…2…! The last of our online Thunderbirds competitions

Posted on 31st October 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Thanks to our friends at ITV Studios, club members can win a Thunderbirds Are Go! promotional bag, in the last in our series of online competitions!

Produced specially for Brand Licensing Europe, the black bag carries the series title along with the green silhouette of Thunderbird 2. Inside the bag is an A5 flyer and a costume patch, sealed in silver foil.

To be in with a chance to win this special prize that money can’t buy, just answer this simple question:

Captain Scarlet voice artist Francis Matthews worked with Thunderbirds voice artist Peter Dyneley in which episode of The Saint? (clue: the answer’s in FAB 78)

Send your answer to query@fanderson.org.uk along with your full name and club membership number by 23:59 BST Friday 14th November 2014

The winner will be drawn at random from all valid entries on Saturday 15th November, whilst two runners-up will be sent the Thunderbirds Are Go! flyer.

FAB 79 will give all members the chance to win the TB1 bag, and is due to be mailed in early November.

You can see the other bags in the set below:

Shane Rimmer’s new novel Long Shot: available to download

Posted on 29th October 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Shane Rimmer's latest novel - Long Shot Shane Rimmer’s debut thriller novel, Long Shot, is now available as a Kindle download via Amazon.

Set in the world of international golf in the 1980s, Long Shot draws on Shane’s love of the sport, which he first wrote about when scripting the 1969 Secret Service episode Hole in One. Shane and long-time Gerry Anderson scriptwriter Tony Barwick shared a love of golf, which led to Shane writing The Secret Service script and to the establishment of a Tony Barwick golf tournament upon the writer’s death in 1993.

Following on the success of his first book, a wry and refreshingly frank autobiography From Thunderbirds to Pterodactyls, (published by Signum in 2010 and recently re-issued as a paperback), Long Shot marks Shane’s first foray into fiction on the printed page.

Long Shot features Gene Tucker, once a highly promising young golfer now reduced to running a driving range after a devastating car crash. Out of the blue, Tucker is asked to manage the opening tournament at a lavish new golf course, Camps Ciela, in Northern Spain, owned by a Washington political lobbyist.

Shane Rimmer at Preston Comicon, October 2014

He takes on the contract and with it a brimful of murder, Spanish nobility intrigue, a die-hard group of Basque dissidents whose aim is to protect the ancient rights of their land, and a young Basque renegade, Ramos, who is bent on wiping out the future of Campos Ciela and Gene Tucker as well…

Download your copy of Long Shot from Amazon now

‘…3…: ‘Thunderbirds competition continues!

Posted on 22nd October 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Thanks to our friends at ITV Studios, club members can win a Thunderbirds Are Go! promotional bag, in the third in our series of competitions!

Produced specially for BLE, the black bag carries the series title along with the silhouette of Thunderbird 3. Inside the bag is an A5 flyer and a costume patch, sealed in silver foil.

To be in with a chance to win this very special prize, just answer this simple question:

Name one of Graham Bleathman’s unpublished cutaways for the Space Precinct comic (clue: the answer’s in FAB 78)

Send your answer to query@fanderson.org.uk along with your full name and club membership number by 23:59 BST next Friday, 31st October 2014.

The winner will be drawn at random from all valid entries on Saturday 1st November, when we’ll have another competition for you! Two runners-up will be sent the Thunderbirds Are Go! flyer.

Andersonic issue 18 is here!

Posted on 22nd October 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

The latest issue of Andersonic – the absolutely excellent Gerry Anderson fanzine – is now available to purchase online! Issue 18 includes:

David Elliott interview – a new interview with APF’s editor and director who worked on the early puppet series up to Stingray and Thunderbirds.

Alan Perry Interview – Alan talks of his time working at APF/Century 21 on series such as Stingray and Thunderbirds and directing episodes of Captain Scarlet and UFO.

UFO/Computer Affair – Someone’s in lurve yet Ed Straker needs a computer to see it. We take a look at an overlooked episode.

Thunderbirds/ Invisible TV – Fred McNamara looks at the reasons why Thunderbirds is often overlooked in academic writing about television.

Joe 90/ Most Special Agent – two writers take opposing views of this series opener. Is it any good? One of them thinks so..

How do you watch your fave series? – Our writers reveal their little foibles when doing a bit of Anderson viewing.

Strip Story – we look at an individual comic strip story to see what makes it tick. This issue – Countdown’s Stingray story ‘Model Mission’ drawn by Brian Lewis.

… plus The Overseers of Psychon, Alpha Log Reports, event reviews and other stuff. The issue also has new art by Nigel Parkinson and a cover image by Martin Bower.

You can purchase the latest issue today from the Andersonic website!

Win a Thunderbird 4 bag!

Posted on 14th October 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

The countdown continues…

Thanks to our friends at ITV Studios, club members can win a Thunderbirds Are Go! promotional bag, in the second in our series of competitions!

Produced specially for Brand Licensing Europe, the black bag carries the new series title along with the silhouette of Thunderbird 4. Inside the bag is an A5 flyer and a costume patch, sealed in silver foil.

To be in with a chance to win this special Thunderbird 4 bag that money can’t buy, just answer this simple question:

What was Sylvia Anderson’s advice to Nick Tate on being “too Australian” in Space:1999? (clue: the answer’s in FAB 78)

Send your answer to query@fanderson.org.uk along with your full name and club membership number by 23:59 BST next Monday, 20th October 2014.

