Mike Mercury and Supercar | The Belated Nerd Mike Mercury and Supercar September 20, 2011 by The Belated Nerd Yes! Another puppet post! This one is about a TV show that debuted in 1961 called Supercar. Supercar was produced by Gerry Anderson who, with his team of puppeteers and model builders, would later create Thunderbirds. Like Thunderbirds (1964) and Four Feather Falls (1960), Supercar utilized Anderson’s signature “Supermarionation”. Supermarionation used marionettes suspended and controlled by thin wires. The fine metal filaments doubled as both suspension-control wires for puppet movement, and as electrical cables that took the control signals to the electronic components concealed in the marionettes’ heads. The heads contained solenoid motors that created the synchronised mouth movements for dialog and other functions.

The voice synchronisation was achieved by using a specially designed audio filter which was actuated by the signal from the pre-recorded tapes of the voice actors; this filter would convert the signal into a series of pulses which then travelled down the wire to the solenoids controlling the puppet’s lips, creating lip movements that were precisely synchronised with the dialogue. The one flaw in the system was that its simulation of walking was rather ridiculous looking. This weakness was likely the inspiration for a show where the hero spent most of his time sitting in a car. The hero is pilot Mike Mercury who lives in a secret base in Nevada with two scientists (Prof. Popkiss and Dr. Beaker), an orphan boy (Jimmy Gibson) and a weird monkey-like creature named Mitch. The show aired on ITV in the UK and was syndicated to local channels in the US. The show spawned a comic strip in the British magazine TV Comics that outlasted the show itself by two years. In the US Gold Key published a Supercar comic book that lasted four issues. Here is episode one (in two parts) in which Mike and the Supercar rescue young Jimmy and his monkey Mitch.

Even if you’re not inclined to watch the entire episode be sure to, at least, treat yourself to the opening titles and the theme song sung by Mike Sammes. Supercar (TV Series 1961–1962) - IMDb IMDb 7 January 2017 5:00 AM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Gerry Anderson's first science fiction Supermarionation series. Super Car was a prototype vehicle that could travel in the air, on land or beneath the sea. Its test pilot was Mike Mercury, ...

See full summary » Stars: a list of 46 titles created 26 Oct 2011 a list of 34 titles created 20 May 2012 a list of 44 titles created 14 Feb 2014 a list of 111 titles created 09 Jan 2015 a list of 34 titles created 06 Oct 2015 Search for " Supercar " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Fireball XL5 was part of the fleet of interplanetary rockets protecting Sector 25 of the Solar System from alien invasion under the supervision of the World Space Patrol. In command of XL5 ... See full summary » Stars: Paul Maxwell, Sylvia Anderson, David Graham Gerry Anderson's third SF supermarionation saga told the adventures of the WASPs (the World Aquanaut Security Patrol) as they explored the oceans and kept the world safe from a variety of ...

See full summary » Stars: Ray Barrett, Robert Easton, David Graham A literally unkillable agent leads an international intelligence agency's fight against an extra-terrestrial terror campaign. Stars: Francis Matthews, Ed Bishop, Donald Gray In the 21st century, the Tracy family operate a unique private mechanized emergency response service. Stars: Sylvia Anderson, Peter Dyneley, David Graham The International Rescue team is faced with one of its toughest challenges yet, as the revolutionary lighter-than-air craft Skyship One is hijacked while on her maiden voyage around the ... See full summary » Director: David Lane The adventures of a preteen secret agent who can have any useful skills downloaded into his brain. Stars: Len Jones, Rupert Davies, Keith Alexander The adventures of an elderly vicar and his gardener, secret agents for B.I.S.H.O.P, who combat criminals and terrorists from overseas. Stars: Stanley Unwin, Gary Files, Jeremy Wilkin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X Sheriff Tex Tucker makes sure all is well in Four Feather Falls with the help of his dog Dusty and Rocky the horse.

Done with puppets, even the animals talk and sing along with the humans as problems are quickly wrapped up. Stars: Nicholas Parsons, Kenneth Connor, David Graham In the year 2020 Earth is under threat from Martian androids who want revenge on the human race. They consist of Zelda, her son Yung-star and her sister called Cy-star. An organisation is ... See full summary » Stars: Jeremy Hitchen, Denise Bryer, Anne Ridler The Wombles (TV Series 1973) Animation | Family The misadventures of a fantasy folk community dedicated to cleaning up litter and put it to their own use. Stars: Bernard Cribbins, Dieter Hallervorden Thunderbirds Are Go (TV Series 2015) Animation | Action | Adventure In the future, the Tracy family run a private mechanized emergency response service. Stars: Rasmus Hardiker, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kayvan Novak When The Hood finds and invades International Rescue's secret base and traps most of the Tracy family, only young Alan Tracy and his friends can save the day. Director: Jonathan Frakes Edit Storyline Gerry Anderson's first science fiction Supermarionation series.

