Pathfinders In Space trilogy

One of the earliest ITV dramas written specifically for children, legendary producer Sydney Newman’s PATHFINDERS trilogy can be seen as a precursor to ‘Doctor Who’. Now, all three series (‘Pathfinders in Space / ‘Pathfinders to Mars’ and ‘Pathfinders to Venus’) are available as an exclusive 3-disc DVD box set and it is a set that many of a certain age will have been eagerly waiting for.

Made in 1960/61 when the space race was at its height, writers Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice were pretty much the lads of the moment and went on to pen many other TV shows (Hulke also wrote eight Dr. Who episodes). The Russians had launched Sputnik in 1957 while another Russian, Yuri Gargarin, was the first man to journey into outer space in 1961. However, it was not until 1969 that the first two men actually walked on the moon: Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. This, however, is all science fact - when it comes to fiction it was the Brits who certainly were well ahead of the game… as this never less than fascinating children’s series will testify (of course, writers like H. G. Wells and Frenchman Jules Verne had been writing about men on the Moon decades before).

Canadian producer Sydney Newman (the original producer for Dr. Who) was to breath fresh air into our TV networks and this series was to a large extent his brainchild. It all actually started with TARGET LUNAR - a series that featured most of the characters you will meet in PATHFINDERS. Sadly, ‘Target Lunar’ no longer exists and when 'Pathfinders in Space' began we had a completely new cast of actors. That said, it is not necessary for you to have seen ‘Target Lunar’ to pick up on what is going on here (the accompanying info booklet provides ample information), plus, one is informed that ‘Pathfinders’ had the benefit of technical improvements on that previous series. Clearly Hulke and Paice put a lot of research into the series and 'Pathfinders in Space' features - as you may have already imagined - an actual moon landing with not just one but two rockets! The action begins at Buchan Island Rocket Research Centre where we first encounter Professor Wedgewood (played by then popular actor Peter Williams) - a brilliant chap intent on landing the first rocket on moon. Also on hand is wily old Dr. O'Connell (Harold Goldblatt) and last but by no means least the Professor's three indomitable children - quite what they are all doing at a major Rocket Research centre is another matter… well it is a children's TV series. It might also be added that those children simply do not know the meaning of fear - the prospect of a horrible death in space means practically nothing to them. They are by the way Geoffrey Wedgewood (Stewart Guidotti), Jimmy (Richard Dean), their sister Valerie (Gillian Ferguson) and we must not forget their pet hamster Hamlet (actually, it’s a guinea pig as a hamster would have looked to small on screen). Furthermore at the research centre is covering journalist Conway Henderson (Gerald Flood, who brought yet another breath of fresh air into TV at that time being so very different from the stuffy bank manager type that perpetuated the Brit scene).

Sure enough, MR1 does take off into space but within no time a serious technical hitch is discovered that threatens to put a stop to the whole mission. Never mind, help is at hand thanks to the Wedgewood children being on the ball and in no time we have our three youngsters in a second rocket (MR2) flying to the Moon to assist MR1. Fortunately, the intrepid Conway Henderson has secretly ensconced himself into MR2 and as well as being a good bloke he is able to offer invaluable help to the Wedgewoods. Now there are two rockets on the Moon. The problem now is getting them off again but hey, but what is that other rocket doing there? The one that is already on (or slightly under) the Moon's surface? According to Dr. O'Connell, it has been there for over 400 million years AND it came from Earth! This goes back far, far beyond the age of dinosaurs and would appear to throw a spanner into the evolutionary process. Would it be possible to get this ancient yet amazingly well preserved spaceship working after all those years? Well… we won’t give any further clues away here… It must be pointed out that the special effects are rudimentary at best (and near laughable on various occasions) though we must bear in mind this is very early TV where a budget of £3,000 was considered generous.

By the time we embark on our second mission (this time it’s PATHFINDERS TO MARS) both the technics and plot are still evolving and we have to say goodbye to Professor Wedgewood (one can imagine many a young boffin would have liked a Dad like him) who has sustained a broken arm. We also have to say goodbye to Dr. O'Connell but despair not, we still have Conway Henderson on board and along comes attractive Canadian scientist Dr. Mary Meadows (Pamela Barney) to provide a possible romantic interest for Henderson. Also on board is Conway's ultra bright young niece Margaret (Hester Cameron) who may do something similar for the energetic young Geoff (we’re talking puppy love of course). So far, so good … but things are about to take a rather nasty turn when the other passenger, namely the celebrated Professor Hawkins (a fleeting appearance by Dr. Who stalwart Bernard Horsfall) is duped at the airport by the sinister Harcourt Brown (George Coulouris) who is in fact 'The Imposter' in the first episode. By means of cunning chicanery, Brown manages to convince the gang at Buchan Island that he is in fact Hawkins and manages to get himself inside the rocket. It is some time before all and sundry discover his real identity.

Brown, by the way, is a somewhat controversial author well known for his books about life existing on other planets. Brown firmly believes there is life on other planets in our solar system (galaxies light years away almost certainly - but not here) and wishes to protect other life forms from us (you can hardly blame him). His character is intriguing to say the least. Brown - always prepared to commit murder for the good of the cause, is a well-meaning idealist and cannot be written off simply as a nut job. We know in no time that Brown is going create absolute havoc. He succeeds in taking young Margaret hostage in another part of the ship and attempting to force the rest of the crew to meet his demands. Will he succeed? What do you think? One of the nice things about Brown is that for such a feverish zealot, he is in no way patronising to the children and even forms a friendship with Margaret. No more will be said except that in the end, the crew and Brown have reached an understanding despite his repeated attempts to kill the lot of them. Therefore, can this fella be trusted?

The answer seems to be ‘yes’ because all the crew (including Brown) are aboard for the final instalment PATHFINDERS TO VENUS (without even returning to Earth first). Here, writers Hulke and Paice really did outdo themselves it would be a bit of an understatement to say they pulled out all the stops. You just would not believe what our heroes find on Venus: flesh-eating plants… an ancient race older than Neanderthals… strange forests full of gigantic toadstools and prehistoric monsters… Then there’s a few things Brown realises, namely that Venus seems to have hugely different time zones (is such a thing possible?) and that because of the planet's climate, it should be possible to live much longer…
Really, you will just have to buy the box set (which you will not regret). As mentioned before, the special effects are rudimentary although for ‘Trip To Venus’ some stock footage came in handy. Eagle-eyed TV-addicts may notice Irene Sutcliffe as base supervisor Jean Cary at Buchan Island (in the first series), long before she became a CORRY regular. Guy Verney performed the herculean task of directing practically every episode, with Reginald Colin coming in to direct some episodes at the end.

Special Features include an informative production booklet by archive TV-historian Andrew Pixley, Image gallery and PATHFINDERS prequel TARGET LUNA script in PDF form (on Disc 2).