Fireball XL5 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fireball XL5 |
|
|---|---|
Title card
|
|
| Genre | Children's science fiction |
| Created by | Gerry and Sylvia Anderson |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by |
|
| Voices of |
|
| Composer(s) | Barry Gray |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Gerry Anderson |
| Cinematography |
|
| Editor(s) |
|
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | AP Films |
| Distributor | ITC Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | Black-and-white 35 mm film |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | 28 October 1962 – 27 October 1963 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Supercar |
| Followed by | Stingray |
Fireball XL5 is a classic British children's science fiction puppet TV show from the 1960s. It tells the exciting stories of Fireball XL5, a cool spaceship from the World Space Patrol. The show is set in the year 2062, and the crew of XL5 travels through space, protecting Earth from alien dangers and meeting all sorts of different alien groups.
The show was created by a husband-and-wife team, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. They made it with their company, AP Films, for ITC Entertainment. Fireball XL5 was special because it used a technique they called "Supermarionation". This meant that puppets were the main characters, and their mouths moved perfectly with the voices of the actors.
Colonel Steve Zodiac, the brave commander of XL5, was voiced by Paul Maxwell. Two other important characters, Robert the Robot and Dr. Venus, were voiced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson themselves! The amazing special effects, like the spaceships and alien worlds, were created by Derek Meddings.
Filming for the 39 episodes of Fireball XL5 started in February 1962. The show first aired in the UK on 28 October 1962, on the ITV network. It was also shown in the United States on NBC, which was a big deal! Besides the TV show, there were also audio plays, comic strips, books, and toys. The show was very popular and was repeated on British TV for many years. You can still find it on DVD today!
The music from Fireball XL5 was also very popular. The closing song, "Fireball," sung by Don Spencer, even became a hit in the UK music charts.
Contents
Meet the Crew and Their Mission
The show takes place in the year 2062. The main spaceship is called Fireball XL5, and it belongs to the World Space Patrol. Its job is to keep space safe.
The Brave Crew of XL5
- Colonel Steve Zodiac (voiced by Paul Maxwell): He is the pilot and leader of Fireball XL5. He's super brave and was even named "Astronaut of the Year" in one episode!
- Doctor Venus (voiced by Sylvia Anderson): She is the space doctor on XL5. She's from France and was personally chosen by Colonel Zodiac to join the crew.
- Professor Matthew "Matt" Matic (voiced by David Graham): He is the ship's engineer, navigator, and science expert. He's very smart and invents cool gadgets.
- Robert the Robot (voiced by Gerry Anderson): He is the co-pilot of XL5. He's a transparent robot invented by Professor Matic and is Earth's most advanced robot. He often says, "ON-OUR-WAY-'OME!" when they return to base.
- Zoonie the Lazoon (voiced by David Graham): He is Venus's pet from a planet called Colevio. Zoonie is a bit lazy and can read minds! At first, he can only say "welcome home," but he learns more words by copying others.
Space City and the World Space Patrol
The World Space Patrol is based at Space City, which is on an island in the South Pacific Ocean. The boss of the World Space Patrol is Commander Wilbur Zero (voiced by John Bluthal). He's tough but cares a lot about his team, especially Colonel Zodiac. His assistant is Lieutenant Ninety (voiced by David Graham), who is young and still learning.
The XL5 takes off from a very long launch rail that ends with a steep ramp. When it comes back to Space City, it lands straight down using special rockets.
How Fireball XL5 Works
The Fireball XL5 spaceship has two main parts. The front part is a winged nose cone called Fireball Junior. This is where the cockpit is, and it can fly down to planets on its own. The bigger back part of the ship has the navigation room, a lab, workshops, a lounge, and the crew's living areas. It also has the powerful rocket engines for traveling through space. Usually, the main part stays in orbit while Fireball Junior goes down to explore a planet.
The crew doesn't need to wear spacesuits outside the ship. Instead, they take "oxygen pills" to breathe in space and use jetpacks to move around. The ship also has a special radio that lets them talk to other ships instantly, even across huge distances.
