The Fascinating Saga of "Supermarionation"
Happy belated Birthday Gerry Anderson. You left us almost eight years ago. But we haven’t forgotten you. To us, your countless fans, your name brings back memories of some of the coolest productions on TV. I don’t have any presents for you, but in lieu of that, here’s a quick appreciation of all you’ve done. So here it is. The fascinating saga of “Supermarionation”
Thapson
It’s unfortunate that your grandparents had to flee that disturbed corner of the Poland-Russia border. But their suffering, struggles and reaching British shores was all worth it. Without that, we wouldn’t have your work to appreciate. And it all started with that training you received at the British Colonial Film Unit after school. It’s funny how life is, because just after that, you were conscripted and ended up with the RAF for a short stint. That exposure to planes likely instilled a knowledge that would help you in your later career.
The Shaping of your Career
After RAF. you returned back to movie production and some interesting experiences. During this period, you teamed up with Arthur Provis, Reg Hill, and John Read with whom you went through various projects. Eventually you were involved with a puppet production for kids, “The Adventures of Twizzle” (1957-58) for Granada TV. This was your first introduction to the world of puppet productions on TV.
Your success with Twizzle earned you another low-budget opportunity with “Torchy the Battery Boy” (1958-59).
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You enjoyed a long collaboration with puppeteer Christine Glanville, special effects technician Derek Maddings, and composer/arranger Barry Gray. With this you gained popularity with your productions. However, this was not what you wanted to do on the long run. Creating these puppet shows was all part of your objective to produce content using real people. In short, puppets were the path to bigger goals.
AP Films’ Third Venture
While working on the previous two puppet shows, you fell in love with one of your co-workers, Sylvia. I’m not going to judge you on that one as what happens in your personal life is your business. My interest is in your art and what you had to offer. With all due respect to your ex-wife, we are pleased to note that Sylvia was a positive addition to your artistic endeavors. Along with your team of Arthur Provis, and others, Sylvia too had a keen interest and input into your puppet productions. And thus, with your second marriage, you had a partner in Sylvia Anderson. Your next production took us to the wild West.
Four Feather Falls (1960-61)
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“Four Feather Falls” was our earliest major introduction to your brilliance. In this town Sheriff Tex Tucker maintains law and order with the assistance of four magic feathers that enable his guns to fire without touching them, and enable him to talk to his dog and horse.
Loved the show, but unfortunately it was cancelled after one season. So, you were back to square one and struggling. But you were lucky to meet Lew Grade of ATV who helped you out of your financial problems. With the help of ATV, you came out with another cool production – Supercar!
Supercar (1961-62)
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Support from ATV led to the production that would influence much of your future projects. Supercar could fly, cruise on land, and travel underwater like a submarine. We loved that show. In terms of its sophistication, it was a step up from Four Feather Falls. You had been developing this mechanism which synchronized the movements of the puppet lips according to pre-recorded speech. With this, your productions achieved more sophistication. “Supermarionation” was thus born.
But once again, due to financial constraints, the show was terminated after one season. By now, you had carved out your reputation. And you were already on your next project. From Supercar’s secret laboratory in the Nevada desert, you moved into space with your next production: “Fireball XL5.”
Fireball XL5 (1962-63)
Shout! Factory / YouTube.com
Before we humans ventured into space, and before Star Trek, you already envisaged adventures in that realm. And with this in mind, we found ourselves in 2062, on a spaceship called Fireball XL5. This was part of a fleet of spaceships that guard the various sectors of space. It was mind boggling space related sci-fi stuff and we loved it! Sylvia Anderson provided the voice for Dr Venus, a female team member. Even the character resembled Sylvia. She had already voiced for a male child in Supercar. The cast also included a robot. Your experience working in the control tower in the RAF was apparent on this show. Great show, but after this we returned to earth and went below the sea with “Stingray.”
Stingray (1964-65)
Gerry Anderson / YouTube.com
After space adventures, Gerry, you dove into the deep ocean with Stingray. Stingray was a sophisticated submarine at the disposal of World Aquanaut Security Patrol who kept the oceans safe from trouble and evildoers.
You did some interesting things with the characters on this show. Their features resembled the likes of Brigitte Bardot, James Garner, Laurence Olivier, while the character Atlanta Shore resembled the person lending her voice: Lois Maxwell.
All this time big things were going in the background as your production facilities moved to a newer, bigger location. This helped you create more sophisticated shows. And with that, the most famous of your creations came to fruition: “Thunderbirds.”
