Fireball XL5

Fireball XL5 was a science fiction-themed children's television show produced in Slough, Berkshire, UK in 1962 by the husband and wife team of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson through their company APF in association with ATV for ITC Entertainment.
The show featured the Andersons' Supermarionation marionettes, a form of puppetry first introduced in Four Feather Falls (1960), and used again in their subsequent shows such as Supercar (1961-1962), Stingray (1964-1965), Thunderbirds (1965-1966), Captain Scarlet (1967-1968), Joe 90 (1968-1969) and finally The Secret Service (1969). Special effects in Fireball XL5 were by Derek Meddings, with music by Barry Gray.
Thirty-nine black and white half-hour episodes were made on 35mm film: the series features the missions of spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol. Also aboard as part of the crew are the glamorous Doctor Venus, middle-aged navigator and engineer Professor Matthew Matic, and Zodiac's co-pilot Robert the Robot, notable for being transparent. Robert was also unique as the only character in an Anderson series that was actually voiced by Gerry Anderson himself, albeit with the aid of an artificial larynx.
Fireball XL5 is based at Space City, located on an unnamed island in the South Pacific, headquarters of the World Space Patrol headed by Commander Zero. Zero is assisted by Lieutenant Ninety. For some unspecified reason the 25 story T-shaped control tower at Space City rotates; in one episode the alien creature Zoonie the Lazoon inadvertently makes it rotate fast enough for those inside to suffer from vertigo. The patrol rocket Fireball XL5 takes off utilising a mile-long launch rail which culminates in a 40 degree incline, or sky ramp, which Anderson claims was inspired by an old Soviet design, a concept also used in the film When Worlds Collide.
There is a fleet of at least 30 'Fireball XL' ships (an XL30 is referred to in The Firefighters episode), of which XL5 is the most famous . The ship itself is made up of two detachable sections. The winged nose cone, known as Fireball Junior contains the cockpit and separates from the main body to land on other worlds. The rest of the ship contains the navigation bay, laboratory, lounge, workshops, crews quarters etc along with the fuel and main nutomic rocket motors for interstellar travel. It would generally keep station in orbit after arriving at an alien planet. When Fireball XL5 returnes to Space City it lands horizontally and without separating.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Fireball
• XL5
• Gerry
• Sylvia
• Anderson
• Venus
• Steve
• Zodiac
• Robert
• the
• Robot

[ChrisDutch]

What were the character's names?

[gerdenshed]

@ChrisDutch

The was Colonel Steve Zodiac, Doctor Venus, Lieutenant Ninety, Robert the Robot and don't forget Zoonie the Lazoon lol...

Mark.....

[gerdenshed]

@ChrisDutch

Try the info section above, they're all listed ;o)

Mark...

[robertwmartens]

A curious inconsistency: At 0:02 the characters are drawn like realistic humans, with facial expressions, but at 1:26 they're drawn more like the puppets with blank stares that they were!

[gerdenshed]

The first was an American comic the second on an English Annual cover

Mark...

[TralfazConstruction]

Yes it looks a little 'crude' 45 years after the fact.

This does not deter me from enjoying it in the spirit of an 8 year-old child as I was 8 years-old at the time it ran. "Fireball XL5" sparked my imagination and grew larger as time passed. When I did purchase all of the episodes on DVD back in '03 I found myself falling head over heels for it again. I've found it to be a great companion/diversion on rainy days when I'm shut-in catching up on my record keeping.

Long live "Fireball XL5".

[handsyhands]

I love all things Fireball and UFO, I have Don Spencer singing the shorter version of FBXL5 as my ringtone, it's amazing how many people remember this series. Is the link you sent to soulcornflake this longer version? if so, can I have it too ... please. Has anyone seen the bit in Love Honour and Obey where Sean Pertwee sings this at a Karaoke Bar ... genius!

[7oceansenergy]

Check out the curved bar just behind Steve Zodiac's head at around 34 seconds. TELL ME THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A STARGATE SEGMENT.

[7oceansenergy]

One of the characters looks like Gil Gerard from the later Buck Rogers TV Series. Somewhere I also spied one that looked like Actor James Garner of Rockford Files. And that professor dude looks a spitting image for Comedian Sid Caesar. And if you look extra close at some of the shots you can see the beginning ideas for Stargate's big ring device taking form. Using blond actresses was continued on into Space: 1999. They were all a good run.

[7oceansenergy]

The blond looks like Seven of Nine!!! A little SHORTER perhaps.....

[Honey2TheBee1]

I loved Fireball XL5. Steve Zodiac was my first crush!!!.... I was six or seven!!

Robert was the only robot that never scared me. ....(was that because he was transparent?hmm)>

Thanks.

[TralfazConstruction]

@Factnotfictionpeople Yes, I saw the "strings" too but after several minutes I was drawn back into the spirit of things. There was a certain innocence to the proceedings and I remember starting to feel the excitement about 10 minutes before the end of "Hector Heathcote"; this being during the original run of "Fireball XL5". Ah, the good old days.

[elafonisi08]

@Factnotfictionpeople Is that the same Don Spencer who used to present Play School?

[pshaw100]

They were still more animated than alot of todays "actors"

[Factnotfictionpeople]

@elafonisi08 Don Spencer WOULD be pleased......

[Factnotfictionpeople]

@TralfazConstruction LOL So you're the other 'saddo' that bought the DVD set, eh! I watched a few episodes, but man THOSE STRINGS! Like pieces of anchor cable. Still and all - a classic.....:-)