Fireball XL5 history

Fireball XL5 was a science fiction-themed children's television show produced in Slough, Buckinghamshire, UK in 1962 by the husband and wife team of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson through their company APF in association with ATV for ITC Entertainment.

The show featured the Andersons' Supermarionation marionettes, a form of puppetry first introduced in Four Feather Falls (1960), and used again in their subsequent shows such as Supercar (1961-1962), Stingray (1964-1965), Thunderbirds (1965-1966), Captain Scarlet (1967-1968), Joe 90 (1968-1969) and finally The Secret Service (1969). Special effects in Fireball XL5 were by Derek Meddings, with music by Barry Gray.

Thirty-nine black and white half-hour episodes were made on 35mm film: all future Anderson series would be produced in colour.

A very similar program often confused with Fireball XL5 is Space Patrol (known as Planet Patrol in the US) due to a number of similarities and settings.

The show was a major success for the Andersons, being the first of their marionette shows to be sold to a US TV network (NBC), a rarity for British programmes at the time.