Exciting Episodes of Fireball XL5
There are 39 episodes in total, each about 25 minutes long. Here are some examples of the adventures the XL5 crew has:
- Planet 46 (First Aired: 28 October 1962): Fireball XL5 stops a missile heading for Earth. Colonel Zodiac and Venus land on Planet 46 and are captured by the evil Subterrains.
- The Doomed Planet (First Aired: 4 November 1962): Zodiac tries to save a planet that has flown out of its orbit and is about to crash into another planet.
- Space Immigrants (First Aired: 11 November 1962): Venus pilots a ship carrying pioneers to a new planet, but the aliens living there don't want them to settle.
- Plant Man From Space (First Aired: 18 November 1962): A scientist tries to take over Earth using alien plants that grow out of control!
- Spy in Space (First Aired: 25 November 1962): Mr and Mrs Space Spy try to steal Fireball XL5 from a space station.
- The Sun Temple (First Aired: 2 December 1962): On the planet Rejusca, Zodiac and Zoonie must save Venus from sun worshippers who want to sacrifice her.
- XL5 To H2O (First Aired: 9 December 1962): The XL5 crew answers a distress call from a planet attacked by a strange fish man with a poisonous smoke gun.
- Space Pirates (First Aired: 16 December 1962): The XL5 crew tries to outsmart space pirates who are stealing from other ships.
- Flying Zodiac (First Aired: 23 December 1962): Zodiac almost gets hurt at a Space City circus as part of a plan by Mr and Mrs Space Spy to help aliens take over Earth.
- Space Pen (First Aired: 30 December 1962): The XL5 crew pretends to be criminals to go to a prison planet and catch two Space City raiders.
- Space Monster (First Aired: 6 January 1963): Zoonie's ability to copy sounds helps the crew when they investigate a missing spaceship and face a space monster.
- The Last of the Zanadus (First Aired: 13 January 1963): An evil alien plans to destroy all Lazoons with a deadly virus. When Zoonie gets sick, the crew must find the cure quickly.
- Planet of Platonia (First Aired: 20 January 1963): The XL5 crew stops a plot to kill the King of the Platinum Planet and start a war with Earth.
- The Triads (First Aired: 27 January 1963): The crew meets friendly giants on Triad, a planet three times the size of Earth, and helps them explore space.
- Wings of Danger (First Aired: 3 February 1963): Zodiac is poisoned by a robot bird with dangerous radium capsules. Venus saves him, but the bird is still a threat.
- Convict in Space (First Aired: 10 February 1963): Mr and Mrs Space Spy send a fake distress call to trick Zodiac into giving them a prisoner he is transporting.
- Space Vacation (First Aired: 17 February 1963): A vacation on planet Olympus turns into a race against time when the crew gets caught in a strange space feud.
- Flight to Danger (First Aired: 24 February 1963): Lieutenant Ninety must fly around the Moon alone to earn his astronaut wings, but his rocket catches fire!
- Prisoner on the Lost Planet (First Aired: 3 March 1963): Steve answers a distress call and finds himself on a volcano planet with an exile who threatens to cause an eruption if he doesn't help her escape.
- The Forbidden Planet (First Aired: 10 March 1963): Matic uses his new invention to see the planet Nutopia, but the Nutopians have their own invention: a matter transporter!
- Robert to the Rescue (First Aired: 17 March 1963): The XL5 crew is trapped on an unknown world by aliens who want to erase their memories. It's up to Robert the Robot to save them!
- Dangerous Cargo (First Aired: 24 March 1963): Zodiac and Matic are caught in a trap while on a mission to destroy a dangerous ghost planet.
- Mystery of the TA2 (First Aired: 31 March 1963): The crew finds a wrecked spaceship and searches for its pilot, Colonel Denton, who has become king of the Ice People on planet Arctan.
- Drama at Space City (First Aired: 7 April 1963): Commander Zero's son, Jonathan, explores XL5 at night, leading to a scary adventure when the ship launches and catches fire.
- 1875 (First Aired: 14 April 1963): Matic builds a time machine that sends Zodiac, Venus, and Commander Zero back to the Wild West in 1875!
- The Granatoid Tanks (First Aired: 21 April 1963): Scientists on a glass planet ask for help when they are attacked by Granatoid tanks. A stowaway helps the XL5 crew.
