Fireball XL5
Created | Updated Aug 16, 2005
Fireball XL5 was a black-and-white Gerry Anderson production created in 1963 and is the second puppet cartoon by Anderson following SUPERCAR, best remembered for it's jazzy theme song "My Heart Would Be A Fireball" sung by Don Spencer.
THE WORLD SPACE PATROL
Set in the year 2062/2063 on an artificial island off the coast of North America, the vast complex of Space City is home to the World Space Patrol, a fleet of giant spacecraft that try to keep the peace in the Galaxy. The ships are kept underground in reinforced bunkers, and hauled to the surface by giant cranes before being place on a mile-long railway that helps them to launch into space. (With the exception of Space Rescue ship SR 1).
SPACE CITY
Space City is a large rotating tower housing living quarters for the crew and several laboratories, sick bays and guest rooms for visitors. Space City's security team is in charge by Sgt. Mahoney of Space City Patrol. Smaller buildings featured on the site of Space City are Prof. Matic's Workshop and a garage for the Space City Fire Department. Space City has it's own TV programming, with a logo similar to ITC. A mile away on the beach is the home of Dr. Venus and Zoonie (see below), a quaint little bungalow with an automated wake-up alarm system and state of the art record player. The only vegetation on the island are small patches of palm trees scattered about the beach, and the only available means of transport is the hovercar, used frequently by the WSP staff.
FIREBALL CRAFT
Each ship is numbered as "Fireball XL-". There are 30 XL ships, all made of a metal named cahelium, which can withstand high pressures, but not meteor showers. Each ship is equipped to carry a crew of four plus one passenger. Facilities on board include a Laboratory, Navigation Bay and quarters for the crew. Each ship is powered by nutomic reactors that feed on 100,000 gallons of superon fuel at a time. The first ship made in the XL range was Fireball XL1-Alpha, but was destroyed after an accident on launch. Modifications were constantly made until the XL vessels were ready for service.
OTHER CRAFT
Other ships include one-man LP ships (Light Patrol), EFZ Tankers, SF Space Freighters and an assortment of other spacecraft. The EFZ Tankers are merely two spherical tanks held together by an assortment of metal, as are the SF Freighters. SF Freighters have the advantage of camouflage, as they can easily be disguised as Q-Ships of the World Space Patrol. LP ships are used like a "bobby on the beat" as opposed to the XL ships that are the "fast-response cars". LP ships have no armament, and are used mainly for reconnaisance missions. Other spacecraft are freighters and tankers of weird and fantastic designs, including Freighter A-14, Tanker G-for-George 971 and Warrior 2X4.
FAMILIAR FACES AT SPACE CITY
The head of the World Space Patrol is Commander Wilbur Zero (Voiced by John Bluthal), who lives in Space City with his wife Elanor and his son Jonathon. Zero reports straight back to US General Rossiter, who finances the Space Patrol. Next in command is Lieutenant Ninety (Voiced by David Graham), a bachelor and a weakling who only speaks up for himself on occassions. Other characters include:
Colonel Steve Zodiac (Voiced by Paul Maxwell) - Captain of Fireball XL5
Dr. Venus (Voiced by Sylvia Anderson) - Doctor of Space Medicine on Fireball XL5
Prof. Matthew Matic (Voiced by David Graham) - Navigator on Fireball XL5
Robert the Robot (Voiced by Gerry Anderson) - Co-Pilot on Fireball XL5
Zoonie Lazoon - Venus' "pet" lazoon, a kind of space monkey (Though the name "Zoonie" later appears as the name of a children's TV show in an episode of the Japanese Cartoon, TOTALLY SPIES)
APPEARANCES IN THE SHOW
Fireball XL5 was the most frequently seen spacecraft in the series, though other Fireball craft that starred in the TV series were:
Fireball XL1 (The crew is never seen)
Fireball XL2 (Pilot Ken Johnson & Co-Pilot Al Stomper)
Fireball XL7 (Pilot Space Lieutenant Ross & Co-Pilot Chuck)
Fireball XL9 (Pilot Harry & Flight Engineer Desmond)
Fireball XL18 (Pilot Max Cosmo, Deceased. Spaceship destroyed)
Fireball XL19 (Mentioned in several episodes, later appears in several TV21 stories)
Fireball XL24 (Pilot Bill Galaxy, Deceased. Spaceship destroyed)
Fireball XL27 (Captain Seymour Griffiths, Pilot Duncan McLeod, Navigator Richard Zero & Flight Engineer Oliver Ninety)
Fireball XL29 - (Mentioned, but not seen)
Fireball XL30 (Mentioned, but not seen)
Only one LP ship was ever seen in the entire series. LP22, piloted by Master Astronaut Kelly. There were a number of villans in Fireball XL5, but only the Space Spies (Two bungling Russian spies in a 2030's Freighter named SS Thor) and the Subterrains (A race of aliens with two chins and very sore throats from Planet 46) made more than one appearance. The series ran for 39 episodes, and are only continues today through FanFictions.
