Johnny Chase: Agent of Space – CBC's Forgotten Space Opera
Trivia: The show's theme music was composed by Canadian progressive-rock band FM!
From Air Farce to Outer Space
Before becoming a staple of Canadian comedy with Royal Canadian Air Farce, Don Ferguson co-created this unique blend of space adventure and satire with Henry Sobodka. Running from 1978-1981 on CBC Radio, the show walked a fine line between genuine space opera and brilliant parody.
The Premise (Earth Year 2680)
- Earth Empire spans 100 light years
- Threatened by the evil Thorks
- Johnny Chase: a pirate turned agent
The Team
- Dante: The ship's arrogant AI
- Mrs. Mulligan Jones: 160-year-old psychic
- Percy: Johnny's flamboyant boss
The show's blend of high-stakes space adventure and witty humor made it a cult favorite during its original run.
Rediscovered Episodes
1. "The Making of a Secret Agent" (Series Premiere)
How a space pirate became Earth Empire's most valuable agent - featuring the unforgettable Empress Joanne.
2. "The Prince in the Womb"
Johnny faces a diabolical Thork plot that strikes Earth Empire from within.
🎙️ Behind the Scenes:
"We wanted to create something that was both a loving homage to space operas and a sly commentary on them. The scene where Johnny meets Dante for the first time still makes me laugh."
- Don Ferguson, 1995 interview
Why This Show Matters
Unique Tone
Perfect balance of adventure and satire
Voice Talent
Chris Wiggins (Dante) steals every scene
Rare Gem
Few complete recordings survive today
Explore More Forgotten Sci-Fi
Subscribe for exclusive access to the rest of this series:
- 🚀 Lost space operas and sci-fi dramas
- 🎙 Behind-the-scenes stories from cast members
- 📻 Exclusive audio from our archives
"I thought all the Johnny Chase episodes were lost forever - thanks for preserving these!"
- Subscriber Mark T., Vancouver
Patte Rosebank
Greetings!
"Johnny Chase" was during, not after, the long run of "Royal Canadian Air Farce" on CBC Radio (1973-1997).
During those years, they also performed stage shows, TV specials, and two TV series (a brief one in the 1980s, and another in the 1990s & 2000s). Some cast members even had side gigs like this space opera project.
Fun fact: For the first few years of their 1990s TV series, they were still producing their weekly radio show. Though much material overlapped, the workload was exhausting—especially for John Morgan, who handled most of the writing.
John reportedly would have preferred ending the TV show instead of the radio program. He always said radio let performers control the technology to create incredible things with just voices and sound, while TV made you slave to expensive, demanding equipment.
Turns out he was right.