- The Robot Freighter Mystery (First Aired: 28 April 1963): Zodiac tries to prove that two dishonest space contractors are sabotaging robot supply ships to steal their parts.
- Whistle for Danger (First Aired: 5 May 1963): A disease destroys all plants on the jungle planet Floran. The crew detonates a bomb to fix it, but the Florans imprison them.
- Trial by Robot (First Aired: 12 May 1963): Robots are disappearing, linked to Professor Himber. Robert goes missing, and Zodiac and Matic are put on trial by the professor, who rules his kidnapped robot race.
- A Day in the Life of a Space General (First Aired: 19 May 1963): Lieutenant Ninety dreams he's a Space General, but his lack of experience causes big problems.
- Invasion Earth (First Aired: 26 May 1963): A strange cloud hides an alien invasion force heading for Earth!
- Faster Than Light (First Aired: 2 June 1963): An out-of-control Fireball breaks the light barrier and ends up in a sea of air.
- The Day the Earth Froze (First Aired: 9 June 1963): Icemen from planet Zavia block the Sun's rays, making Earth freeze over.
- The Fire Fighters (First Aired: 16 June 1963): Fireballs fall to Earth from a mysterious gas cloud. The XL5 crew must stop the cloud, but a technical problem forces Steve to finish the job by hand.
- Space City Special (First Aired: 23 June 1963): Zodiac, named "Astronaut of the Year," needs all his skill to help Venus land a supersonic plane after its pilot is put in a trance by the Subterrains.
- Ghosts of Space (First Aired: 6 October 1963): Zodiac and a geologist try to solve the mysteries of the empty planet Electron, which has electric rocks and strange ghost-like events.
- Hypnotic Sphere (First Aired: 13 October 1963): Robert the Robot saves the day when the rest of the XL5 crew are hypnotized by a sphere that has been hijacking space freighters.
- Sabotage (First Aired: 20 October 1963): A bomb is placed on XL5, and its crew is kidnapped!
- Space Magnet (First Aired: 27 October 1963): An alien race called the Solars have their own plans for Earth's moon.
Alien Worlds and Planets
Many episodes of Fireball XL5 feature exciting and unique planets:
- Arctan: An ice planet where Colonel Denton becomes "King" of the Ice People.
- Conva: A planet that serves as a giant prison for criminals.
- Hedera: A planet full of plants, home to a wild ivy called Hedera helixa.
- Magneton: A planet visited in "Space Magnet," where invisible aliens called Solars live.
- New Earth: A planet with a thin atmosphere that pioneers from Earth try to settle.
- Planet 46: A barren planet with an oxygen atmosphere, home to the unfriendly Subterrains.
- Platonia: A planet rich in platinum, inhabited by silver-skinned aliens.
- Triad: A planet three times the size of Earth, with giant, friendly human inhabitants.
More Fireball XL5 Adventures
The TV show was so popular that it led to many other exciting things!
Audio Play and Comics
An audio play called Journey to the Moon was released in 1965. It was an educational adventure where a boy dreams he meets the XL5 crew and learns about space travel.
Fireball XL5 also had its own comic strips! They appeared in magazines like TV Comic and TV Century 21. These comics continued the adventures of the XL5 crew in colorful stories. There were also four annual books with more comics and stories.
Toys and Collectibles
Just like many popular shows, Fireball XL5 had lots of toys! You could find model kits of the spaceship, action figures, ray guns, and even water pistols. These toys let kids create their own space adventures at home.
Watching Fireball XL5 Today
You can still watch Fireball XL5 today! The entire series has been released on DVD in many countries. In 2009, a special colorized version of one episode, "A Day in the Life of a Space General," was even released on Blu-ray Disc.
Fireball XL5 Around the World
Fireball XL5 was shown in different countries and sometimes had different names:
- : Fusée XL5 (Rocket XL5)
- : El Capitán Marte y el XL5 (Captain Mars and the XL5) – In Latin America, Colonel Zodiac was called Captain Mars!
- : Πύρινη Σφαίρα (Pyrine Sphaera = Ball of Fire)
- : 宇宙船XL-5 (Uchuusen XL-5 = Spaceship XL-5)
See also
In Spanish: El Capitán Marte y el XL5 para niños
