Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, and Thunderbirds

5/9/2012 4:01 PM EDT

I know that today's TV programs for younger viewers are incredibly sophisticated as compared to the offerings of my youth (the computer-generated graphics and effects are mind-blowing) – and maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part – but I really do believe that the more rudimentary productions of yesteryear left more to the viewer's imagination.

Of course I could be wrong here – what do you think?

5/9/2012 4:01 PM EDT

Talking about special effects, I have a funny story about my dad, who used to be a dancer on the variety hall stage before WWII. When I was a lad my dad loved the silent film classics (Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, etc,), Cowboy and Western films, and things like the Bing Crosby and Bob Hope Road to Bali films. The bottom line was that he had no truck with modern films and no desire to see one. The end result was that he was totally unaware of the developments in modern (for the time) special effects.

After my dad retired, once a week he would catch the bus to the central library in the town center, usually to root out books on the pre-war stage. One day when he came out of the library it was raining heavily, so he decided to wait out the storm in a nearby cinema. He had no idea what was showing, he just wanted a warm, dry seat for a while.

The film in question turned out to be Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Do you remember that roller-coaster-type scene in which our heroes were racing along underground in those small rail carts? When my dad emerged from the cinema, his hair was standing on end ... he said he had never before seen anything quite so exciting (excepting the time a German soldier threw a grenade toward him, but that's a story for another day...)

5/10/2012 4:08 AM EDT

the main two supermarionation series you have left out are Captain Scarlet and Joe 90. It is worht remembering that in their day these were absolute cutting edge series and incredibly expensive to make, every bit as expensive as modern high budget TV series which is probably why they have lasted so well. These were in no way "rudimentry products" but insted very inventive leading edge products - some of the model making used is incredible. it just helps to prove the old adage that quality will out

5/10/2012 4:37 AM EDT

Gerry Anderson's earlier version of Supermarionation was well to the fore in the series, "Four Feather Falls", which documented the adventures of sheriff Tex Tucker and his magic guns in the town of Four Feather Falls, somewhere in Kansas in the late 1800s. You'll recall, Max, that Nicholas Parsons did the voice for Tex. Two other puppet series preceded this, "Torchy the Battery Boy" and "Twizzle" but I don't think they were yet in the realm of Supermarionation.

5/10/2012 7:53 AM EDT

What about Space Patrol, with Galasphere 347? and don't forget Zoonie with his strange croaky voice ("on our way home") who always rode along in Fireball XL5.

5/10/2012 8:09 AM EDT

Ah Space Patrol - the best of the lot but not one of Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation productions: Roberta Leigh takes ALL of the credit here.

5/10/2012 10:45 AM EDT

Max, it did play in the UK on ITV (last seen in 1968) and yes, you would have loved it! It was very realistic so that in Earth orbit the Galasphere travelled at 18,000mph. A trip to Mercury took three months so you had to go into "the freezer" for the flight duration, and so on. Best scene(s) was Galasphere 347 taking off: the view was from inside the ship and the monitor view of Space Patrol Headquarters shrinking as the Galasphere gained altitude was sheer magic. I have 16 episodes on VHS videotape - stop by for a viewing next time you're visiting your mom :o)

5/10/2012 1:16 PM EDT

Thunderbirds was my favorite as a youngster, and vaguely remember stingray water effects.
Even now I am still amused about the "special effects" of the time, how well they took us to that imaginary reality.

Max, thanks for the flashback!

5/11/2012 4:38 PM EDT

Max, these were ALL British TV programs, but television broadcasting in Britain in those days didn't reach all areas. Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation series were on Lew Grade's ITV network which definitely tended to be regional.

When "Star Wars" came out and people gushed about the special effects I was unimpressed. I told my friends I had seen it all before. You can really see how Derek Meddigs hit his stride in Thunderbirds.

I think the technology displayed in these series were what inspired me to become an engineer. "Brains" anyone?

Fortunately ALL of these series are available on DVD and I have them all, including Roberta Leigh's Space Patrol on a PAL disc set. A&E here in the US has discontinued the Supermarionation series but they can still be found. If past experience prevails I would expect 2 years from now there will be a 50th anniversary release of Thunderbirds.

5/15/2012 2:01 PM EDT

In a related topic, recently I caught a glimpse of the Australian Pink Floyd show, and I did a double take, wondering if I was living a moment in a parallel universe. Wondering what would the world have been, if the land down under had been the original royal empire. What would other British bands have sounded like? ;-)

5/15/2012 4:20 PM EDT

I used to have a "Supercar" lunch pail. I just saw one at an antique shop, minus the thermos, for $140! There's one on eBay too. I'm positive that neither were mine - scratches are wrong.

5/25/2012 2:40 PM EDT

I grew up in South Carolina, but I lived in Canada for a few years. I discovered Blake's Seven and Thunderbirds up there, and loved both. Mainly the models and special effects. I think the British back then really knew how to blow up dioramas :-) Every explosion or crash was super-dramatic! FAB became a catch phrase around our house :-)

For a really cool tie-in and tribute payment...c.f. Wallace and Gromit in "A Close Shave" (the loading-up-to-go-wash-windows scene) with Thunderbirds load-outs...and be sure to report back :-)

5/25/2012 3:37 PM EDT

Nope, I leave FPGAs to others :-) I'm an RF/microwave/EM/MMIC/antenna type (although I confess to some embedded stuff, to poke bits into the RF stuff...) I do Planet Analog, though!

8/23/2012 2:54 AM EDT

Of course all the Supermarionation was big down under. A comedy show sent up the thunderbirds in it. Of course the great YouTube provider has a link to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC4frcXimz4