Fireball XL5

Actor John Bluthal dies

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Fanderson is saddened to hear of the death of actor John Bluthal. Best known to Anderson fans as the voice of the cantankerous Commander Zero in Fireball XL5, Bluthal reached wider fame with his role as Frank Pickle in The Vicar of Dibley.

He was born in Jezierzany, Galicia, Poland (now Ukraine) before emigrating to Melbourne, Australia with his family in 1938 at the age of nine. He later returned to Europe, where he worked extensively in theatre and radio comedy before moving into TV appearances in shows such as Fireball XL5, The Saint and Q. Bluthal’s long-running film and television career stretched from the 1960s up until a role as philosopher Herbert Marcuse in the Coen Brothers film, Hail Caesar!

A tribute will be appearing in FAB magazine shortly.

Fanderson’s summer sale is here!

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

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Four Feather Falls soundtrack CD
Supercar soundtrack CD
Fireball XL5 soundtrack CD
The Secret Service soundtrack CD
  • Big discounts on selected soundtrack CDs of 30% to 40%
  • Savings on greetings cards too
  • Items available exclusively to Fanderson members

SOUNDTRACK CDS

Spring is here at long last, and here at Fanderson we’ve decided to hold a summer sale on some of our amazing soundtrack CDs. There are massive savings to be made of roughly 30% to 40% on the following titles:
  • Four Feather Falls
  • Supercar
  • Fireball XL5
  • The Secret Service

Each release features fully restored episodic music suites, and comes with lavish booklets featuring episode notes, song lyrics and information about Barry Gray’s original recording sessions.

Throughout the summer these CDs can all be bought for the following prices, dependent on your location:
  • UK £10.00
  • Europe £11.75
  • RW £ 12.75

See our full list of soundtrack CDs

GREETINGS CARDS

We have also reduced the price of both sets of greetings cards to:

  • UK £3.50
  • E £4.75
  • RW £5.75

See our greetings cards

 ARE YOU A MEMBER?

Remember, Fanderson sales items are available exclusively to club members.

You can join the club today and gain access these plus many more wonderful products, including our lavish Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet soundtrack releases.

Join Fanderson

Shout! Factory to release Gerry Anderson series on DVD

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series

Shout! Factory has revealed that they will be re-releasing the complete series of Fireball XL5, Stingray and Captain Scarlet for the US and Canadian market in early 2015. Scheduled for release between January and March next year, each series can be pre-ordered at a discount from the Shout! website:

 

Stringray - The Complete SeriesThe series can also be pre-ordered on Amazon.com, which states the extras that have so far been confirmed for each release:

Fireball XL5

  • Commentary with director Alan Patillo and voice artist David Graham
  • Documentary The Noble Art of Fireball XL5

Stringray

  • Audio Commentary on select episodes
  • Gerry Anderson Biography
  • Making of Featurette: The Thing About Stingray…

Captain Scarlet - The Complete Series

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

  • Audio Commentary on “The Mysterons” and “Attack on Cloudbase”
  • Gerry Anderson Biography and Filmography

BritSciFi3 to pay tribute to Gerry Anderson

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Britscifi3 will pay tribute to Thunderbirds creator Gerry AndersonThis year’s BritSciFi event will celebrate the life and work of Gerry Anderson.

The event will take place at the National Space Centre in Leicester over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of March, and a central feature will be ‘Anderson Alley’ – an area dedicated to the genius behind Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Space:1999.

Malika Andress of the National Space Centre said: “With the sad news in January that our hero and friend, Gerry Anderson, passed away, this event will be dedicated to him and his amazing legacy.”

Thanks to the help of private collectors, prop builders and fans, BritSciFi3 will allow visitors to:

  • Meet Parker, Penelope and the Angels close up
  • Blast off with their favourite Thunderbird
  • See Stingray, Fireball XL5 and FAB1
  • Explore a full-sized recreation of the Moonbase Control Centre from Space:1999

In memory of Gerry, funds will be raised for the Alzheimer’s Society during the event. Gerry’s son Jamie Anderson will be attending throughout the weekend and will host  a panel discussion featuring a number of colleagues of Gerry’s on Saturday 9th.

Find out more about BritSciFi3 and book your ticket

 

Captain Black takes over RAF Museum Cosford

Posted on by 1266 Nick Williams

Over the weekend of 24th – 25th November the RAF Museum in Cosford will be hosting an amazing exhibition of rare puppets and memorabilia from the worlds of Gerry Anderson. For many fans a number of rarely seen puppets – including the original Captain Black – will be the star attractions of the weekend. For others, it will be the appearance of special guests David Graham, Shane Rimmer and Matt Zimmerman. For others it will be a chance to catch up and have a friendly chat with members of the Fanderson Committee!

Captain BlackThe event will feature puppets from Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Fireball XL5 and Captain Scarlet, as well as a fascinating range of models, costumes, full-sized vehicles and sets from the classic live action shows Space 1999 and UFO.

The exhibition will be a first for the RAF Museum Cosford and will be taking place in the National Cold War Exhibition alongside a backdrop of aircraft which inspired the look and design of the shows. There will also be a number of trade stands with associated merchandise.

Admission to the display is free and will be open from 10.00 to 16.30.

Shane Rimmer, David Graham and Matt Zimmerman will be attending on the Saturday and will be interviewed in the morning in the museum’s atmospheric bunker-style lecture theatre before participating in a question and answer session in the afternoon. Tickets for both sessions are now on general sale priced £15.00, and include a parking pass and a signed photo of the Thunderbirds puppets at Cosford.

Fanderson will be manning a table at the event and will have a range of merchandise available for members to buy. If you are planning to attend please feel free to stop by and say hello!

Read about the event on the RAF Museum website