Fireball XL5: The Vault

1 - My Opinion/Planet 46

This section of the book is meant to cast my own personal views and interest in the series. As there is too much to cover in simply this one chapter, this book will see my own views and interest throughout almost every part, but more explicitly in this part. Bearing in mind, this is just my opinion, and if yours differ that's perfectly fine. If any information in this book is incorrect, please kindly let me know and I will do what I can to rectify it.

Fireball XL5 was a series I originally didn't get so much into at first. It may be surprising for such a big SUPERMARIONATION fanatic to say that at first, I wasn't so heavily engrossed in Fireball XL5 as much as the previous SUPERMARIONATION programs I had watched. The only SUPERMARIONATION production I had yet to watch was The Secret Service after watching Fireball XL5. Beginning in October 2017, I already had a great deal of understanding about the show having read about it in other Gerry Anderson related books, websites, and searches (much of that knowledge will be used throughout this book). I knew of the success of Fireball, the characters, premise, and of course the mighty Fireball XL5 itself. In Graham Bleatham's excellent SUPERMARIONATION Cross-sections book (Carlton Books, 2001), a fantastic cutaway design of Fireball was included with designs of vehicles and headquarters from Stingray up to Joe 90. It was partly through this in which I aimed at getting a chance of watching the shows featured in the book, and eventually I was able to do so (at this point, Thunderbirds I had already seen and several episodes of Captain Scarlet). 

When I first began watching Fireball XL5, sure I enjoyed it, but I didn't become, as I've already mentioned, so much enthralled with it as the other SUPERMARIONATION programs I had watched. I think this was because I didn't find it as believable as the other shows. Oxygen tablets, Zoonie's antics, and silly, adventure stories made it as such. This was not to say that I disliked it, nor to say I did not get into it by any means, now I enjoy it as much as the other Anderson productions. I gave the first ten episodes, and some of my favourites, a run in May 2018. For some reason or other, I stopped watching the series and moved onto reruns of other Anderson shows. In August 2019, Century 22 Productions felt the time was right to write a Fireball XL5 story for its sixteenth publishing. The Deepest Reach Into The Unknown (2019) was a far darker, and more serious story than any other Fireball XL5 episode. Some of the feelings I had of the series (such as its silliness and oxygen tablets) were removed from this episode. The gag about oxygen pills was later taken out as I felt it was a bit of an attack on the series, and I think the darker tone of the episode was a little unfaithful to the light-hearted fun style of the series. So I do regret a little bit in doing such things. This more upbeat style was reinserted into later works of Fireball XL5. Having originally stated against doing crossovers in works, my mind changed and realised that among my crossovers would be SUPERMARIONATION themed works. A full SUPERMATIONATION crossover I knew I wanted to do, and throughout the various crossovers I did, I hinted at further crossovers yet to come helping establish a universe of Gerry Anderson's productions. Commander Zero and Lieutenant Ninety appeared in a cameo in Doctor Who/Thunderbirds: Leader Of The IronSword in 2020. The entire WSP cast finally appeared in The Worlds Of SUPERMARIONATION: The Hatching Horror in 2022.

The same year, for the series' upcoming 60th Anniversary, I watched the entire series in March and again in August. In the March rerun, my opinions of Fireball XL5 drastically changed. I see it much more now as an exciting adventure show with plenty of tension and endless boundaries. I relished in the fun and silly attitude of the show, and felt much more attached to the characters as I do with the other Anderson productions. Some of my favourite episodes include Space City Special, Dangerous Cargo, Planet Of Platonia, 1875, Drama At Space City and XL5 to H20. I don't believe that there is one poor story in the series, or even an odd mediocre one. All the episodes hold up decades later very strongly for modern audiences to enjoy to this day, which is a real testament to the AP Films production team. I also own various Fireball XL5 themed memorabilia, albeit in Gerry Anderson themed tie in books which elaborate on the production of Fireball XL5. Aside from the Cross-sections book, I have the Filmed In SUPERMARIONATION DVD, and The Worlds Of Gerry Anderson by Ian Fryer (Fronthill Media, 2016). I watch the series on Youtube and do not own the series on DVD or Blu Ray. I was tempted with the deluxe Blu Ray set from 2021 but it was very expensive - £60! If say Fireball XL5 was one of my favourite Anderson productions, like Stingray is so therefore I purchased the Stingray Deluxe Edition even if it was £80, then I'd purchase it.