Author: 1266 Nick Williams

Happy 39th Birthday, Fanderson!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

39 years ago today, representatives from clubs Anderpup and the Century 21 Appreciation Society, the Fanderson 81 convention and ATV Licensing met with legendary TV and film producer Gerry Anderson at Pinewood Studios.

Together, they pooled their ideas and talents to form the world’s only official appreciation society for the work of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

On behalf of all Fanderson members, a big THANK YOU to Gerry Anderson, Pam Barnes, Mark Jones, Barbara Kitson, Chris Leach, David Nightingale, Phil Rae, Keith Shackleton, Brendan Sheehan and John Williams for giving our club such a great start.

39 years on and the club’s going stronger than ever, so thanks to all Fanderson members – especially the committee members over the years and those who have made a significant contribution (recognised as a Friend Of Fanderson or Life Member).

Join us in celebrating today with something bubbly, and you can read more about Fanderson’s beginnings here.

 

Celebrate 50 years of UFO!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

What better way to celebrate 50 years of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s groundbreaking series UFO than with a great read – the long-awaited UFO Annual 1972!

Like most Anderson series there was a UFO Annual produced to accompany the broadcasts, but just the one volume for 1971. Exclusive to Fanderson is this follow-up book, full of features about the series and SHADO, two brand new stories starring your favourite UFO characters and three new exclusive cutaways.

Whilst reading the Annual, why not relax with Barry Gray’s cool soundtrack, courtesy of our 4-CD boxset. And we’ve got lots of other UFO items in the Shop too!

We’re expecting stock of the UFO Annual 1972 in time for the series’ 50th anniversary on 16th September 2020, and you can sure to be among the first to get your copy by pre-ordering from 1st September.

Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Space:1999 on Britbox from 20th August

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

After dipping their toe in the water with a selection of episodes this spring, Britbox (the digital video subscription service created by the BBC and ITV) will launch a raft of cult favourites on 20th August 2020 (coincidentally, Fanderson’s 39th anniversary).

The Out Of This World Collection will be available exclusively on BritBox (in the UK), and includes:

Thunderbirds (1965)

The initial ten episode collection is being expanded and will now feature all 32 episodes of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s cult Supermarionation series.

Also included are the three mini-episodes, based on 1960s mini albums and crowd-funded by fans for Thunderbirds’ 50th anniversary in 2015.

Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons (1967)

All 32 episodes of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s cult Supermarionation series chronicling Captain Scarlet’s battle to save Earth from a Mysteron invasion.

UFO (1970)

All 26 episodes of the British sci-fi series set in 1980 as Earth is being invaded by aliens fleeing their dying planet and seeking human organs to extend their lifespan. Specialist task force SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation), headed by Commander Ed Straker (Ed Bishop), must defend Earth against these mysterious hostile creatures while containing knowledge of them to avoid widespread panic.

Space:1999 (1975)

Every episode of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s popular science fiction series. Commander Koenig (Martin Landau) and the crew of Moonbase Alpha face various alien threats as they drift, powerless, throughout space.

The Prisoner (1967)

All 17 episodes of the television drama created by and starring Patrick McGoohan. A former British secret agent is abducted and held captive in a strange coastal village while those who captured him try to discover the truth of why he suddenly resigned from his position.

Sapphire And Steel (1979)

The complete collection featuring all six seasons and 34 episodes from the 1980s sci-fi series starring Joanna Lumley and David McCallum as Sapphire and Steel, the mysterious agents charged with protecting the universe from the malevolent forces of time with their uncanny powers. Created by P.J. Hammond.

Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969)

The complete episodes of Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased) starring Mike Pratt as Jeff Randall, Kenneth Cope as his ghostly partner Marty Hopkirk and Annette Andre as Marty’s widow Jean.

Podcast 2 is here!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

New for 2020 is the Fanderson Podcast!

Hosted by journalist and broadcaster (and long-time Fanderson member) Ros Connors, our podcasts will share information, views and stories with fans – just like you.

  • Podcast 2 – Mike Jones talks design and FAB magazine, archive interview with Sylvia Anderson, Ralph Titterton tells all about the Barry Gray Archive
  • Podcast 1 – Ian Fryer discusses Doppelgänger, archive interview clips with Space:1999‘s Barry Morse, and a club update from Nick Williams.

