As something for delegates to do on the way to Maidenhead for Fanderson’s recent Supercelebration convention, and as a way of visiting some Anderson filming locations, we suggested the Operation Priest Treasure Hunt.
Just one team entered (and therefore won) and they were Paul Mayne, Richard and Fiona Yelland, Steven Cross, Chris Dean and Huw Davies.
Click to see the answers.
Thunderbirds is fifty four years old today!
At 7:00pm (BST) on 30th September 1965, viewers in the ATV Midlands ITV region were the first to watch Trapped In The Sky. Will you be joining us around the world by watching it again tonight?
As a tribute to our much-missed friend Shane Rimmer, at Supercelebration we’ll be showing The Protectors episode Zeke’s Blues (written by and guest starring Shane) with exclusive commentary by the man himself!
It wouldn’t be possible to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Secret Service without hearing from the programme’s star, Stanley Unwin, would it?
We’re delighted to announce that, through exclusive archive footage, Stanley Unwin will be appearing at our convention this coming weekend.
Since registrations to Supercelebration closed last week, we’ve been inundated with enquiries as to whether club members can turn up and pay on the door.
We’re delighted to confirm that we have a limited number of spaces available, and that more space is available on Sunday than Saturday. So, it will be possible for members to turn up and pay on the door, but please remember that space is limited, so turn up as early as possible to not only secure a space, but to experience as much of the convention as possible.
If you’d like to be sure of getting in, you can ‘reserve’ an on-the-door place right now, buy a Supporting package, and upgrade to a full day pass on arrival. Note, however, that even Supporting registrations will close this Wednesday, 18th September.
Remember, you must have set up your Fanderson account in order to buy anything from us.
FAB 93 is now winging its way to all Fanderson members around the world – once again in compostable packaging!
Within its 60 pages FAB 93 includes:
We’re also catching up from last time by mailing this year’s membership gift, The Secret Service Close Up, to everyone due the book with FAB 92, as well as those due it now with FAB 93.
How to get FAB magazine? Join Fanderson!
FAB magazine is available exclusively to Fanderson club members – we deliver 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!
The wrapper for the FAB 93 mailing is 100% compostable, as it’s made from potato and maize starch.
Don’t throw it in your bin, but instead:
Once your FAB’s arrived, let us know what think of the wrapper at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com
Joining us at Supercelebration in September?
You’ll be in the heart of filming location country for the weekend. So, if you’ve a bit of spare time before the convention starts, or you fancy getting away from the hotel for a couple of hours, you might want to join Father Unwin in solving the clues in this treasure hunt.
Solve the clues in this pack and hand it in to Registrations before 15:00 on Sunday 22nd September 2019, and you’re in with a chance of winning a prize.
Inferno, episode 22 of Thunderbirds Are Go‘s second season, will receive its UK premiere screening at Fanderson’s Supercelebration convention – a weekend celebrating 50 years of UFO, Doppelgänger, The Secret Service and other Gerry and Sylvia Anderson creations – this September.
The Crystal Spire, the tallest building in the world, catches fire and the local firefighters are rendered helpless. Virgil and Alan are called to extinguish the flames and rescue everyone trapped inside.
Though omitted from ITV’s 2017 broadcast of the series, the episode has been hailed for featuring a rescue reminiscent of the classic 1966 Thunderbirds episode City Of Fire and continues to be available on streaming services elsewhere.
Registrations for Supercelebration will close on 1st September 2019, and we cannot guarantee that there will be any on-the-door places available. Don’t miss out!
Yes, it was 38 years ago today that Gerry Anderson was joined by Keith Shackleton, Pam Barnes, Mark Jones, Barbara Kitson, Chris Leach, David Nightingale, Phil Rae, Brendan Sheehan and John Williams at Pinewood Studios.
Together, they formed the world’s only official appreciation society for the work of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson – Fanderson.
Space:1999, Gerry Anderson’s epic outer space TV series, is returning after 42 years in an exciting audio drama series from Big Finish Productions.
Space:1999 was originally launched in September 1975. It was lavish, it was expensive, it was thrilling, and it was packed with stunning effects and exotic alien worlds. It told the story of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, forced to journey into the unknown when a freak nuclear accident blasts the Moon out of Earth’s orbit and into deep space. Martin Landau played Alpha’s leader Commander John Koenig, Barbara Bain was Dr Helena Russell and Barry Morse portrayed scientist Professor Victor Bergman.
These much-loved characters – and many others – are back this September in a brand-new series of audio dramas which will combine re-imagined versions of classic episodes together with all-new scripts.
After the Apollo missions of the 1960s and early 1970s, space exploration was very nearly abandoned as public pressure mounted for money to be concentrated on problems down here on Earth.
But, by a whisker, funding was granted for a base on the Moon. Greatly expanded, it became the international Moonbase Alpha we know today. 311 personnel serve in a perfect, self-sustaining, artificial environment – their mission statement: ‘To forward the frontiers of human knowledge and science’.
Dateline: 13th September 1999. The interplanetary Meta Probe is due to be launched from a platform orbiting the Moon. What could possibly go wrong?
Stepping enthusiastically into the role of Commander Koenig is Mark Bonnar, the Scottish multi-BAFTA-winning actor best known for Shetland, Catastrophe, Humans, Porridge, Line Of Duty and Unforgotten. “Space:1999 and Martin Landau were two of my favourite things growing up,” says Mark. “So my ten year old self was jumping up and down when I got the news that I’d been cast!”
Mark is joined by Maria Teresa Creasey as Dr Helena Russell, with additional cast members Glen McCready (Commander Gorsky/Paul Morrow/Alan Carter), Clive Hayward (Professor Victor Bergman), Susan Hingley (Sandra Benes/Alpha Computer/Sian Springer), Timothy Bentinck (Commissioner Simmons), Amaka Okafor (Dashka Kano) and Jules de Jongh (Petra Nordstrom).
Listen to the trailer:
Executive producer, Nicholas Briggs, who is also writing and directing the series, explains more: “The possibilities for this series are endless. It’s an unplanned odyssey that starts with a catastrophe. Disparate personalities are thrown together, clinging on for dear life, finding themselves flung to the far reaches of a universe full of wonder and danger. We’re being absolutely faithful to that central concept, but there is also an element of reinvention in this version. It will feel and sound very much like the original, but with extra dimensions and lots of surprises.”
Producer David Richardson says: “I was obsessed with Space:1999 when it first aired. I have a photo of a 12-year-old me standing in my bedroom surrounded by my Space: 1999 posters, books and toys. And the 56-year-old me still regularly watches the series on Blu-ray – it’s been with me all my life and remains a part of my DNA!”
Space:1999 will launch on 13th September 2019 with the pilot episode Breakaway, which has been adapted and reimagined by Nicholas Briggs. This release date has been chosen because it is 20 years to the day after the Moon was blown out of Earth’s orbit (according to the original series’ opening titles)! This feature-length first story is split over two CDs, with a further hour of behind-the-scenes interviews and extras on a bonus disc.
An additional box set of four episodes will follow early in 2020, with the full cast announced in the coming months.
Space:1999 Breakaway – is available now to pre-order at £16.99 for a 3-disc CD box set or £14.99 via download from www.bigfinish.com
