More horrible early-50s space opera. More girls in premature miniskirts. More rockets and laughable dialogue. But the whole tone of Space Patrol: Threat of the Thormanoids is sinister. Why? It's just anti-communist rhetoric disguised as science fiction.

The Thormanoids are an alien menace, for some reason. (No talk of 'peaceful coexistence' here.) The problem is, they look just like humans. They can be recognised only by their ability to walk through walls (hard to pull off at this stage of television production values). Oh, and the fact that they wear thermal underwear. They think Earth is too cold.

Okay, catch your breath, it gets worse. Commander Cory and the humourless gits of the Space Patrol have acquired a sure-fire way to detect the Commies Thormanoids…the tool Senator McCarthy could only dream of…

…the Brainograph! Yes, it consists of a dentist's chair and a colander. No self-respecting bit of 1950s scifi cheese would be without a colander connected to impressive wires. Not the brain probe! Oh, no!

You can stop laughing now. Sober up, and realise: the Space Patrol are really the Bad Guys. We don't care what the sponsors say.

And we echo the sentiments of Joseph Welch, 'Have you no sense of decency?'