I never
realised that, by watching 'Twizzle' on the television at the age of 6 or 7, I
was getting into a life long appreciation of a marionette maestro, the
late Gerry Anderson.
While
'The Adventures of Twizzle' was made in
1957, I didn't see it until
early / mid 60’s on a Saturday morning programme called 'Tinker and
Taylor', a show that also introduced me to, and created a life long love of,
animation.
Commissioned
in 1957 'The Adventures of Twizzle' or simply 'Twizzle', as it was known in
some countries, was the first television show made by AP Films, Gerry Anderson
and Arthur Provis's newly created production company. They had been approached
by author Roberta Leigh, who had written the stories and also co-produced the
series with Anderson, and her colleague Suzanne Warner - read more here.
Twizzle
part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=BgL8zZb22KM
While we may laugh at these programmes now - high pitched, perfect
English accents, jerky puppets with strings - we have to compare these
productions with other puppets on children’s television of the time i.e.
'Andy Pandy', 'The Woodentops', 'Bill and Ben' as well as 'Rag, Tag and
Bobtail', who were hand puppets rather than marionettes. All these were
programmes I watched in the early 60’s as part of 'Watch with Mother'.
Twizzle, and Torchy the Battery Boy, Anderson's next production, told
stories, fantasy stories maybe, but with real sets. This may have had something
to do with Anderson’s background in film, and the fact that he didn’t set up AP
to make children’s series - 'Twizzle' just happened to come along as the
company was struggling financially. The rest as they say, is history.
'Torchy' was more of a series' and I can remember being very worried at the end
of one episode as Torchy, running out of power' plummeted to earth in his
rocket!
Torchy
The Battery Boy Parts 1 and 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wujTB-nDe-M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P3VnwAOXDQ
The
last series I saw on a Saturday morning was 'Four Feather Falls' - magic guns,
talking animal,s and a song to boot. A western made in the UK!
Four
Feather Falls: Episode 1 - How It Began - Part 1 & 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqLyY4zQOjk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLbFOOP8eI8
I
can remember 'Supercar' on children’s television in the afternoons, as well as'
Fireball XL5' and 'Stingray'. While 'Stingray' and 'Thunderbirds' were made in
colour, we didn’t have a colour TV, so I didn't see them in colour until the
early 70’s.
Supercar - Episode 1 - Rescue (pts 1 &2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snh1b7h2sMA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJkQD8gCP1E
 |
| Supercar quiz from Supercar Annual |
FireballXL5 was part of a World Space Fleet
based at Space City, an island in the Pacific Ocean, patrolling sector 25 of
the universe. Captained by Steve Zodiac the space ship had a detachable nose
cone, Fireball Junior and one birthday, or possibly Christmas, I was given a
construction kit of a Fireball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XMrLr44JDI
 |
| Stingray Launch |
Stingray and Thunderbirds were in colour, except, as I mentioned earlier, we didn't have a colour TV till the early 70's. They were also on ITV, a channel my mother thought was inferior to the BBC.
We
were allowed to watch 'Blue Peter' but not 'Magpie', the commercial equivalent.
I was also one of 3, then, from 1965, 4 children, so would have to watch what
others wanted – we only had one television (as most people did then) and no
videos!
 |
| Thunderbird 2 iconic launch sequence |
'Thunderbirds' was broadcast on a Thursday evening, not during children's time. We would watch it as a family but, if there was something else on which my parents wanted to watch, that took priority.
My
only opportunity of experiencing these programmes in colour, and to follow the
exploits of the stars on a regular basis, was in
comics and ultimately, on the pages of TV21, a Century 21
publication. On a weekly basis, stories from the Gerry Anderson stable, plus
other television programme-based stories, appeared here in print.
Edited by Alan Fennell, who also wrote some of the stories, Fennell had worked with Anderson on Thunderbirds and with a number of other artists:
 |
| A Thunderbirds story from TV21 with one of my favourite drawings |
 |
| Stingray Story |
Frank Bellamy, drawing the Thunderbirds Story,
brothers Ron and Gerry Embleton, Michael Strand, on
Stingray, Vicente Alcazar on Space 1999, Mike Noble on Fireball XL5 and later Star
Trek and Zero X, and Keith Watson, who had illustrated Dan Dare in the
Eagle and who worked on Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
With
other stories and television characters appearing, the Daleks, but not Dr Who,
illustrated by Ron Turner and Richard E.Jennings. Turner also contributed to a
number of other stories including 'Joe 90' and the 'Zero X'.
'Lady Penelope' had her own comic outlining her
exploits as an undercover spy, separate from her relationship to the fictional
secretive organisation 'International Rescue', and it is one of her stories
that leads up to the launch of International Rescue, and its inclusion in the
comic.
These
magnificent drawings of brought the TV series to life in another medium.
On
television 'Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons', 'Joe 90', 'Doppelganger' etc...all followed and, while
Anderson wanted to get into making real films and programmes, he would always
be stuck with the Supermarionation label, a term he coined,
and one that would continue to follow him until his death.
While I appreciate the work of Gerry Anderson, I do not consider myself a geek concerning his activity - that sort of intensive knowledge of programmes, plots, stars, voices and other ephemera never interested me. To me, Gerry Anderson was a great image maker who told stories, science fiction and latterly, fantasy stories, who may be the unrecognised saviour of a British Film Industry, and particularly Pinewood Studios.
The Seventies had been an uncertain period for Pinewood and for the film industry. Gerry Anderson had used the studio to film episodes of 'UFO' and 'Space 1999' and 'The Persuaders!', starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore was also filmed at the studio. But, in general, the studio was in decline. It is widely felt that the Superman franchise almost certainly saved the studio from financial crisis.
 |
| Derek Meddings filming a Thunderbird 3 launch sequence |
Derek Meddings worked with Gerry Anderson as his
special effects supervisor. He went on to work on a number of Bond films as
well as the Superman movies filmed at Pinewood Studios in the late 70’s.
Before
computer graphics, special effects were models and filming techniques. While
America had large studios, Britain had these special skills, due to some extent
to Gerry Anderson’s insistence on quality productions and well told stories.
'Superman', 'Star Wars' and 'Indiana Jones' all came to this country because we
had those skills.
I’m
not saying that it was just down to Gerry Anderson that these films came to
England, but we should view the legacy of his supermarionation beyond people
doing ‘wobbly walks’ as puppets, and speaking in staccato voices.
We
should remember his attention to detail - the explosions, the exquisite models
and yes, the alligators: live animals, puppets and water.
Gerald Alexander Anderson,
film and TV producer, director and writer, born 14
April 1929; died 26 December 2012
Gerry Anderson MBE
Goodbye and thank you
Gerry was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease in 2010, his condition deteriorating in the last 6
months. This photograph (No. 8 of the series) was
taken with his son, Jamie Anderson - the pair supported the work of The
Alzheimers Society
