Fireball XL5

Bob Bell studio drawings for auction

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

On 12th February 2022, specialist collectables and memorabilia auctioneers Excalibur will be offering the second part of late author Simon Archer’s collection, including six drawings by series art director Bob Bell.

Bob worked on many of the Anderson TV productions and was art director and supervising art director on Thunderbirds Season 1 and 2 respectively, as well as on the Thunderbirds films.

The series of six pencil and watercolour sketches (lots 547 to 552) represents the evolution of the Supermarionation technique and featured in Gerry Anderson’s lecture tour in the 90s. Estimate is £200 to £400 for each lot.

The auction includes much, much more, and the full catalogue can be seen here.

Christmas TV – not EastEnders again!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

At a loss for some quality seasonal television from the broadcasters this Christmas? Why not dig out the TVTimes special that we mailed with FAB last year (and again recently for new members)?

Surround yourself with some treats and a little something to wash it all down, then feast out all day on the very best seasonal Gerry and Sylvia Anderson entertainment (and remember, Stingray A Christmas To Remember is just one of the many programmes now available in high definition).

PS – Obviously, but just in case anyone thought otherwise, in the supplement the 40th Anniversary Quiz closed on 31st January 2021, and Six-Five Special offers were valid until 14th February 2021!

You’ve Never Seen These, 25th November

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

 

Network has announced another Anderson-themed night of programmes on their streaming service.

The trailer for the free You’ve Never Seen These event on 25th November gives little away of the content other than promising “four complete early Gerry Anderson programmes”. The trailer is full of clips from Supercar and Fireball XL5 (both released by Network on Blu-ray Disc) and You’ve Never Seen This – a light-hearted 1955 documentary series for Associated-Rediffusion and previously screened at Fanderson conventions.

UPDATE: The line-up consisted of the sole known surviving episode of You’ve Never Seen This, Supercar Pirate Plunder and Fireball XL5 The Granatoid Tanks in ‘Supercolourisation‘. Finally, after playing Stingray Treasure Down Below in HD, Network confirmed that it’s working on a full HD release of the series with the cryptic “Anything can happen in the next half-year”…

NEW! FAB Book of Gerry Anderson… Jigsaw Puzzles

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Now available in the shop to pre-order…

Our brand new, 60-page, full colour FAB Book Of Gerry Anderson… Jigsaw Puzzles covers UK products based on The Adventures Of Twizzle, Torchy The Battery Boy, Four Feather Falls, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, Joe 90, UFO, Space:1999, Terrahawks and Space Precinct, plus a brief tour of puzzles for other territories and the 90s and 00s revivals.

UK: Fireball XL5 in high definition!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Hot on the heels of their Supercar Blu-ray Disc announcement (and before that’s even arrived) Network have confirmed that Fireball XL5 will be their next Anderson production on the high definition disc format.

Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s 1962 Supermarionation series Fireball XL5 has been remastered in high definition from original 35mm film elements for this Blu-ray edition.

The year is 2062, and World Space Patrol ship Fireball XL5 is assigned to Sector 25, where intrepid pilot Steve Zodiac, ably assisted by Doctor Venus and Professor Matthew Matic, faces such dangers as planetomic missiles, explosive gas clouds, space spies, and alien races both warlike and benign!

As well as all 39 episodes, this exclusive limited-edition set includes a brand-new Fireball XL5 comic by Martin Cater, brand-new Fireball XL5 scrapbook, Fireball XL5 WSP astronaut license and badge, Robots In Distress: brand-new Robert the robot animation, Cloud Of A Billion Lights: brand-new Fireball XL5 CD audio adventure, Walton 8mm home movie show, A Wonderland Of Stardust documentary, Drawn In Supermarionation documentary, colourised episode A Day In The Life Of A Space General, Zoom Ice Lolly Adverts and image gallery… all in deluxe packaging!

The set is due for release on 18th October 2021, amd you can pre-order your copy now for just £60!

 

40 FAB Years: Extra free gift for new members!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

As a celebratory free gift to new members in August – our 40th anniversary month – we’ll include a copy of either Journey To The Moon or Great Themes From Thunderbirds mini album on CD (as stocks last) in their membership package.

Join Fanderson now to get this great free offer! And don’t forget we’ve got some great anniversary merchandise offers right now too!

On 20th August 1981, Fanderson was formed at Pinewood Studios under the provisional name of ‘Anderclan’. Gerry Anderson and ITC had called a meeting with representatives from the various clubs, publications and the Fanderson 81 convention in the hope that they could all come together as a unified club. Our status as Sylvia Anderson’s official fan club was bestowed posthumously by her family in 2016. You can read more here.

Terms and conditions (in addition to our standard Ts&Cs):

  • Either of the mini albums will be inserted to new membership packages throughout August 2021, at random, and as stocks last.
  • This offer is only applicable to new Fanderson members (including former members that are no longer on our database, due to our GDPR privacy notice, who are rejoining the club). The discs were previously given as part of the 2008 and 2013 Fanderson membership packages respectively.
  • As an extra free gift these do not form a contractual part of the membership package, and Fanderson is under no obligation to provide an alternative gift once stock of these mini albums is exhausted.
  • Please don’t ask if you can buy either of these mini album replicas from us. Due to our licensing agreement, we cannot sell them. We can only give them away.

35% off Anderson Blu-rays!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Whilst you’re waiting for the Supercar BD boxset, why not stock up with other Anderson titles in HD as Network are having another sale, offering 35% off a great range of Blu-ray Discs!

The 70 titles on offer include Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, Joe 90, UFO, Space:1999, Terrahawks and New Captain Scarlet.

There’s loads of other classic TV in the sale too, including Department S, The Professionals, Robin Of Sherwood, Space Patrol.

Network’s HD35 sale is only on until 16:00 on Tuesday, 3rd August 2021, and whilst stocks last, so don’t delay!

NEW! Cereal promotions book and more!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Now available in the Fanderson Shop are four new, exclusive club items:

Click on the links to see more and place your orders!

Plenty to enjoy on Gerry Anderson anniversary

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

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:

  1. Stingray Pilot
  2. Thunderbirds Trapped In The Sky
  3. Thunderbirds Terror In New York City
  4. Thunderbirds Attack Of The Alligators
  5. Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons The Mysterons
  6. Joe 90 The Most Special Agent
  7. UFO A Question Of Priorities
  8. UFO Reflections In The Water
  9. Space:1999 Breakaway
  10. Space:1999 Black Sun

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.

Vinyl soundtrack albums now available in the Shop!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

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:

  • Vinyl albums will be despatched separately to other items you may buy in the same transaction.
  • UFO is due to be re-pressed at the end of the month, but we are taking orders now and will ship them as soon as we have stock.
  • Supercar is currently out of stock, but we’ll have it in the Shop just as soon as stock is available.