Gerry Anderson Primer: Fireball XL5
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Fireball XL5 is a British science fiction themed children's television show following the missions of spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol.
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Who here is a Fireball XL5 fan? Who can tell us when the series was first screened? And who invented oxygen pills?
Count me in!
Watched it first time round and Fireball remains my favourite spacecraft. What a design.
Would love to see a live action remake.
I love It
I'm sorry to tell you Jamie that FBXL5 didn't get the airing opportunities on British TV that Stingray and Thunderbirds got. I was born in 72 so I grew up only ever seeing a handful of episodes to this day but I would've liked to have seen more.
Watched it on its' NBC network run. A local Chicago station would run Supercar at 9:00am then NBC ran Fireball XL5 at 9:30.
ME, Did You Know That Jenae Rodenberry Stole The Idea For Star Trek, Form Gerry Anderson , Form Fireball XL5, And Thunderbirds And Quarter Mss And The Pit, Dr Quarter Mass,.
here I am at 65 years old and I thought I was the only one who knew the words and could sing the theme song. I guess not! ! ! I'm in good company!
yeah, I'm 68 and Saturday mornings were always Looney Tunes and Fireball XL5!!!
I'm 66 and watching still, on Talking Pictures TV channel
Glad you mentioned the trolley. That always had me thinking that there was just a massive pile of them in the valley.
As a kid, I think that was my conclusion also! I figured they were to banged up to reuse after the first launch.
We assumed the launch vehicle was disposable. It seemed to just have enough power remaining to fly beyond the end of the launch rail and then crash into whatever was behind it. In fact, at that time, disposable was bad because you weren’t allowed to waste everything. I remember adults being furious when non-refillable fountain pens were introduced. We also didn’t know what happened to Fireball XL1 Alpha, which failed to launch and crashed in the episode “Plant Man from Outer Space. (Ross, the pilot who Steve noted was very experienced, ejected and got back on the ground in his seat, so that was good.)
Captain Scarlet. Fireball XL 5, Thunderbirds. Stingray, UFO. Space 1999. Oh the 70’s has the best tv as a kid 🥰
Even earlier most were in the sixties....Still love em all even at 73.
Do you remember "Space Patrol", it was on in the early 60's
Don't forget Joe 90, for all the secret agent wannabies
@@5argetech56 Yes and great electronic music too
Yes, Mr Noseybonk, a lovely and very child friendly show of the 70s.
Edit: it’s only a joke, I was brought up watching things from the 70s since my dad watched them when he was a kid in the 70s/80s.
Loved this when I was a child. Im glad I was a child in the sixties . Happy days
Gary Owens I Second that good times bro
Me too.
Has anybody got a time machine! Please please!
Loved your work on Laugh-In.
@@beatlebrian4404 We were blessed then.
AWESOME ! I LOVED Fireball XL-5 as a kid and still do at 61 :-)
I always wondered what happened to the launch platforms
Me it was Fireball and Dr who
I could follow the plots of The Woodentops. Fireball was more problematic. I loathed Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men.
Bill Summy I’m 63 love it to great stuff then . this just sparked off my grey matter memories back into my past thank you for that 💭❤️👍🇬🇧
Dennis Moore You Have to put your kid gloves on to handle her.
I may be biased, but I think all us kids, growing up in the 60's, were blessed here in the UK, we had the best children's TV ever, the best sweets (candy) fantastic comics, and definitely definitely, the best music, l may be a old man of 64,but l would not swap my 60's childhood, for any other decade.
beatle brian I’m 63 great times the innocence in us . Getting thruppence on the Coke bottle was marvellous 🙂🇬🇧👍
Agreed, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds and UFO, not to mention Timeslip, Ace of Wands, The Freewheelers and The Tomorrow People. TV seemed to treat us more "adult" than todays TV programmes treat youngsters .
@@maddog31255 yes I agree with you to some degree, but we had lots of other Comics, not just the Beano and dandy, the Victor was my favorite, used to love Alf Tupper tough of the track! The Superman and Batman comics with fantastic, I thought, they were for a slightly older audience, I didn't stay for school dinners, my mum and dad give me half a crown a day, I used to go to the corner shop and buy, a meat and potato or steak pie, two comics, and 2 chocolate bars, a Kit Kat, or Mars bar, or a Turkish delight, or any other one, they seem to be hundreds to choose from! For anyone who doesn't know half a crown was 2 and 6 in today's money 12 and 1/2 p! Great great times.
