On my supersonic rocket ship nobody has to be hip

Again on old-time radio: there's a little science fiction block that my preferred station has opened up now that they have twelve hours per day to schedule. This week half of that was given to Space Patrol which, as the schedule lists, gives us ``The 30th-Century Adventures of Commander Buzz Corry'', of the Space Patrol. And really, once you've given that subtitle you're either sold on the show and its affiliated merchandise purchase opportunities or you're lost, aren't you?

Besides, science fiction really plays well in radio production, since with narration and sound effects you can be anywhere and do anything and there's no embarrassing costumes or visual effects that show their strain or wobbly sets that are supposed to be super-titanium walls. All you need is for the voice actors not to crack up when they talk mechanically to imply aliens or prefix ``space'' to everything and you're set. And what do they have for this episode, titled ``Conquest Of Gareeda'' on the official schedule? Well, before even the credits but after the first plug for Nestle Quik and Nestle Chocolate Bars:

Buzz and his sidekick are on the planet Saturn! And they're ... in ... a scrap metal yard. On Saturn. And the villains have ... got ... an electromagnetic crane which ... they're using to hold ... scrap metal ... over our heroes, who'll be crushed if it drops.

Yeah, I know, a thousand years from now there'll probably still be scrap metal yards, unless the planet's gone over to a wellstone-created black hole, but Buzz Corry did land where he chose, so he picked of all of Saturn the scrap metal yard to go wandering around. But, sheesh, what, they couldn't find a quarry in Wales to set this in, on those terms? (Spoiler: Buzz Corry survives.)

Trivia: The Roxy Theater, at Manhattan's seventh Avenue and 50th Street, which opened on 11 March 1927 featured seating for 6,200 in its auditorium. Source: Great Fortune: The Epic Of Rockefeller Center, Daniel Okrent.

Currently Reading: How To Read Literature Like A Professor, Thomas C Foster. You know, if I'd had this book in high school I might have been able to turn in a book report that was actually worth reading. Huh.