Jason of Star Command

The 28 episodes of the Saturday morning sci-fi series "Jason of Star Command" were originally broadcast on CBS from 1978-1980. The first season's 16 episodes (15 minutes each) were the live action portion of "Tarzan and the Super 7". The 12 episodes from Season Two had their own thirty-minute time-slot.

The series was a "Space Academy" spin-off with a number of "Star Wars" features. It may remind contemporary viewers of the "Buck Rogers" series, or at least a low budget version targeted at pre-teen boys. Craig Littler plays the title character, a space pilot assigned to defend Star Command (a Division of Space Academy) from a "Ming the Merciless" type, the evil "Master of the Cosmos" Dragos (nicely overplayed by Sid Haig). Dragos commands a legion of mumbling creatures with moth heads, mostly they just sit around a table and listen to him rant about Jason. Littler is pretty much devoid of any real acting talent but at least knows enough to not look directly into the camera when speaking his lines.

Littler and Haig are about all that links the two seasons as the show was recast when it was renewed. You are unlikely to find a more extreme example of producers shooting themselves in the foot between seasons than what happened with this series. The show's original draws were James "Scotty" Doohan (who attracted to "Star Trek" fans) and Susan O'Hanlon (who filled out her costume so well that male viewers kept tuning in).

For Season Two Doohan was replaced by John "The Lawman" Russell, a decent actor who must have needed work very badly because he let them paint his face blue; although this make-up arrangement had no vital link to the storyline. O'Hanlon was replaced by Tamora "Cleopatra Jones" Dobson, who might actually have been a worse actor than Littler; which might account for the perception that his acting improved during the course of the series.

Also of note during Season Two was the three-episode appearance of an aging Francine York as Queen Medusa (a character probably based on her guest role as Queen Niolani ten years earlier on "Lost in Space"). Queen Medusa looked like my cub-scout den mother, but dressed in purple spandex and wearing way too much make-up.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I love cartoons. There, I admit it. Except for one thing. JOSC wasn't a cartoon. It was a spinoff of SA. According to the opening voice

over, Jason, last name unknown, worked out of a secret section of Space Academy. His superiors were Professor E.J. Parsafoot, and Space Academy's last two commanders. His enemy was

Dragos, a brutal dictator, who was the emperor of some unnamed empire. Jason of Star Command aired two years after Star Wars and was in the same vein. It was set some time in the far, distant future, when, exactly, we don't know. Watch both this, and Space Academy, they both do justice to each other.

In the tradition of the old 1930's serials CBS hot on the heels of SPACE ACADEMY and ARK 2 and SHAZAM released this program which was similar to BUCK ROGERS and FLASH GORDON. The series featured special effects, daring do all on a tv budget. This show was different from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and STAR WARS yet capitalized off the craze. The program was the last of a wave of live action shows for CBS that started with KOOKLA FRAN AND OLIE etc. The show ran in a half hour format and was constantly running re runs when fresh episodes were not available. A saturday moring staple for many years..escapist fun for kids. Don't call the JASON the "grey poupon guy" as a kid I liked him like many kids in the 1930's or 1970's reveared ADAM WEST or BUSTER CRABBE.

I remember watching this Saturday morning kids show and being impressed with the special effects. Being a science fiction fan, any show about space, & stuff like, that I'd watch. This show had quite a large budget for being a Saturday morning "kids" show. I loved the asteroid that was "Star Command" and all the space ships. I was in my late 20's when this show aired, not really a kid, but I was when I watched. Wish I could find it again!!

Perhaps the biggest budget 1970s Saturday morning series. And set in space.

Without Youtube, it is hard to find this series today, what was it like? Despite Star Trek's James Doohan being present in the first season, it is actually the second season (when he is gone) that the show really comes together.

The whole series is partly damaged by a constantly laughing villain - Sid Haig as "Dragos" - who acts like he is in a High School play. Thankfully, he seems to get less screen time in season two and we have newly introduced characters in the second year to focus on (blue faced John Russell as The Commander and "Samantha").

The second season also has the episodes expanded to 25 minutes but still in the serial format. You can totally follow year two without seeing year one, so if you don't wish to invest time into watching the whole series - I would just jump right into the second year.