Fantastic!

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

After the pretty limited but successful 'Supercar', Gerry Anderson pushed the boat out a lot further with 'Fireball XL5'. His effects set a whole new standard in puppet animation. Fireball was a comparatively large spaceship that blasted off from earth by means of an elevated trackway. It's an idea that might have been borrowed from the 1950's sci-fi spectacular 'When Worlds Collide'.The ship itself had a detachable nose-cone with huge panoramic windows like those of the later Millennium Falcon, and typified most spaceships of the vintage. How they withstood atmospheric re-entry wasn't made clear, but they were still in use on the drop-ship in 'Aliens'. The body of the vessel was mostly engine, which was at least partway right.Mike Mercury was the universal hero, assisted by a doting air-head who was his wife, I think. There was a boy, of course, a pet creature called a lazoon, and a transparent monotone robot that seemed to say nothing but 'approachingearthzatmozphere' in a single word. They all got into a variety of space adventures that often turned even the known science of the day on its head. But what the hell? so did 'Star Wars' 15 years later.At the time it became very popular, aided by an excellent merchandising campaign. It's own success paved the way for 'Stingray' and the incomparable 'Thunderbirds'.I haven't seen it for ages and expect that it now appears laughable. But at the time, lots of kids both big and small were glued to the telly for half an hour.Critics of the apparent sexism should bear in mind that the Andersons were a husband and wife team, and Ms Anderson had a considerable input during each program. So don't go blaming the blokes.

I remember watching this show and I was surprised, when it came out, to see puppets! I would have not watched it except that I loved the theme song so much. I would actually leave it on just to hear this song. It was the first song that really turned me on to music. I don't think I ever felt that way about any music until The Beatles came out a year later. I don't know if I would still like the song as much, but I probably would. The show never really knocked me out, but the song has stayed in my memory to this day.Because it had puppets portraying humans it seemed very primitive to me. I never could get past the primitive movement of these things. Maybe I was too old for the show and just left it on because of the song. I cannot say, but the song definitely had some real magic to it.

Fireball XL5 is one of my favourite Gerry Anderson shows.The theme tune is a great one as well.It took along time,but I managed to find a copy on ebay.They tend to be rather expensive as they are rare.I was very glad when we won it.It was well worth the wait.In the library,the only copy they had had gone missing.I can`t remember when but I was dissapointed. It speaks the same for other little known Gerry Anderson shows.They had all gone missing in the library for years and there were not any copies anywhere.Thankfully,a lot of Gerry Anderson shows are now being released on DVD.That goes for Fireball XL5 to. It is being released on DVD the 20th October.Yippee!

From the very outset, I was hooked by this show as a child. In a lot of ways, it was very advanced with a WOMAN doctor...even though Venus spent most of her time making coffee, cleaning up, or needing to be rescued. Robert was the best robot around, and Professor Mattic was just eccentric enough to be interesting, too. Coulda lived without the Lazoon, though. This show even had a first rate music score, too. But, it was that ship that had me! It was unlike most of the cramped ships in sci fi at the time. This one had a lounge, sleeping quarters, too. Its nose cone was detachable, and could land on the planets they visited. Most of the plots were pretty simple, but some stood out. One episode had XL5 in an unexplored area of space. The ship had been hit by meteors, and was losing its oxygen. They knew they had just a short time left, and even as a child, I was fascinated with how they were facing death. Of course, they just HAPPENED to wander into a part of the universe with its own air pocket, but hey..!I used to think I was the only person who even cared about this show, but thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I found out there were a LOT of fans out there world wide!I loved this show when I was young. I got as many episodes as were available on VHS when I could, and now, I see the entire series is on DVD! It probably won't win too many new fans in this day and age, but if you loved this show as a child, its a little reminder of a more innocent time. Enjoy the ride!