Raumpatrouille
Encyclopedia
Raumpatrouille – Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffes Orion (literal translation: Space Patrol – The Fantastic Adventures of the Spaceship Orion), colloquially also known as Raumpatrouille Orion, and Space Patrol Orion in English
, was the first German
science fiction
television series. Its seven episodes were broadcast by ARD beginning September 17, 1966. It achieved audience ratings of up to 56 %. The series has since acquired cult status in Germany. Broadcast six years before Star Trek
first aired in West Germany
(in 1972), it became a huge success.
s, such as spaceship Orion, are flown by humans, whilst the aliens fly fighter jet-like contraptions. The titular ship of the series title, "Spaceship Orion", (German "Raumschiff Orion") is portrayed as being a fast space cruiser (German: Schneller Raumkreuzer), the newest starship in mankind's fleet and the fastest spacecraft ever created by humans.
In an entertaining and ironic way the show tells the story of Commander Cliff Allister McLane (Dietmar Schönherr), an Earth starship captain and his loyal crew. He is Orions commander in the developing war against an alien race called the Frogs. He is notoriously defiant towards his superiors.
(As the intro of the series says "there are no nations anymore", the names of the characters hint at a nationality, but they are obviously members of a united Earth and not separate countries.)
Many of the special effect
s seen in the black-and-white
series, like the underwater casino and space port, were created by means of the Schüfftan process
.
As the series' budget was comparatively low, the set designers resorted to using modified common everyday objects; for instance, electric iron
s, inverted clock pendulums, washing-machine console parts and designer pencil sharpener
s were used as props
control panels, sewing thread coils and banana plugs as futuristic machine parts, and plastic cup
s as ceiling lights. Many panels were produced by the then-newly invented thermoforming
process. Lots of designer furniture was also used, notably Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's 258-type couch, Harry Bertoia
's Diamond-type armchair, Yrjö Kukkapuro's Karusseli-type armchair,
Charles Eames's Aluminium group #EA105 chair, George Nelson
's DAF Chair and Eero Saarinen
's Tulpe table/chair combo. Joe Colombo
's famous Smoke-type drinking glasses were used throughout the series.
Orions cockpit was a 2.50m high, 10m wide interior set, built within a 28m exterior diameter sound stage
. It stood on a 60 cm high metal tube construction to hide the 10,000m cable harness
that connected its 3,200 flashing light bulbs to a 40 kg, electric motor-driven pinned-barrel mechanical sequencer.
The stage designer was Rolf Zehetbauer
, who later won an Academy Award for his work on Cabaret
.
and hire of the studio space had drained the resources of the Bavaria Film production company. The French company ORTF contributed 20% to production funding and some scenes, notably in episode 5, were re-shot for the French audience using French actors.
were published over the years, often with settings which were considerably different to those seen in the series.
style, however, thereby alienating much of the original fan base. The title of the movie was "Raumpatrouille Orion – Rücksturz ins Kino". The storyline was about the invasion and attacks of the Frogs, the term now becoming an acronym for "Feindliche Raumverbände ohne galaktische Seriennummer". In English this translates as "Enemy Space Formation Without Galactic Serial Identification Number". This description appears for the first time in the film and was never mentioned in the series.
was composed by Peter Thomas
.
The voice-over
introduction (similar to that used in Star Trek
the same year), both set tone and atmosphere of the series.
Voice-over introduction in German:
English translation:
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, was the first German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series. Its seven episodes were broadcast by ARD beginning September 17, 1966. It achieved audience ratings of up to 56 %. The series has since acquired cult status in Germany. Broadcast six years before Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
first aired in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
(in 1972), it became a huge success.
Premise
In the series flying saucerFlying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
s, such as spaceship Orion, are flown by humans, whilst the aliens fly fighter jet-like contraptions. The titular ship of the series title, "Spaceship Orion", (German "Raumschiff Orion") is portrayed as being a fast space cruiser (German: Schneller Raumkreuzer), the newest starship in mankind's fleet and the fastest spacecraft ever created by humans.
In an entertaining and ironic way the show tells the story of Commander Cliff Allister McLane (Dietmar Schönherr), an Earth starship captain and his loyal crew. He is Orions commander in the developing war against an alien race called the Frogs. He is notoriously defiant towards his superiors.