Super Car was a prototype vehicle that could travel in the air, on land or beneath the sea. Its test pilot was Mike Mercury, who traveled the world in search of adventure. Super Car was designed by Professor Popkiss and Dr. Beaker, who continued to modify it for specific missions. Often traveling with Mike was 10-year-old orphan Jimmy Gibson. Written by Marg Baskin <marg@asd.raytheon.ca> 28 January 1961 (USA) See more » Company Credits Did You Know? Trivia Although Gerry Anderson had been developing the process on previous TV series for several years, Supercar is considered the first true Supermarionation TV series. The format would continue (with continuous improvements over the years) until The Secret Service (1969). See more » Quotes Masterspy : Do you suppose that Mike Mercury will be able to unravel such a brilliant scheme, conceived by Masterspy himself? (United States) – See all my reviews I used to really enjoy watching this show as a youngster.

I think some of the children's shows today are okay, but in general they just are not of the same caliber as Supercar and some of the other shows and cartoons that were around in 1961. Maybe some of the cable stations should consider airing Supercar again. Even today in 2006, Supercar would still be futuristic. Maybe some of today's auto manufacturers should take notes. Incredibly talented puppeteers made this a one-of-a-kind classic. I hope Supercar used some fuel other than gasoline. They couldn't afford to run it at today's prices. Mike Mercury, Dr. Beaker, Professor Popkiss, Jimmy, and Mitch, long time no see. Hope you are all well. 4 of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Gerry Anderson obituary | Television & radio | The Guardian Gerry Anderson obituary Thunderbirds creator who made some of the most popular children's TV shows of the 1960s Gerry Anderson with some Thunderbirds figures in 2000. The Tracy brothers were named after US astronauts and fought evil from their International Rescue base on a south Pacific island.

Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian Wednesday 26 December 2012 12.41 EST First published on Wednesday 26 December 2012 12.41 EST Share on Messenger Close Gerry Anderson, who has died aged 83 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease, was the main mover behind a number of puppet series commissioned by Lew Grade's Independent Television Corporation. They made the company a fortune from the space age: perhaps the best known was Thunderbirds (1965-66), and among the others were Fireball XL5 (1962-63), Stingray (1964) and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967-68). Anderson embarked on Thunderbirds in 1964. For Grade, international sales – particularly into the US market – were a key concern. So Thunderbirds focused on the Tracy brothers, with first names borrowed from the US astronauts Scott Carpenter, Virgil Grissom, Alan Shepard, John Glenn and Gordon Cooper. Enormously popular in its time, the series is still being repeated today.

Scott and the others were members of International Rescue, based on a south Pacific island, set up, in a nod to the Bonanza western series, by their father, former astronaut Jeff Tracy. Thus did the brothers, with their motto "Thunderbirds are go!", fight fires in mines and villains in Monte Carlo, rescue solarnauts from the sun, quench blazing gasfields and take on the evil of The Hood, a villainous mastermind operating from a Malaysian jungle temple over some 32 episodes. The British featured with aristo blonde bombshell Lady Penelope (voiced by, and modelled on, Anderson's then wife Sylvia Thamm) and Parker, Cockney butler-cum-chauffeur of Penelope's 21st-century Rolls-Royce, FAB 1. The pre-ITV world of the early 50s had been one of puppets such as Muffin the Mule and the Flowerpot Men, a mirror for a Britain on extremely visible strings. Rocket men, on BBC radio, Radio Luxembourg and in the Eagle comic, meant Dan Dare and Jet Morgan – recycled Biggles and Battle of Britain pilots.

After Anderson, they were destined for the galactic dole queue, just as Eagle's demise was hastened by the arrival of Anderson spin-offs such as TV Century 21 (1965-71). "Everything we did," Anderson told his biographers Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn, in What Made Thunderbirds Go! (2002), "was in an endeavour to sell to America," and Grade spectacularly achieved that with Fireball XL5, a US network sale to NBC . Thunderbirds, shown across the world and more than a dozen times on British TV, is the show that defines the Anderson achievement, yet never attracted a US network. There was also the merchandising, for all the hit Anderson series, but spectacularly for Thunderbirds. While listening to the Royal Netherlands Air Force's rendition of the theme tune, the consumer could contemplate the purchase of the Dinky Toy FAB 1. There was a (very) minor hit record for Fireball XL5 and, beyond toys, wrote Chris Bentley in The Complete Gerry Anderson (2003), there were "clothing, toiletries, crockery, bedding, soft furnishings, ornaments, stationery, confectionery and baked beans".

