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Fireball XL5 [1962] (REGION 1) (NTSC) DVD ~ Paul Maxwell

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Amazon.co.uk Review
Languishing in the vaults for decades, during which time it became a semi-legendary show among TV fans of a certain age, Fireball XL5 (1962) was Gerry Anderson's second puppet-animation science fiction series, the direct forerunner of Stingray (1963) and Thunderbirds (1964). This is the show on which Anderson established the formula for his later classics: a pseudo-military organisation engaged in desperate Earth-saving adventures against overwhelming odds; superb model work; puppets with very obvious strings but endearing personalities; iconic music by Barry Gray; and absolutely massive explosions.

Colonel Steve Zodiac pilots the coolest spaceship then seen on British TV, the titular Fireball XL5, and is joined by medical officer Venus, a forerunner of Lady Penelope voiced by Sylvia Anderson, and comedy relief Prof Matt Matic (David Graham). Along for the ride is Robert the Robot, a thinner version of Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956), a character who would soon turn up in Lost in Space (1965). The plots are ridiculous, with typically Cold War-era aliens routinely bent on planetary destruction for no reason, and there's zero attention to even rudimentary astronomy or anything else approaching actual science. Yet the gadgets, vehicles and puppetry are first-rate and the fast-paced, action-filled episodes are relentlessly entertaining. It's a cult just waiting to be reborn, and essential viewing for all Anderson fans.

On the DVD: Fireball XL5 is presented with all 39 episodes (they run 25 minutes each) on five discs. Despite the colourful packaging, the episodes are all black and white, and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though there are occasional instances of over-compression, which results in artefacting on smooth walls and the like. Some shots look a little soft, but detail is usually strong, making the models and puppets look better than ever. The mono sound is fine, if unremarkable. There are no extras beyond optional subtitles. --Gary S Dalkin

DVD Description

Before "Captain Scarlet", before "Thunderbirds" and even before "Stingray", Gerry Anderson's TV career was rocketing into the stratosphere with Fireball XL5. First shown on TV in 1962, this black and white string-puppets-in-space series captivated viewers around the world when it was released. The Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series DVD box set contains all 39 original episodes on five discs, and has a run time of over 16 hours.

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7 Reviews 5 star:  (6) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review (7 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   23 of 23 people found the following review helpful: Rocket fuelled fun, 21 Oct 2003 By  Nick Clarkson (Middleton, Manchester) - See all my reviews    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????  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   21 of 21 people found the following review helpful: Fireball XL5 - still fantastic 50 years on, 15 Feb 2006 By  Keith Joseph (West Berkshire, England) - See all my reviews       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."  Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   19 of 19 people found the following review helpful: It's real BOSS, 13 April 2005 By  "ghatcher6" - See all my reviews I was 8yrs old when Fireball XL5 was on TV. As we only had BBC, probably saw it at a wealthy friends house. But the memory has been revitalised, and this DVD set has given hours of pleasure to a syndicate of three doctors. It's astonishing to see what could be achieved with, presumably, almost no finance. The time spent on the sets, not to mention the seriousness of the fireworks. Perhaps one feels the modelling is so close to what we might have had ourselves, as children, that you feel more personally involved with it, than current films that are so 'realistic'. It also shows that a fertile imagination for the story is so much more important than the actual quality of what we expect to see nowadays. As with Stingray and Thunderbirds, the humour is very much present, and beautifully observed. It has an amazing number of technological ideas that we all thought were developed by other sci-fi programs - teleportation, time travel, booster rockets at launch, and Fireball Junior landing just like the Apollo moon shots, it's all there. Some of the screenplay is 'interesting', I just have to say 'I feel rather Tooty' for others to know what I am referring to. Life was clearly simpler in 1962- Prof Mattic 'I think we're going to have to blow this planet up' Steve Zodiac 'OK -I agree. Robert steer 687zeroBlack, launch missile' BANG. Thankyou Gerry Anderson for giving so much pleasure.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?