Australia’s cult and classic film and television label Via Vision Entertainment is releasing ITV Studios’ 2015-20 series Thunderbirds Are Go on DVD this January. The set includes all 78 episodes, plus No Strings Attached documentary, for AU$109.95 (but currently on pre-order offer at AU$99.95.
ITV Content Services has upscaled Gerry Anderson’s 1994 series Space Precinct to high definition for their ITVX Premium streaming service. The series will also be available to BritBox subscribers too.
Space Precinct was filmed on Super16 film, and a true remastering to high definition would be both time-consuming and quite costly, so a way of using artificial intelligence has been used to create detail that is not there in the Digital Betacam masters that are now available.
ITVX Premium is available for £5.99/month or £59.99/year, though a free 7-day trial is available.
Many of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s classic productions are now available, free of charge, on ITV’s new streaming service ITV X. Anderson programmes owned by ITV are usually free of commercials on the platform.
All episodes are available of Supercar, Thunderbirds (including the crowdsourced ‘anniversary episodes’, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, The Secret Service, UFO, The Protectors, Space:1999, Terrahawks and New Captain Scarlet.
For some reason, only selected episodes are available of Stingray and Joe 90, whilst Fireball XL5 isn’t there at all! Curiously, only selected episodes of ITV’s own 2015 reboot Thunderbirds Are Go are available.
ITV X is free to view, with most of the above content available ad-free too. There’s a free seven-day trial of the subscription Premium service (normally £5.99 a month) which offers even more content, all ad-free, with access to additional content over on BritBox.
Having long been available to view in the UK on Britbox, many of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s classic productions are now available on the ITV Hub.
Fans can now watch Supercar, Fireball XL5 (selected episodes), Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, Joe 90 (selected episodes), The Secret Service, UFO, The Protectors and Space:1999. ITV’s own Thunderbirds Are Go reimagining is available too, along with the crowdsourced Thunderbirds anniversary episodes.
All are available free to view and ad-free, once the programme itself starts. Watching fully ad-free costs £3.99/month or £39.99/year, but there’s a free 7-day trial available (surely long enough for any die-hard fan to binge-watch the whole lot!).
Click on the link to go to the ITV Hub.
We’re delighted to report that FAB 98 is now winging its way to hundreds of Fanderson members around the world. Hopefully, for many it should arrive just in time for the club’s 40th anniversary – 20th August 2021.
In this issue:
With this FAB we’ve mailed a second set of our 40 FAB Years picture cards. Stick with us and by the end of the year you should have a full set (and an album to put them all in)!
FAB 98 also sees the first deliveries of our 2021 membership gift. For this special year we wanted to revisit two of our most popular and oft-requested gifts – the 7″ Barry Gray EPs given to members in 1986 and 1988. We’ve given them a bit of a brush-up and they’re both on our exclusive new CD! We can only give this CD away as part of our membership package, so if you get a renewal notice with FAB 98 or 99, make sure you renew so that you don’t miss out!
If you missed out on last year’s membership gift (or just want a second copy), the fantastic Century 21 Complete Puppet Catalogue is now available in the Shop.
Note that we made a mistake with the competition closing date and ‘renew by’ date – they should both read 30th September 2021. Sorry!
Annoyingly, as we completed the mailing we also noticed the box of this year’s anniversary enamel club badges – one of each should have gone in the packages! We’ll keep them safe and mail them with FAB 99.
If you were late renewing your membership, and so haven’t been included in the FAB 98 mailing, we haven’t forgotten you! Your membership will re-start with FAB 99.
UPDATE 26th August 2021
Although FAB 98 was mailed last week, it seems that quite a few members still haven’t received their packages. There is a distribution problem in the UK caused by a shortage of HGV drivers, coupled with people in the logistics industry isolating due to covid. In some areas post only being delivered every third day.
Overseas packages seem to be relatively unaffected.
Thank you for your patience, and we hope all UK packages will be delivered by the end of the week.
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.
Anyone who missed FAB 97 can now buy it as a back issue, and last year’s membership item – Century 21 Complete Puppet Catalogue – is also now available to buy in the Shop.
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!
Are you a Thunderbirds Are Go superfan? We’ve got some money-can’t buy items that were produced by ITV to promote the series, which we’d like to share with club members who are the biggest fans of the series.
To be in with a chance of winning one of our free draw prizes, just email fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com with answers to the following questions:
Terms and conditions:
Good luck!
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.
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.