Grade and Anderson's collaboration began in 1960, in the wake of the latter's western series for children, Four Feather Falls. Anderson proposed Supercar, featuring – just before astronauts took off – a test pilot hero from Arizona, Mike Mercury. Grade slashed Anderson's projected budget by a third, commissioned 39 episodes, and sold the series to the US, where it was a huge hit. That year, Anderson married Sylvia, beginning their tempestuous creative partnership. Two years later, as Fireball XL5 was going to NBC, Grade's Associated Television (ATV) purchased Anderson's company, Anderson Provis Films (APF). The deal enriched Anderson, and left him, Grade aside, in creative control. In October 1964 Stingray, with Captain Troy Tempest of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, battling, among others, Titan, ruler of Titanica, waded ashore on ITV – and netted ITC millions worldwide. After Thunderbirds came Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and then Joe 90 (1968), which was erratically broadcast – or not – around the ITV network.

However, the moment seemed to have passed: television appeared clogged up with Anderson's Supermarionation puppets. Two Thunderbird movies had flopped; the tide was ebbing. Anderson was born in London, the younger son of Deborah and Joseph Abrahams. Joseph's parents were Jews from eastern Europe. Deborah Leonoff's background mixed Jewish and Cornish roots. Their vituperative marriage gave Anderson an unhappy childhood. His father was a socialist, increasingly debt-ridden and trapped in low-paid jobs. The family gravitated from Willesden Green to penury in Kilburn, and then on to Neasden. In the face of the commonplace antisemitism of the times, mother and son, prevailing over Joseph, had the family surname changed to Anderson. Gerry was educated at Kingsgate infants school in Kilburn and Braintcroft junior and senior schools in Neasden. Puppetry did not feature – indeed, he preferred knitting. Escape was provided in the front stalls at the Kilburn State and Grange cinemas, facing each other across the Kilburn high road. He won a scholarship to Willesden county secondary school and became a chain smoker.

The death of his Mosquito pilot brother, Lionel, on active service in 1944 devastated the family. Anderson enrolled at the local polytechnic, flirted with a career in architecture, and developed an aptitude for plaster modelling, which triggered dermatitis. Then a friend invited him to the Pathé laboratories at Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and Anderson the moviegoer became intrigued by film. At the end of the war he became a trainee at the Colonial Film Unit, before joining Gainsborough Pictures as an assistant editor. Work on two bodice rippers, Caravan (1946) and Jassy (1947), and a thriller, Snowbound (1948), was followed by a posting as an RAF radio operator. By 1950, he was a freelance dubbing editor. The films included The Clouded Yellow (1950) with Trevor Howard and Jean Simmons, Appointment in London (1953) with Dirk Bogarde, A Prize of Gold (1955) with Richard Widmark and Mai Zetterling, and Devil Girl from Mars (1954).

It was a journeyman's career path, in a then declining industry. In the mid-50s, commercial TV arrived. Anderson and Arthur Provis, a camera operator, set up Pentagon Films, whose recruits included Sylvia as a secretary. After Pentagon went bust came APF, which struggled until commissioned to produce a 52-part, 15-minute puppet series, The Adventures of Twizzle (1957-58). This was followed by Torchy the Battery Boy (1959-60). The wild west was big on late 50s British TV, via shows such as Wagon Train and Wells Fargo. APF came up with Four Feather Falls . Nicholas Parsons voiced, and Michael Holliday sang, Sheriff Tex Tucker. Bought by Granada, the programme debuted on ITV in February 1960. Tucker, his English-accented horse Rocky (Kenneth Connor), his dog Dusty and Pedro the villainous bandit rode into British children's teatime – to be followed by Supercar. In 1960 Anderson had produced and directed the B-movie Crossroads to Crime.

At the other end of the decade, alongside a late and ill-starred puppet-live action series The Secret Service (1969), he produced the science fiction movie Doppelgänger. The live action TV series UFO (1970), The Protectors (1972-74) and Space 1999 (1975-78) followed. None greatly prospered. In 1975, financially battered, and in the era before video sales, Anderson sold off his share of APF royalties. That year, too, he and Sylvia separated. Soon his relationship with ATV, in decline since the late 60s, ended. Anderson's finances were collapsing; his career reached its nadir before signs of revival in the 80s. From the 1990s onwards the work of Anderson and the group of gifted puppeteers and film-makers he had worked with in 1960s Slough was rediscovered. There were conventions, live shows and repeat showings. Anderson developed other projects, but nothing really compared with those strange times – and the mystery of Supermarionation, credited from the later episodes of Supercar.