Thunderbirds (1965-66)
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Inspired by a real disaster in the early 60s, you created a series based on a secretive and sophisticated rescue team based out of an unknown island. It is called International Rescue, and run by the Tracy family from the island. They also had an orbiting station in space which monitored the Earth to coordinate the rescue efforts.
The team included five Thunderbirds, each with its own tools and abilities. Any disaster or emergency involve either one or combination of Thunderbirds based on the task on hand. The equipment and crafts used, and the entire concept involved fantastic innovations! Again, the characters resemble real life people. Lorne Greene, Charlton Heston and Sean Connery are clearly distinguishable. Lady Penelope, the London agent, resembled and was voiced by Sylvia Anderson.
By this time, your shows had achieved a high level of sophistication and earned a cult following. And another hit in space was to follow.
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967-68)
Jon Munro / YouTube.com
Another adventure series involving space and protecting the Earth from aliens. Captain Scarlet was part of the organization known as Spectrum. Spectrum was involved in a constant struggle to counter the evil intentions of villains from Mars called the Mysterons. You showed your sophistication in producing such shows as we got to witness Captain Scarlet protect our planet from being taken over.
Captain Scarlet resembled and sounded like Cary Grant. Once again some of the characters resembled the likes of Ursula Andress, Eartha Kitt, and Gregory Peck. Many of us consider this series as likely the edgiest you produced. But it all came to an end. You were not done with us yet. There was one more big offering from you. This would be an amiable looking nerd who was in fact a secret agent. This was “Joe 90!”
Joe 90 (1968-69)
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Joe 90 was an innocuous looking 9-year-old who could be transformed into an agent capable of doing anything. This was done by downloading powers into his brain to function on behalf of World Intelligence Network (WIN). This method of downloading content to his brain was devised by his scientist stepfather.
WIN used Joe 90 as a superspy capable of impossible tasks without arousing suspicion on himself. As kids, it was a fantasy of every kid to be able to do the things Joe 90 did. While it had been a staple of many of your shows, Gerry, the music on the Joe 90 intro was probably the coolest we had heard. Decades later, it’s still timelessly catchy. And the outro was on another level with a whole orchestra for the theme. This could never happen today. Such was your dedication to perfection!
Your Final Objective
While you achieved all these successes, one thing never changed. Your desire to create movies and TV shows live people. The intent from the beginning was always to use these shows as a conduit to being accepted as a producer of traditional movies. These stepping stones themselves were such major successes, they likely took you along a path you never envisioned for yourself. But you never really did take your eyes off your original destination.
Gerry Anderson / YouTube.com
You did get the opportunity to produce some non-marionette shows. One was UFO (1970) which was good, but not among my favorites. It definitely had those cutting edge styles and sets that Supermarionation was famous for. Maybe I was too young and need to check it out again. The big one, and my personal favorite, came in the mid-70s. I’m talking about another space adventure. This was Space: 1999.
Space:1999 (1975-77)
Gerry Anderson / YouTube.com
While we were still suffering “Star Trek” withdrawal, you came out with a completely different look at space adventures. It involved a space station on the Moon in 1999. A nuclear disaster on Earth throws the moon off its orbital path, and flying off into space. The personnel on the space station were left to fend for themselves and face the perils that came there way as they hurtled through space. This gave you a chance to create exciting episodes that had us glued to the TV set.
This involved human actors and starred some fairly big names including Martin Landau and Barry Morse. When “Space: 1999” credits came on, and we saw the name “Gerry Anderson.” We knew the show would be great, and that it definitely was.
The Journey Trumped the Destination
Gerry, you achieved your ambition of creating productions using live actors. But we think the path you took to achieve this made you more famous in our eyes. What I listed above is but a synopsis of what your life has been. There were frequent ups and downs and many other projects you were involved with.
In any case, the idea was to say thanks for what we, your fans, appreciate you most for: the magic of Supermarionation. With changes in technology, today’s youngsters are unlikely to appreciate your art and how innovative and ground-breaking it was at the time.
The things you did, involving so many people in their production are today done by half a dozen individuals using the power of computers. But they are relatively “sterile” and don’t achieve anywhere near the “human touch” you gave to your productions.
To Wrap Up
Sometimes we wonder what you would do if you saw this CGI-laden stuff that dominates everything these days. I’d like to think you’d hate it. But I don’t think so. You loved embracing new technologies and I’m sure you would’ve found a way to use this technology to good artistic effect.
Knowing you, we’re sure you would put your own special touch to it. Such is what great minds are. There you have it, Gerry. I’ve already talked enough. Once again, thank you, Sylvia, and your team for the wonderful memories. We, your fans, will ensure that your name lives on ever for your wonderful creations.
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