Author: Parker

Fancy a new adventure?

Posted on by Parker

Tired of watching the same episodes over and over? Fancy a new adventure? Our growing fan fiction page now features ten works by amateur authors, keen to expand the screen adventures!

All stories have been formatted to A5 page size PDF, making them ideal to read on a tablet (even on a phone!), or can be printed at home. Ranging in length from just seven to a mammoth 364 pages, and covering a range of series, you’re bound to find something to whet your appetite.

If you have a piece of fan fiction that’s based on Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s productions, which you’d like to share with other fans, send it to us (in Word or other text format) at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com.

New Captain Scarlet 20th anniversary exclusive lucky dip

Posted on by Parker

New Captain Scarlet is 20 today!

Gerry Anderson’s final production premiered on ITV 20 years ago today, and we’re giving you the chance to celebrate with a very rare piece of series’ ephemera.

Gerry was extremely proud of New Captain Scarlet but was disappointed that the £22m series, which employed (at that time) cutting edge motion capture computer generated imagery (CGI), didn’t get the high-profile launch it deserved. ITV chose to split the episode Instrument Of Destruction part one in two and screen it as part of the live children’s Saturday morning entertainment show Ministry Of Mayhem. Gradually, the series went on to get better timeslots, and through repeat screenings and DVD releases has gained a more appreciative, mature audience over the intervening 20 years. Although the CGI now looks quite dated, fans now consider the stories to be superior in many cases to the 1968 original.

To celebrate New Captain Scarlet‘s anniversary we’ve got 20 genuine NCS business cards to give away (gifted to the club by Gerry when production ended and he shut the office at Pinewood Studios). Just buy something from our Shop today* and add this item, and you’ll be entered into the lucky dip.

*Lucky Dip closes at midnight (GMT) on 12th February 2025. Purchase required in order to cover postage of the business card. Spend does not include Fanderson memberships or Silva Screen products.

Virtual AGM – 1st March 2025

Posted on by Parker

Fanderson’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held online at 12:00 (midday, Greenwich Mean Time) on Saturday 1st March 2025.

The AGM is a chance for the committee to report on the club’s status, share results of the recent membership survey and respond to members’ questions, thoughts and suggestions.

All current Fanderson members are eligible to attend, and can register to do so by completing this short form. Incomplete or incorrectly completed forms will be ignored. Registration closes at midnight on Sunday 23rd February.

We will send registered members a link to join the meeting shortly before the meeting itself.

It’s FAB February!

Posted on by Parker

Set sail for February’s great offer on the club’s FAB magazine.

We regularly get feedback from members who have bought back issues of FAB magazine, along the lines of ‘It’s an amazing magazine’ or ‘I never knew how much there is in each issue’.

Although a large number of members have been with Fanderson for years, and so may have received FAB as part of their membership package, there’s a significant number who have joined since. To encourage that latter group to take a punt on ordering some copies, we’re launching a series of monthly discounts focussed on a specific series. For February, it’s the turn of that fan favourite – Stingray.

Buy any five or more issues of FAB magazine that contain Stingray content (conveniently, you can see them all by clicking on the Stingray tab in the Shop) in one transaction, apply the coupon code FAB-FEB-Stingray at checkout, and you’ll get a whopping 50% off those issues.

Get shopping now!

Please note:

  • Whilst stocks last – some issues have very low stock.
  • This offer cannot be used in conjunction with other coupon codes.
  • This offer is for online purchases only.
  • Members must apply the coupon code themselves before checkout. It cannot be applied retroactively.

[AUS] It’s the marvel of the age – Supercar coming to DVD

Posted on by Parker

Open hangar doors – Supercar DVD set is incoming!

Australian cult film and TV label ViaVision has announced the release of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s series Supercar, coming to DVD on 12th February! As well as all 39 episodes from both seasons, this six disc set boasts includes audio commentaries by series co-creator Gerry Anderson on Rescue and The Runaway Train.

See the full details and order your copy now here.

Also, albeit not an Anderson production, fans of the late lamented David Graham might be interested to learn that Via Vision is also releasing a 5 DVD set of 70s groundbreaking children’s drama series Timeslip on 12th February too.

Get ready Canada – your FAB Annuals will soon be on their way!

Posted on by Parker

We’re getting FAB Annual 2025 ready to mail to club members in Canada

Fanderson members in Canada will be aware that we chose not to mail their FAB Annuals in December along with everyone else, due to the effects of the postal strike there. Although the strike was resolved a while ago, we were advised to wait until the huge backlog of post had been cleared and services were back to normal. Canada Post suggested that we should steer clear of January, so we’ll start mailing again to Canada in the next few days, and catch up with FAB Annuals to those who are owed them as part of their club membership.

SIG – Scalextric is green!

Posted on by Parker

Will Spectrum agents beat Parker around your race track?

The popularity of last year’s FAB 1 model has encouraged Scalextric to expand their range with two new slot-racing cars from Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons – the SPV and SPC.

