The clear depiction of sexism toward Dr Venus has not gone unnoticed by modern viewers and critics alike. It is Venus who is usually depicted doing the cooking the "Old fashioned way", and is regularly joked about being a woman throughout the series. In Last Of The Zanadus, Zodiac broke the fourth wall and stated "Women, they haven't changed one bit since the 1960s". Aside from the sexual stereotypes which modern audiences would find insulting today, the humour is original (and very well written - not to say that makes the sexist jokes acceptable by any means). In spite of the sexism she has to put up with, Venus was the first heroine of any Gerry Anderson series. Previously, the only regular female character we had in Four Feather Falls was not a heroine who joined Tex Tucker on fighting crime from those like Pedro and Fernado. In Supercar, there was no female member of the cast at all! There were occasional female guest characters, but with Venus we have a very first female lead in an Anderson series!
In terms of helping progression towards women, even if she is mocked for her gender, this is something we should celebrate. It is from here where we begin building upon greater female leads we saw with later Anderson productions. Marina from Stingray, although mute, saved the day on multiple occasions. Even still, her gender was still mocked by men in episodes such as Sea Of Oil and Countdown. This was to change entirely with the next AP Films/Century 21 production. Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds alone was an enormous merchanding success. She appeared in TV21 months before Thunderbirds debuted on ITV in her own special comic, and she later generated her own Lady Penelope comic and her own novels. Talk about role models for women in the 1960s! The Angels from Captain Scarlet also starred in their own novels too, and, like with the previous shows, are fondly remembered elements to an Anderson production. The Angels, however, are only remembered as a collective than individually, apart from maybe Destiny Angel. Although female leads were absent from Joe 90 and The Secret Service, UFO featured many strong female leads, at a point where the second wave of feminism was underway. Space: 1999 had Dr. Helena Russell, and in Series 2, shape-changing Maya, and Terrahawks had Mary Falconer and Kate Kestrel. By the time of Lavender Castle, third wave feminism was established and we had a very strong lead in Lyca, the Paradox's doctor. Gender swaps occurred with New Captain Scarlet, set in a different universe to that in the original. And finally, from Thunderbirds Are Go!, Kayo was another strong female lead.
Therefore, we can see that Venus was the start of a long line of iconic female leads that followed after Fireball XL5 - making the series another equally important Anderson production. The female leads followed the timings of feminism's progression. Even if sexism was still apparent in Fireball XL5, it is important to take into account the context in which the series was made in. Secret female agents, female fighter pilots, and female astronauts was unheard of at the time. Many sexual discriminatory laws were not put in place until the 1970s. It is a testament to Anderson's forward thinking predictions that we see a world in which technology has greatly advanced in helping our lives and that women would be at the forefront of it equally as men.
WHISTLE FOR DANGER;
Written by Dennis Spooner
Directed by John Kelly
Original UK Airdate: 5th May 1963 (ATV London)
Additional Voice Cast:
Floran 1 John Bluthal Floran 2 David Graham Tannoy John Bluthal
The picture of Floran on the monitor in the conference room at the start of the episode shows that the footage of Floran was shot in January 2063, meaning that this episode must take place after Trial By Robot. Oh dear, three minutes into the episode Zoonie already causes major damage once again to the control tower in Space City. Zero could have guessed. Zoonie causes even more hilarious mayhem which I love in this story! He too ends up in more time in jail. The end result of seeing Zero get his comeuppance for being mean to Zoonie at the end of the episode is extremely satisfying. The Florans are once more another interesting alien design, and their moving plants remind me of Plant Man From Space. The castle in this episode is also reminiscent of the castles from Supercar's Phantom Piper and Flight Of Fancy. Overall, another highly enjoyable episode of Fireball XL5.
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Fireball XL5: The Vault
SachbücherFireball XL5 was the second of legendary Gerry Anderson's to go out under the iconic banner "Filmed In SUPERMARIONATION". Set between the years 2062 and 2063, the series told the heroic adventures of Colonel Steve Zodiac and the crew of Fireball XL5...