Not that there was a mystery: it was the product, as the 60s advanced, of increasingly sophisticated and expensive technique. Just as the Wizard of Oz turned out to be a man behind a curtain, so Supermarionation merely combined the words "super", "marionette" and "animation". "It didn't mean," Anderson told Archer and Hearn, "anything other than that." He was appointed an MBE in 2001. His first two marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife, Mary, two daughters from his first marriage, a son from his second, and a son from his third.

• Gerald Alexander Anderson, film and TV producer, director and writer, born 14 April 1929; died 26 December 2012 Animator behind popular puppet TV shows Captain Scarlet, Stingray and Joe 90 died in his sleep, his son announces Published: 26 Dec 2012 Gerry Anderson, who has died aged 83, had TV hits with Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet Joe 90 and Stingray Published: 26 Dec 2012 The British director behind puppet TV shows Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet has died aged 83 Published: 26 Dec 2012 Stephen La Rivière and Howard Dawber on how Gerry Anderson paved the way for a range of cinematic special effects Published: 27 Dec 2012 Supercar Collectables Pre-production Model - Rear Left View The modelling of the Johnny Lightning Supercar was carried out by Alan Pletcher at Playing Mantis, who kindly supplied these images of a pre-production model. Images used with permission of Suzi Klimek at Playing Mantis.

Business contact at Playing Mantis is Tom Lowe, 3618 Grape Road, Mishawaka, IN 46545 Variants White Lightnings... these have a white interior (versus the standard dark gray) and white wheels (versus the standard black). Playing Mantis make a limited number of these variants (1% of the total production run according to Alan Pletcher of Playing Mantis on 1-Jun-2001) that show up randomly in cases of the normal shipping product. White Lightning - white interior and white wheels 50 raw metal unpainted cars of the original version were released to Johnny Lightning Club members who placed orders through the club. This was described in Johnny Lightning NewsFlash No. 28 Spring 2001, page 6. A limited edition of 1000 pieces was produced for K.B.Toys.com . This had the original extended wings in yellow and a closed canopy. But the red body and rear fin colouring was in a metallic finish paint.

The packaging was a white box with black and white printing with the text "K.B toys.com Internet Exclusive 1 of 1000" printed on 2 sides, and the Supercar title logo printed on the other two slides. One end of the box carried the Johnny Lightning logo, the other end carried a bar code. This limited edition became available in November 2001 at a cost of $12.99 exclusive of postage and packaging. On 14 Jan 2001 MEC <MEC50@Mediaone.net> wrote to the Supercar Club 2000 Black_Rock_1 Newsgroup: Subject: Backstory on Supercar diecast You might be interested in the 'backstory' of how Playing Mantis/Johnny Lightning just happened to be coming out with a Supercar diecast toy. About 3 years ago, a Gerry Anderson fan (and good friend of mine) named Bill Winckler was creating licensing deals for Playing Mantis. One of his efforts resulted in the release of a Mach 5 die cast vehicle from the cartoon series Speed Racer.

Bill was very interested in pursuing a license agreement with ITC (owners of the Anderson library and licensing at the time) to make die cast vehicles of Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5, and Supercar. He met with the representatives of ITC, but was only able to come away with a Supercar license. Then, Bill had to do some convincing at the upper levels of Playing Mantis that a Supercar die cast would sell. After all, the show was over 35 years old at the time and had not played on American television for quite a while. Bill prevailed, and at one point, he actually saw the Supercar prototype. However, Playing Mantis had many other lines in production (along with plastic kit re-issues) and the project seemed to 'wither' on the vine. Now, years later, Johnny Lightning is finally getting around to marketing Supercar as part of the Hollywood on Wheels series. Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning Supercar Diecast (2001B) Version B Playing Mantis released a variation on the original model in September 2001. This has retracted wings with white surfaces and Supercar decals on the sides of the nose.

B - White Lightning - white interior Variants Supercar and Fireball XL5 CD Supercar and Fireball XL5 Original Television Soundtrack. A CD available only to Fanderson members. Composed and Conducted by Barry Gray. A compact disc album featuring the original recordings of the themes and incidental music composed for Supercar and Fireball XL5, digitally remastered from Barry Gray's master tapes. 52 tracks including both first and second season versions of the Supercar theme song, Fireball XL5 opening and closing titles, "Formula 5", "This Is The Twist", "Batonga Theme", "Zizi's Song", numerous character themes and individual episode scores. (Note: many of these tracks formed part of the scores for the later Gerry Anderson series, including Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and Space:1999.) CD comes complete with 16 page colour booklet detailing the origin of each track. For more details see the Fanderson Sales site. Supercar: Remco, USA, sold by Internet Auction ) in October 1997 for $455.

