The Quatermass Memoirs (1996)

Very nice cover art for the CD release of this BBC radio production from 1996.  The programme mixes the factual story with a dramatic narrative, in which the now-retired Professor Quatermass reluctantly recounts his past exploits to a female journalist. This in turn is interweaved with soundtrack footage from the Quatermass TV dramas.

Art by Chris Achilleos.  And again below in detail.

Steve

Space Patrol (1950)

Commander Buzz Corry of The United Planets Space Patrol  headed up this kids TV show that began as a daily 15 minute show on a local Los Angeles TV station before getting an additional half hour Saturday morning show on ABC.  It ran for five years and clocked up more than 200 of the 30 minutes episodes and almost 900 of the 15 minuters. 

There was also a Radio show which featured the same cast and crew and ran for almost as long as the TV showsAnd there was also a lot of spin off merchandise sold on the back of the show’s success ranging from costumes to comic books and making it one of sci-fi's earliest franchises.

And more importantly, one of the earliest appearances of this style of space suit that would go on to dominate this decade

Steve

Journey Into Space (1953)

This is what spacemen on the radio look like...

Journey Into Space ran for 3 original series and 1 remake from 1953 to 1958 on BBC radio.  The costumes seen here being worn by the cast for publicity pictures are allegedly genuine prototype suites made for Britain's potential incursions into space. (I'm a little sceptical of that but I'll look into it and report back at some future point).

So successful was the show that there were novelisations for each of the three series, the picture above coming from the back of one of them.

To publicise the start of the second series The Radio Times went with this rather wonderful cover image of the now classic fishbowl style of helmet and rippled suit which must have been so very potent back then.  This look and feel for a space suit was in keeping with the thinking of the time and, I believe, left an impression upon some of the designers that would go on to work on future television productions in that and the oncoming decade.

Steve