Fireball Xl5: The Complete Series [DVD] [1962]

I picked up a cheap video of XL5 some weeks ago in a charity shop and it brought the memories flooding back so I just had to buy this DVD. This series is in my opinion the best thing Gerry Anderson did (hmm murmers of disapproval at the back there!). It is just so awesome. The fact that it is in black and white does not detract from the quality of adventure, excitement and fun at all. Something I always found a little lacking in Stingray and T-Birds.
As a child it captured my imagination and I can't wait to watch it with my toddler...I remember building my own XL5's out of lego ... and it certainly fired my desire for reading sci fi novels in later years.
The spaceship was and still is the coolest ever to appear on TV (as mentioned in the synopsis for the release), and seeing the shot of it's tail fin under dark and stormy looking skies at the beginning of each episode is awesome. The way it took off running down the launch track was great although I always wondered what happened to the little truck that flew off the end of the track once the spaceship had taken off!!!
Steve Zodiac the hero space pilot is so cool and Venus...what a babe! Robert as well has a certain robotic flair with his monotone robotic voice "On our way ooommmmeeee!".
A truly essential purchase and a long overdue release on DVD. Now what about Supercar????

if you are a fan of gerry anderson like me, you will NEED this! the old carlton box set was nice at the time, but in comparison to this excellent network release, it simply pales. its so nice and pleasing to have a company like network, who actually care about the products it puts out. they know they are producing the dvds for the fans and the care and attention to detail is always very welcome. indeed, all their box sets are worth checking out. this box set comes in a very hard cover and the two dvd sections are each in their own hardcovers too and are made up to resemble fireball XL5 annuals from the 1960s. they look (and feel) great! the actual info booklet is made up to look like a TV21 magazine and it is beautifully reproduced, well researched and very informative. not only are we treated to all 39 digitally remastered and restored episodes (thankfully in full screen and not cropped or compressed and in full dynamic mono), theres also a brand new and utterly stunning colourised version of one of the episodes on the bonus disc. it will knock your socks off! ive never seen a colourisation look like this EVER before! it certainly sets the standards for the future. the episode actually looks as if it was originally made in colour, not like the poor colourisations we are used to (if you dont believe me, on the network homepage there is a clip). whetever, this boxset is well worth the money and i can only recommend it with the highest of praise. well done network on another brilliant release!

It is 2062, and the World Space Patrol, located at Space City, watches the skies with the aid of its fleet of interplanetary XL rocket-ships. The hero of the half hour, Colonel Steve Zodiac, is the pilot of Fireball XL5 that protects Sector 25 beyond the Solar System from alien invasion. With Steve Zodiac in command, his crew consisted of Venus, a doctor of space medicine, Professor Matic, the science officer, Venus's pet Zoonie the Lazoon, and Robbie the Robot, the rocket's mechanical co-pilot. I was 6 when Fireball XL5 aired and ever since I've been a SciFi and realSci fan, going on from XL5 to the likes Dr Who, Lost in space, the moon landings and a PhD in astrophysics. However despite the oddities of the witty 60's script, the spaceship Fireball XL5, and its accessories like the hover scooters, are a fantastic iconic design (particularly in the colour stills). The storylines are quite strong for a kids series, and the aliens are quite convincing - although we seem to see many of them again quite soon as the fish people in Stingray. In many ways Fireball XL5 has a younger feel to it than later Anderson projects, so I expect boys nearer 5 to 7 would appreciate it most (or those now around 50 who first saw it at this age).

My son at 6 really took to the two XL5 videos I had, and like me he really really loved the Steve Zodiac song sung by Don Spencer at the end of each of episode, and we often used to have sing-alongs with it in the car. Although it was nice and thoroughly `modern' to let Venus (voiced by Sylvia Anderson) leave the nappies and washing behind and come along as part of the crew, it's not long before the good Dr of Space medicine is making the coffee or tripping over and screaming for male assistance. Typical Dr Venus quote `Oh I am a Tootie' - which I presume must be some sort of 2060's space bimbo. So Venus provides the backup for the two bachelor men, like doing the ironing, cooking, cleaning up after them, while also juggling a highly successful career. Typical Professor Matic quote 'Now now, Venus, none of your feminine intuition. Let's stick to the facts' - I expect they had to cut what happened next.

My only gripe is that a optional colourised version of the series hasn't been made available as the XL5 spacecraft would look great in colour (we have the very successfully colourised 'Bewitched' B&W seasons 1&2). My son (now 10) hasn't taken to the whole XL5 series though as he now can't tolerate the black and white TV - however he absolutely loves the B&W AP Films co-production `Torchy the battery boy' from 1958 so perhaps he is actually both too young and too old at 9 for this level of SciFi sophistication. What do I care, I bought the series for my 50th birthday - and he's happy with Joe90, Terrahawks and the new Captain Scarlet in full `HudsonColour'. And even now "I wish I was a spaceman, the fastest guy alive. We'd Fly around the universe in Fireball XL5. Way out in space together, conquerors of the sky, My heart would be a fireball, a fireball, and you would be my Venus of the skies."