Image from Dan and Pam Weldon ( orion@gloryroad.net ) Other images from Ebay sales: Image 3 , Image 4 Supercar: Remco, USA Remco Toys 1963 - Catalog - Approx. 11" x 8 1/2" 14 pages 1963 Other images from Ebay sales: Cover TV Comic Supercar ran in TV Comic from Issue No:483 to No:667. (March 1961 to Sept. 1964). Sample cover shown is from issue 522. Sample pages show are from issue 662 (in August 1964). Neville Main was a regular on the title, contributing Four Feather Falls and Fireball XL5. Supercar was started by H. Watts followed by Bill Mevin. 109K JPEG large version Phillips Auctioneers (Toys and Dolls), 10 Salem Road Bayswater, London W2 4DL, UK.

1995/09/19 10:00 This sale of toys and dolls included the Sylvia Anderson, Mary Turner and John Read Collections of Thunderbirds and other Gerry Anderson Series' Puppets. Supercar lots included in the sale were: Lot 69: JIMMY GIBSON from 'Supercar' with orange hair and working lip, this head is painted white (G-F, lacks eyes and mechanism) Estimate £250-350 Lot 70: MIKE MERCURY from 'Supercar' with brown hair and working mouth (G, lacks eyes) Estimate £ 300-400 Sold to David Thornhill (who no longer wons it) for £1,250+VAT+Phillips Commission (approx.

£1,500 in total Lot 71: ZARIN from 'Supercar' head painted white, with moving lip (G-F, lacks eyes, wig, mechanism and back of head) Estimate £150-250 Lot 72: MASTERSPY from 'Supercar' with moving mouth and brown hair (G, lacks eyes, back of head and mechanism) £300-500 [Christine Glanville is reputed to have said that it actually was an original Masterspy head that had been modified to produce the character El Hudat who appears in two Episodes of Stingray - "Star in the East" and "Eastern Eclipse"] Other Auction Lots Lot 107: TV21 Themes on 7 inch record (G) two Supercar 7 inch records (lacking sleaves) Kine Production Review 'SUPERMARIONATION' booklet and Thunderbirds Supplement (5) £50-70 Lot 111: ZARIN from Supercar unclothed puppet with unpainted head (lacks eyes) and wooden body marked 'ZARIN' £ 300-500 Lot 381:Budgie

 272 Supercar in red/silver (G, minimal fatigue, box G-F) £170-200 Thunderbirds | Pipedreams from the Shire Pipedreams from the Shire FAB:the genius of Gerry Anderson 12 01 2011 Hard on the heels of Nick Park’s plasticine Academy Award winning duo Wallace and Gromit, who featured on the 2010 Christmas stamps, comes Royal Mail’s first collection of the New Year, celebrating five decades of futuristic, supermarionation, puppetry by Gerry Anderson (1929- ).

The stamp series entitled, FAB: The Genius of Gerry Anderson, is comprised of images from six of his iconic children’s TV series dating back to Supercar, ‘the marvel of the age’, which first appeared on ATV way back in January 1961. Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90 are all first class while Supercar, Fireball XL5 and Stingray feature on the 97p stamps. A miniature sheet of motion stamps has also been issued, created through a micro-lenticular printing process, which recreates the famous 5,4,3,2,1, countdown from the opening scenes of the Thunderbirds series. Apparently an animation effect is caused by tilting them backwards and forwards! As a child, Gerry Andserson’s creativity and ingenuity had a great effect on me and when I first saw the stamps, featured on the front page of The Times (11.01.11) no less, I was immediately transported back to a Saturday morning in January 1962.

I was eight years old again, hair neatly parted, standing in a pair of gleaming Startrite shoes that I could see my face in, dressed in a smart blazer, white shirt and short grey trousers hoisted up by the classic striped (green and gold if I remember rightly) elasticated snake belt, or was it the Dan Dare, ‘Pilot of the Future’, braces on that occasion? It was Mum’s works outing, from the Viyella factory at that time I think, and we were waiting on the platform at Hucknall Central Station for a train to London. The highlight of our day out in the capital city was to be a performance, on ice, of the Wizard of Oz at the Empire Pool Wembley. To be honest I could take or leave Dorothy and her gang following the yellow brick road but I was really excited about the performance for another reason – something I had read about in a recent copy of TV Comic… TV Comic was a brightly coloured children’s weekly, which as its name suggests featured stories based on popular TV series of the time. It had started up in 1951 and amazingly continued in publication until 1984, 1,697 issues later!

