Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s UFO is showing again on Forces TV in the UK from 14th September.
Times vary daily, but it’s generally being broadcast:
You can get Forces TV on:
Fans will soon be able to see this incredible model of Moonbase Alpha from Space:1999, which has been kept safe in private hands for over 40 years. It’s been restored to its full glory on a model of the Moon’s surface and will be one of the star exhibits at the UK’s brand new National Film And Sci-fi Museum.
The National Film And Sci-Fi Museum is dedicated to the preservation, restoration and exhibition of the art, skills and dedication that goes into delivering some of the world’s most successful films and TV shows. It has a series of dedicated displays of genuine and replica props and memorabilia from across all genres of film and science fiction. The museum was set up by a trust to become the place to share the knowledge and passion for film and science fiction and preserve the history of some of the nation’s best loved set pieces. The people who make up the trust have years of experience as collectors, convention organisers and professionals within the film and TV industry.
Opening in time for this bank holiday weekend, Friday 27th August 2021, the National Film and Sci-fi Museum is at 34 Secklow Gate West, Milton Keynes, MK9 3AT. Read more and book your tickets here.
We’ve popped FAB 97 in the post to over 1,300 Fanderson members around the world.
We’re sorry that it’s taken longer than usual to get it ready, but included in this issue:
This issue is so packed that there’s no room for the next part of Ian Fryer’s look at UFO in Countdown and TV Action comics, so it’ll be back next issue!
With FAB 97 we’ve mailed a little something to kick off our 40th anniversary celebrations. We hope you like it!
As we’re currently running a whole issue of FAB behind schedule, FAB 97 sees the final mailing of our 2020 membership gift – the fantastic Century 21 Complete Puppet Catalogue, which has been mailed to our last batch of renewing members. We will, of course, continue mailing this book to new members until our new 2021/22 membership gift is available (with FAB 98). We’re all working really hard to get FAB back on track, so that we should reach our 100th issue by the end of this, our 40th anniversary year.
If you’re ever worried something we’ve sent might have gone missing in the post, please check our Shipping And Returns page before contacting us.
How to get FAB magazine? Join Fanderson!
FAB magazine is available exclusively to Fanderson club members – we publish three times a year, and we do our very best to make each issue a joy to read for every fan – regardless of your favourite series!
As the anniversary of Gerry Anderson’s birthday (14th April) draws near, broadcasters and streaming services in the UK are planning to celebrate!
On the day itself, BritBox in the UK will offer Gerry Anderson’s Greatest Episodes. This will apparently include Gerry’s favourite ten episodes of his own productions, including linking material by the man himself. The episodes are:
Surprisingly, the selection doesn’t include Gerry and Sylvia’s least known series – The Secret Service – which Gerry had told fans on many occasions was his personal favourite of all his series (and is also available on BritBox). Keen Fanderson members will know that all these episodes have been on BritBox since January, although the linking material will be new to the platform. Normally costing £5.99 per month, if you sign up to BritBox now you get a free 7-day trial.
Network Distributing are offering another of their popular Night In experiences from 14th April via their streaming platform. At just over 4½-hours, Gerry Anderson’s Night In includes Supercar False Alarm, Fireball XL5 A Day In The Life Of A Space General, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons The Inquisition, Joe 90 The Birthday, UFO A Question Of Priorities, Space: 1999 Black Sun, Terrahawks Close Call and New Captain Scarlet Dominion in high-definition (all already available on Blu-ray Disc). Each episode has a special introduction, and special features include “some Supermarionation commercials advertising everything from Sugar Smacks to… er, more Sugar Smacks….”. All for just £4.99 for 7-day access!
The UK’s Forces TV (Freeview/YouView 96, Freesat 165, Sky 181, and Virgin 274) is inviting UFO fans to choose their favourite episode from the pre-selected shortlist of Mindbender, Sub-Smash, A Question Of Priorities, Reflections In The Water and The Cat With Ten Lives. Voting closed on 10th April. The winning episode will be broadcast at 10pm on 14th April (repeated on 17th April at 9pm), accompanied by some “never before seen on TV” footage including Gerry giving a very special introduction to the winning episode. UFO fans immediately expressed their dismay at the seemingly arbitrary episode selection, which would appear to be geared to those for which it was possible to create an introduction by the man himself.
Shout! Factory are also holding a 24-hour marathon of Anderson productions on the day for viewers in territories with the Shout! Factory TV streaming service.
Adventures In Plastic (part of the renowned railway modeller Bachmann) has recently launched a series of Thunderbirds models to the European market. The range of 11 models (essentially reboxes of the highly-regarded Japanese Aoshima kits) includes the main five rescue vehicles, plus fan favourites FAB 1, The Mole and atomic airliner Fireflash.
