Captain Scarlet book to launch at Special Assignment

Captain Scarlet: The Vault

Special Assignment will see the launch of a lavish new book by former Fanderson chairman Chris Bentley. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault celebrates the 50th anniversary of the classic series and is fully authorised by ITV Studios Global Entertainment. We can reveal the cover here for the first time.

Publisher Marcus Hearn was the author of 2015’s Thunderbirds: The Vault. “I see this very much as the follow-up,” he says. “Fanderson’s Mike Jones designed the Thunderbirds book, and I’m pleased to say that he’s working with us on this new project too. Chris Bentley has come up with an amazing amount of material, and we’ve commissioned new photography of the original puppets, studio models and vintage merchandise. We can’t wait to share what we’ve done.”

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault is published by Signum Books on 6 October, but Chris will be signing advance copies at the Special Assignment convention on 30 September and 1 October.

TICKET PRICES WILL RISE VERY SOON – SO SIGN UP TODAY!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket.

Find out more and register now

Guest update: Terry Adlam confirmed for Special Assignment

Dick Spanner - Special AssignmentWe are very pleased to announce that Terry Adlam will be attending Special Assignment later this year. Terry’s association with Gerry Anderson began when he joined the visual effects team on Terrahawks. He then went on to become the creator, writer and director behind the stop motion comedy series Dick Spanner, that aired in 1986.

Terry has been an enthusiastic supporter of recent Fanderson conventions, and attended both Expect the Unexpected and The Future is Fantastic! in 2013 and 2015 respectively. As an experienced comedy writer, we’re looking forward to hearing some funny stories on stage! 

TICKET PRICES WILL RISE VERY SOON – SO SIGN UP TODAY!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket.

Find out more and register now

 

Alan Perry is coming to Special Assignment

Captain Scarlet - Alan Perry

We’re thrilled to announce that director Alan Perry will be attending Special Assignment later this year.

Alan joined AP Films as a camera operator on Stingray and Thunderbirds, before cutting his directorial teeth on Captain Scarlet, where he directed some of the series’s most popular episodes, including The Trap and Heart of New York. He then went on to direct episodes of Joe 90, The Secret Service and UFO. A flamboyant character and firm favourite at conventions, we’re looking forward to having Alan with us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Captain Scarlet!

TICKET PRICES WILL RISE VERY SOON – SO SIGN UP TODAY!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket.

Find out more and register now

 

UFO’s Georgina Moon and Penny Spencer sign up for Special Assignment

UFO series logo

We are thrilled to announce that UFO’s Georgina Moon and Penny Spencer will be attending Special Assignment this year.

Georgina played beautiful Skydiver operative Lt. Sylvia Howell, and also appeared in a number of Carry On films. Penny Spencer played an unnamed SHADO control operative, but is best remembered for her role as schoolgirl Sharon Eversleigh in the LWT comedy series, Please Sir!

We are really excited about welcoming both Georgina and Penny to the event, and asking them to share their memories of working on UFO. It will be a – sadly – increasingly rare treat to hear from actors who worked on set with the likes on  Ed Bishop, Georges Sewell and Michael Billington. You won’t want to miss this.

TICKET PRICES WILL RISE VERY SOON – SO SIGN UP TODAY!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket.

Find out more and register now

Brian Johnson signs up for Special Assignment

Space :999 Eagle Transporter

We are very happy to announce that Brian Johnson will be attending Special Assignment.

As well as working on Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Thunderbirds, Brian contributed to many famous film productions, including 2001: A Space Odyssey,  Alien, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Of course, he was also responsible for creating special effects on Space 1999, and designing the now iconic Eagle Transporter.

SIGN UP TODAY!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket. Ticket prices will, however, rise in spring 2017.

 Find out more and register now

Nicholas Parsons joins the Special Assignment guest list

Spectrum needs you for a special assignmentWe are very excited to  announce that Nicholas Parsons will be joining the guest list of Special Assignment in October.

Nicholas wrote his name into the Anderson universe when he was cast as the voice of Sheriff Tex Tucker in Four Feather Falls.

The hero of the show, Nicholas’s character Tex kept the peace in the eponymous small town in Kansas, with the aid of four magic feathers which allowed his dog and horse to talk, and his guns to swivel and fire by themselves!

Four Feather Falls is of course just a tiny part of Nicholas’s long career in television, radio and theatre, and he is perhaps best remembered for his role as gameshow host on the hugely popular Sale of the Century.

SIGN UP TODAY

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket. Ticket prices will, however, rise in spring 2017.

 Find out more and register now

Mike Trim confirms attendance at Special Assignment

Fanderson Mike Trim 1

We are thrilled to announce that Mike Trim will be attending Special Assignment in October.

A popular figure with fans at conventions, Mike began working for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson as a modelmaker and designer in the final days of Stingray. He then went on to work on Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, The Secret Service, and UFO, as well as the Thunderbirds and Doppelganger  feature films.