THE PUPPETS
Each puppet was equipped with the solarnoid device to make the mouths move (Hence the large heads), and there was little difference from the days of SUPERCAR. In fact, a book of Supercar features in DRAMA AT SPACE CITY and SPACE PIRATES. When live hands were used, special gloves were made to match the plastic look of the puppets.
THE EPISODES
The 39 episodes were:
1)PLANET 46
2)HYPNOTIC SPHERE
3)PLANET OF PLATONIA
4)SPACE MAGNET
5)THE DOOMED PLANET
6)PLANT MAN FROM SPACE
7)SUN TEMPLE
8)SPACE IMMIGRANTS
9)SPACE MONSTER
10)FLYING ZODIAC
11)SPY IN SPACE
12)XL5 TO H20
13)SPACE PIRATES
14)LAST OF THE ZANADUS
15)SPACE PEN
16)CONVICT IN SPACE
17)WINGS OF DANGER
18)THE TRIADS
19)SABOTAGE
20)PRISONER ON THE LOST PLANET
21)FLIGHT TO DANGER
22)SPACE VACATION
23)MYSTERY OF THE TA2
24)ROBERT TO THE RESCUE
25)THE FORBIDDEN PLANET
26)THE GRANATOID TANKS
27)DANGEROUS CARGO
28)1875
29)THE ROBOT FREIGHTER MYSTERY
30)DRAMA AT SPACE CITY
31)WHISTLE FOR DANGER
32)FASTER THAN LIGHT
33)THE DAY THE EARTH FROZE
34)INVASION EARTH
35)GHOSTS OF SPACE
36)TRIAL BY ROBOT
37)A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SPACE GENERAL
38)SPACE CITY SPECIAL
39)THE FIRE FIGHTERS
REFERENCES
It is interesting to note that a mention was made to XL5 in an autobiography of CAPTAIN SCARLET'S "Captain Black", stating that he was once a Captain aboard Fireball XL3. CAPTAIN SCARLET was another puppet show by Gerry Anderson made in 1968 following STINGRAY and THUNDERBIRDS. In the comic-books of TV21 Magazine, Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue are assigned as the crews of Fireball XL19, making another link to XL5. CAPTAIN SCARLET itself is also a sci-fi show, set 5 years after FIREBALL XL5 in the year 2068, by which time man has landed on Mars, the militaristic organization Spectrum has been founded, and a group of aliens called the Mysterons are waging a war of nerves against Earth.
FIREBALL XL5 TODAY
The crews today are as follows (Please note that this information derives from varied FanFictions across the Internet):
XL1 - Commodore Zakaria Zerox & Navigator Clara Zerox
XL2 - Same
XL3 - Pilot Conrad Turner, Dr. Melanie Wharton & Engineer Mary Stewart
XL4 - Pilot Luke Rudd & Space Corporal Lock
XL5 - Same
XL6 - Sub-Lieutenant Andrew Norris (No crew except in FanFictions)
XL7 - Same
XL9 - Same
XL12 - Pilot Max Broughton & Co-Pilot Arnold Meyer. Ship crashed, crew dead.
XL13 - Pilot Mike Jacks & Co-Pilot Freddy June
XL14 - Rear-Admiral Thadeel Iqbal & Flight Engineer Neil Legger
XL16 - Pilot Patrick Ebony
XL19 - Same as TV21 novels
XL27 - Same
XL30 - Captain James Goddard
Please note that XL18 and XL24 are not on the list as they were destroyed in the TV series. Other ships not featured still have no crews.