Completing the range is a launch bay for Thunderbird 1, which includes a model of Thunderbird 1, a very cool Transparent Thunderbird 2 with an assortment of mini rescue vehicles and a launch bay for Thunderbird 2, which includes Thunderbird 2, 3 pods and a further assortment of mini vehicles.
We’re delighted to announce that the Fanderson Forum is back! You can get to it using the link above, or under to “Social” button on the menu bar.
For a decade, the Fanderson Forum was an online place where club members could share their news, views and ideas. Unfortunately, due to insurmountable technical issues, the Forum closed in 2019.
The club’s Facebook group has continued to be a great place for Anderson fans to share their thoughts and ideas. But members have repeatedly asked when the Forum is coming back, as it offered the ability to put and follow threads in discrete spaces (modelling, fan fiction for example) rather than the stream of consciousness that is Facebook.
It looks a bit different now, and you’ll need to log in to your Fanderson account to post anything (as you do to buy merchandise or renew your membership). Your old Forum log in will not work and, sadly, we haven’t been able to recover any of the old Forum conversations.
As it’s part of your online membership account, you can be sure that you’re talking with other club members on the Forum. Although this also means that when your membership expires you’ll lose access to the Forum.
It’s a new, blank canvas. Come in and join the conversation.
Britbox (the digital video subscription service created by the BBC and ITV) is replacing the widescreen versions of Thunderbirds with the original, full-screen, versions!
Fanderson members based in the UK were delighted when ITV added Thunderbirds, along with other Anderson productions and cult TV, to the streaming platform in August. They were less than happy, though, when they learned that they were the same 16:9 widescreen versions already on Blu-ray Disc. Although there is occasionally a little more picture to the left and right, about a third of the picture has been ‘cropped’ off the top and bottom. You can see the difference in the images below. The UK version also has the incongruous sound effects added for Carlton’s DVD releases in 1999, and on every UK release since.
Fans in Germany, Japan and the USA also have Thunderbirds on Blu-ray, but their versions are all in the ‘square’ 4:3 format that the series was created and first broadcast in, and with the original sound.
Now, at last, fans in the UK can enjoy the fantastic world of Thunderbirds in high-definition and in the sound/picture format as it was produced. All episodes should be available on Britbox in the new format from 1st March.
16:9
4:3
We’re delighted to announce that Silva Screen’s wonderful (and growing) collection of vinyl albums is now available for Fanderson members to buy in the Shop!
Until now, you’ll have only found products in the Fanderson shop that we’ve produced exclusively for our members. Products that we’ve had complete control over in terms of design, production and quality.
However, as Fanderson members have been so closely involved in the production of Silva Screen’s latest Anderson soundtrack releases, we’re proud to offer them to club members too!
Of course, for those who prefer CDs, we still have our own extensive range available in the Shop as well. Pop over to Soundtracks now to add the vinyl albums to your basket.
NOTES:
Britbox (the digital video subscription service created by the BBC and ITV) has recently added Stingray and The Secret Service to the streaming platform in the UK.
The first series to go before the cameras in 1963 at AP Films’ new studios in Stirling Road, Slough, Stingray was also the first British television series to be filmed wholly in colour.
The Secret Service was the final Supermarionation series to be produced by Century 21 Productions (as AP Films had by then become) and was Gerry Anderson’s personal favourite of his productions.
With Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons on the platform since last summer, Joe 90 is now the sole colour Supermarionation series to be left out of the ‘box’ (The Most Special Agent notwithstanding!). Hopefully, Britbox will remedy this before too long.
Fanderson’s Annual General Meeting is a chance for the committee to report on the club’s status and respond to members’ questions, thoughts and suggestions.
Fanderson’s next Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Saturday 27th March 2021. Once again, due to the ongoing pandemic and to give as many members as possible the opportunity to be involved, the 2021 AGM will be held virtually.
The deadline for any questions or proposals is Sunday 31st January 2021. Please check our Constitution for the criteria by which proposals should be submitted for member voting.
This year the club committee will be responding to as many members’ questions as possible in a special Fanderson podcast, and members are encouraged to record their questions for that:
If you don’t want to record your question for the podcast, you can still write in to fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com no later than Sunday 31st January 2021, and a committee member will respond as part of the special AGM podcast. Just remember to include your name, postcode/zipcode, club membership number and email address with your question.
Voting on any matters raised that require a vote by the membership will be open early in March, to enable results to be presented as part of the AGM.
Details of the AGM itself will be confirmed nearer the date.