Characters
- Major Cliff Allister McLane is the commander of the Orion and a friend to most of its crewmen. He is a daredevil and hero who does not fight for money or glory, but for peace. He has been a member of Earth's space fleet for 15 years and was a soldier in at least one previous large-scale war (in the novels, these adventures of Cliff and his crew were described, too). As a running gagRunning gagA running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
, McLane often has to destroy the spaceship Orion to save Earth, afterwards being awarded command of a better vessel (also named "Orion"). In the TV series it was shown only with the destruction of the Orion VII, though in the novels it went as far as to the Orion X-C. - Lt. Mario de Monti is the computer specialist and gunner ("armament officer") of the Orion and a good friend of Commander McLane. He is often shown drinking with his friends and he is a womanizer who likes to flirt with young, attractive women (not even Tamara is safe from him, but she turned him down pretty heavily).
- Lt. Atan Shubashi is the astrogator and star cartographer of the Orion. He is the owner of 264, one of the last 367 poodlePoodleThe Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
s that still exist on Earth. - Lt. Hasso Sigbjörnson is the Orion's engineer, a character reminiscent of Star Trek'sStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
Mr. Scott. He likes to drink and is the only crewmember who is married (his wife is named Ingrid and he always promises her to retire from active duty). He is an old friend of Commander McLane who usually helps him to explain to Ingrid why he can't retire after all. - Lt. Helga Legrelle is the female surveillance and communication officer of the Orion. Like the other members of the crew, she dislikes Tamara Jagellosvk and feels monitored by her. Like Jagellovsk, Legrelle has a secret crush on Commander McLane and reacts very jealously whenever she notices Jagellovsk paying too much attention to him.
- Lt. Tamara Jagellovsk is a female member of the GSD ("Galaktischer Sicherheitsdienst", German for "Galactic Security Service", the military intelligence service) who has been given the task of keeping McLane under control. Tamara likes McLane, however, and is very amused by his sense of humour. The Crew at first strongly dislike her, but with time they develop a feeling of mutual respect. Tamara can issue "Alpha Orders" which are orders of highest priority that have to be obeyed by McLane at all cost.
- Frogs are a highly advanced and very intelligent, energy-like race of extraterrestrial conquerors who are attempting to destroy Earth's space fleet and eliminate mankind. They have extremely fast starships and powerful energy-weapons. Some of their technological abilities are superior to Earth's. In the novels, it was finally found out how they called themselves: Uraceel.
- General Winston Woodrov Wamsler is McLane's commanding officer while he is demoted to 3 years of space patrol duty at the TRAV ("Terrestrische Raumaufklärungsverbände", "Terran Space Reconnaissance Division").
- General Lydia van Dyke was Cliff's original commanding officer when he was still at the "Schnelle Kampfverbände" ("Fast Battle Cruiser Division") and she expected him "not to resign like a sulking space cadet" when he was demoted, but to return to her fleet after his 3 years of patrol duty. She is also the commanding officer of the space ship Hydra.
- Oberst (= Colonel) Hendryk Villa is the head of the GSD ("Galaktischer Sicherheitsdienst", "Galactic Security Service") and thus the boss of Lt. Tamara Jagellovsk.
- Lt. Michael Spring-Brauner is the adjutant of Gen. Wamsler and has a strong dislike towards McLane and his crew (which is mutual). He is a stuck-up bureaucrat and tries to make McLane's life as miserable as he can.
- Space Marshal Kublai Krim is the commanding officer of the Earth Space Forces (Kommandant der Raumstreitkräfte)
- Sir Arthur is the head of the Earth Space Forces (Oberkommandant der Raumstreitkräfte)
- von Wennerstein is a representative of the Earth government
(As the intro of the series says "there are no nations anymore", the names of the characters hint at a nationality, but they are obviously members of a united Earth and not separate countries.)
Fictional Technology in Space Patrol
- Astrodisc (German "Astroscheibe") is a viewing screen that can produce holographic images of space. It has the same function as the bridge screen of the EnterpriseUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701)The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
. The astrodisc stands in the middle of the Orion's bridge. - Light thrower batteries (German "Lichtwerferbatterie") are the weapons most frequently used by Earth's space fleet and the ships of the Frogs. These weapons appear in many different sizes, ranging from hand lasers to planet destruction-cannons. Orion was the first German production to feature the English word "laser".
- Antimatter bombs these are bombs containing antimatter and were used in the attempt to destroy the "Supernova" in the 2nd episode ("Planet außer Kurs", Planet off course).