THE WORLD SPACE PATROL
Set in the year 2062/2063 on an artificial island off the coast of North America, the vast complex of Space City is home to the World Space Patrol, a fleet of giant spacecraft that try to keep the peace in the Galaxy. The ships are kept underground in reinforced bunkers, and hauled to the surface by giant cranes before being place on a mile-long railway that helps them to launch into space. (With the exception of Space Rescue ship SR 1).
SPACE CITY
Space City is a large rotating tower housing living quarters for the crew and several laboratories, sick bays and guest rooms for visitors. Space City's security team is in charge by Sgt. Mahoney of Space City Patrol. Smaller buildings featured on the site of Space City are Prof. Matic's Workshop and a garage for the Space City Fire Department. Space City has it's own TV programming, with a logo similar to ITC. A mile away on the beach is the home of Dr. Venus and Zoonie (see below), a quaint little bungalow with an automated wake-up alarm system and state of the art record player. The only vegetation on the island are small patches of palm trees scattered about the beach, and the only available means of transport is the hovercar, used frequently by the WSP staff.
FIREBALL CRAFT
Each ship is numbered as "Fireball XL-". There are 30 XL ships, all made of a metal named cahelium, which can withstand high pressures, but not meteor showers. Each ship is equipped to carry a crew of four plus one passenger. Facilities on board include a Laboratory, Navigation Bay and quarters for the crew. Each ship is powered by nutomic reactors that feed on 100,000 gallons of superon fuel at a time. The first ship made in the XL range was Fireball XL1-Alpha, but was destroyed after an accident on launch. Modifications were constantly made until the XL vessels were ready for service.
OTHER CRAFT
Other ships include one-man LP ships (Light Patrol), EFZ Tankers, SF Space Freighters and an assortment of other spacecraft. The EFZ Tankers are merely two spherical tanks held together by an assortment of metal, as are the SF Freighters. SF Freighters have the advantage of camouflage, as they can easily be disguised as Q-Ships of the World Space Patrol. LP ships are used like a "bobby on the beat" as opposed to the XL ships that are the "fast-response cars". LP ships have no armament, and are used mainly for reconnaisance missions. Other spacecraft are freighters and tankers of weird and fantastic designs, including Freighter A-14, Tanker G-for-George 971 and Warrior 2X4.
FAMILIAR FACES AT SPACE CITY
The head of the World Space Patrol is Commander Wilbur Zero (Voiced by John Bluthal), who lives in Space City with his wife Elanor and his son Jonathon. Zero reports straight back to US General Rossiter, who finances the Space Patrol. Next in command is Lieutenant Ninety (Voiced by David Graham), a bachelor and a weakling who only speaks up for himself on occassions. Other characters include:
Colonel Steve Zodiac (Voiced by Paul Maxwell) - Captain of Fireball XL5
Dr. Venus (Voiced by Sylvia Anderson) - Doctor of Space Medicine on Fireball XL5
Prof. Matthew Matic (Voiced by David Graham) - Navigator on Fireball XL5
Robert the Robot (Voiced by Gerry Anderson) - Co-Pilot on Fireball XL5
Zoonie Lazoon - Venus' "pet" lazoon, a kind of space monkey (Though the name "Zoonie" later appears as the name of a children's TV show in an episode of the Japanese Cartoon, TOTALLY SPIES)
APPEARANCES IN THE SHOW
Fireball XL5 was the most frequently seen spacecraft in the series, though other Fireball craft that starred in the TV series were:
Fireball XL1 (The crew is never seen)
Fireball XL2 (Pilot Ken Johnson & Co-Pilot Al Stomper)
Fireball XL7 (Pilot Space Lieutenant Ross & Co-Pilot Chuck)
Fireball XL9 (Pilot Harry & Flight Engineer Desmond)
Fireball XL18 (Pilot Max Cosmo, Deceased. Spaceship destroyed)
Fireball XL19 (Mentioned in several episodes, later appears in several TV21 stories)
Fireball XL24 (Pilot Bill Galaxy, Deceased. Spaceship destroyed)
Fireball XL27 (Captain Seymour Griffiths, Pilot Duncan McLeod, Navigator Richard Zero & Flight Engineer Oliver Ninety)
Fireball XL29 - (Mentioned, but not seen)
Fireball XL30 (Mentioned, but not seen)
Only one LP ship was ever seen in the entire series. LP22, piloted by Master Astronaut Kelly. There were a number of villans in Fireball XL5, but only the Space Spies (Two bungling Russian spies in a 2030's Freighter named SS Thor) and the Subterrains (A race of aliens with two chins and very sore throats from Planet 46) made more than one appearance. The series ran for 39 episodes, and are only continues today through FanFictions.
