Neil Welch
I haven't bought the DVD set (I should add "yet", I suppose. But let me see what I remember:Robert the Robot intoning "On our way home" at the end of the episodeThose fabulous hover scootersZoonie the Lazoon's distinctive vocalisations (and sucker fingers) Venus (ah, Venus! the first artificial female I improbably fancied)(odd that Lady Penelope sounded exactly like her...) That take-off ramp, the second of Gerry Anderson's increasingly elaborate launch sequences My plastic Fireball XL5 model kit Every word of the theme song. All together now, "I wish I was a spaceman..." My die-cast Fireball XL5 model Fireball XL5 in TV21 comicCome on, I was 10! It was great! Now, where can I get those DVDs?
Rob_Taylor
My partner bought the entire series recently on DVD and I'm now being subjected to it. At least, the first few episodes deserve the word "subjected", because, after several episodes, I'm finding it to be annoyingly compulsive viewing.Sure, the effects are rubbish, the science is just plain silly (people can breath in space, for example, and have to "Swim" to get anywhere), the main HQ building rotates for no apparent purpose and the show is incredibly dated in terms of attitudes to the only female member of the crew and so on.Yet, despite these failings, it still manages to fascinate me. I never saw the show when it originally aired (I wasn't even born!), and my only knowledge of it came from a couple of TV Century 21 annuals I had in early life. I suspect that, had I been a kid when it was shown, I would have loved it. Even now, as an adult, it has things to offer, even if they are only seeing how ludicrous some of the puppets are and what new foolishness the crew can come up with.It's a little annoying to see the patronising attitude towards Venus who is relegated to housework (aboard the ship) and repeating the phrase "Steve, I'm scared" a lot.Still, for its day it was ground-breaking stuff and, although it may not stand up to modern values (both in production and sexism terms) it still is fun to watch.Ignore how cheap it all looks and just enjoy it.
theprisoner
This was the show that sparked my interest in Sci-Fi way back in 1962, being only five the opening shot of Steve and Venus flying past the fin of the huge spaceship Fireball XL5 filled me with wonder!Although this was a series for it's time it was one of the first to depict a space fleet of patrol ships monitoring our quadrant of space, notably used in Star Trek a few years later. The characters from the very first episode were amazingly fleshed out by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, only to be further developed by the talents of the other scriptwriters resulting in a fine continuity right up the last episode, unheard of in those days. Stories involved time travel, space pirates and of course earth domination, which had the puppets smoking, shaving, being tied up and the odd reference to child psychology! -Very adult for a child's T.V. series.My favourite episodes - A day in the life of a space general, Space Magnet & 1875 In all, superb sixties Sci Fi fun.
rsetchell
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!