Expected this autumn (but available to pre-order now) the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (SPV) and Spectrum Patrol Car (SPC) will be exciting additions to anyone’s Scalextric slot-car hobby. We’ve yet to even see pre-production versions but, if their work on FAB 1 is anything to go by, there will loads of happy Scarlet fans later this year. Let’s hope that at least some of the cars will come out of their boxes and take a spin around a track occasionally!

[AUS] UFO coming to Blu-ray Disc down under

Posted on by Parker

Definitive UFO Blu-ray boxset on positive track!

Australian cult film and TV label ViaVision has announced the release of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s 1969 series UFO, coming to Blu-ray Disc on 26th March! This eight disc set boasts an impressive range of special features, including new interviews with guest stars Jane Merrow and Derren Nesbitt, a 120-page booklet and new episode commentaries by authors and Fanderson members Ian Fryer and Chris Drake, and ITC historians Jonathan Wood and Rick Davy. ViaVision have worked hard to include as many archival special features as possible from previous releases too.

Most interesting is the note that “grading work and updates have been applied to select episodes, correcting specific flaws in the original restoration”, so we can hope this really is the definitive boxset to get!

Although we’re unable to confirm whether this release includes region-coding, when it is applied Australia is BD region B, the same as the UK.

See the full details and order your copy now here.

 

New Thunderbirds toys from Corgi

Posted on by Parker

Thunderbirds are go for Corgi this spring.

Die-cast manufacturer Corgi has announced a new and updated range of Thunderbirds toys to supplement their Stingray, SPV and Angel Interceptor. The new range includes FAB 1, Thunderbirds 1, 2 (with 4) and 3, and Corgi are at pains to stress the work done to ensure these new toys better represent the vehicles as seen on-screen. Corgi’s blog includes comparison shots, showing the reprofiling done on TBs 1 and 3, plus the better paint job on TB2.

Sadly, though much of this work has been appreciated by fans, over-riding comments on social media have been less than complimentary, particularly citing the rather bulbous FAB 1 (resembling more the life-size car made to publicise Thunderbird 6 in 1967) rather than Lady Penelope’s sleek limousine. Attention has also been drawn to Scalextric’s (another Hornby Hobbies brand) FAB 1 last year that largely managed to get the car right!

The new models are available to pre-order now at Corgi’s website.

Have your say in the 2025 membership survey

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Tell us what you think about your club!

As we welcome in 2025 we’d like to hear what you think about your club. Our 2021 membership survey really helped shape the membership package that we have today. Your merchandise suggestions and ideas help us understand what we already do that you like, and what you would like us to produce. Your feedback also helps us know what events you’d like in the future, website features you’d like to see etc. Your responses also help us understand how best to run the club. With inflation affecting us all, your input helps us understand how the cost of living might impact you and the club, and how you think we might meet the challenges ahead of us.

So, please take a few minutes to participate in our membership survey, which is open to all current members of Fanderson until the end of January.

It’s also time for you to elect your chairman for the next five years, although no club members were nominated by the Christmas Eve deadline. Nick Williams (the incumbent) is standing again, and it’s important that we understand whether you support him or not.

Nick says “I was surprised last summer to discover that I am the club’s longest serving chairman. Having contributed to Fanderson’s success for 35 years, I’m standing once again to be your club chairman.

When I became Secretary in 1990, I immediately set about ways to make database maintenance and preparing for mailings easier. I also worked closely with the then chairman to bring a more formal, productive structure to committee meetings and records of those meetings. I was asked to take on the additional responsibility of Treasury in 1994, when the club’s finances were in a perilous state. I had a plan to turn the situation around and by 1995 all debts had been paid and we were consistently back in the black. I introduced the card payment facility, and brought in elementary management information to help the committee make informed decisions.

When I became Chairman in 2007, membership numbers were in serious decline. Members told us that sporadic magazine mailings and website updates were giving the impression that the club was closing. The plan was to get the magazine back on a regular schedule and have a website that would be an immediate port of call for anyone who wanted information, news, to buy merchandise or to contact the club. By giving a new, inclusive, direction for FAB we had more members contributing to our club magazine. Membership numbers (and, crucially, membership renewals) immediately stabilised and then started to increase again. 

I don’t have an encyclopaedic recall of every Anderson fact and figure, but I don’t think that’s the role of a Chairman. I have guided and supported your committee, the club and its members well for 17 years. I’ve had to make some tough decisions but, where possible, aim to include members’ comments and ideas in a creative solution that will work. That’s why the results of the last survey were so important in re-shaping the membership package in the face of rapidly increasing costs. I’ve never underestimated or taken for granted the responsibility that this position demands. I’ve never been afraid to stand up and do the right thing for the club and its members – even on occasion that it’s made me unpopular with a minority. That said, I believe I’ve been a positive ambassador for the club, maintaining great relationships with existing partners and building relationships with new ones.

Fanderson has been one of the very best fan clubs for the last 44 years. I intend that we keep everything that’s made it great, though I’ve always got my eye on the future and what’s coming around the corner. I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve achieved in my time, and relish the opportunity to continue. I hope you’ll show your support by voting for me.”