Masters of Venus

This newly restored and classic children’s Sci-fi series just made its DVD debut – so everyone can see for themselves what all the fuss was about when it was first aired back in 1962. Told from the perspective of two kids (there’s a surprise) who are always one step smarter than their adult counterparts, one must wonder whether the world would be a better place if ruled by children (free chocolate on the NHS!).

Pat (Amanda Coxell) and Jim (Robin Stewart, who died last year) are the children of Dr. Ballantyne (Norman Wooland), the designer of the rocket ship Astarte. After school, Pat and Jim like nothing better than climbing up into the inner sanctum of the rocket to visit dad at work, as well as his colleagues. Astarte is being prepared for its maiden trip to… Venus! Of course, this being an adventure things ought to go wrong before they get exciting, and here it’s a mysterious pair of ill-meaning fellas who try their very best to sabotage the mission. By default they succeed, with both Pat and Jim (together with two adult astronauts who temporarily have been taken out of action courtesy of our saboteurs) trapped inside the rocket… and the saboteurs manage to trigger the intergalactic journey! Pretty much everyone would lose their cool in a situation like that, but not Pat and Jim! Still able to communicate with dad back on planet Earth, they follow instructions before transmission breaks up and our little heroes are forced to rely on their wits. Sure enough, they seem to know every switch, thus figure out how flying the rocket works. If this sounds far-fetched…well, one only needs to witness how quick and clever kids are these days when it comes to smartphone and computer technology! Don’t ring your technical support team, just ask your neighbour’s kid!

After a bumpy ride the Astarte lands on planet Venus, a rocky landscape shrouded in fog and inhabited by Venusians who look very much like us and instead have strange looking robot-men as servants. The wonderful naivety of it all is almost a scream… our protagonists are stomping about the strange planet in an alien atmosphere merely clad in what looks like particularly sturdy overalls with attached hoodies and mask and oxygen cylinders for breathing. Enter the Venusians, who are led by Votan (Ferdy Mayne) and with the nasty Kallas (George Pastell) as Second in Command. They aren’t nearly as excitingly dressed as the folks in ‘Flash Gordon’… After a few welcome drinks and polite conversation, our earthlings begin to suspect that the Venusians are descendants of the lost city of Atlantis, while the hosts soon accuse the earthly intruders of spying and bringing dangerous germs to Venus which might kill the natives. Once again it’s the kids that save the day, with the help of Votan’s children…
Harmless and nostalgic fun by nowadays standards, but back in 1962 – when space travel was still in its infancy, watching MASTERS OF VENUS must have felt like a thrill ride to its young audience!