''Salvage 1'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series that was broadcast for 16 episodes (of the 20 produced) on ABC during 1979. The series was based on the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

film, ''Salvage'', broadcast in early 1979.

Premise

Salvage operator Harry Broderick buys and sells

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

as well as electronics, aircraft and other equipment. Harry constantly has grandiose schemes to make money, sometimes not completely honestly. In the pilot, his dream is to recover equipment left on the Moon during

Apollo Program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

missionsBrooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present'', 7th Edition, Ballantine Books, 1999, page 883. for he believes the salvage value will make it a worthwhile venture.Casey, Paul I. & Dorsey, Andrea M., ''APOLLO:A Decade of Achievement'', page 6, Js Blume Publishing, 2013 In the show's opening title narration, Harry states:

"I wanna build a spaceship, go to the Moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back, sell it."

He recruits former

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

Skip Carmichael, who had departed from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

because his revolutionary but unorthodox space flight theory was considered too risky. Skip leads Harry to Mel Slozar, a genius fuel and explosives expert who had been working as a

pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating fireworks, but also includes safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts (and other fasteners), parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, q ...

expert in the motion picture industry. Mel has formulated an extremely powerful but dangerous

monopropellant Monopropellants are propellants consisting of chemicals that release energy through exothermic chemical decomposition. The molecular bond energy of the monopropellant is released usually through use of a catalyst. This can be contrasted with biprop ...

, monohydrazine, that would enable not only

single-stage-to-orbit A single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle reaches orbit from the surface of a body using only propellants and fluids and without expending tanks, engines, or other major hardware. The term usually, but not exclusively refers to reusable launch sys ...

but single-stage-to-the-Moon and back. FBI agent Jack Klinger is sent to investigate Mel's purchase of large amounts of explosive chemicals. They build a space vehicle named the ''Vulture'' and Skip and Mel voyage to the Moon, salvage the equipment and return. The remainder of the series has the group embarking on various moneymaking ventures that Harry conceives, few of which involve the ''Vulture'' despite its prominence in the opening titles.

The ''Vulture''

Harry built a spaceship dubbed the ''Vulture'', made from reclaimed salvage and former NASA parts. A cement mixer, a gasoline tanker trailer, and several surplus rocket engines (bought at auction when the space program was in a slump) became the homemade spaceship. After the pilot, the Vulture was rarely used. One of its engines was destroyed in the second season premiere and it was never used again in subsequent episodes.

Cast

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy ...

as Harry Broderick, owner of Jettison Scrap and Salvage Co. * Joel Higgins as Addison "Skip" Carmichael, former NASA astronaut. * Trish Stewart as Melanie "Mel" Slozar, who worked with Skip at NASA. * J. Jay Saunders as Mack, a former engineer at NASA and Harry's technical assistant at Jettison. *

Richard Jaeckel Richard Jaeckel (born R. Hanley Jaeckel; October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received an Academy Award nomin ...

as FBI agent Jack Klinger (first season only). * Heather McAdam as Michelle Ryan, an orphan that Mel befriends and wants to adopt (second season only). Jacqueline Scott played Lorene, the office manager at Jettison (who was also Harry's ex-wife) in the pilot, but the character was eliminated in the series.

Episodes

Season 1 (1979)

The first season ranked 48th out of 114 shows that season with an average 17.7/26 rating/share.

Season 2 (1979)

Six episodes of the second season were produced before ABC cancelled the series. Only the two-part season opener was broadcast. The last four episodes were shown in the early 1990s on The Nostalgia Channel, and overseas in the UK in some ITV regions in 1981.

Production

Science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

was the show's scientific adviser.

Merchandise

Estes Rockets made a prototype of a

model rocket A model rocket is a small rocket designed to reach low altitudes (e.g., for a model) and #Model rocket recovery methods, be recovered by a variety of means. According to the United States National Association of Rocketry, National Associati ...

version of the ''Vulture''. It was never brought to market.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, title=Salvage 1, id=0078681
Salvage 1 - Season 2 intro
1979 American television series debuts 1979 American television series endings 1970s American science fiction television series American Broadcasting Company television dramas American English-language television shows Isaac Asimov Television series about the Moon Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Los Angeles