Jason of Star Command
| Jason of Star Command | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Arthur H. Nadel |
| Directed by | Arthur H. Nadel |
| Presented by | Filmation |
| Starring | Craig Littler Charlie Dell Sid Haig Susan O'Hanlon James Doohan Tamara Dobson John Russell |
| Composer(s) |
Yvette Blais Jeff Michael |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 28 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Norm Prescott Lou Scheimer |
| Producer(s) | Arthur H. Nadel |
| Running time | 30 min. (with commercials) |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 9, 1978 – September 5, 1981 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Space Academy |
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 sixteen "chapters" of approximately fifteen 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 fightercraft were unmanned drones. This was a choice made by the show's producers and repeatedly pointed out in the plot, so that the destruction of these craft would not involve killing a pilot. The show aired on Saturday mornings, and deadly violence had to be kept to a minimum.
James Doohan left the show at the end of the first season to join the rest of the original Star Trek cast in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He was replaced by John Russell, who played the blue-skinned "by the book" Commander Stone. Originally, Jonathan Harris was to have reprised his role as Commander Gampu from Space Academy, but according to the DVD booklet, he "had a falling out" with Filmation, thus the creation of Doohan's character.
The asteroid prop used for Space Academy was re-used for Jason, where Star Command was stated to be "in a secret part of the Space Academy". Other than the appearance of the robot Peepo and the appearance of a Seeker shuttle piloted by Lt. Matt Prentiss (John Berwick), no references were made to the characters or situations in Space Academy.
Season One (fifteen-minute segments from Tarzan and the Super 7):
Season Two (30 minute episodes aired as Jason of Star Command):
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