Last week saw the American DVD release of "Gerry Anderson: A Life Uncharted" (MPI Home Video), a new documentary on the British producer, writer and director best known here as the man behind "Thunderbirds," the 1960s slow-action puppet adventure show — "filmed in Supermarionation" — and, among viewers of a certain age (or inclination), for its predecessors "Supercar," "Fireball XL5" and "Stingray."
Boy and man, I was and am a fan of these fanciful series, which are not like anything else television has ever offered, and which, along with later highlights and midlights of Anderson's career (which lasted in fits and starts into the 21st century), are still in circulation, a decade after Anderson's death in December 2012, on home video and to stream, legally and otherwise. Some have lived on through novels, comics, soundtrack albums, radio dramas, model kits and action figures; to date, there are nearly 250 episodes of the cheery, cheeky "The Gerry Anderson Podcast," co-hosted by youngest son Jamie Anderson. Anytime is the time to climb on board this atomic train.
None of Anderson's series lasted more than a season or two (not even the flagship "Thunderbirds," though it also produced two theatrical features). But this turnover meant that a variety of programs, several co-credited to second wife Sylvia Anderson — a credit Anderson regretted, along with the marriage itself, but which other collaborators say was deserved — were brought to fruition.