As I recall, back in the early ‘60s, Popeye featured on the front cover with the Milky Bar Kid on the back page. Also included in its inside pages were the comic strip adventures of Supercar, based on Gerry Anderson’s phenomenally popular new puppet series. I had read in TV Comic that test pilot Mike Mercury would be making a special guest appearance in Supercar as part of the Wizard of Oz ice show. That was all that I was interested in. I was relieved to find the official programme at the Empire Pool contained a personal message from Mike Mercury confirming that the ice show would be a first chance for me to see Supercar in real life. There was also an invitation to join the Supercar Club by completing a form and sending it in with a postal order for 2/6 (whatever happened to postal orders?) which I later did, receiving a treasured Supercar pilot’s licence (signed by Mike) and badge in return. I waited with bated breath and growing impatience throughout interminable ice dances and songs until the finale when, eventually, Mike Mercury and the real life Supercar emerged from the wings, and glided across the ice, to transport Dorothy back to Kansas no doubt.

It was awesome! It didn’t matter to me, or thousands like me, that the Supercar TV series was in black and white and that the puppet strings were clearly visible, it was magically hi-tech as far as we were concerned. Supercar may have been Gerry Anderson’s breakthrough show and certainly the first in his sci-fi catalogue but I also remember with some affection three of his earlier productions: Twizzle (1957-59), who wore a pixie hat and was able to extend and ‘twizzle’ his arms and legs, Torchy the Battery Boy (1958-59), who had a battery inside him and a lamp in his head, and Four Feather Falls (1960) a western. Four Feather Falls was a favourite of mine. Sheriff Tex Tucker wore four magic feathers in his hat band which allowed his guns to swivel in their holsters and fire themselves. Supercar was followed, in 1962, by Fireball XL5 (also in black and white), a spaceship commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol. He was partnered by the glamorous Dr Venus, a space medic, and my favourite character, from the series, the transparent robot Robert.

Supercar could travel on land, sea or in the air and Fireball XL5 was a spacecraft. In 1965 Gerry Anderson introduced us to Stingray, an underwater combat submarine, in the first British TV series to be filmed in colour. Stingray was piloted by the square-jawed Captain Troy Tempest, a ringer for Hollywood actor James Garner, and the love interest was provided by the beautiful, mysterious and mute Marina who could breathe underwater. She was the subject of the haunting themes song, Aqua Marina, which accompanied the series and was originally thought to be based on Brigitte Bardot but was apparently modelled Gerry’s wife, Sylvia. In 1965, Anderson’s block buster series Thunderbirds was first aired. The show revolved around the Tracy family, father Jeff and his five sons: Scott (pilot of T1), Virgil (pilot of T2), Alan (astronaut – T3), Gordon (aquanaut – T4) and John (space station astronaut – T5). They operated out of the uncharted Tracy Island, as the International Rescue team, saving the world from a whole series of natural and man-made disasters.

They were ably assisted in matters technical by Brains, a scientific genius in a pair of oversized spectacles. But for me the stars of the show were the London-based agent and international socialite, Lady Penelope, and her cockney butler-cum- chauffeur, Parker. Lady P, with her Marilyn Monroe style looks, lived in a stately home (a miniature copy of Stourhead House, the National Trust property in Wiltshire) and was chauffeured around in pink Rolls Royce, with the licence plate FAB1, full of James Bond style gizmos including retractable machine guns. Thunderbirds was always going to be a difficult act to follow, as demonstrated in 2000 when its lasting popularity led to a relaunch , accompanied by a whole range of themed merchandise, making it a Christmas best seller. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons first appeared on our screens in 1967 followed by Joe 90 in 1968, but good as they were it was rather a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show as far as I was concerned.

I was well into my teens by then, developing other interests, and had rather outgrown the tried and te sted Gerry Anderson formula. However I’m sure that for children brought up on those shows, they carried every bit as much glamour and excitement as the earlier series had for me. Gerry Anderson and his marionettes are an important part of the heritage of children’s TV and his work thoroughly deserves to be recognised by Royal Mail with this special edition of stamps. Photos the scenes shot of Gerry Anderson with Jimmy and Mitch on set. "is it me or does Gerry look younger now than he did 40 years ago"? A Supercar memorabilia picture from 1962, judging by the age of the annual of offer. The photographer was from Harrogate in Yorkshire so I am presuming it is from the a trade toyfair that took place there and it is still held today. Items on show include the Mike, Jimmy and Beaker Pelham puppets, the Mike Mercury pilot suit, four Plaston Supercars that are worth a fortune today, the magnetic adventure set, a jigsaw puzzle and the underwater treasure hunt game but most amazingly what looks to be an inflatable Supercar.

