"The time: the distant future. Man has reached the farther stars, but has also uncovered dark, mysterious galaxies. And, as Star Command heads into the unknown, danger lies in wait."

­opening narration from the first episode

This web site is dedicated to the 1978-79 Filmation live-action TV show Jason of Star Command. Since going online with my Isis website last year, I have become inspired to begin this site as well. Hopefully, this website will bring back some good memories for you!

Jason of Star Command, sort of a sequel to Filmation's earlier Space Academy, began as a 15-minute segment on Tarzan and the Super 7, ending with a weekly cliffhanger. Jason quickly became the most popular (and most expensive) segment of the Super 7 package and was rewarded by getting its own half hour timeslot the following season. Perhaps the most ambitious of all live-action Saturday morning shows (this aired in the wake of the "Star Wars" phenomenon), Jason had pretty sophisticated special effects for its day, especially being a children's programme on a small budget. Jason of Star Command was also the last live-action series produced by Filmation.

Feel free to browse around. It's a bit bare bones at the moment, but more content will be added as I get time, so check back for periodic updates!

While you're here, why not visit the message board where you can leave comments about this site or make contact with other fans? You may also find out some upcoming info about this web site that is posted exclusively to the message board.

Please check back often for updates. I make changes fairly infrequently (as this is a hobby, I have to fit it in as I get spare time), but the date at the bottom of this page lets you know the last time something was changed. Important changes (added content, for example) are usually documented on this page.

Francine York (Queen Medusa) interview NOW ONLINE; Haig interview to follow

Finally, my interview with Queen Medusa herself, Francine York, is now online. You can access it by going here.

My interview with Sid Haig (Dragos) will follow sometime soonish.

Norm Prescott, co-founder of Filmation Studios, died 2nd July, 2005 of natural causes. He is survived by his wife, Elaine. For a more detailed obituary, go here.

James Doohan (Commander Canarvin on the first season of Jason of Star Command) died on the morning of Wednesday, 20th July. He was 85.

Though best known as Scotty on Star Trek, Doohan had a long and varied show business career, beginning in radio, where he developed a knack for doing voices and accents. After Star Trek was cancelled, Lou Scheimer hired him to reprise his character, and voice a slew of others, on Filmation's animated revival of the show. A few years later, Doohan accepted the role of Commander Canarvin in Jason of Star Command,  which was then only a 15-minute segment of a larger programme dubbed Tarzan and the Super 7. Doohan lent name recognition and class to the proceedings and was a joy to watch, despite the limitations of a 15-minute format.

Apart from Star Trek and Jason of Star Command, Doohan also starred in some other sci-fi oriented series: 1953's Space Command and 1996's Homeboys in Outer Space. He also appeared in many other TV shows and movies too numerous to mention.

He is survived by his wife, Wende.

We need you!

I'm currently looking for volunteers to help complete the episode summaries. If you have episodes on video and think you've got the right stuff to write an episode synopsis, or if you have anything else you'd like to share with the online community (publicity photos, licenced merchandise, etc.), contact the webmaster at mythmaker18@yahoo.com.

Please also drop me a line if you have contact information for any of the surviving cast members (John Russell and Tamara Dobson are deceased), especially if you know them personally.

Meet Dragos! Sid Haig convention appearance in April, 2009!

Sid Haig (Dragos) will be a featured at the following in April:

April 24-26, 2009
8th Annual Full Moon Tattoo & Horror Festival
Knoxville, Tennessee

Jason of Star Command on DVD!

BCI/Eclipse released a boxset containing the entire run of Jason of Star Command on May 8th, 2007 at a suggested price of $29.98 (thought it can be had for nearly half that if you shop around).

It is a three-disc set. The bonus features include the following:

Audio Commentary on "Attack of the Dragonship" and "The Disappearing Man" with Lou Scheimer, Craig Littler and John Berwick, plus commentary on "Beyond the Stars" with FX supervisor Chuck Cominsky, stop motion animator Jim Aupperle and live-action creature effects artist John Carl Beuchler. Moderated by Andy Mangels
Featurette: The Adventures of Jason of Star Command
Behind-the-Scenes and PR Photos
Cast/Crew Reunion Gallery
Style Guide for proposed animated series
Scripts (DVD-ROM)
Easter Eggs
Booklet with episode guide

DVDtalk.com's review of the boxset here.

Tamara Dobson (Samantha on the second season of Jason of Star Command) died on Monday, 2nd October due to complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis at the Keswick Multi-Care Center in Maryland, where she had been residing since 2004. She was 59.

Before becoming an actress, Dobson started a carrer as a beautician and earned a degree in fashion illustration at the Maryland Institute of Art. In the early '70s, Dobson movied to New York after being plucked for fame on the runway by a Baltimore department store exec who introduced her to Bill Blass. She ha appeared in Vogue, Mademoiselle, Essence, was a covergirl for Redbook and did a fashion spread in Ebony. She was also a model in cosmetics ads for Revlon and Chanel and did some TV commercials.

Although fans of the show knew her best as Samantha, Jason's mysterious friend in the show's second season, she became a cult figure during the '70s Blaxploitation era for her appearances in "Cleopatra Jones" and its sequel, "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold."

A former model, the statuesque Dobson broke into acting in such films as "Fuzz" and "Come Back, Charleston Blue", a film in which she wasn't even credited. Her Cleopatra Jones role led her to instant fame, including an appearance on The Tonight Show following the film's release. She also appeared with Redd Fox in the comedy "Norman, is that You? and was an Academy Awards presenter in 1977.

About the same time she appeared on Jason, Tamara guested on the Glen Larson series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (in "Happy Birthday, Buck"), but as the era of black exploitation movies was over, Dobson was perhaps somewhat typecast. She only had two film credits post-Jason, one of which was another exploitation movie, the women-in-prison flick "Chained Heat."

After an appearance in the 1984 TV Movie "Amazons", Dobson disappeared from the celebrity limelight. Living most of her adult life in New York, Dobson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000.