Let us know what you liked, what you’d like to hear in future editions, and anything else at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com

That’s not Captain Scarlet. That’s Thunderbirds!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

We honestly thought we’d sold our last copy of the 4CD Thunderbirds soundtrack boxset at our Supercelebration convention last year.

So, you can imagine Fanderson Sales’ supremo Stephen Brown’s surprise when, during a bit of lockdown housekeeping at our secure storage unit, he found that a box marked Captain Scarlet CDs actually had Thunderbirds inside! This find means that just 40 lucky club members who were unable to get the album before will now get another chance!

To give anyone who’s interested the chance to hear this great news and count their shekels beforehand, we’ll set them live in the Fanderson Shop on Saturday. Prices will be £39.75 UK, £43.50 Europe, £45.75 rest of the world.

Orders will be restricted to just one copy per member. 

We can’t give an exact time, but it will around lunchtime in the UK. And this time, when they’re gone, they’re gone. Honest!

 

 

 

The Animates – can you help?

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

The Animates, Sylvia Anderson‘s first solo production after leaving Space:1999, has been added to the Productions page of the website.

This series for pre-schoolers was designed to help children learn some simple life lessons, and merchandise included a series of books and episodes on VHS cassette in the 1980s. The series appears to have been largely forgotten following its initial broadcast across much of the ITV network in the late 1970s.

The club has three episodes in its archive and screened one of these at our Special Assignment convention in 2017.

We’re keen to know more about the series – especially episode synopses and broadcast dates. Contact us at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com if you can help.

 

  

 

FAB 95 was mailed in May

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

We’re delighted to report that FAB 95 was mailed to all members around the world in May.

Included in this issue:

  • a look at the only Fireball XL5 mini album – Journey To The Moon
  • an interview with Century 21 Merchandising supremo Keith Shackleton
  • members share their views of Stingray Loch Ness Monster in our regular Timelash feature, complete with exclusive Graham Bleathman cutaway of Castle McGregor
  • lifting the lid on the Visions Of The Past strip story, published in Fleetway’s The New Thunderbirds comic
  • the second part of Jeff Smart’s look at producing commentaries for A&E’s DVD releases, looking at Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Joe 90
  • continuing our look at UFO‘s adventures in comic strip form
  • the first part of our exclusive Thunderbird Are Go photo-strip
  • news, FAB noticeboard, FAB Review, FAB Mail and more

Hundreds of members (those who have renewed their membership since FAB 94) will also receive our brand-new Century 21 Complete Puppet Catalogue with FAB 95 – our membership gift for 2020. Don’t worry if your membership expires later this year – we’ll also mail this to renewing members with FAB 96 and 97 over the coming months.

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!

Once again, we’re mailing FAB magazine in a 100% compostable bag, made from potato and maize starch. 

Don’t throw it in your bin, but check with your local recycling and either:

  • put it in your home composter
  • put it in with your garden waste, or
  • use it to line your food waste caddy

Podcast 1 is here!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

New for 2020 is the Fanderson Podcast!

Hosted by journalist and broadcaster (and long-time Fanderson member) Ros Connors, our podcasts will share information, views and stories with fans – just like you.

Podcast 1 – Ian Fryer discusses Doppelgänger, archive interview clips with Space:1999‘s Barry Morse, and a club update from Nick Williams.

Let us know what you liked, what you’d like to hear in future editions, and anything else at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com

Ensure we send FAB 95 to your right address

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

We’re getting FAB 95 ready to go to print and then in the post to all Fanderson members around the world in the next few weeks.

We know that some members have FAB and club merchandise sent to their work address which, if you’re in lockdown in the current situation, could mean that you’re not getting your deliveries. So that we send FAB 95 to the best place for you, please ensure we have the right address.

We’re planning an update to our website soon which will enable us to simplify things and take the address from your online account. Until that’s ready, we’re currently managing the mailing database separately (as explained since the new website was launched last year).

 

So, if you need to change your address we mail to, please ensure you:

1 email us at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com with your name, membership number and the postal address you want us to use,

and

2 update your online club account at www.fanderson.org.uk:

  • log-in from the SHOP page

  • once you’ve logged in, click on My Account

  • click on Addresses to update your address (don’t forget to click Save once you’ve finished!).

Thanks!