The wardrobe department at AP Films circa 1961. The next two photographs show what appear to be a bunch of executives on a studio tour. Who let the Thunderbirds (TV Series 1960–1966) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error In the 21st century, the Tracy family operate a unique private mechanized emergency response service. Creators: The Hood plants a bomb aboard the Fireflash. Can International Rescue bring the airliner down without using its landing gear? 8.2 After Thunderbird 2 is heavily damaged in a mistaken attack, it leaves the team seemingly without a swift means to transport TB4 to New York City when a news crew is trapped underneath the collapsed ... 7.9 Lady Penelope is taken hostage by the evil Dr. Godber while helping Sir Jeremy Hodge investigate the disappearance of Professor Borender, who has developed a means of making rocket fuel out of water.

7.8 a list of 21 titles created 31 Jul 2012 a list of 40 titles created 12 Dec 2012 a list of 36 titles created 01 Nov 2013 a list of 30 titles created 13 May 2014 a list of 40 titles created 6 months ago Search for " Thunderbirds " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Gerry Anderson's third SF supermarionation saga told the adventures of the WASPs (the World Aquanaut Security Patrol) as they explored the oceans and kept the world safe from a variety of ... See full summary » Stars: Ray Barrett, Robert Easton, David Graham A literally unkillable agent leads an international intelligence agency's fight against an extra-terrestrial terror campaign. Stars: Francis Matthews, Ed Bishop, Donald Gray The International Rescue team is faced with one of its toughest challenges yet, as the revolutionary lighter-than-air craft Skyship One is hijacked while on her maiden voyage around the ...

See full summary » Director: David Lane The adventures of a preteen secret agent who can have any useful skills downloaded into his brain. Stars: Len Jones, Rupert Davies, Keith Alexander Thunderbirds Are Go (TV Series 2015) Animation | Action | Adventure In the future, the Tracy family run a private mechanized emergency response service. Stars: Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Rasmus Hardiker, Kayvan Novak When The Hood finds and invades International Rescue's secret base and traps most of the Tracy family, only young Alan Tracy and his friends can save the day. Director: Jonathan Frakes Fireball XL5 was part of the fleet of interplanetary rockets protecting Sector 25 of the Solar System from alien invasion under the supervision of the World Space Patrol. In command of XL5 ... See full summary » Stars: Paul Maxwell, Sylvia Anderson, David Graham Gerry Anderson's first science fiction Supermarionation series. Super Car was a prototype vehicle that could travel in the air, on land or beneath the sea. Its test pilot was Mike Mercury, ...

See full summary » Stars: David Graham, Graydon Gould, Sylvia Anderson In the year 2020 Earth is under threat from Martian androids who want revenge on the human race. They consist of Zelda, her son Yung-star and her sister called Cy-star. An organisation is ... See full summary » Stars: Jeremy Hitchen, Denise Bryer, Anne Ridler Camberwick Green (TV Series 1966) Animation | Family Iconic British children's animated series set in the fictional, picturesque village of the title. Each episode opens with a character emerging from a music box and they will be the central character of the forthcoming story. Stars: Brian Cant Children's animation from the 'Smallfilms' team of Postgate and Firmin. In the 'top, left hand corner of Wales' runs an archaic railway line staffed by such characters as Jones the Steam ... See full summary » Stars: Olwen Griffiths, Anthony Jackson, Oliver Postgate The Wombles (TV Series 1973) Animation | Family The misadventures of a fantasy folk community dedicated to cleaning up litter and put it to their own use.

Stars: Bernard Cribbins, Dieter Hallervorden Edit Storyline The year is 2065. The location is a secret island base. The Tracy family run International Rescue - a top secret organization whose ongoing mission is to aid humanity. With the support of five incredible THUNDERBIRDS craft, the London agent Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, her butler and ex safe-cracker Parker and genius Brains, the Tracy family battle the forces of evil. Written by Back of Digitally Remastered DVD 30 September 1965 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Mono (Westrex Recording System)| Stereo (re-mastered version) Color: Did You Know? Trivia The faces of the Tracys were composites of those of famous actors: Jeff was modeled upon Lorne Greene of Bonanza (1959) fame, Alan modeled upon Robert Reed of The Protectors (1964), Scott after Sean Connery and John after Adam Faith and Charlton Heston . Virgil is an older-looking Alan and Gordon a younger version of John.