The winner will be drawn at random from all valid entries on Tuesday 21st October, when we’ll have another competition for you! Two runners-up will be send the Thunderbirds Are Go! flyer.

Thunderbirds Are Go! at Brand Licensing Europe

Posted on 7th October 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Thunderbirds are Go! Tracy brothers The Countdown Is On!

Visitors to London’s Brand Licensing Europe exhibition today got their best look yet at Thunderbirds Are Go! as they were treated to tantalising glimpses of ITV Studios’ new series for 2015.

A 7 foot tall model Thunderbird 1 welcomed visitors, flanked by screens showing some of the amazing model work that’s been created for the new series by Weta Workshop in New Zealand. Posters tease us with the backs of the Tracy brothers, and an interactive “Thunderbird 5 Hub” hints at the interactive experiences that ITV are planning to support their new show. Viewers will be able to upload their own Thunderbird designs, play games, solve puzzles and much, much more in order to gain points which move them through the ranks of International Rescue. There will also be augmented reality displays in shops that give viewers in-depth information on the toy they (or their parents) are about to buy.

BLE runs at London’s Olympia Exhibition Centre until 9th October.

COMPETITION!
Thanks to our friends at ITV Studios, club members can win a Thunderbirds promotional bag!

Produced specially for BLE, the black bag carries the series title along with the silhouette of Thunderbird 5. Inside the bag is an A5 flyer and a costume patch, sealed in silver foil.

To be in with a chance to win this special prize that money can’t buy, just answer this simple question:

In its Kepler orbit, Thunderbird 5 can only ‘see’ part of the Earth. How many sister satellites are needed so that International Rescue has total global coverage? (Clue: The answer’s in FAB 78)

Send your answer to query@fanderson.org.uk along with your full name and club membership number by 23:59 BST next Monday, 13th October 2014

The winner will be drawn at random from all valid entries on Tuesday 14th October, when we’ll have another competition for you! Two runners-up will be send the Thunderbirds Are Go! flyer.

The Last Station – exclusive look at design sketches

Posted on 23rd September 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Development of Sylvia and Dee Anderson’s new animated series The Last Station continues apace, and they are keen to give Fanderson members an exclusive look at development sketches for some of the leading characters.

Fanderson chairman Nick Williams said, “I’m delighted that Sylvia and Dee value the support of Fanderson members for this project. Once again, Sylvia brings her flair for character, story and design to such a refreshingly original concept, and I’m sure club members will want to support it as much as possible.”

In just two weeks the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign has jumped considerably, and the project is getting a lot of high-profile support within the entertainment industry. Your chance to participate in the campaign closes on 4th October.

Contribute to The Last Station

UFO and Space:1999 actors at Autographica 2014

Posted on 11th September 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Autographica logo Autographica 2014 is shaping up to be an absolute must for Gerry Anderson fans, featuring no less than three guests from different Anderson shows!

Taking place on the 19th – 21st September 2014 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, NEC, the guest list is headed by Ayshea Brough who played a SHADO Operative in 19 episodes of UFO. The next big name is Georgina Moon who appeared in 8 episodes of the series as Skydiver Operative Lt. Sylvia Howell.

To complement these actresses from UFO, Autographica has also been able to attract Tony Osoba from Space:1999, who played the 1st Security Guard in the episode Space Warp, and Del Henney, who was a detective in the episode of The Protectors, Triple Cross.

The show’s packed guest list also contains a range of James Bond girls and Doctor Who stars. There’s even the chance to meet a real-life astronaut!

To book your tickets go to www.autographica.co.uk or phone the ticket line on 01959 573792, open 9.00am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday

Sylvia and Dee Anderson to develop new animated series – The Last Station

Posted on 9th September 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Sylvia Anderson and her daughter Dee Anderson have announced plans for funding of an exciting new animated series!

Set in the distant future on Mykron, a planet far from Earth, The Last Station is a fusion of music, animation and science fiction. The series charts the threat posed to Mykron by the sinister Spyrons, vampiric monsters that feed off the creative energy of music and souls. The Hakitans

Having fully developed the concept, characters and scripts, the Andersons have turned to crowdsourcing platform Indiegogo to raise the money needed to take the project to a finalised stage and produce the first pilot six episodes.

The Last Station has garnered some high-profile involvement. Cass Lewis of Skunk Anansie fame is the series Musical Director, and will be sourcing musical talent for the series. Thomas Sangster (Game of Thrones) stars in the voice cast.

Sir Richard Taylor, best known for iconic multi-award winning productions such as Lord of the Rings, Avatar and The Hobbit has described The Last Station as ‘Groundbreaking Television and of its Time’.

The £660,000 goal has one month to run – The Last Station needs your support!

To find out more about the project, including funding allocation, videos, quotes and character outlines, visit the The Last Station’s Indiegogo page.

ITV grants Anderson Entertainment rights for Gerry Anderson Collectables

Posted on 9th September 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Anderson Entertainment has announced the signing of a licensing agreement with ITV to produce a range of special Limited Edition collectibles over the next three years.

The first releases will include a Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Stingray lapel badge and a pair of digitally painted Space: 1999 posters by Eric Chu (Battlestar Gallactica, Beetlejuice) featuring the full main cast of Seasons 1 & 2 of the iconic 1970s science fiction series.

Future items will include a range of special Limited Edition Thunderbirds collectibles that will be released for the classic show’s 50th anniversary next year, with more details to be announced in the coming months.

For further information about the upcoming collectables, visit www.gerryanderson.co.uk