THE PUPPETS
Each puppet was equipped with the solarnoid device to make the mouths move (Hence the large heads), and there was little difference from the days of SUPERCAR. In fact, a book of Supercar features in DRAMA AT SPACE CITY and SPACE PIRATES. When live hands were used, special gloves were made to match the plastic look of the puppets.
THE EPISODES
The 39 episodes were:
1)PLANET 46
2)HYPNOTIC SPHERE
3)PLANET OF PLATONIA
4)SPACE MAGNET
5)THE DOOMED PLANET
6)PLANT MAN FROM SPACE
7)SUN TEMPLE
8)SPACE IMMIGRANTS
9)SPACE MONSTER
10)FLYING ZODIAC
11)SPY IN SPACE
12)XL5 TO H20
13)SPACE PIRATES
14)LAST OF THE ZANADUS
15)SPACE PEN
16)CONVICT IN SPACE
17)WINGS OF DANGER
18)THE TRIADS
19)SABOTAGE
20)PRISONER ON THE LOST PLANET
21)FLIGHT TO DANGER
22)SPACE VACATION
23)MYSTERY OF THE TA2
24)ROBERT TO THE RESCUE
25)THE FORBIDDEN PLANET
26)THE GRANATOID TANKS
27)DANGEROUS CARGO
28)1875
29)THE ROBOT FREIGHTER MYSTERY
30)DRAMA AT SPACE CITY
31)WHISTLE FOR DANGER
32)FASTER THAN LIGHT
33)THE DAY THE EARTH FROZE
34)INVASION EARTH
35)GHOSTS OF SPACE
36)TRIAL BY ROBOT
37)A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SPACE GENERAL
38)SPACE CITY SPECIAL
39)THE FIRE FIGHTERS
REFERENCES
It is interesting to note that a mention was made to XL5 in an autobiography of CAPTAIN SCARLET'S "Captain Black", stating that he was once a Captain aboard Fireball XL3. CAPTAIN SCARLET was another puppet show by Gerry Anderson made in 1968 following STINGRAY and THUNDERBIRDS. In the comic-books of TV21 Magazine, Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue are assigned as the crews of Fireball XL19, making another link to XL5. CAPTAIN SCARLET itself is also a sci-fi show, set 5 years after FIREBALL XL5 in the year 2068, by which time man has landed on Mars, the militaristic organization Spectrum has been founded, and a group of aliens called the Mysterons are waging a war of nerves against Earth.
FIREBALL XL5 TODAY
The crews today are as follows (Please note that this information derives from varied FanFictions across the Internet):
XL1 - Commodore Zakaria Zerox & Navigator Clara Zerox
XL2 - Same
XL3 - Pilot Conrad Turner, Dr. Melanie Wharton & Engineer Mary Stewart
XL4 - Pilot Luke Rudd & Space Corporal Lock
XL5 - Same
XL6 - Sub-Lieutenant Andrew Norris (No crew except in FanFictions)
XL7 - Same
XL9 - Same
XL12 - Pilot Max Broughton & Co-Pilot Arnold Meyer. Ship crashed, crew dead.
XL13 - Pilot Mike Jacks & Co-Pilot Freddy June
XL14 - Rear-Admiral Thadeel Iqbal & Flight Engineer Neil Legger
XL16 - Pilot Patrick Ebony
XL19 - Same as TV21 novels
XL27 - Same
XL30 - Captain James Goddard
Please note that XL18 and XL24 are not on the list as they were destroyed in the TV series. Other ships not featured still have no crews.
