Gerry Andersen Fans - Some Trivia...

Muffit · January 17th, 2004, 10:27 PM

My daughter and I were just watching some more episodes of our Fireball XL5 DVD set, and I ran across a biography in the special features. One of Gerry Andersens attempts at live film was called "Doppleganger" - but in the US it was called "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun". Wow! I didn't know he did that one! A friend took me to see it when I was visiting Southern California as a teenager. It was awesome! And of course it starred Roy Thinnes (guest star of BSG and star of The Invaders). The special effects (especially the space stuff and of course the unforgettably gross fake-eye-camera) have been heralded as second only to "2001". Fantastic flick!

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...241701-9871317

thomas7g · January 17th, 2004, 10:30 PM

I really loved that teams model work. They always had beautiful models.

Muffit · January 17th, 2004, 10:43 PM

Hi Thomas! I loved watching Supercar, Fireball XL5 and Stingray as a kid (never got to see Thunderbirds, don't know if it aired here till later). I just didn't know he and Sylvia did live SciFi too. Fireball is absolutely timeless - my daughter is a 21st century kid, who would think she would watch a black and white show with puppets on visible strings? But she adores it as much as I. Very gifted people to create something that crosses generational boundaries.

thomas7g · January 17th, 2004, 11:20 PM

Oh you should check out a few thunderbirds! They were alot of fun! Probably the best of their puppet shows.

But my favorite show of theirs was Space 1999. Though I loved UFO too.

January 19th, 2004, 01:21 PM

I love just about everything that Gerry Anderson has ever done. My Wife sometimes gets a bit snarky about how she can see the strings when I watch Stingray or Thunderbirds. I tell her "It's a puppet show. These are puppets and you are supposed to see the strings." Other than being occasionally snarky my Wife is a wonderful person. I love you honey!

The thing that is great about Gerry Anderson productions is the hardware of each show and the non stop action. I really enjoy the craft and skill that went into each production. I have not been able to see Fireball XL5 yet but I look forward to buying the DVD set in the near future. Of all his live action stuff I would have to say that I like Space: 1999 the best. UFO is a close second. I love the Lunar Interceptors on that show. Do you think that Space: 1999 and UFO share the same fictional Universe? I case can be made either way. I hope the Thunderbirds movie can capture the spirit of the original show. Mr. Anderson was not involved with the production so I am a bit worried. S.I.G!

Ian_W359 · January 19th, 2004, 02:27 PM

The thing I love about Gerry Anderson's productions is the way all the different elements (SFX, music & dialogue) blend together with great writing - to create an unique atmosphere to each series. My favourite part of watching Thunderbirds as a kid was the launching of the various craft (with Barry Gray's excellent theme in the background).

Bijou, I have heard somewhere that Space : 1999 was originally planned as a continuation of the UFO story line - with the aliens pushing the moon out of orbit! (I'm not sure what happened to change it to what we know as Space : 1999 though).

As for Mr. Anderson, the current news is that he is working on a CGI (being refered to as 'Hypermarionation') version of Captain Scarlet - a 26 episode series to be screened in 2005 - sounds intriguing....

F.A.B.,
Ian_W359

Gemini1999 · January 19th, 2004, 04:33 PM

I've always been a big fan of all things Anderson for many years. I've quite happy to have DVD collections of Thunderbirds, Space:1999, UFO & Journey to the Far Side of the Sun. I remember other shows such as Supercar, Fireball XL-5 &Stingray with fond memories as well, but I can only spend so much money....hehe!

When Year 2 of Space:1999 came around, it was the first production after Gerry & Sylvia divorced. It is a well known fact that up until that time, Sylvia was the one that focused on details like character design & development, production design, etc.. She did a fantastic job making sure the right people were in the right place to give those Anderson productions had that wonderful depth and visual style that made them each a landmark series in it's own right.

Anyway, back to Year 2.... When the second season of Space:1999 was produced, Sylvia was no longer part of the production team. I think that her absence was keenly felt and the fact that Gerry Anderson turned over production to Fred Freiberger and let the U.S. side of ITC doll out what they thought American audiences wanted in a weekly Sci Fi show.

Even though Year 2 produced some fine episodes, I really think that the visual style suffered as Keith Wilson was more restricted by the "bottom line" when it came to designing the show. Y2 just looks like it was done on the cheap at times, where Y1 was almost cinema-like in it's scope and style. The characters did have a bit more life to them, but at times that "life" was almost exaggerated to the point of being "Saturday morning-like". Y1 was making strides in warming up to the characters, but did so slowly in that stark "2001"-like quality.

I really wish sometimes that Sylvia would come out from behind her desk at HBO and start producing again........ahhh, those were the days!

Eagle 1 out...
Bryan
________
I Vaporizer

kingfish · January 19th, 2004, 05:48 PM

The late Tony Anholt was great as Security Chief Tony Verdeschi. The biggest mystery was what happened to Professor Bergman. It was assumed that he died but was never explained. Paul Morrow and Kano also seemed to go M.I.A.

January 24th, 2004, 06:34 PM

Wow Muffit is there any currently availible scifi series you dont own on DVD? You seem quite the collector.

Muffit · January 24th, 2004, 07:45 PM

Hi Rickyrod! LOL! Your'e right about that, the last few years I have gone from zero DVDs to a closet full. This format has made all the difference to me, plus ya gotta remember I have a brother who is a /true/ audio/videophile, and he gets me all excited about new movies and equipment and stuff. In fact, I wrote a Windows video database for us, just to keep track of 'em (from scratch yet - gee am I silly).

There has been a literal explosion of old shows on DVD I haven't seen in eons, and, despite digital cable, there's /never/ anything worth watching on TV. To be able to see these wonderful shows again, and as a big plus, to share them anew with my daughter and watch her fall in love with them as well, is a new pleasure I had never dreamed of.

And thanks to nice friends like you, many of the favs I have forgotten about are brought back to mind, sparking me to look for them. Thank goodness they're all pretty inexpensive compared to the old VHS days of $80 a tape.

Well, off to hunt for more - be sure to keep those suggestions coming!