"Raumpatrouille - Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffes Orion" (1966) TV series

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Creator:

Rolf Honold

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

17 September 1966 (West Germany)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

Some things from tomorrow may sound like a fairy tale. This is a fairy tale from the day after tomorrow ...

Cast

Dietmar Schönherr	...	Cliff Allister McLane (7 episodes, 1966)
Eva Pflug	...	Tamara Jagellovsk (7 episodes, 1966)
Wolfgang Völz	...	Mario de Monti (7 episodes, 1966)
Claus Holm	...	Hasso Sigbjörnsen (7 episodes, 1966)
Friedrich G. Beckhaus	...	Atan Shubashi (7 episodes, 1966)
Ursula Lillig	...	Helga Legrelle (7 episodes, 1966)
Benno Sterzenbach	...	Gen. Wamsler (7 episodes, 1966)
Claus Biederstaedt	...	Introduction (7 episodes, 1966)
Friedrich Joloff	...	Col. Villa (6 episodes, 1966)
Franz Schafheitlin	...	Sir Arthur (5 episodes, 1966)
Hans Cossy	...	Marshal Kublai-Krim (5 episodes, 1966)
Thomas Reiner	...	Adjutant Michael Spring-Brauner (5 episodes, 1966)
Charlotte Kerr	...	Gen. Lydia van Dyke (4 episodes, 1966)
Reinhard Glemnitz	...	Voice of von Wennerstein / ... (4 episodes, 1966)
Norbert Gastell	...	Hydra-Offizier / ... (3 episodes, 1966)
Alfons Höckmann	...	Rott (3 episodes, 1966)

Also Known As:

Raumpatrouille (West Germany) (short title)
Raumpatrouille - Die Abenteuer des schnellen Raumkreuzers Orion (West Germany) (rerun title)
Raumschiff Orion (West Germany) (informal title)
Space Patrol (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:60 min (7 episodes)

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Bavaria Atelier

Trivia:

One of the steering controls on the Orion's bridge is obviously made out of an iron.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: There is a large hole in the top of the glass helmets of the spacesuits which was used during filming to blow in warm air from a hair-dryer to prevent the glass steaming up.

Quotes:

Female ordinance: [slightly out of breath] Commander, you should immediately make contact with Headquarters of the Terrestrial Space Reconnaissance Group. Hurry... It is urgent Mayor...
Cliff Allister McLane: [smiling] My agency has a very limited vocabulary: hurry , classified, urgent.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 (2004)

best Sci-Fi of that time

The series was shown on TV before Star Trek had appeared. If you compare the special effects of Raumpatrouille to those of the first Star Trek pilot (which had not been aired until the early 90s), they were very much alike. Of course, today most people just laugh at such effects. But unlike Star Trek, the plot of Raumpatrouille and its political contents was far more symbolic and, I think, more interesting. Unfortunately, the series never evolved any further and stopped after the seventh episode for some reason. The German TV station Pro7 announced a continuation of Raumpatrouille in the 90s, but I doubt that it will ever be finished. And if it was, it will most probably not have the same taste as the original series.