Remember the Glory Days of Star Fleet!

𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ ✩ 𝔽𝕃𝔼𝔼𝕋

We've uploaded all 24 episodes in high quality, enjoy them! X-Bomber was renamed Star Fleet and dubbed by English speaking actors for broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV. The show was broadcast there on Saturday mornings, first airing on October 23, 1982, the day before Star Wars aired for the first time on British television. Due to its broadcast slot, the advertisements shown before, during and after each episode frequently included children's Public Information Films. The series was also broadcast as such on first-run syndication in the United States.

Drawing heavily on diverse influences such as Star Wars, Japanese Anime and Gerry Anderson's various "Supermarionation" series, the show ran for twenty-four half-hour episodes (twenty-five in Japan - the eighteenth episode, titled Bloody Mary's Promotion, was not included in the English version, as it consisted mainly of flashbacks). The English version's theme song was composed by Paul Bliss,[5] and was later covered by Queen member Brian May and Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen. This was released under the name "Star Fleet Project".

The screenplay was adapted for English by Michael Sloan, who in later years would create the popular TV series The Master and The Equalizer.

Actress Denise Bryer ("Commander Makara") and editor Tony Lenny both went on to collaborate with Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr making another memorable sci-fi series, Terrahawks.

▶ Watch the First Episode

Gerry Anderson’s Firestorm - FULL Minisode

FIRESTORM

From the creator of Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Stingray, Joe 90 and Fireball XL5... Gerry Anderson's Firestorm - filmed in Ultramarionation. After several years of development, Gerry Anderson’s FIRESTORM is finally on its way, starting with this exclusive minisode. Originally created by Gerry Anderson (the man behind Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Space:1999 and many other cult TV shows), FIRESTORM is a science fiction adventure series. Filmed in ‘Ultramarionation’, Gerry Anderson’s FIRESTORM will be made using puppets, real sets, miniatures and practical FX - the next step in evolution from the Supermarionation series of the ‘60s.

~~THE STORY~~

The series is set in 2102. Thanks to technological improvements climate change has been brought under control, food and energy are plentiful, and violence has all but disappeared. But just when people are at their most contented, the problems start… Explosions, sabotage, large-scale thefts of military equipment, kidnapping… the only clue as to the perpetrators is a name – BLACK ORCHID. Earth’s environmental protectors – STORM FORCE – are quickly repurposed into a force to fight this mysterious assailant. Their new operation codename... FIRESTORM. As clues are uncovered, Black Orchid seems to be an alien contingent. But what are they up to? As Storm Force discover more - including strange telepathic technology - the alien explanation looks increasingly likely. But when Storm Force come face to face with Black Orchid they discover their true origins...

Find out more at the official Firestorm website: http://www.firestormhq.com

Gerry Anderson's FIRESTORM thru Kickstarter

F I R E S T O R M

Although Gerry Anderson passed away back in 2012, interest in his properties endures healthily - a truth evidenced by this newly started, and so far highly promising, Kickstarter aimed towards revisiting an Anderson property called FIRESTORM.

FIRESTORM was adapted for a Japanese animated market back in 2003 - but is now being re-launched as a practical effects-driven “Marionation” piece akin to Anderson’s iconic THUNDERBIRDS.

HERE is a link to its Kickstarter page, where you can see several pieces of concept art, a teaser trailer/test reel, and learn more about macro-plans for the franchise. 

Three of our heroes (L to R): Sam Scott, Nagisa Kisaragi, and Drew McAllister

Thunderbirds Creator Gerry Anderson Dies at 83

Famous for his supermarionation productions

Gerry Anderson
(1929 - 2012)

 Gerry Anderson With Troy Tempest From '' Stingray'' in 1966 Photograph: R.G. Balkham/Rex Features
[Source: Guardian.uk] Gerry Anderson, best known as the creator of Thunderbirds, has died at the age of 83. The film and television producer, whose credits also included the puppet shows Captain Scarlet and Joe 90 had suffered for several years with mixed dementia and died in his sleep, his son announced on Wednesday.

The news was announced on his son Jamie Anderson's website. He wrote: "I'm very sad to announce the death of my father, Thunderbirds creator, Gerry Anderson. He died peacefully in his sleep at midday today (26th December 2013), having suffered with mixed dementia for the past few years. He was 83."

He requested that any fans wishing to make donations in honour of his father should contribute to the Alzheimer's Society.

His website also included a tribute written by his fan club, known as Fanderson. Nick Williams, chairman of the club, said: "To those who met him Gerry was a quiet, unassuming but determined man. His desire to make the best films he could drove him and his talented teams to innovate, take risks, and do everything necessary to produce quite inspirational works. Gerry's legacy is that he inspired so many people and continues to bring so much joy to so many millions of people around the world."

