FOREWORD
SUPERMARIONATION PRODUCTIONS
The specific art-form we know as "Supermarionation" came to be during the production of Four Feather Falls, but before the AP Films team got to that series, they were nevertheless advancing television puppetry in significant ways.
The four feathers on this hat are magic. They enable Tex Tucker's dog and horse to speak and his guns to fire without him even touching them. Armed with these gifts from Big Chief Kalamakooya, Tex protects the town of Four Feather Falls as its brave sherif.
With beauty and grace, as swift as can be, watch it flying through the air. It travels in space, or under the sea, and it can journey anywhere. It travels on land or roams the skies, through a heavens stormy rage. It’s Mike Mercury manned and everyone cries, “It’s the marvel of the age!"
Aboard the World Space Patrol ship Fireball XL5, the intrepid Captain Steve Zodiac and his crew explore the stars and protect the Earth from threats both extraterrestrial and closer to home.
Captain Troy Tempest commands the World Aquanaut Security Patrol vessel Stingray. It glides under the sea into the world below where beauty and mystery can always be found. It dives fearless and free chasing the strangest foe, but against all adversity sails homeward bound.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds Are GO! With their fleet of specially designed rescue craft, a host of gadgetary, and a secret island base at their disposal, the daring heroes of International Rescue leap into action whenever lives are in peril. If you are on the edge of disaster or stranded in outer space, call International Rescue no matter the time or place.
The SPECTRUM organisation combats the Mysterons, who wreak chaos with their ability to resurrect the dead as alien agents. Captain Scarlet is one of the first casualties of this conflict, but finds himself returned to life free of Mysteron influence. From this point forwards he is a key weapon in the fight agains the aliens. They crash him and his body may burn. They smash him, but they know he’ll return to live again.
When Professor McClaine perfects his BIG RAT brain programming machine, he soon discovers that his son Joe is the perfect candidate to step inside and gain the knowledge required to conduct a host of secret missions. Joe 90 has special glasses. Without them, he's a boy. Wearing them, he's an expert.
On the surface, Father Stanley Unwin appears to be a simple Parish Priest, but behind the dog collar he hides a double life as a secret agent for BISHOP (British Intelligence Service Headquarters, Operation Priest). Gifted in double talk and armed with a miniaturisation device that allows him to to shrink both his Model T Ford and his colleague Matthew, Father Unwin is ready to take on the stickiest of situations.
For the fiftieth anniversary of Thunderbirds, International Rescue returned for three brand new Supermarionation adventures. Utilising original 1960s cast records and a team of modern creatives, Thunderbirds was resurrected for a new generation to enjoy.
When an episode of ITV's hit detective drama Endeavour tackled a murder mystery in a puppet studio, Supermarionation was employed to bring scenes from the fictional television series Moon Rangers to life.
What are the secrets of Supermarionation? Lady Penelope and Parker return to tell all with the help of those who were there in the 1960s and with the aid of new recreations and previously unseen archive material.
COMING SOON
THE STORY CONTINUES
Sixty years after the art-form made its debut, new Supermarionation productions continue to be produced under the watchful eye of a new generation of creatives, with a little help from seasoned veterans of old.