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Fireball XL5 was a science fiction-themed children's television show produced in Britain in 1962 by the husband and wife team of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson through their company APF in association with ATV for ITC Entertainment. The show featured the Anderson's Supermarionation marionettes, a form of puppetry first introduced in Four Feather Falls (1960), and later used in shows such as Supercar (1961-1962), Stingray (1964-1965), Thunderbirds (1965-1966), Captain Scarlet (1967-1968), and finally, Joe 90 (1968-1969). Special effects in Fireball XL5 were by Derek Meddings, with music by Barry Gray. Thirty-nine black and white half-hour episodes were made on 35mm: all future Anderson series would be produced in color.
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Set in the years 2062/63 the series features the spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol. Also aboard as part of the crew were the glamorous Doctor Venus, middle-aged navigator and engineer Professor Matthew Matic, and Zodiac's co-pilot Robert the Robot, notable for being transparent. Robert was also unique as the only character in an Anderson series that was actually voiced by Gerry Anderson himself, although his voice was distorted by a vocoder.
Fireball XL5 is based at Space City, located on an unnamed island in the South Pacific Ocean, headquarters of the World Space Patrol headed by Commander Zero. Zero is assisted by Lieutenant Ninety (whose name was later to inspire the name of another Anderson character, Joe 90). For some unspecified reason the headquarters is based in a rotating control tower. Fireball XL5 takes off along a mile-long launch rail ending in a 40 degree incline, or sky ramp, which Anderson claims was inspired by an old Soviet design, although it had also been used in the movie When Worlds Collide.
Fireball XL5 was noteworthy as the only Anderson series run on a U.S. network. NBC (the National Broadcasting Company) ran the series at 10:30 am (Eastern) in its Saturday morning childrens block from 1963 through September, 1965.
Theme song and merchandising
Fireball XL5 had both an opening and a closing theme song - the latter of which, Fireball written by Barry Gray and sung by Don Spencer, would become a minor hit in Britain. Barry Gray would have a long relationship with the Anderson's productions, writing the themes for such series as Thunderbirds and 1999. Don Spencer would become Australia's premier children's entertainer, and founder of the Australian Children's Music Foundation.
In addition to the hit theme song, the series spawned a number of other successful licensed merchandising spinoffs including toys, model kits and books. In Britain four Fireball XL5 annuals were printed, while in the United States Gold Key Comics printed a single issue comic book.
Cast of characters
- Colonel Steve Zodiac, pilot and commanding officer of Fireball XL5
- Doctor Venus, Doctor of Space Medicine, 5 years of service on the XL5 crew
- Professor Matthew Matic, engineer, navigator and scientist of XL5
- Robert the Robot, co-pilot of XL5, invented by Professor Matic
- Zoonie the Lazoon, semi-telepathic pet of Dr. Venus from planet Colevio
- Commander Wilbur Zero, World Space Patrol Commander and Space City's Chief Controller
- Lieutenant Ninety, Assistant Space City Controller
- Jonathan Zero, Commander Zero's young son
- Jock Campbell, Space City's Chief Engineer
- Eleanor Zero, Commander Zero's wife
Episode list
- Planet 46
- Hypnotic Sphere
- Planet of Platonia
- Space Magnet
- The Doomed Panet
- Plant Man From Space
- Sun Temple
- Space Immigrants
- Space Monster
- Flying Zodiac
- A Spy In Space
- XL5 to H2O
- Space Pirates
- Last of the Zanadus
- Space Pen
- Convict In Space
- Wings of Danger
- The Triads
- Sabotage
- Prisoner on the Lost Planet
- Flight to Danger
- Space Vacation
- Mystery of the TA2
- Robert to the Rescue
- The Forbidden Planet
- The Granatoid Tanks
- Dangerous Cargo
- 1875
- The Robot Freighter Mystery
- Drama at Space City
- Whistle for Danger
- Faster Than Light
- The Day the Earth Froze
- Invasion Earth
- Ghost of Space
- Trial by Robot
- A Day in the Life of a Space General
- Space City Special
- The Fire Fighters
External links
1960s TV shows in the United States | Fictional spacecraft | ITC Distributions | Science fiction television series | ITV television programmes
"Fireball XL5"