Absolutely right we were blessed Ioved fireball xl5 also. Captain Scarletto lost in space
@Rusty Shackleford With you all the way friend. All those amazing puppet adventures, and then to fall in love with the lovely Emma in later adolescence. We had it all!
This was my FAVORITE Anderson show even while admitting the technical limitations. I fired my imaginations.
I loved this as a kid in the 60's and theres no denying that the Fireball XL5 spacecraft looked superb!
And still does.
I remember watching reruns of Fireball XL5 during school holidays in the 80's. I loved them.
Forgotten! Hell no. I even built a Fireball XL5 replica in Kerbal Space Program, complete with detachable Fireball Junior.
I have a pic of myself holding the Fireball XL-5 I got for Christmas one year. Best toy ever!
I loved Fireball XL5 (and all the others) Great time to be a kid.
Growing up in the 60s this was one of my favorite shows of all time. I even had the model that had a spring loaded shuttle carrier and ship and it was my favorite toy for years. Jerry Anderson and his company created some of the greatest shows that I will remember for my entire life.
I was about 7 years old in Los Angeles, Ca., USA, when Fireball XL5 came into our living room TV in 1963. Watched it every Saturday morning. IIRC, the 4 kids of the family enjoyed it very much. I remember the cool song as well!!!
1962, wow. I was four but remember it well, I loved it.
You have a fan here! I grew up watching it and next to the Thunderbirds, one my favorites (I am 63!)
“Ok Venus? Ok Steve. Right, let’s go!”
Tom Hanks must be a fan, he put a clip of that scene in his movie "That Thing You Do!". He also had a Mattel Major Matt Mason figure (so did I).
I watched XL5 every Saturday! Loved the opening and closing song!
Couldn't get enough of this as a kid in the 60's !
It was kinda scary and exciting at he same time. Mean't a lot to me too..waited anxiously for every episode, if I was good!
I loved this show as a kid. I still do. I love the Scottish engineer “Jock.” 😂😂☺️
Grew up watching this running home from school to watch. Loved it happy memories of simple times.
Wow, my Dad used to get us super8 versions of this while we were on overseas service as a family in Singapore, 1970/73.
Getting the record synced with the movie was hilarious.
Thanks for the memory.
vnewarp9 you should’ve waited a couple of years, I lived in Singapore from ‘74 to ‘79 and remember watching XL5 broadcast on Malaysian TV.
@@dave900ssred
They had some great shows on up there. Was "Giant Robot" still going while you were there,?
Looking back I think my Dad and his mates enjoyed the super 8 thing more than the show. They were only in their late twenties . What a time to live.
Cheers
vnewarp9 I don't remember Giant Robot, just XL5, Stingray and Torchy The Battery Boy. Too much time also spent at The Terror Club at Terror Barracks (I believe that is now part of the US Navy), Tanglin Club, Holland Village. Went back last year for the first time in ages, found it a little sad that so many of my memories have been wiped away in the name of progress but then it would be unreasonable to expect a hermetically sealed museum...
Fireball XL5 is my favourite Gerry Anderson monochrome series! :)
Me too!.
I was about 3 years old when Fireball XL5 was first shown on telly, the 1960s was the best TV ever for kids. Apart from Gerry Anderson lets not forget Space Patrol, The Saint, Danger Man, Randall and Hopkirk, The Avengers and Man in a Suitcase. Sixties tv was the best and has never been bested.
Totally agree
One of my favourite shows when I was a kid!
Fan since it started.
I watched Fireball XL5 when I was five years old and loved each episode. It began my predilection for science fiction TV, movies, and literature.
Funny that . I still think it was better than UFO. I just couldn't watch that.
What a blast from the past. A cold feeling came over me when this popped up. This was the best time to a child!.
I LOVED the series as a kid. I fondly remember watching it Saturday mornings on TV. I STILL admire the dedication and attention to details of the crew that made the show come to life and I'm 60 NOW. I'm definitely getting ALL the Anderson series on DVD HD as my retirement gift to myself!
I remember watching it when I was 5 years old. Very exciting and tense every episode.
I first saw this when it was shown in the early 1980s by ITV in the weekday mornings during the school summer holidays (alongside Catweazle and a couple of other old kids shows). Its a shame they don't do that anymore as it kept these shows alive for another generation.
I used to love drawing XL5 as a youngster, along with Robert the robot. I can also remember attempting to build the tower using Betta Bilda. (Lego type bricks) Now we are all older though, we can fully appreciate the artistic and technical skill that went into all these productions. No wonder we remember them so easily. Great memories!!
