Jason of Star Command Series 01 Overview

Introduction Jason of Star Command is a 1978-1981 live action television series by Filmation. The series revolved around the exploits of space adventurer Jason (Craig Littler) and his colleagues, including Professor E.J. Parsafoot (Charlie Dell) and the pocket robot “Wiki” (formally W1K1). The series also starred Sid Haig as the evil Dragos, and, in the…

Andrew Marshall

29/09/2020

2–3 minutes

Action, Adventure, Family, Military TV Series, Science Fiction

Introduction

Jason of Star Command is a 1978-1981 live action television series by Filmation.

The series revolved around the exploits of space adventurer Jason (Craig Littler) and his colleagues, including Professor E.J. Parsafoot (Charlie Dell) and the pocket robot “Wiki” (formally W1K1).

The series also starred Sid Haig as the evil Dragos, and, in the first season, James Doohan. Jason was inspired by Filmation’s 1977 live-action show Space Academy, and used the same robot, Peepo.

Outline

Its first season, which was a segment of Tarzan and the Super 7, was done in the style of the movie serials of the past, telling a single overall story with 16 “chapters” of approximately 15 minutes’ length, each ending in a cliffhanger. The second season was a stand-alone, half-hour series.

Filmation would later revisit the serial format with both their rendition of The New Adventures of Flash Gordon and “The Great Space Chase” segment of The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle.

Jason flew a “Starfire”. This fast spaceship had a “star pod” that could separate from the ship in an emergency. Dragos commanded the vast “Dragonship”, similar to the Space Academy in that it was built on a large asteroid. Dragos’s fighter craft were unmanned drones. This was a choice made by the series’ producers and repeatedly pointed out in the plot, so that the destruction of these craft would not involve killing a pilot. The series aired on Saturday mornings, and deadly violence had to be kept to a minimum.

Jason of Star Command Series

You can find a full index and overview of Jason of Star Command here.