ATOM SQUAD

Full Name:	Atom Squad
Nationality:	American
Organization:	Atom Squad
Occupation	Agency

Creator:	Paul Monash
Time Span:	1953 - 1954

ABOUT THE SERIES

Atom Squad is a top-secret government agency.

It is, from the sounds of it, a small department which was tasked with handling threats to the American way of life that came from sources outside the "norm"; in this case usually the dangerous adversaries which had to be faced from week to week used the latest in scientific advances to pose a perilous situation needed removing.

The department was run by a man known only as The Chief. The two main agents doing the heavy lifting (or apparently often the deep thinking) were two scientists. It is not known if there were any degrees or titles mentioned about either man but it is obvious from their expertise in many fields that they had to have advanced degrees of some sort, likely both possessing Ph.D's.

The senior man was Steve Elliot, a balding man of great earnestness in his late 30s or early 40s. Elliot was definitely the most stoic and grounded of the two and it was likely he that first saw the danger coming their way each week.

The junior man was Dave Fielding, a man in his mid-20s who seemed genuinely excited and interested in the various problems they were forced to deal with. His cherubic face often gleamed with surprise and eagerness as new challenges presented themselves.

The name of the team would lead one to believe that each danger consisted of atomic problems but that was not the actual case. The situations were quite varied and ranged from fairly simple kidnapping and child endangerment to aliens from outer space coming to Earth to explore and to actually try to take over. Mad scientists with dreams of ruling the world were not uncommon nor were sinister Communist agents out to punish democracy.

TELEVISION


Number of Episodes:	26
First Appearance:	1953
Last Appearance:	1954
Network:	NBC

REGULAR CAST
Robert Courtleigh	Steve Elliott [ 1 ]
Bob Hastings	Dave Fielding [ 1 ]
Bram Nossem	The Chief [ 1 ]

In 1953, a combination spy-fi and sci-fi television series aimed largely at the younger audience was aired live each weekday at 5:00 pm EST. Each of the episodes lasted 15 minutes with each week's set of episodes comprising a complete story. In total there were 26 adventures depicted with three of these having double that number of episodes (10 vs 5).

The episodes were produced in the WPTZ studio in Philadelphia and shot on kinescope for the West Coast viewing. Regrettably, none of the tapes remain.

Note: The "Science Fiction on Television in the 1950s" website is the source for those plots which are known.


1	The Man Who Stopped The Moon Episode S1-01, first aired 07/06/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash The Atom Squad tries to Track down a man who threatens to stop the moon in its orbit and thereby become dictator of Earth.

2	The Plot To Melt The North Pole Episode S1-02, first aired 07/13/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

3	The Attack On The Pentagon Episode S1-03, first aired 07/20/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash The Atom Squad tries to prevent subversive forces from attacking the Pentagon.

4	The Trouble At Fort Knox Episode S1-04, first aired 07/27/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash Atom Squad agents decontaminate a shipment of radio-active gold and follow the trail of the subversive agents responsible for the crime.

5	The Bomb That Wouldn'T Stand Still Episode S1-05, first aired 08/03/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash Ten trucks, all equipped with powerful atom bombs, are set loose in Washington, D.C. when a Russian scientist escapes from behind the Iron Curtain with atomic secrets for the U.S.

6	The Ships That Sailed To Nowhere Episode S1-06, first aired 08/10/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash The Atom Squad is assigned to apprehend an American scientist who is working with Russia to build a super undersea magnet.

7	The Animal That Ate Oxygen Episode S1-07, first aired 08/17/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash The water supply of New York City is endangered by a tiny marine animal which has accidentally been irradiated by a series of experiments.

8	The Five Steps To The Kremlin Episode S1-08, first aired 08/24/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash Elliott must get inside the Kremlin to contact an unknown man in order to stop the use of a deadly weapon.

9	The Scheme To Flood America Episode S1-09, first aired 09/07/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash When an ex-Nazi scientist discovers how to cause torrential rain and floods in any part of the world at any time, he selects parts of America to carry out his scheme. The Atom Squad sets out to find the cause of the flooding.

10	A Strange Visitor To Colorado Episode S1-10, first aired 09/21/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash Steve Elliott investigates a strange device that has landed in Colorado.

11	The Man Who Kidnapped Himself Episode S1-11, first aired 09/28/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash A serial about a top atomic scientist who disappears in a South America country which is threatened by a band of ex-Nazis.

12	The Mine Below Thunder Bay Episode S1-12, first aired 10/12/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash The Atom Squad squelches an attempt to deprive the United States of a uranium mine beneath the waters of one of the Great Lakes.

13	The Man With The Burning Ice Episode S1-13, first aired 10/19/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash The Atom Squad tracks down a scientist who manufactures artificial, highly radio-active diamonds which bring death to the people who handle them.

14	Stranger From Outer Space Episode S1-14, first aired 10/26/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

15	The Terror Point Boryak Episode S1-15, first aired 11/02/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash Renegade scientists capture a radar listening post above the Arctic Circle.

16	The Plot Against Doctor Yoshida Episode S1-16, first aired 11/09/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

17	The Merchants Of Death Episode S1-17, first aired 11/16/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash Two men sabotage a company in order to wrest control from a boy to whom its been willed.

18	The Wall Of Silence Episode S1-18, first aired 11/23/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash International gangsters surround Steve Elliott's laboratory with a wall of atomic power.

19	The Case Of The Million Dollar Ransom Episode S1-19, first aired 11/30/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

20	The Man Who Couldn'T Exist Episode S1-20, first aired 12/07/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

21	The Hunter Of The Haunted Castle Episode S1-21, first aired 12/14/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

22	The Mystery Of Cinco Caverns Episode S1-22, first aired 12/21/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash Elliott and Fielding unravel the secret of the worlds largest underground structure, the Cinco Caverns, as they face death 1,000 feet below the earth's surface.

23	Death In The Windmill Episode S1-23, first aired 12/28/1953 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

24	The Fugitives From Galaxy 29 Episode S1-24, first aired 01/04/1954 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

25	The Eye That Watched The World Episode S1-25, first aired 01/11/1954 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash Steve Elliott discovers the world's most powerful telescope, which looks farther into space than man has ever seen before.

26	The Midnight Raiders Episode S1-26, first aired 01/18/1954 Director: Joe Behar Writer: Paul Monash [plot unknown]

MY COMMENTS

Since I was 1 going on 2 at the time this show came out and since we didn't get a television until a good number of years later, I can be excused for having no memory of it. It would not have been broadcast in my area anyways since we had, apparently, just one reliable station.

Give me another dozen years, though, and I would have enjoyed the science and antics that my research indicate this show had. And the adorably friendly Bob Hastings, later the highly entertaining Lt. Carpenter on McHale's Navy, would have made the show a lot of fun to watch.

Alas, there are no shows to watch anymore. Shame!

GRADE

My Grade: C+

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