Wow! The only person who like me played with Betta Bilda,everyone I mention it to hasn’t got a clue what I’m on about. Nice one Steve
@@kathywhitaker11 I also had a Betta Bilda set. Great fun. Similar to Lego but it never really caught on. Does anyone remember another building kit call Bayco (Bayko?). IIRC it didn't feature individual bricks but instead had complete walls.
when i was 4 or 5 years old , my mother took me to see a stage production of The Wizard of OZ. At the end of the show Supercar came down to take Dorothy back home.
my mother said when i saw this i jumped up and shouted SUPERCAR ...the audience and cast stopped and laughed at me
Hi All,
I was a 7 year old boy living in Houghton Regis. All my friends at Tithe Farm Primary School just loved theses shows. Thanks you Gerry Anderson , You has put a smile on the 64 year old boys face! And I agree that all engineers in Sci Fi shows shows should be Scots.
a Scottish engineer years before star trek.....
You can't change the laws of genetics.
@@alyks6312 All the best engineers are Scottish.
"Space Angel" Scott McCloud also had a Scotsman for an engineer aboard the StarDuster about the same time as FB XL5, named Taurus.
@@alyks6312 Brilliant 😂
Star Trek obviously plagiarized the whole concept...
They did puppetry a good thing. The shows were wonderful and I got it on DVD worth buying.
Extremely fond memories of this series.
I remember when ITV re-aired the series in the 1980's, its a fondly remembered Gerry Anderson show much agreed.
Watched Fireball the 1st time around. I always made sure I was in front of the TV when it came on, which was either 10 or 10:30 AM on Channel 4, NBC here around NYC. I remember I made my own XL-5 by taking the 2 plastic spaceships that came with my Marx Mystery Space Ship and either holding, taping or rubber banding them together. I would also use my Guidancetown USA set and later additions to build the Space City Tower, complete with the thunderbird wings. I think if you hunt around, you can find colorized versions of Fireball online or on DVD.
Fireball xl5 was my fifth Gerry Anderson i like the colorized episode i would like to see all 39 episodes of them On blu ray
Another Anderson classic!
This, I believe, was the best show from Gerry. Very innovative .When we lived in UK I always watched.
I used to have the spaceship toy when I was six or seven years old. Fireball XL5 was my favorite! I don’t know what happened to that toy but I sure wish I still had it!!
It's the first TV I remember as a toddler. I LOVED it!
I can't answer your questions, because I didn't become a fan until 1964, which was when I saw the show for the first time. After 55 years, the memories are behind the veil. I do remember watching every time the show was on. Also remember that I had a toy XL-5, and I used to draw the ship, though I can't remember the context that I would place her in. Of course, at the time I felt that I was part of the 'space patrol' because I had just been landed on an alien planet...southern Mississippi in 1963 ! Thanks to the USAF ! (My father taught electronics at Keesler AFB in Biloxi)
was also struggling to m
TV Century 21 - terrific. I had that and Victor delivered every week for a good few years -until I got to the grand age of nine or ten. Given the geekiness of today a modern TV21 would probably appeal to all age groups.
This was almost certainly my 1st favorite TV series. I got the DVD's as a Christmas present the last year and I have been reliving my childhood a couple of episodes a night, I'll be 61 in a few weeks.
Great video, great memories. I hope Gerry knew how much his shows meant (and still mean) to the generation of children that grew up watching them.
I was (still am) a fan of both Supercar and Fireball XL5.
"I’m going to break all the rules of psychological parenting and belt you one" - Cmmdr Zero ( Drama at Space City )-where in kids tv would you ever hear that line. Just super storytelling from writers who went on to work with British tv series like The Avengers ,Randell & Hopkirk Man in a suitcase and many more...
Being born in 1949, and into the television age in England, I watched kids’ TV so was weaned on the early Anderson material. Four Feather Falls was a real innovation but Supercar and Fireball XL5 were must watch shows even for somebody entering their teens.
Like so many programmes made for children, there was enough to hook adults too, I look back with great fondness at these wonderful works.
The non-Gerry Anderson ‘Space Patrol’ amused me around the time although, being 13, I considered myself too grown up to watch such programmes but still derived much amusement for that production too, there were some similarities with the concept to XL5 but it wasn’t in the same league.
I had to sneak away to watch this. For reasons I don't know, I had to Sunday school on Saturday morning. Guess the church wanted to keep the parents happy so they could watch the football games on Sunday. I have the DVD set of my 2 favorites. Fireball XL5 and The Thunderbirds. I've shown those to my kids and they thought it sucked. So much for children of the 80's opinion. those 2 and a few others will always be in my heart from Saturday morning up until the late 60's.
