By GFR
| Published
The 1950s were the Golden Age of Television. With the medium making its way into more and more homes, this was when television shows began to make their massive impact on pop culture. Television production was a booming market and broadcasters were looking to conquer that market with as much programming as possible.
As such, the variety of programming meant a lot of genre series made their mark on a generation. Science fiction was no different. In fact, it gained a huge amount of cultural momentum in post-war America as the advancement of technology ushered in new visions of the future.
There are important sci-fi shows from that pivotal era that still deserve to find a modern audience, so the good human beings here at Giant Freakin Robot got in our time machine and brought back the 1950s sci-fi TV shows that are still worth watching.
Flash Gordon
The DNA for Star Wars stretches back decades before that first opening crawl.
George Lucas was inspired by the original Flash Gordon serial episodes of the 1930s. Those led to the development of the trendsetting 1950s show of the same name.
Flash Gordon and his allies roam the 33rd century in their slick spaceship attempting to guard the galaxy, constantly threatened by the madness and machinations of a mustache-twirling villain with the oh-so-threatening moniker, Paul Richards.
While we love this show as a star-spanning precursor to Star Trek, the best thing about Flash Gordon is Irene Champlin’s performance as Dale Arden, whose fearless female scientist showed viewers–not to mention the galaxy–that she’s nobody’s damsel in distress.
Flash Gordon is an early sci-fi icon whose influence is still felt to this day. He walked so Captain Kirk could run…or warp.
The Twilight Zone
Beginning in 1959 and changing genre television forever, The Twilight Zone is an anthology series created by master dreamweaver plus actor, Rod Serling. Each episode delivers a new tale and new terrors, exploring not only science-fiction but fantasy, horror, and delightful blends of those genres and others.
Narratively, the Twilight Zone is meant to be a different dimension, a reality we recognize just enough as our own until the nightmare begins.
There are numerous standout sci-fi episodes such as the eerie and darkly comic alien story “To Serve Man”, the apocalyptic personal tragedy of “Time Enough at Last”, the dystopian parable of “The Obsolete Man”, we could spend all day listing our favorite episodes – let us know if you wanna see that video in the comments – but everyone should watch this entire show and find the episodes that speak to them.
When we talk about the most important television shows in the history of humanity, The Twilight Zone will always be in the conversation. Almost seventy years later, it is still finding a way to draw in new viewers. Open the door with the key of imagination and step into the Twilight Zone.
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
Would you believe someone beat Paramount to the Starfleet Academy show almost 80 years ago?
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet is a show about futuristic teens training to be members of the Solar Guard. They travel the galaxy having charming misadventures as part of their on-the-job training. Rather than the usual sci-fi Big Bads, these starry space knights mostly encounter natural disasters and must use a combination of their collective brainpower and cutting-edge technology to save the day.
What we love most about this series is its relentless optimism and belief in the power of science, qualities which we find even more appealing now that even idealistic franchises like Star Trek are turning into schlocky slop that seem more interested in stupidity than science.
Youthful idealism meets ageless optimism in this slice of space life that represents the golden age positivity of sci-fi at its best.
Science Fiction Theatre
Years before The Twilight Zone helped define science fiction, anthology series were already a popular form of programming, including Science Fiction Theatre.
The hook for the show was using legitimately presented science to tell stories about aliens, time travel, environmental disasters, and why man shouldn’t be messing around with Mother Nature. Pamela Isley would have something to say about that.
Debuting in 1955, the series did also use pseudoscience and quackery. An example would be the episode “The Flicker” where a flashing TV compels a young man to commit murder through hypnosis.
Most of the episodes were directly pulled from issues of Scientific American, making it a fascinating time capsule of how pop culture viewed science during the Atomic Age.
With plenty of episodes about the dangers of technology, including an episode about humans turned into worker drones through an enzyme, this was the 1950s version of Black Mirror.
Captain Video
The original science fiction series, Captain Video and the Video Rangers aired an astonishing 1500 episodes from 1949 through 1954, but there’s only a handful of episodes that have survived to today.
Set in the distant future, Captain Video led a team of Rangers dedicated to defending truth and justice on both Earth and across the galaxy.