See more » Goofs In five episodes, there are newspapers with the date Friday, 24 December 1964 on the front cover, and was clearly not intended to be seen by viewers. (Oddly enough, 24 December 1964 was a Thursday). See more » Quotes Virgil Tracy : Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird One, do you read me? [Thunderbird One does not answer] John Tracy : He's got to have made it, he's GOT to. Virgil Tracy : Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird One, do you read me? [static] See more » Crazy Credits The opening credits include scenes from that week's episode. Gerry Anderson would later reuse this gimmick in "Space: 1999" (1975) and "Space Precinct" (1995). See more » Connections S.I.D. Database - Merchandising: SUPERCAR S.I.D. Database - Merchandising: SUPERCAR PART OF THE SPECTRUM HEADQUARTERS WEBSITE UPDATED: February 14, 2015: New Region 1 DVD boxset from Shout!

Factory (Pre-sale) - Australian set added to the list - Johnny Lightning Diecast added to the list - Various updated links. DVD: New Region 1 DVD set from Shout! Factory (pre-sale) DVD: Australian set added to the list - New links added to various items. MODELS : Johnny Lightning diecast added to the list. COMICS : New links added. PLEASE! CAREFULLY READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTE FOR TAPES AND DVD: Be aware of the different Regions and recording Formats. UK tapes and DVD are PAL format - and DVD discs are Region 2, which means that PAL TAPES ARE ONLY COMPATIBLE WITH UK VIDEO SYSTEMS AND REGION 2 DVD DISCS ARE ONLY COMPATIBLE WITH EUROPEAN PLAYERS -- THEY WILL NOT WORK IN US EQUIPMENT. Unless you have a system that will enable you to, you will not be able to view these medias in North American machines, which use NTSC recording format, and Region 1 for DVD discs. The same is true the other way around. Please note that some DVD players can play any format. Check the compatibility of your equipment before ordering. U.K.

- EUROPE (REGION 2,PAL FORMAT) SUPERCAR ON DVD, REGION 2 (PAL FORMAT - UK) SUPERCAR, THE ENTIRE SERIES (2009 REPACKAGED FORMAT) 7 discs - 39 Episodes - Black and white UK Classification: U DVD Release Date: 15 Sep 2009 6 discs - 39 Episodes - Black and white EXTRA: Full Boost Vertical: the Supercar Story Release date April 25, 2005 GERRY ANDERSON: THE MONOCHROME YEARS (17 DISCS BOX SET) - U.K. REGION 2, PAL FORMAT This is the ultimate collection of all of Anderson TV Series filmed in black and white.

The 17 discs set, spanning from 1959 to 1962, contains the following shows: Torchy The Battery Boy (Series 1) Four Feather Falls Format: Box set, original full screen presentation, Black & White, PAL, Region 2 Language English DVD Release Date: 9 Oct 2006 Run Time: 2600 minutes Item added to this page, September 12, 2010 NORTH AMERICA (U.S. - CANADA) (REGION 1, NTSC FORMAT) SUPERCAR - THE COMPLETE SERIES (5 DISCS DVD BOX SET) - PRE-SALE! Shout! Factory continues its distribution of their Gerry Anderson Collection with this brand-new release of the Marvel of the Age: SUPERCAR! From Shout! Factory: On land, sea, or in the air, youï¿½ve never seen anything like Supercar! Piloted by the intrepid Mike Mercury, the ultimate all-terrain vehicle races from its base of operations in the Nevada desert in search of action and adventure. With the assistance of eccentric geniuses Professor Rudolph Popkiss and Dr.

Horatio Beaker and his young sidekick Jimmy, Mercury travels the world to protect the innocent and bring the guilty-including his greatest foe, the fiendish Masterspy- to justice. In this complete series collection from Timeless Media Group, you can ride along for every thrilling exploitï¿½all from the safety of your living room! An early SUPERMARIONATION production from legendary producer Gerry Anderson, Supercarï¿½s thirty-nine episodes set the stage for Andersonï¿½s later triumphs, including Fireball XL-5, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and Thunderbirds. Groundbreaking in its day, Supercar-like all of Andersonï¿½s creations- continues to fascinate to this day, sparking the imaginations of generations of children. Climb into the Mercury-manned machine of the future- Supercar! And kids, donï¿½t forget to fasten your seatbelts. Bonus Features Commentary by Sylvia Anderson on "Rescue" Gerry Anderson Interview: Supercar

Question: In which Gerry Anderson TV series did Mike Mercury appear?
Answer: Supercar.