Just say the name Gerry Anderson and many folks of a certain age will have fond memories of classic children’s puppet shows such as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Stingray. Now Network is releasing a superb documentary concerning how the TV series came to be and gives an in-depth look at the process which was called Supermarionation.
The documentary starts in the early days of AP Films, with Gerry and his small team taking their first steps in the world of TV production. Approached by Roberta Leigh to produce a children’s adventure series, Gerry, who appears in archive footage throughout the documentary, recalls how he “nearly vomited on the floor” when he was told he was expected to make Twizzle with puppets and models.
What then follows is nearly two hours of wonderful never before seen archive footage and recollections of the making of all the classic puppet series, the two Thunderbirds movies and finally the shutting down of the company. Filmed In Supermarionation is a wonderful achievement, a special documentary that every fan of these classic TV series should own.
The Blu ray released by Network is another great release. Image quality is top notch, the documentary and archive episodes have a clean and very colourful 1080p image as well as robust original mono sound. The two-disc set features the documentary on the first disc and the following extras:
Deleted scenes: a selection of material that did not appear in the final documentary.
Filming in Supermarionation: filming the effects and puppets for the documentary
Special effects reel: an unedited reel of special effects shots created for the documentary
Gerry and Sylvia in America: colour footage shot by Barry Gray of Gerry and Sylvia at the 1965 World’s Fair in New York
Tomorrow s World: full Video Assist report
Something for the Children: Sylvia Anderson archive interview
Parade: colour, behind-the-scenes Thunderbirds footage
Lord Mayor & Thunderbird 3 (silent reel)
The second disc called This Is Supermarionation has the following full episodes from the various series, all remastered to a high standard and proper 4:3 ratio.
Four Feather Falls: Gunfight on Main Street
Supercar: False Alarm
Fireball XL5: Space City Special
Stingray: Pilot
Thunderbirds: Terror in New York City
Captain Scarlet: The Mysterons
Joe 90: Hi-Jacked
The Secret Service: More Haste, Less Speed
Finally, on this disc, you have news items, commercial breaks with tie-in adverts and much more.
A fantastic package with a great documentary and episodes remastered in HD.
FILM: 9 PICTURE: 9 AUDIO: 7.5 EXTRAS: 10
