Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

John T. Ryan BACK IN THE day, the early days of Television, that is, the notion of space Travel, not new to Science Fiction, was a hot genre for exploitation in the ever growing network and local channel schedules. There was, of course, two ways to obtain their desired "Space Operas." They could be either be culled from old theatrical movies; or they could be produced brand new, just for TV.ALTHOUGH THERE WEREN'T exactly very many old, previously released movies that dealt with space travel; there were some-even dating back to the silents. Among the backlog of oldies, as big as life and with double dosed action, was the movie serial.*ALTHOUGH THERE WERE quite a few space oriented serials available for the TV*, there are four that were the most durable and popular. They were BUCK ROGERS (Universal, 1939) and the trilogy of FLASH GORDON (Universal,1936), FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS (Universal,1938) and FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE (Universal,1940). These four were playing for years on local stations.**THE SECOND AVENUE of acquiring the coveted programing was to produce it just for TV. Hence, we had live & in studio classics as CAPTAIN VIDEO, BUZZ TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET and SPACE PATROL. The in studio, live production had many drawbacks and limitations. The next step surely would be filmed series; which was much more akin to the theatrical film. Well the filmed series did become a reality when ROCKY JONES, SPACE RANGER debuted in 1954.AS WE RECALL it featured diverse stories, impressive special effects and an energetic and talented cast. Richard Crane gave a credible and energetic performance in the lead; supported by Sally Mansfield, Scotty Beckett, Robert Lyden and veteran Maurice Cass. We know by way of our friends in the neighborhood that Rocky Jones was tops.IN RECENT YEARS, we've seen at least one "movie" that was constructed through a compilation of several ROCKY JONES Episodes. The acting, the special effects, costuming and stories were good enough for the big screens of the nation's movie houses. It begs the question; so why was it canceled after one season of 39 episodes? Go figure!NOTE: * There were many serials with space travel and rocket ships. some, like BRICK BRADFORD (Columbia, which never made it to the small screen in your living rooms. On the other hand, Republic Pictures opened the floodgates giving the TV Stations such titles as: KING OF THE ROCKET MEN, THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES, FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS, ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE and others. NOTE: ** Just what is the common thread that runs through these four chapter plays? Well, other than the studio's being Universal, it is the Star Male Lead. Can you say Buster Crabbe?

Jay Salden I give this a one out of ten but mostly just because it is bad now because it is so old. It was not an awful show at the time I'm sure. But even my Grampa laughed at it when we watched it because it was so dated and funny. The main character, Rocky Jones, was like a Buck Rogers type character who fearlessly goes into space leading his men. I only saw two grainy episodes on an old tape with my Grampa like I said but it was okay considering how really old the show was. The funny parts were the "futuristic" equipment and all the enemy space men they found because the effects were so lame, actually there were no effect really. Worth it for a laugh if you like out of date stuff with bad effects.

brolsky While there is little about "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger" to justify recommending it today, there is a certain value to considering the historical importance of what it was in 1954.I should say, that I grew up watching this program. I and one of my friends, joyfully, wrote away to the show and were rewarded with a Rocky Jones, Space Ranger Fan Club kit, which included a large, blue, scroll-type banner with gold tassels, a selection of cheaply reproduced head shots of the actors in character, and if I recall correctly, a couple of code rings that were nice but had no relation to the show.We both watched the show religiously and were thrilled by the adventures and the wonder of space travel. We both read science fiction and we were both precocious little intellectuals who understood just how poorly these shows approximated quality in that area. Still, it was fun, it was science fiction, it was for kids, and it was 1954-55.If you consider the plots, such as they were, and consider the headlines of those days then it should not be hard for you to recognize how idyllic Rocky's problems seemed to us.Yes, Rocky Jones KNEW what was right, but the '50s was a time when knowing what was right was very important. There was a certain amount of social commentary built into the show that said that doing 'the right thing' was more important than political concerns. Rocky Jones doesn't seem human to us today, because he is not paralyzed by doubts, he is serious about what he is doing, he is dedicated to fighting the bad guys who are clearly 'bad' guys. That a woman was aboard was ground breaking just as having a mixed crew was shocking when "Star Trek" hit the air waves. It was futuristic, and though it didn't go nearly far enough, it pointed the way to where our society has actually begun to go.Rocky was a hero. He was not an ordinary guy with some extra training. He could do no wrong, by definition. Heroes are always in short supply, so it is not surprising that others went to him for advice and took what he gave. The only real difference between a hero story then and one now is that today's heroes need to fight the system to do their heroic deeds and they are tortured by the fear that they may die alone because no one understands their truths.Certainly, there is more depth to a modern hero, but the question is, how often does that depth advance a hero story?As far as cheap sets and cheap effects go, they weren't for that day and time. They were pretty much state of the art for weekly television in the '50s. We, today, are spoiled by our current technology which makes much better effects cost effect where they were impossible before. Compare "Star Trek" to "Enterprise", both relatively low budget for their times. Consider "Bewitched" versus "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer".So, for a proper appreciation of "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger" in the context of what it was versus what it is now, let me say that it has no depth or artistry that survives its original time. There is no great artistic merit to the shows which would justify a week long retrospective. It was an afternoon syndicated children's show, which added wonder and hope to my life as a child. I would joyfully sit through an episode or ten, to revive old memories and to ruefully remark on how sophisticated I have grown and how technology has advanced. But, then, I am currently re-reading the Shadow and Doc Challenger novels for much the same reason and with much the same recognitions.There were great space operas in the literature that still hold up today for all their lack of modern sophistication and they reach all the way back to the '30s. There have not been many great science fiction films and fewer television shows until much more recent times. If you need examples, consider "Metropolis", "Things to Come", "Destination Moon", etc. as big budget films for their day compared to modern science fiction movies. (We'll skip movie serials completely.) As far as television goes, till the '60s, all I can remember are this one, "Captain Midnight/Jet Jackson", "Superman" and "Science Fiction Theatre" and none of these others offered adventures in space. I'm sure that others of us, can think of more, but I'm willing to bet, not many more.So, if anyone wants to put out a bunch of episodes on DVD, they've got one purchaser ready, with cash in hand.

coker-2 If it were not for COMMANDO CODY, SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE, we would consider ROCKY JONES, SPACE RANGER to be the low point of 1950s space adventure series. Unlike the other shows of the day it was filmed and syndicated; that meant far better sets, props and special effects. But the writers seemed never to have understood what science fiction, or space adventure, was all about. The actors are good and deserve better material. They also deserve better directors. The art direction is quite good, but there are very few "practical effects," far fewer than even on the live space adventure shows. (When a ray gun fired on CAPTAIN VIDEO, we saw flame and smoke... when a ray gun fires on ROCKY JONES we hear a kind of farting sound.)