Absolutely loved this show as a kid. I remember getting a bendy Steve Zodiac toy one Christmas and never let it out of my sight until one day my younger sister got hold of it and threw it on the fire! Think I cried for weeks after. My parents were never able to replace it and haven’t seen one since! I’m 59 now and seeing this video really brought back great memories. Thanks for posting.
Welcome Home - On Our Way home. ........The dialogue between Robert and Zoony - my only claim to fame in school was that I could mimic them. Still Venus went on to make an appearance as every female presenter ever. A great series and still fun to watch on DVD.
Loved the theme tune.Was lucky enough to get a copy when my request was featured on Mike Read's Replace A Disc spot when he had a show on Capital Gold 1548 AM.
Excellent tv series⭐️
This was one the first Science Fiction Shows I grew up watching this, and I’m in my sixties. I got a FireballXL5 toys for Christmas (my parents thankfully supported their daughter’s love for FireballXL5, Barbies and Breyer Model Horses). I loved the show and I remembered the theme song with fond memories
I was six years old when Fireball XL5 was originally aired on NBC. I don't know how many episodes I missed because my younger brother and I were Mighty Mouse fans. It was our mother, she scanned the TV listings for interesting programs for everyone to watch, who first suggested that we watch Fireball XL5. It was a revelation. My brother and I became fans at first sight. I don't recall if we got to view the entire run because I can't be sure if episodes were ever repeated on NBC.
I was heartbroken when the show went off the air and I wrote to NBC in New York. They wrote back to me explaining that, "sadly", there were no plans to bring the show back. Within a year or so the local UHF TV station out of Philadelphia began to air episodes and we were thrilled to see our beloved XL5 back in all its glory.
Yeah, the oxygen pills came about when the carving crew and costume crew couldn't figure out how to get a spacesuit on a puppet, until the later shows. Plus it saved a bit on the show's budget.
Oh my word!I”m pretty sure,I saw this on Saturday afternoon”s when we had our dance studio,back then.It was a great show!It still
Indeed....the delivery of my “TV 21” each Thursday through the letter box was the highlight of my week ...i was 7 at the time. Whilst some people may suggest all they see is corny dialogue, sets and strings, as a 7 year old kid living in Shepherds Bush all you saw was great special effects and simple but engaging stories. Each series after XL5 just took the craft of Supermarionation to the next level. I still have a model of XL5 sitting on my bookcase....am 62 now. Thanks Gerry👍
Always loved the opening launch sequence, especially the music. XL5 was the only toy I always wanted but never owned. I think I might have to 3D model and print one now I have the facilities.
FIREBALL XL5 really got me hooked on all things SPACE. There was just something so exciting watching the intro and drawn into all the action that was to follow. As a four year old it was the best.
Fireball was my 1st taste of Supermarionation. Mid 80’s summer holidays it was on every morning as I recall. Loved it! Plus I had an annual from when it was transmitted the first time round given to me by my grandmother (who’d kept it from when my dad watched it!). I still have that annual. Brings back so many memories.
5:13 Great Scotland Yard. It's Gerry Anderson's Stingray. Anything Happen In The Next Half Hour. Thanks Mate. X
I loved the show, as well as other Anderson series like Stingray and Supercar. I even had an XL5 model once upon a time. Thanks for this "blast from the past."
At 3:53 those looks like Star Trek (style) ships. I am 66 and remember XL5 as my first GA series. I eventually got the ship/toy
I got the XL5 spaceship fir Christmas as a kid. It had a rubberband launch with a parachute. One of my friends convinced me to attach a lit firecracker to it before launching it. Thst was the end of it one Christmas morning.
It was my favorite must see Saturday morning TV show when I was 12 years old. Still love it today, especially the CGI remakes on youtube. Then came Star Trek, can't help but think Gene Roddenberry may have been inspired by Fireball.
2:10 Great Scotland Yard. It's Captain Grey From Gerry Anderson's Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons The Original Series In 1967. Thanks Mate. X
in the days when kids were born at home, my brother was born in the front room of our house where mum's ed and the tv were. we had to leave the room when the mid-wife came! and missed that weeks episode!
_"Thank you very much Jerry"_ -- oh, hang on, that was Margot Ledbetter :-)
did like a bit of Margot......
Loved this! I’ve got a die cast model of XL5 and a CD box set
So cool.
Best (closing) theme by a mile.
I’d say my favourite vehicle is the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle from Captain Scarlet. It’s got so many gadgets and an iconic design from Derrick Meddings!