Having worked closely with Derek Meddings for many years, Mike will be able to offer an invaluable insight into how the Century 21 series were produced. He joins what is already a great list of special guests for what will be Fanderson’s first full-weekend convention in five years:

  • Peter Hitchcock – AP Films projectionist, lip-sync operator and ‘puppet hand’ in his first convention appearance
  • Shane and Sheila Rimmer – Thunderbirds’s Scott Tracy and Captain Scarlet writer
  • David Graham – the man of a thousand voices, including Parker from Thunderbirds
  • Mary Turner – sculptor and puppeteer
  • Graham Bleathman – prolific cut-away artist
  • Mike Noble – TV Century 21 artist
  • Mike Trim – modelmaker and designer
  • Liz Morgan – the voice of Destiny and Rhapsody Angels in Captain Scarlet

…and there will be plenty more announcements coming soon!

SIGN UP TODAY!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket. Ticket prices will, however, rise in spring 2017.

 Find out more and register now

Angel voice artist Liz Morgan to attend Special Assignment

special-assignment-angels

Spectrum is Green!

How could we possibly celebrate the 50th anniversary of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons at our next convention without having a the angels on our side? 

So we are thrilled to announce that Liz Morgan has agreed to attend Special Assignment in October 2017 – the voice behind not one but two Angels: Destiny and Rhapsody.

We hope you’ll be able to join us at the Holiday Inn Maidenhead to share Liz’s memories of recording the series – it’s sure to be a great experience.

SIGN UP TODAY!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket. Ticket prices will, however, rise in spring 2017.

 Find out more and register now

Your Special Assignment for 2017

 

 

Spectrum needs you for a special assignment

Date: 29th September – 1st October 2017
Venue: Holiday Inn, Manor Lane, Maidenhead, SL6 2RA

The Programme | The Guests | The Charity | The Venue | Member Tickets
Non-Member Tickets | Traders Tickets | Terms and Conditions

Friday 29th September 1967: millions sat in front of their televisions, enthralled by The Mysterons – the first episode of Gerry and Sylvia’s Anderson latest creation, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons.

Fifty years on, and Captain Scarlet fans will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of this ground-breaking series at Special Assignment, Fanderson’s convention for 2017. Plus, of course, over the weekend we’ll be looking at all the other amazing visions of the future that AP Films and Century 21 teams gave us in their productions, including Stingray, Thunderbirds, UFO, Space:1999 and more.

THE PROGRAMME

special-assignment-angelsWe all love listening to those who worked on the programmes, gawping at fantastic models, puppets, props and artwork, watching the programmes, playing games, dressing up and having in-depth discussions. You can be sure that Special Assignment will have all of this and more, though at this early stage we hope you’ll understand that it’s still coming together.

Our exhibition of models, puppets, artwork etc is being organised once again by long-time Fanderson member and puppet owner/maker/restorer Chris King, drawing on the generosity of fellow fans and private collectors, so you can be sure it’ll be a humdinger!

THE GUESTS
the-future-is-fantastic-convention-2We’ve got a long list of guests that we’ve invited to Special Assignment. The following have already confirmed their attendance:

  • Peter Hitchcock – AP Films SFX assistant, projectionist, lip-sync operator and ‘puppet hand’ in his first convention appearance
  • Mary Turner – sculptor and puppeteer
  • Nicholas Parsons – voice of Tex Tucker, the hero of Four Feather Falls
  • Shane and Sheila Rimmer – Thunderbirds’s Scott Tracy and Captain Scarlet writer
  • David Graham – the man of a thousand voices, including Parker from Thunderbirds
  • Mike Trim – influential modelmaker and designer
  • Mike Noble – TV 21 artist
  • Richard Culley – Head of Merchandising at Century 21
  • Liz Morgan – the voices of Destiny and Rhapsody Angels in Captain Scarlet
  • Alan Perry – Captain Scarlet and UFO director
  • Penny Spencer – SHADO operative in UFO
  • Georgina Moon – Skydiver operative Lt. Sylvia Howell in UFO
  • Martin Bower – model maker and special effects designer on Space:1999
  • Brian Johnson – special effects guru on famous for his work on Space:1999
  • John Lee – Terrahawks modelmaker
  • Judy Preece – Terrahawks puppeteer
  • Terry Adlam – Dick Spanner creator, writer and director
  • Phil Ford – New Captain Scarlet head writer
  • Mark Woollard – New Captain Scarlet director
  • Dominic Lavery – New Captain Scarlet Concept Art Director
  • Dee Anderson – singer, writer and daughter of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
  • Graham Bleathman – prolific cut-away artist

Keep an eye on our website as we’ll announce each new guest just as soon as we receive their confirmation.

Here are a few comments from just a few who immediately agreed to be there with you:

Peter Hitchcock
Peter couldn’t make it to The Future Is Fantastic! but says he “Would love to be there in September 2017.”

