The Secret Empire

The Secret Empire was a very short-lived television series that aired between February 27 and May 1, 1979.
It was one of three serialized stories in a show called "Cliffhangers." The other two serials were "Stop Susan Williams" and "The Curse of Dracula."
Each serial was twenty-minutes long, and ended upon a cliffhanger. "Secret Empire" was filmed for nine days and then was aired over three weeks in twenty-minute segments. comments by Mark Lenard in Despatch #37 (January/April 1979) 
"The Secret Empire" was a close remake of a 1935 movie serial called "The Phantom Empire," which included Gene Autry, the singing cowboy. "The Secret Empire," however, has no singing. 
It is a science fiction show that takes place in the 1880s in Wyoming. In it, a US Marshal investigates the theft of gold, and he stumbles upon the futuristic underground city of Chimera. This city is run by aliens, including Emperor Thorval. Thorvald was portrayed by Mark Lenard. 
The scenes on the surface were sepia-toned, while the scenes in Chimera were shown in color. 
Another storytelling choice: "The Secret Empire" begins with chapter three, which means that taking into account this numbering, fanworks appear to begin at chapter fifteen. 
Many fans were interested in this show due to Mark Lenard's previous roles as The Romulan Commander and Sarek from Star Trek: TOS, Urko from Planet of the Apes, and Aaron Stempel from Here Come the Brides made his fans eager to create stories, poems, and art, almost all of which appeared in the zine series, Despatch.
The show was canceled, and the last two installments of "The Secret Empire" were never shown in the United States. They were later, however, shown overseas, but these last two bits were likely not widely available to most fans. Around September 1979, the editor of Lenard's fan club publication, Despatch, reported what he had told her about the final episodes: 
==Mark Lenard: Some Anecdotes==
Lenard described working on the set in a Q&A in Despatch #41: 
==Sample Fanworks==
* A Pleasant Journey to Chimera, Or How to Emotionally Charge a Despicable Torture Scene ("Dedicated to the noble Emperor Thorval by an ex-torturee") poem, not credited (Despatch #37, January/April 1979)
* The REAL Secret of the the Secret Empire, poem by Susan Wyllie (Despatch #37, January/April 1979)
* A Little Advice for the Emperor, poem by Elaine Norwood (Despatch #38, May 1979)
* Nursery Rhymes from the Secret Empire, fiction by Slugger aka Gail Saville (Despatch #39, August 1979)
* Secret Empire, Chapter 15: Plan of Justice, fiction by Slugger aka Gail Saville (Despatch #39, August 1979)
* The Network Man, poem by Susan Wyllie (Despatch #39, August 1979)
* You Missed the Last Episode, So..., poem by Craig Nelms (Despatch #39, August 1979)
* Secret Empire, Chapter 16: Dance of Death, fiction by Slugger aka Gail Saville (Despatch #40, Oct/Nov/Dec 1979)
* The Secret Empire — Seeds Of Betrayal Chapter 17, fiction by Slugger aka Gail Saville (Despatch #41, May 1980)
* The Secret Empire: Chapter 18: Web of Intrigue, fiction by Slugger aka Gail Saville (Despatch #42, April 1980)
* The Secret Empire: chapter 19: Dawn of Truth, fiction by Slugger aka Gail Savill (Despatch #43, August 1980)
* The Secret Empire: chapter 20 (conclusion): Sunrise on an Empire by Slugger aka Gail Saville (Despatch #44, December 1980)
 
 
Image:despatch37-4.jpg|from Despatch #37 
Image:despatch37-5.jpg|from Despatch #37 
 
File:Despatch40-3.jpg|from Despatch #40, artist is Mary Stacy-MacDonald, portrays Thorval and Tara
==Fan Comments==
==Further Reading==
* Cliffhangers: The Secret Empire (Television Obscurities. Keeping Obscure TV From Fading Away Forever) (February 15th, 2005)
==References==
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