I love FBXL5
I still have my Fireball XL5 annual 😁. It’s seen better days but that’s because I read it and read it and read it.
Loved the show!
I grew up with Thunderbirds, thanks to my father, but I did not discover Fireball XL5 until I was an adult. I agree that it would be more popular if it were in color, but it is still a very delightful program for fans of Supermarionation.
All those great comics from the sixties too.
bro im a kid and i think the fireball xl5 ship still looks cool
I had a plastic (foot-long, I believe) XL-5 with figures, etc. as a kid. I'm 62 now. Bet that thing would be worth a small fortune now, but I played with that thing a LOT, I remember.
Fireball, Supercar and Thunderbirds were instrumental in me becoming a professional pilot. Now retired, I look back fondly to these shows and still watch them occasionally.
Remember watching this back in the day somewhere my have a model of the XL5
Jock Campbell was actually the Grandfather of Scotty in Star Trek. Not a lot of people know that.
I was there in 1962 watching it on my parent's 14 inch Bush TV set.
Wow!!! Couldn't wait for this to come on Saturday morning. I had a Space City that came with a large scale XL5. Lost it along the way. Great memories
AWESOME ! I LOVED Fireball XL-5 as a kid and still do at 61 :-) same here. I am in the US, don't think I ever saw all the episodes as a kid.
RIP Paul Maxwell (aka Steve Zodiac)... a truly underrated sci-fi legend🚀🌌☄️✨: Elijah Bailey in Out of the Unknown's Naked Sun 🤖, Lt. Jim Lewis in UFO 🛸, Captain Grey I Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons 👽 & Van Leuwen in ALIENS 👾
I got an XL5 Airfix model by collecting vouchers from some product, possibly breakfast cereal(?). My father made and painted the model for me and I got years of pleasure from it. Sadly, it got lost in one of our numerous moves with the Army. Now I see on eBay that it is worth silly money. Still wouldn't have sold it, though.
I grew up with Gerry Anderson's TV series; from pre-school with Twizzle through to Space: 1999. Fireball XL5 was one of the best.
Twizzle Im glad someone else remembers him. Torchie was another good one
@@hatfieldmain I was always perplexed - even as a five year old - by the flame on Torchy's rocket rising faster than the rocket itself..!
@@robinpinnock2678 Hi Another funny thing is that it was in Black and White but when I ever I have recalled it its in colour!
Grew up with it during the 60s in southern Ontario.
It all started with 'Four Feather Falls', then 'Mike Mercury' ('Open roof doors'). Then my favourite Fireball XL5. I'm so sad it was only in brown and white. Then the Daleks started advancing up the M! Great nostalgia - thanks.
Loved Robert the Robot .Such a great design.
When I saw that Don Spencers first single was for this I came searching for the song here on TH-cam, and found this channel in the process, so cheers for that XL5.
Watched on NBC, 1963, Sat. mornings!
Great programmes. Thanks for the memories.
I was only three when FB XL-5 aired on ITV in the early sixties. I had a Steve Zodiac's 'hoverscooter' and remember getting it wet in the bath, so I took the polypropylene 'jacket' off of the model and stuck it on the bars of the gas fire in the lounge... That day, I learned that plastic melts when heated in fornt of flame. I also had a FIreball XL5 jigsaw, which was in colour and a Dinky/Corgi 'Supercar' a Stingray and a few years later, all the Thunderbirds fleet and assoc vehicles. I think the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle, the UFO 'Mobiles' and 'SkyDiver'were the coolest vehicles to emerge from the Anderson design stable. And it all started with Supercar and Fireball XL5. I never watched 'Joe 90' as by that time, I'd grown out of the medium... Though I throughly enjoyed the UFO series, I found Space 1999 anachronistic, awkward and frankly boring in comparison, with a plot that was scientifically implausible.
Lovely video.
I grew up watching
Four Feather Falls
Supercar
Fireball XL5
Stingray
And best of all
Thunderbirds
Great days!
I remember it being on Saturday mornings...Loved it!
Fireball XL5 had some great ideas. Not least Fireball Junior going to the planet’s surface leaving the “Command Module” in orbit. Quite amazing in 1962 - way before NASA thought of it for the Apollo moon missions.
The idea of Fireball Junior intrigues me to this day.
That idea came from Canadian Jim Chamberlain and Owen Maynard, look them up, YT shadow deletes me whenever I enter an outside URL. Also Global New's documentary, "The Moon Landing and The Maple Leaf" . th-cam.com/video/fghEZwmdVoI/w-d-xo.html