Mike Noble
“Hoping to get along to Maidenhead in 2017 – with any luck!”

Shane and Sheila Rimmer
“Always a treat to meet old friends and new ones too!”

Mary Turner
“I think you are all amazing how you have kept the old series going all this time.”

Graham Bleathman
“Always a great atmosphere at Fanderson Conventions. Looking forward to this one”

THE CHARITY

Over the years Fanderson has raised funds for a wide variety of charities, including The Alzheimer’s Society, BBC Children In Need, Macmillan Cancer Support, Terrence Higgins Trust, Guide Dogs For The Blind and Diabetes UK.

We’re delighted to announce that our charities at Special Assignment will be Breast Cancer Care and the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund.

THE VENUE

special-assignment-martian-complex

The Holiday Inn, Maidenhead was the venue for Fanderson’s The Future Is Fantastic! event in 2015. It’s set in a residential area one mile from Maidenhead town centre and has a complimentary car park for residents. The health club includes a large swimming pool, children’s pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam room and two gyms. The Junction Restaurant serves seasonal dishes as well as classics like steak and pasta, and there’s 24-hour room service. There is also a very large open plan cocktail bar that serves bar snack meals and is great for socialising.

The hotel is in the heart of AP Films/Century 21 studio-land:

  • 3.6 miles/12 minutes to Islet Park
  • 6 miles/12 minutes to Bath Road (AP Films)
  • 6.6 miles/13 minutes to Stirling Road (Century 21)
  • 12.1 miles/23 minutes to Pinewood Studios

The hotel has good transport connections to Heathrow, London, the West, the Midlands and the motorway network:

  • 1 mile (3 minutes) to M4
  • 9 miles (13 minutes) to M40
  • 12 miles (14 minutes) to M25
  • taxi from London Heathrow: 25 minutes/£35 one-way approximately
  • taxi from London Gatwick: 1 hour/£60 one-way approximately
  • train from London Paddington to Maidenhead: 37-47 minutes/from £11.10 one-way
  • taxi from Maidenhead railway station: four minutes/£4 one-way approximately

Rooms at the Holiday Inn are available to delegates at the special rate of £90 per room/per night (bed and breakfast) based on two people sharing. Just call 01628 506070 in normal office hours (9:00-17:00 Monday to Friday) and quote the reference ‘Fanderson’.

Alternative hotels in the area:

TICKETS

special-assignment-casino

As a fan-organised event, the earlier everyone books for Special Assignment, the earlier we know how extravagant we can be in staging the show.

Tickets start at just £65 per person for one day, or £110 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket. Ticket prices will rise on 1st August 2017.

Book your place(s) online now or, if you’d prefer to pay by UK cheque or postal order, complete the registration form and return it to us with your payment.

 

Not a Fanderson member?

Anyone coming to Special Assignment who isn’t already a Fanderson member (even if you’re coming with a club member) must buy a Trial member ticket which includes a trial Fanderson membership at a special price of £10. The trial membership will start when you arrive at the convention and run until 31st December 2017. This will give you the latest issue of the club’s FAB magazine, membership badge, enable you to buy our merchandise at the convention at special prices, access our full range of merchandise online and access to the members’ area of the Fanderson Forum.

Special Assignment is being staged by Fanderson. The world’s only official Gerry and Sylvia Anderson appreciation society, Fanderson is endorsed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, Anderson Entertainment, Gerry Anderson Productions and ITC Entertainment Group, with over 1,300 members worldwide. Based in the UK and run by a small unpaid committee of fans, Fanderson was formed in 1981 from several small clubs at the request of ITC Entertainment and Gerry Anderson, so that they could support a single independent fan body for all Anderson productions.

As a club, we can only sell merchandise to club members, which enables us to keep costs down and direct all our funds into our products and services. No one running Fanderson takes a salary, ‘mutual trading’ with our members means we’re exempt from certain taxes that would inflate our prices, and copyright holders are often willing to forego the expensive merchandise licences that commercial companies have to buy. And, because we’re fellow fans like you, we try to take time and care over the little details in our products that commercial operations often can’t or don’t bother about.

Join us at www.fanderson.org.uk

TERMS AND CONDITIONS (in addition to Fanderson’s standard terms and conditions)

special-assignment-cloudbase

  • All deposits and subsequent payments are non-refundable.
  • It is your responsibility to pay the hotel bill for your room and any associated costs upon checkout, or to pay any cancellation costs due to your failure to attend the event.
  • The convention committee and/or the hotel reserve the right to decline registration for any reason whatsoever and, should your application for registration be declined, any registration fees that you have paid will be refunded in full.
  • The convention is not suitable for children under 5 years of age.
  • Any children in your party are your sole responsibility for the duration of the convention, and the organisers will not make any special arrangements for children of any age.
  • The organisers will make every effort to provide you with the contents of the programme of events as described, but changes to the programme may be implemented at the organisers’ discretion due to unforeseen circumstances that may arise nearer the date of the event.