Everything you wanted to know about the creator behind Thunderbirds, Stingray and more. Gerry Anderson: Life Uncharted is a brand new documentary, recorded before his death in 2012. It will now be released for the first time on Britbox on the 14th April.
An Introduction to his Work
Gerry Anderson and his wife Sylvia wrote 18 different series and a number of films. Starting out with puppet based action, he coined the term supermarionation. The characters were played by electronic marionettes with a moveable lower lip, which opened and closed in time with pre-recorded dialogue. They achieved using a solenoid in the puppet’s body. Supercar used this technique in its last episodes. Anderson filmed the series along with others in Slough.
A Little About Gerry Anderson: Life Uncharted
Gerry was one of two brothers. His older brother Lionel died as an heroic pilot during the second world war. Lionel was 20 and Gerry 12. Without spoiling the content of the documentary, that and his mother’s reaction had a huge impact on the series Anderson produced. Ever noticed that his creations lack a matriarch figure? Or why many of his programs featured flying? Where his inspiration for Space came from?
Despite modern tastes in TV, Anderson related works still clock up 15 million hits a month on social media. Enjoy a trip down memory lane. Find out about Anderson, his work and his inspirations.