The Secret Service

UK: Anderson series now free-to-view on ITV Hub

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

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.

Supermarionation voice artist Gary Files on The Secret Service Annual

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Gary Files recently received his copy of our exclusive The Secret Service Annual at home in Australia and wrote to say:

“What a splendid job you have all done. The Secret Service Annual will be here for my daughter and grandchild when I cash in my chips! It has pride of place on my library shelves, or will have when I’ve read it again!”

The actor and Supermarionation voice artist (Thunderbird 6‘s Black Phantom/Captain Foster, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons‘ Captain Magenta, The Secret Service’s Matthew and UFO’s Phil Wade) went on to recollect:

“When I got my copy of The Secret Service Annual I was tickled pink! There we all were doing our parts in those perky episodes with dear Stanley Unwin. And what memories it’s layout brought back to me.

“For many years now I have been carrying around with me, from country to country, a copy of something I bought for 7 old pence way back in 1967, some time after I had started working for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and their Century 21 company as one of the wonderful voice team. It was a newspaper called Century 21- Adventures in the 21st century!

“Also listed was this information: “Universe Edition 140, Dateline September 23rd 2067”. And so much of it was laid out very much like The Secret Service Annual. What a great souvenir to have for fans of Gerry’s animation to complete the series of annuals that Fanderson members have collected over the years.

“Two other coincidences occurred to me: September is my birthday month and I actually bought the paper on 23rd of September 1967.

“So, if you are a fan of Gerry, and all of us who had the pleasure of working for him – this is a great addition to add to your collection.

“Cheers to you all in Britain from us in Oz during this awful Covid time.”

Gary Files.

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!

UK: Colossal toy auction on 13th October

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

On 16th October 2021 Vectis, the UK’s leading specialist toy auctioneer, will be holding an auction of over 660 lots, including many Anderson items. The entire collection includes many die-cast toys which will evoke strong memories for many Fanderson members.

It’s the first 63 lots that are sure to be of particular interest as they include:

J Rosenthal Thunderbird 2

Cecil Coleman The Hood puppet

Fairylite Lady Penelope

Berwick Thunderbirds uniform

Dekker Lady Penelope play suit

Marx Thunderbirds bagatelle

JR21 SPV

Century 21 Toys Joe 90 car

There are also some more goodies sprinkled later in the catalogue, such as lots 1255, 1399, 1480 and 1481. There’s oodles of nostalgia in the entire auction catalogue, which you can see here.

Vectis are based in Thornaby, Teesside. We’d be very interested to hear from any club member who’s thinking of attending the auction. If that’s you, please email us at fanderson.org.uk@outlook.com as soon as possible.

 

 

 

More Anderson items at auction

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Ewbank’s, the Surrey auction house responsible for the auction of items from Terrahawks, Dick Spanner and Space Police in November, held an auction of entertainment, memorabilia and movie props on 27th May, which including some more Anderson items.

Probably of most interest was Lot 248, a reproduction Joe McClaine puppet. Made by Century 21 sculptor John Brown in the early 1970s using the original moulds, the puppet is in full vintage costume on stand with plaque, with head and hands made of cast resin with glass eyes and real hair, approximately 17” high on stand. Hammer price £1,100.

Lot 245 was a set of 11 replica Thunderbirds heads made by Lee Allwood of Brian, Hank and Bruce from The Shadows (Thunderbirds Are Go), Hassan Ali (Desperate Intruder), Nicky (Give Or Take A Million), Rick O Shea and Loman (Ricochet), Hector McGill, Culp the Boatman and Mrs Files (Attack Of The Alligators), Lovegrove (Vault Of Death), each approximately 5×3.5×4”. Hammer price £100.

Lot 246 was a scale wooden table from the 1969 series The Secret Service. Hammer price £460.

Lot 247 was a decayed and rebuilt puppet head of Kate Kestrel used in the production of Terrahawks. Hammer price £75.

You can view the complete auction catalogue (nearly 500 items!) using this link.

Stingray and The Secret Service added to Britbox

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

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.

FAB 96 has been posted

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

We’re delighted to report that FAB 96 was mailed to all members around the world on 25th November. It started to land in UK members’ homes on the 30th, and we hope will be with all members in time for Christmas. Please check our post update before contacting us.

Included in this issue:

  • Andrew Pixley’s in-depth look at The Secret Service, and why the series was doomed even without Lew Grade’s critical reaction
  • members give their views on Thunderbirds 30 Minutes After Noon in our regular Timelash column, with exclusive Glen Carrick Castle cutaway by Graham Bleathman
  • Ian Wheeler’s critical assessment of whether Gerry Anderson should be considered a puppet master or master dramatist
  • the third part of Jeff Smart’s recollections of recording the A&E DVD commentaries, including The Secret Service, The Protectors and Terrahawks, and how these then led on to featurettes for Shout! Factory’s releases in 2015
  • the third part of our look at UFO in Countdown and TV Action comics, by Ian Fryer
  • the second part of our exclusive Thunderbirds Are Go photo-strip by Jonathan Baxter
  • FAB news, FAB noticeboard, FAB Review, FAB Mail and more

Also, being mailed so close to what will, for many of us, be a quite unusual Christmas, we’ve included a couple of little seasonal goodies that we hope will make you smile.

Hundreds more members (those who have renewed their membership since FAB 95) will also receive the fantastic Century 21 Complete Puppet Catalogue – our current membership gift. Don’t worry if your membership expires with FAB 96 – as long as we receive your renewal by 1st February 2021 we’ll mail your copy with FAB 97 in the spring.

OOPS! The eagle-eyed among you will notice a small mistake in the ‘rest of the world’ price for The Secret Service soundtrack CD. Rest assured, our shop has the correct price.

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