- Overkill is a new weapon that was introduced in the 4th of the TV episodes ("Deserteure") and that was installed at the Orion as first Earth space ship. It seems to be a disintegrator style weapon that is able to obliterate large parts of a planet and cause enormous craters hundreds of kilometres wide.
- ASG wrist communication devices (in German: "Armbandsprechgerät") are part of the technology of Earths space fleet. They are compact com devices that are worn around the wrists.
- Robots (German "Roboter") are helpers, guards and even housekeepers in the world of tomorrow. Their use is shown to be problematic, because they are depicted as suffering from frequent malfunctions, making them dangerous to human beings (especially if they are battle robots). They appear in the series as androids and floating battle robots. Some of the humanoid robots are very similar in design to the modern, Japanese robot TOPIOTOPIOTOPIO is a bipedal humanoid robot designed to play table tennis against a human being. It has been developed since 2005 by TOSY, a robotics firm in Vietnam. It was publicly demonstrated at the Tokyo International Robot Exhibition on November 28, 2007...
. - Deep sea bases (German "Tiefseebasis") are giant cities located under water. They are modern, beautiful and have big windows to allow the people to see fish and other underwater life forms. The Orion usually starts and lands at Basis 104 which is located in the Carpentaria Gulf of Australia
- Faster-than-light-engine (German "Überlichtantrieb") is the main drive that allows the crew to traverse the universe at speeds faster than light. The Frogs use a similar but superior technology, with the result that their spacecraft can out-pace the ships of the Space Patrol.
- Magnet shield (German "Magnetschild") is a protective shield which is used by the Frogs. The Shield appears as a powerful energy-bowl that encircles the starship.
Special effects and set decoration
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s seen in the black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
series, like the underwater casino and space port, were created by means of the Schüfftan process
Schüfftan process
The Schüfftan process is a movie special effect named after its inventor, Eugen Schüfftan . It was widely used in the first half of the 20th century before being almost completely replaced by the travelling matte and bluescreen effects....
.
As the series' budget was comparatively low, the set designers resorted to using modified common everyday objects; for instance, electric iron
Ironing
Ironing is the use of a heated tool to remove wrinkles from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180-220 °Celsius, depending on the fabric. Ironing works by loosening the bonds between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibers of the material...
s, inverted clock pendulums, washing-machine console parts and designer pencil sharpener
Pencil sharpener
A pencil sharpener is a device for sharpening a pencil's writing point by shaving away its worn surface. Pencil sharpeners may be operated manually or by an electric motor.-History:...
s were used as props
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
control panels, sewing thread coils and banana plugs as futuristic machine parts, and plastic cup
Plastic cup
A plastic cup is a disposable cup made out of plastic. It is most commonly used as a container to hold beverages.-Distinguishing features:Plastic cups come in a variety of colours, textures and sizes....
s as ceiling lights. Many panels were produced by the then-newly invented thermoforming
Thermoforming
Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product...
process. Lots of designer furniture was also used, notably Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's 258-type couch, Harry Bertoia
Harry Bertoia
Harry Bertoia , was an Italian-born artist, sculptor, and modern furniture designer....
's Diamond-type armchair, Yrjö Kukkapuro's Karusseli-type armchair,
Charles Eames's Aluminium group #EA105 chair, George Nelson
George Nelson (designer)
George Nelson was a noted American industrial designer, and one of the founders of American Modernism. While Director of Design for the Herman Miller furniture company both Nelson, and his design studio, George Nelson Associates, Inc., designed much of the 20th century's most iconic modernist...
's DAF Chair and Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
's Tulpe table/chair combo. Joe Colombo
Joe Cesare Colombo
Joe Colombo, born Cesare Colombo was an Italian industrial designer.-Biography:Cesare "Joe" Colombo was until 1949 educated at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, the academy of fine arts, in Milano as a painter and studied afterwards until 1954 Architecture at Politecnico di Milano...
's famous Smoke-type drinking glasses were used throughout the series.
Orions cockpit was a 2.50m high, 10m wide interior set, built within a 28m exterior diameter sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
. It stood on a 60 cm high metal tube construction to hide the 10,000m cable harness
Cable Harness
A cable harness, also known as a wire harness, cable assembly, wiring assembly or wiring loom,is a string of cables and/or wires which transmit informational signals or operating currents...
that connected its 3,200 flashing light bulbs to a 40 kg, electric motor-driven pinned-barrel mechanical sequencer.
