Patrol (1950–1955). The equally strange title "Sky Marshal of the Universe," was probably the studio's imitation of Corry's title, "Commander-in-Chief of the Space Patrol," proclaimed at the beginning of every Space Patrol radio and TV broadcast. However, there is no concrete evidence that this was a consideration of anyone at Republic Pictures.

References in other media

• During the Clone Wars (Star Wars), a clone trooper named Commander Cody serves under Jedi general, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This character—complete with rocket backpack -- was named after Commando Cody; a homage by Star Wars creator George Lucas to the serials of his youth.^[1]

• The Star Trek: Voyager holodeck story The Adventures of Captain Proton features numerous references to Commando Cody and other Republic serials, including the costume worn by the Captain, which was created from replica components of Cody's costume such as his jacket, rocket pack and chest control panel, and a killer robot that was an almost perfect replica of one used in the original Commando Cody serial.

• Radar Men from the Moon was lampooned in the TV Series Mystery Science Theater 3000. The first eight episodes were featured as shorts in several episodes of the first season.

• The recurring Almost Live! sketch, "Jet Guy", was a parody of Commando Cody.

• As a teen, before beginning his professional film career, Bob Gale created a series of parody films of Commando Cody, featuring a character named "Commando Cus".

References

1. ^ Star Wars: Clone Wars volume II DVD commentary

External links

• Commando Cody TV series
• Commando Cody serials
• Commando Cody Episode Guide
• Summary of Casts and Credits for the Republic "Rocketman" Films
• Another very detailed list of casts and credits for the "Rocketman" films
• Radar Men from the Moon at the Internet Movie Database
• Zombies of the Stratosphere at the Internet Movie Database
• King of the Rocket Men at the Internet Movie Database
• Commando Cody, Sky Marshal of the Universe at the Internet Movie Database
• Nostalgia League article on the "Rocketman" serials
• Gary Johnson, "The Serials"
• A Detailed page on all three "Rocketmen"