Notably, the episode “I TOBOR” introduced the first Robot character on television, and a young Ernest Borgnine played the recurring villain Nargola.
Performed live five days a week in a studio above a department store, Captain Video had no budget, but the series became a hit and has influenced over 70 years of science fiction.
Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers
In the ‘90s, fans would debate if Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was ripping off Babylon 5 or vice versa. Well, history was repeating itself as a similar conflict played out in the ‘50s between fans of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and a later series, Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers.
Rod Brown stood out from its peers thanks to its self-contained episodes and a cast of three main rangers, including the upstanding Ranger Rod Brown, the anxious and easily annoyed Ranger Frank, and the chubby comic relief, Ranger Wilby “Wormsey” Wormser.
Performed live every Saturday morning, Rod Brown was the precursor to Saturday Morning Cartoons in everything, from how the plot played out in every episode, to the catchy theme song, and even tie-in merchandise.
Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers may have been considered a knock-off at the time, but it’s also a live-action cartoon and indirectly responsible for decades of happy Saturday mornings.
Tales of Tomorrow
Rod Sterling cites Tales of Tomorrow as a major inspiration for The Twilight Zone and it is not difficult to see why.
Tales of Tomorrow is a unique blend of pen and paper storytelling performed on live television with the kind of raw energy that was only previously seen on stage.
Showcasing the talents of early science-fiction writers like Arthur C. Clarke, Fredric Brown, and C.M. Kornbluth, each standalone episode features tales about alien encounters, scientific experiments gone wrong, and dystopian futures meant for an adult audience.
Tales of Tomorrow’s magic comes from its unpredictability. Actors would forget lines, mishandle props, and simply have to roll with the punches because there were no second takes.
Don’t believe us? Just check out the “Frankenstein” episode, in which celebrated legacy actor Lon Chaney Jr. was allegedly so inebriated during the taping that he thought he was still at the dress rehearsal.
Testing the limits of early television broadcasts, Tales of Tomorrow is a fascinating watch because even when improvisation sometimes became a necessity, the talent and brilliant storytelling involved paved the way for future anthology series. Without Tales of Tomorrow, there may never have been The Twilight Zone.
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe is essential viewing for anybody who longs for the days of sci-fi serials chock full of alien invasions, jet packs, and interplanetary travel via toy airplane props that are repainted to look like spaceships. Adorable.
Appointed by the U.S. Government to investigate the catastrophic climate issues destroying planet Earth, Commando Cody is equipped with a rocket ship and his trusty jetpack to get to the bottom of what’s really going on.
Having reason to believe that a ruthless alien dictator is responsible for Earth’s troubles, Cody sets his sights to the sky, and spares no expense to keep his planet safe from certain destruction.
Telling its entire story across just 12 episodes, Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe leaves you with constant cliffhangers jam-packed with daring escapes, celestial confrontations, and a mystery that slowly unravels across its short, serialized run. But the best part has to be Cody’s loud and unwieldy jetpack, which is wildly impractical and far from stealthy.
Reminding us of why we fell in love with sci-fi in the first place, Commando Cody’s obvious limitations only add to its campy charm, making it perfect for a quick weekend binge.
Men Into Space
Men Into Space wins some serious points for taking space exploration seriously in favor of the fantastical spectacle of alien invasions.
Colonel Ed McCauley leads various manned missions across the solar system, but there’s no extraterrestrial antagonist in Men Into Space. Instead, our hero finds himself dealing with real-life disaster scenarios including things like oxygen shortages and equipment failures. The series focuses on survival and problem-solving while exploring uncharted territory.
Yes, the special effects in Men Into Space are primitive by today’s standards, but its desire to attempt the most realistic of fictional dangers meant it reflected solid science more often than not. This included its depictions of pressurized suits, asteroid interception, and the construction of complex space telescopes before real-life attempts were ever made to develop such technology.
Decades ahead of its time, Men Into Space is an absolute treat to watch because it not only proved to audiences that space exploration is possible, it all but predicted the next inevitable steps toward human progress.
Do you have any favorite sci-fi shows from the 1950s? What are your favorite Twilight Zone episodes and wanna hear ours? We wanna hear from you in the comments. Give the video at the top a like and subscribe to the channel to let us know we should make more lists like this.
