SHADO News - The Worlds of Gerry & Sylvia Anderson - New Classic Thunderbirds, New Captain Scarlet, New Space: 1999 book review

July
By Ken Parker

We have a very exciting article this time out with so many things to cover. So let's get right to it.

More Classic Thunderbirds to be made -This exciting announcement of the Kickstarter plan to produce at least one of the specially recorded 60's audio adventures for Thunderbirds has reached its original goal and is now at around $200,000 and on it's way to it's 3rd stretch goal.  The project's plan was to produce at minimum one, hopefully three of the original audio only tales from the 60's TV show Thunderbirds and create a video production using puppets, sets and miniatures.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1558089494/thunderbirds-1965-new-episodes-from-1960s-recordin

These short stories were created using sound effects, music and original cast member voices.  There were numerous releases that included shortened versions of some aired episodes but there were three original stories and these are being targeted for being made.

The Kickstarter plan has the blessing of ITV, Sylvia Anderson and the estate of Gerry Anderson. Project Producer Stephen La Riviere has already shown his interest in the product and has already worked with many of the original crew and others to recreate effects and sets for his Filmed in Supermarionation documentary.

I would go as far and say that if this Kickstarter is successful then there are other possibilities including stories from Stingray and Captain Scarlet.  This is feasible if the blessings continue to happen but what about a brand new interest in puppet series? If there is an interest in this and Jamie Anderson's successful Firestorm pilot, which is boasting similar practical effects and puppets, would we see new versions of any of the other series. Could a new original tale from Fireball X-l5 or Stingray see the light of day? Possible.

For now let's support this Kickstarter with it's three story plan.  Be part of this project, get your name on the disc and get a region free DVD or Blu-ray of the finished project!  

SHADO NEWS - Information about Gerry and Sylvia Anderson Related Projects - June 2015 - Thunderbirds Are Go TV Series, Christopher Lee and Firestorm

June 2015
By Ken Parker

Lots of cool Gerry and Sylvia Anderson related stuff this time out.  Not only do we have mini reviews of the remaining Thunderbirds are Go first 13 episodes, we will also look at some merchandise and look at what might have been with the Space: 1999 comic series.  We also pay tribute to a couple of actors who appeared in Space: 1999 as well as get an exciting update from the Gerry Anderson Kickstarter project, Firestorm.

Gerry inside the TARDIS!!

SHADO News -The Worlds of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson - Thunderbirds Are Go and Terrahawks

May 2015
By Ken Parker

We have a few things going on in this wonderful world of Anderson including the ongoing Thunderbirds Are Go TV series, new stories from Terrahawks and the ending of the Space: 1999 book range.  Enjoy!

Gerry Anderson News and Merchandise

Filmed in Supermarionation is a new documentary that is being worked on. Featured in HD, the documentary will have interviews, archive footage, clips and reconstructions.  It will be hosted by Thunderbirds' own Penelope and Parker (voiced by Sylvia Anderson and David Graham who both did the original voices for those characters).  It is slated for August 2014.

Space: 1999 Merchandise Update

The above artwork was done by Chris Thompson and is based on the original design work for the Space:1999 series by Chris Foss (Alien).  Read more about this and see more of Chris's great work here.

http://www.gerryanderson.co.uk/gerry-anderson-concept-designs-might-have-been/

A few new products for Space: 1999 fans coming out or are already out -

Fanderson to Produce Thunderbirds and Space:1999 Soundtrack Albums

The fan club dedicated to Gerry Anderson's work, Fanderson announced that they are working on two new music releases on CD which will include Gerry Anderson's most popular TV shows, Thunderbirds and Space: 1999.  Both CDs will include as much of the music from those two series as possible.  The music for both series was done by Barry Gray.

As with all of Fanderson's exclusive merchandise, these items, when available, will only be sold to Fanderson members.  ITV owns the rights to both series but have no interest in producing music releases and so have allowed Fanderson to sell the CDs exclusively to their members.  As with past releases the print run will be limited.  Past releases have come with excellent booklets and are superb products.

There are no prices or release dates as of yet but Thunderbirds is planned for later this year.

Fanderson has other albums from Supercar, Fireball-Xl5, Secret Service, UFO and Terrahawks.







To Join Fanderson - http://www.fanderson.org.uk/aboutfanderson.html

More info on the releases -
http://fanderson.org.uk/gerryandersonnews/2014/03/fanderson-to-release-thunderbirds-space1999-soundtracks/

You can join the Facebook site
https://www.facebook.com/groups/11721747151/permalink/10152334675822152/

Space:1999 – The Whispering Sea

By John Kenneth Muir

Review by Ken Parker

The next Space: 1999 book published by Powys Media covers a time span of the show that it has not been normally looked at, in between two episodes of the second season, namely after the opener, “The Metamorph.” With the threat of the power hungry alien, Mentor and his planet Psychon gone Moonbase Alpha face another challenge, an alien living amongst them. Maya, a survivor taken in by Commander John Koenig, tries to get used to living with humans and it won't be easy. There have been casualties but the horror of Psychon is behind the men and women of Moonbase Alpha, or is it? Their next planet to explore is the nearby Ekimmu and the Psychon influence might be there in the form of ghosts.

Continuity in TV Shows -Part Two – Fixing Mistakes Because We Can

By Ken Parker

My first part of this article was about how emphasis on continuity has changed over the decades. Series from the past had less continuity because it just wasn't as important. Beside serial type shows like Doctor Who, most shows would have very little progression of characters and overall plots. They would concentrate on individual stories and less on development of ongoing ideas. Because of this, fans have taken it upon themselves to fill in theses gaps in any way they can.

