http://www.jamieanderson.me.uk/gerry-anderson-has-died/ It's a sad day when the world loses such an inspiring visionary. May he rest in peace!
Damn. Although I'm too young to have been around when his shows first aired, reruns of Thunderbirds were on TV during my childhood years. In fact, the early 90s there was something of a Thunderbirds revival with episodes released on VHS and new toys released (die-cast metal "dinkies" of the Thunderbirds and action figures of the characters). I seem to remember his other shows being showsn in early 90s as well, like Captain Scarlet and Stingray, though those didn't catch on as much as Thunderbirds. RIP.
Such a shame, and a great pity his final years were blighted by dementia he managed to help front the Memory Walks run by the Alzheimer's Society over the summer, so he was doing things almost to the end. Saw him at an event at the National space Centre in Leicester a couple of years ago, he seemed somewhat confused but this made more sense when his condition was revealed a few months later.
I was never one much for Thunderbirds (simply didn't show where I lived) and Space: 1999 (wonky science), but... Growing up in country NSW, miles from anywhere, a whole world opened up with Supercar, Stingray, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, the Secret Service, and a little later UFO. To say he was a huge influence on my imagination is a wild understatement. To say that I looked forward to what was coming next from him, the same. I had a Stingray annual in the mid 60s that I read and reread until it literally fell to bits. To say that I am sad today is well short of the mark.
Such sad news. I don't think there are any sci-fi fans (certainly not in Britain) who weren't aware of Mr Anderson and the shows his team created. Colourful, innovative and visually impressive, pioneering in terms of effects and filming techniques - but in addition to all the impressive hardware and action adventure, the puppet shows were often whimsical, silly and delightfully bonkers, which gave them appeal across all age groups. Also produced two of the greatest adult sci-fi shows ever (certainly in my all-time top 5): "UFO" and "Space: 1999". It is an impressive body of work that will stand as his lasting monument. I think it's fair to say that he was the most famous tv producer ever, in terms of being identified with his work. There are plenty of producers known for one or two great hits, but Gerry is unique in that his entire output is synonymous with his name. The "Gerry Anderson production" seems like a genre of its own. And that's a fantastic legacy. RIP Gerry.
Sad news, Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds, UFO and especially Space:1999 were a huge part of my childhood. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
Damn. This has really hit me the more I look back on his shows. I grew up in the early/mid 90s watching reruns and playing with the toys of everything I could get my hands on - Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Stingray mainly. Almost everything he was involved with had a quality to it to some degree. Yes, even Space Precinct and New Captain Scarlet had their moments. It's terribly sad to live in a world where we'll no longer look forward to a new Gerry Anderson project
He knew how to make very entertaining shows. It's a shame he didn't get to make he proposed new Thunderbird series he had been mentioning for years, I guess his condition put a stop to him working on it.
Read at one point he was trying to bring Thunderbirds back to tv via cgi as was done a few years back with Captain Scarlet but I guess that will never happen. Never into real saw any of his early shows but watched thunderbirds and can remember space:1999 on it's first run on Australian tv. Might have even scene them before seeing Star Trek . Was 14 at the time but was miffed at Terrahawks being pre-empted after the loss of the Challenger (my first encounter with media regurgitation in story coverage).