1950s “Rocketman” TV Series and Their Fans: Cadets, Rangers, and Junior Space Men

Front Matter....Pages i-xxiv
Introduction....Pages 1-13
Front Matter....Pages 15-15
Where It All Began: The Flash Gordon Serials....Pages 17-29
Front Matter....Pages 31-31
“A Commotion in the Firmament”: Tom Corbett and the Lost Boys....Pages 33-52
Boy’s Wonder: Male Teenage Assistants in 1950s Science Fiction Serials and Cold War Masculinity....Pages 53-65
Girls and “Space Fever”....Pages 67-82
Front Matter....Pages 83-83
Space Fever: From Fantasy to Reality....Pages 85-96
Shooting for the Stars: Captain Video, the Rocket Rangers, and America’s Conquest of Space....Pages 97-113
Space Opera TV: Seeing the World of Tomorrow....Pages 115-129
Front Matter....Pages 131-131
The Sky Is the Limit: Advertising and Consumer Culture in “Rocketman” Television Series of the 1950s....Pages 133-148
Creating a Sense of Wonder: The Glorious Legacy of Space Opera Toys of the 1950s....Pages 149-162
 Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television....Pages 163-177
Front Matter....Pages 179-179
Making the Universe Safe for Democracy: Rocky Jones, Space Ranger....Pages 181-192
“Justice through Strength and Courage”: Captain Midnight and the Military-Industrial Complex....Pages 193-211
“To Learn from the Past …”: Becoming Cold War Citizens with Captain Z-Ro....Pages 213-227
Front Matter....Pages 229-229
Confessions of a Commando Cody Addict (or, How the Flying Suit Changed My Life)....Pages 231-247
Back Matter....Pages 249-270