Space: 1999 – The Massive Change Explosion

The Anatomy of What Not to Do to a TV Series

By Ken Parker

As a 10 year old I fell in love with Space: 1999. Not sure if it was all the cool explosions or just the thrill of exploring outer-space with the men and women of Moonbase Alpha. I might also have been scared out of my mind but had to watch the next episode. I watched both seasons of the series and loved it all. If you were to ask Space: 1999 fans about the show, one of the topics of discussion that always comes up is the differences between season 1 and 2. Shows often will go through changes but Space: 1999 underwent a massive explosion of changes.

The following article will take a look at the changes, why they were done and what went wrong with these changes. In a future article I will look at continuity specifically for Space: 1999 and how that ties into fandom and the recent books and comics adapting new adventures from the series.

Classic Space: 1999 - To Everything That Was - Comic Collection Review

By Ken Parker

Space: 1999 is my favorite show of all time and so when a product comes out like this, it has gotten my attention for sure.  After enjoying the first compilation of comics, Space: 1999 Aftershock and Awe, I figured I was all in on the rest of this series of comics.  This one would be not all original as it would reprint some of the original comic books and strips from the Annuals from the 70's.  Not just keeping it a straight reprint, publisher Archaia has made some changes to the comics in order to tie in with the continuity from the series and their own vision of the Space: 1999 tale which is represented in a new original story at the end of this collection.

Space: 1999 Novels Slated for 2014

Powys Media is prepping several more Space: 1999 books for release. In addition to the Year One Omnibus which reprints all the Space: 1999 first season novels, there are four original novels planned for release.  Powys Media has already produced over 10 original and reprinted Space: 1999 novels.

The books of the past have included stories set in between season one and two of the series as well as beyond season 2.  "The Whispering Seas", "Black Doves", "The Final Revolution" and "Odysseus Wept" are the planned books for 2014.

http://www.captphilonline.com/powys/

Standby for Action as Anderson Entertainment’s first Gerry Anderson convention is Go!

The event promises to deliver an “Exclusively Anderson” experience, celebrating the life and legacy of British television's most celebrated Science Fiction producer, and creator of telefantasy classics including Thunderbirds, Space 1999, Joe 90, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Stingray.

AnderCon 2014 will be taking place on the weekend of Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th April, 2014, at the Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow Airport, London.

There will be guest appearances from many of the stars of some of his most celebrated shows across the weekend, including from Space 1999 Zienia Merton, Prentis Hancock & Pam Rose, Space Precinct’s David Quilter & Richard James and Thunderbirds David Graham, Matt Zimmerman & Shane Rimmer, Liz Morgan from the original Captain Scarlet and the wonderful Denise Bryer, who played the evil Zelda in Terrahawks.

The event also aims to bring to life the creativity and ingenuity of those early studio days through displays of production drawings together with recreations of actual sets used in the filming of classic shows such as Thunderbirds and Stingray, including; Brains Laboratory, an explosive Refinery, the Rolling Road beloved of many an action sequence, and Stingray’s “underwater” tank, complete with fish alongside some of the surviving full sized vehicles that appeared in Anderson’s productions. Production personnel attending currently includes Mike Trim, Steve Begg, Kevin Davies, Crispin Merrell, Terry Adlam, Des Saunders, Phil Ford, and from the very beginning, Gerry’s original business partner at AP Films, Arthur Provis.

In addition to props and models used in the actual filming of Anderson’s shows, there will be an impressive display of reproduction props and models courtesy of fan collectors and prop builders. The restored Strakers Car from UFO will also be unveiled at the event.

More information on the event can be found on the events website – www.andercon.co.uk with additional guests and event attractions to be announced in the coming months.

As Terrahawk’s Dr “Tiger” Ninestein once said, “Expect the unexpected!”

© Anderson Entertainment 2013


Donations for me to go will be gladly accepted...... just kidding.

Nick At Nite Promos Featuring Space: 1999 and Captain Scarlet

Here are a few UK Nick at Nite Promos from Gerry Anderson's Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Space: 1999, etc that you might find amusing.

New Gerry Anderson Website

Do you remember Thunderbirds?  Captain Scarlet?  UFO? Space: 1999?  They were all created by Gerry Anderson and a new website has been launched focusing on his many productions.

Jamie Anderson, Gerry Anderson's son, has helped set up a new official Gerry Anderson website in memory of his dad who passed away in December, 2012.

http://www.gerryanderson.co.uk/

The site promises some unique material and will have updates on some exciting new projects that many or may not include the new Thunderbirds remake.

Space: 1999 Aftershock and Awe Review

Space: 1999

Aftershock and Awe

Comic Book Compilation

Review by Ken Parker

On September 13, 1999 an accident caused an explosion which knocked the moon out of the Earth's orbit. The people on Moonbase Alpha survived and went on to have many harrowing adventures in deep space. What of Earth? Was it devastated beyond all repair? Did anyone survive? Now in this comic book continuation of the original Space: 1999 TV series we have our answers.

Mild Spoilers

Space: 2099 - Official

A remake of Space: 1999 is in the works.  ITV Studios America and HD Films are working on an updated remake.   Jace Hall (the recent V Remake) is Executive Producer.

http://www.space2099theseries.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Space2099TheSeries

http://www.deadline.com/2012/02/contemporary-reboot-of-1970s-sci-fi-series-space-1999-in-the-works/

This is different than the fan production Space: 2099 Monbase Alpha's Legacy.