The stage designer was Rolf Zehetbauer
Rolf Zehetbauer
Rolf Zehetbauer is a German production designer, art director and set decorator. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film Cabaret.-Notes:...
, who later won an Academy Award for his work on Cabaret
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
.
Production
Rumours about the considerable costs of the series having led to its termination after only seven episodes were denied by the widow of the Orions original screen writer, implying that it was planned from the start to have only seven installments. More episode screenplays were written than were filmed, however, and it has been claimed that more could not be realised by the German film industry both due to general funding problems and because, after seven episodes, the cost of the SFXSpecial effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
and hire of the studio space had drained the resources of the Bavaria Film production company. The French company ORTF contributed 20% to production funding and some scenes, notably in episode 5, were re-shot for the French audience using French actors.
Novelizations
145 novels based on and continuing the seriesTerra (German science fiction)
Terra is the name of a science fiction series published by Arthur Moewig Verlag, Munich. The Terra series were the most important science fiction work in the early years of West Germany.- Dime novels :...
were published over the years, often with settings which were considerably different to those seen in the series.
Feature film
A movie composed of various scenes from the original series, together with some new footage, debuted in 2003 but did not match the success of the original series. As described by Dietmar Schönherr in an interview, the series had tried to deal with serious issues, a fact appreciated by many of its viewers. The movie's producers tried to replicate the series in Trash cultureTrash culture
Trash culture is a term for some aspects of modern culture in the UK and USA that peaked in the 1990s and 2000s. The term is used for labeling the cultural by-products of modernism with barbarism and injustice.-Overview:...
style, however, thereby alienating much of the original fan base. The title of the movie was "Raumpatrouille Orion – Rücksturz ins Kino". The storyline was about the invasion and attacks of the Frogs, the term now becoming an acronym for "Feindliche Raumverbände ohne galaktische Seriennummer". In English this translates as "Enemy Space Formation Without Galactic Serial Identification Number". This description appears for the first time in the film and was never mentioned in the series.
Soundtrack and introduction
The emblematic soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
was composed by Peter Thomas
Peter Thomas (composer)
Peter Thomas is a German composer/arranger. He was born in Breslau on 1 December 1925, and his active career spanned more than 50 years between 1955 and 2006....
.
The voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
introduction (similar to that used in Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
the same year), both set tone and atmosphere of the series.
Voice-over introduction in German:
- "Was heute noch wie ein Märchen klingt, kann morgen Wirklichkeit sein. Hier ist ein Märchen von Übermorgen: es gibt keine Nationalstaaten mehr. Es gibt nur noch die Menschheit und ihre Kolonien im Weltraum. Man siedelt auf fernen Sternen. Der Meeresboden ist als Wohnraum erschlossen. Mit heute noch unvorstellbaren Geschwindigkeiten durcheilen Raumschiffe unser Milchstraßensystem. Eins dieser Raumschiffe ist die ORION, winziger Teil eines gigantischen Sicherheitssystems, das die Erde vor Bedrohungen aus dem All schützt. Begleiten wir die ORION und ihre Besatzung bei ihrem Patrouillendienst am Rande der Unendlichkeit."
English translation:
- "What may sound like a fairy tale today may be tomorrow's reality. This is a fairy tale from the day after tomorrow: There are no more nations. There is only mankind and its colonies in space. People have settled on faraway stars. The ocean floor has been made habitable. At speed still unimaginable today, space vessels are rushing through our Milky Way. One of these vessels is the ORION, a minuscule part of a gigantic security system protecting the Earth from threats from outer space. Let's accompany the ORION and her crew on their patrol at the edge of infinity."
Episodes
- "Angriff aus dem All" ("Attack from Space")
- "Planet außer Kurs" ("Planet off Course")
- "Die Hüter des Gesetzes" ("Keepers of the Law")
- "Deserteure" ("Deserters")
- "Kampf um die Sonne" ("Battle for the Sun")
- "Die Raumfalle" ("The Space Trap")
- "Invasion" ("Invasion")
Sources
- Josef Hilger (2003). Raumpatrouille. ISBN 3-89602-334-9
- Jörg Kastner (1995). Raumpatrouille ORION. ISBN 3-910079-53-9
- Jörg Kastner (1991). Das große Raumschiff Orion Fanbuch. ISBN 3-442-23642-8
- Raumpatrouille Orion. Bd.1, Wuppertal 1997, ISBN 3-930646-05-6