Cosmos Patrol: Star Trek for Communists

January 12, 2002 11:02 AM

Cosmos Patrol: Star Trek for Communists In the late 60s, the Soviets copied the TV show Star Trek and used it as propaganda and entertainment. Set in the 23rd Century, the 400 galaxy-exploring crewmembers are led by a handsome Commander with a coldly logical First Officer. Ensign Chekhov assists as they encounter alien life forms and embrace them as brothers.
posted by stevis (25 comments total)

I've looked on Ebay for copies, but I haven't found any. I'd love to see some episodes.
posted by stevis at 11:06 AM on January 12, 2002

Think there are Russion geek-fans of that show that are on a par with us Trek-loving geeks?
posted by davidmsc at 11:11 AM on January 12, 2002

... they always ask me how to say "Beam me up" in Russian.

Transportiritye!

This is the most bizzare thing I've read in ages (well, not counted the Bert/Osama thing). I had never heard of this before.

Ocharovatel'ni! (Fascinating!)
posted by RavinDave at 11:34 AM on January 12, 2002

this smells hoaxy.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 12:13 PM on January 12, 2002

Maybe a hoax... but, anyway, I'm not much of a Star Trek geek -- but -- isn't the american show pretty socialist-vision-of-the-future? They don't have money, after all. I'm not sure about the workers controlling the means of production, tho.
posted by malphigian at 12:17 PM on January 12, 2002

I'd have to say this is a hoax. I can't find any other web page referring to Kosmicheskaya Militsiya. With such a devout fan base of Star Trek this couldn't be the first time such a thing has been mentioned.
posted by geoff. at 12:23 PM on January 12, 2002

Here is some info
posted by Niahmas at 12:57 PM on January 12, 2002

Hoax

Quebec
! -====-
! The series is titled "Le Patrouille du Cosmos", which, translated, means
! "Cosmos Patrol". The original series has not aired in Quebec since 1985.
posted by Niahmas at 1:02 PM on January 12, 2002

Niahmas, that isn't very convincing evidence. Just because the translation of the French title for Star Trek in Quebec is the same as the supposedly common translation of a different but related show in Russia... (this sentence is way too long to finish, but I think you get it.)

When I couldn't find any other mention of it on the Internet (according to Google, anyway), I thought it was a hoax, too. But if there were sites about it, wouldn't they be in Russian? Thus, different characters. Anybody know how to write "Kosmicheskaya Militsiya" in Cyrillic?
posted by whatnotever at 1:35 PM on January 12, 2002

It may well be a hoax, as that was my thought while reading the original article. Nevertheless, it's interesting, because it's worth considering the propaganda potential of the original Star trek series. Star Trek always seemed to be about the spreading of "American values", so I think it's a bit hypocritical to accuse the Russian version of doing the same.
posted by salmacis at 1:45 PM on January 12, 2002

Wow, a Stim link from 1996. Funny how the Suck/Feed collective chose the name Automatic Media, which happened to be the extended name of a Stim subsection (especially after the Sucksters spent so much time trashing Stim).

Incidentally, searching for "suck stim feed" digs up a whole bunch of websites that haven't been updated since early 1997.
posted by waxpancake at 1:47 PM on January 12, 2002

By the way, definitely a hoax. I couldn't turn up a single hit for any of the character names, ship name (or its English equivalent), the alternate English titles of the shows, and so on.
posted by waxpancake at 2:06 PM on January 12, 2002

Anybody know how to write "Kosmicheskaya Militsiya" in Cyrillic?

Probably need KOI8-R to see it:

Êîñìè÷åñêàÿ ìèëèöèÿ
posted by RavinDave at 2:13 PM on January 12, 2002

Yeah, a hoax probably, but then again you never know. These things are obscure, the only real way of it being found out is if some foreigner saw it.

In cyrillic - Êîñìè÷åñêàÿ ïîëèöèÿ

I don't recall any such shows in any case.
posted by tiaka at 2:13 PM on January 12, 2002

I've checked a few Russian oriented search engines. Oddly enough, the phrase comes up several times -- but never in reference to a television show.
posted by RavinDave at 2:19 PM on January 12, 2002

Been a Star Trek fan for longer than many of you have been alive, and I've never heard of this.

Of course, the irony is that the American Star Trek is for Commies already....

(I was looking for a good blogspot post by a libertarian who said he started to wake up when he began rooting for the Klingons...)
posted by dhartung at 3:59 PM on January 12, 2002

I think you are all missing the point. I mean even if this is a hoax, Brezhnev in skintight velour?
posted by jackiemcghee at 4:51 PM on January 12, 2002

Wilnius Wheatonevski?
posted by frednorman at 5:13 PM on January 12, 2002

"Cosmos Patrol" is first and foremost a propaganda vehicle. The implicit message is: be diligent in your studies, young people, and you too may one day honor the Motherland on the frontiers of Soviet achievement.

what a terrible message. good thing we don't teach our kids anything like that.
posted by tolkhan at 5:47 PM on January 12, 2002

The author has one thing down: The Soviets loved media and sci-fi.
posted by rschram at 5:49 PM on January 12, 2002

Errrr.... folks...

Has anyone noticed that the second picture shows a goofbag with a VERY accurate (read 'convention-bought') Phaser... with a photoshopped insignia on the shirt?

Pass by, traveler - this is fiction.
posted by Perigee at 8:08 PM on January 12, 2002

September, 1996 was the Stim Star Trek issue. Clearly, very little is to be taken seriously.
posted by dhartung at 1:33 AM on January 13, 2002

The guy in the photo with the phaser is a badly photoshopped photo of Spock. Hair was added, the jawline and mouth was changed, and the shirt was changed slightly... more warped than anything.

Fake. Hoax.
posted by SpecialK at 2:14 AM on January 13, 2002

Hrm... that last pic seems to feature an actual replica ST:OS phaser, and looks like it was shot in a big schools' router/switch room.
posted by phalkin at 4:58 AM on January 13, 2002

Clearly, very little is to be taken seriously.

Except this story on slash fan-fiction.
posted by rschram at 1:27 PM on January 13, 2002