Lost TV Gems: Spunky & Tadpole 1958 "Lost in Outer Space" "The Smugglers"

Compilation of 1958 Spunky & Tadpole cartoon episodes to make two compete adventures, "Lost in Outer Space" and "The Smugglers." Produced by Beverly Hills Productions and syndicated beginning in September 1958, the show starred Joan Gardner and Don Messick as a pair of freelance vigilantes going after bad guys, one a small boy and the other a bear. The show was made in three and a half-minute episodes, with ten parts comprising each adventure.

BetaGems are culled from an archive of over 1000 beta video tapes recorded from 1983 into the 1990s. Most feature live music performances broadcast on television in San Diego CA, though there are also rarely seen commercials, comedy clips, and other material that doesn't seem to be anywhere else on Youtube or online. Most of the tapes were recorded on a Sony SL-HFT7 Super Beta Theater Hi-Fi Stereo - the same model was refurbished and is being used for these digital transfers and uploads.

In rare occasions where a BetaGems clip does appear elsewhere, we're only uploading if our own beta master is better quality or contains material not seen previously. Much footage comes from public television and public access broadcasts that the taper, who worked for a local cable TV production company in the 1980s, monitored nightly for several years. Some of the programming is strictly regional, mostly from the San Diego area.