Gerald Alexander Anderson – famous for the use of "Supermarionation", or the use of modified puppets – was born in 1929 in Hampstead, north London, and began his career as a film trainee at the Ministry of Information before starting work at Gainsborough Pictures. He later set up AP Films with some friends.

With commissions thin on the ground Anderson and his team were eager to produce their first puppet show The Adventures Of Twizzle. Others including Torchy The Battery Boy, and Supercar followed. Success continued with Fireball XL5 and Stingray. But it was Thunderbirds, filmed on the Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire and first broadcast in 1965 that made his name. With the catchphrase "Thunderbirds are go!", the programme revolved around International Rescue, a secret emergency service run by the Tracy family aided by London agent Lady Penelope and her butler, Parker.

In 1966, Thunderbirds was made into a major feature film for United Artists, Thunderbirds Are Go, which was followed by a sequel, Thunderbird 6.

Anderson moved towards live action productions in the 1970s, producing Space: 1999. In the 1980s, a burst of nostalgia for his Supermarionation series led to the commission of new productions, including a remake of Captain Scarlet. New Captain Scarlet, a CGI-animated reimagining of the 1967 series, premiered on ITV in the UK in 2005. He also worked as a consultant on a Hollywood remake of his 1969 series UFO, directed by Matthew Gratzner.

Anderson was a one-of-a kind film and television producer, who had far-reaching influence, according to his fan club dedication. "Anderson's unique style of filmmaking influenced the imaginations and careers of countless creatives that succeeded him, and his productions continue to be shown around the world to new generations of fans," it read.

Television presenter Jonathan Ross praised his work, tweeting: 
"Sad news. Gerry Anderson RIP. For men of my age his work made childhood an incredible place to be."

The producer was diagnosed with mixed dementia two years ago and his condition had deteriorated over the past six months and he had moved into a care home in October. He also worked as an ambassador for The Alzheimer's Society, to raise awareness and money for the treatment of the disease. Gerry Anderson leaves three children from former marriages, Joy, Linda and Gerry Junior, his son Jamie and widow Mary.

 

THUNDERBIRDS 2086

Not a Gerry Anderson production, but instead an anime interpretation 
of the original Thunderbirds set in the (further) far future. 
Classic anime and a great reinvention.

Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet

CGI Version of the Supermarionette Classic

[Source: Wikipedia] Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet (more commonly known as the New Captain Scarlet or NCS) is a United Kingdom-produced computer-generated imagery action-adventure TV series which debuted in February 2005 as part of the Ministry of Mayhem on ITV. Created by Gerry Anderson, it is a Hypermarionation reboot of the classic 1967 Supermarionation series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

Synopsis:

In the year 2068, peace on Earth is maintained by the Spectrum Organization, a super-efficient security group, headquartered in the vast floating aircraft carrier Skybase, which hovers on the edge of Earths atmosphere. Spectrum is manned by agents recruited from various military services, who are each assigned colour codenames to hide their true identities. Under the command of Colonel White, Spectrum has become the supreme peace-keeping force, maintaining a fleet of sophisticated vehicles for use by Spectrum field agents, including White Falcon Interceptor Jet Fighters, Rhino Tactical Response Units, Cheetah Rapid Response Vehicles, Stallion Raid Bikes, Albatross Special Deployment Craft, Hummingbird Helicopters, Swift Passenger Jets and Bison Alien Terrain Vehicles.

An ill-fated mission to locate the source of mysterious signals originating from Mars unleashed the power of the Mysterons, a ruthless alien consciousness. When Spectrum Captains Scarlet and Black discovered the Mysteron City on Mars, Black mistook the intentions of a Mysteron probe for a hostile offensive and opened fire, completely destroying the city. Using their incredible power of retrometabolism, the ability to recreate matter, the Mysterons reconstructed the city and pledged to take vengeance on the people of Earth for their unprovoked attack. This has taken the form of a war of nerves, with the Mysterons using their amazing powers to influence people, vehicles and inanimate objects to fall under their control. The Mysterons primary Earth agent is Captain Black, recreated from the body of the original Spectrum agent.

Spectrum's personnel and facilities are now mainly mobilized to combat the threat of the Mysterons. Leading the fight is one man fate has made virtually indestructible - Captain Scarlet. Killed during the Mysterons' initial attack, Scarlet was retrometabolised to become the aliens' instrument of destruction, but the Mysterons' hold over him was broken after he fell through a power conduit in the Skybase engineering section. Retaining the original man's memories, personality and loyalties, the new Captain Scarlet also retains the ability to survive injuries that would prove fatal to any other person, making him Spectrum's greatest weapon in their unceasing war against the menace from Mars.