"Let's Go!" - The Behind the Scenes Birth of 'Fireball XL5' (60th Anniversary!)

Steve Zodiac and Venus are ready to launch! Gerry Anderson, co-creator of 'Fireball XL5', recalls some of his earliest thoughts about the series in this clip from 'Stand By For Action' - a two part documentary in which Gerry looks back upon his entire career, from 'Thunderbirds' to 'New Captain Scarlet' and from 'Twizzle' to 'Space: 1999'.
Available on DVD and Blu-Ray from: century21films...

[@peteruk8925]

Fabulous series, Fireball XL5 and UFO are my 2 favourites, but in all honesty, the Gerry Anderson different series they produced were all amazing and brilliant to watch as a youngster, and now in my 60's !! Thank you, Gerry .

[@galandirofrivendell4740]

Fireball XL5 was a treasured part of my childhood, and I bought the series on DVD a few years ago. And I still remembered the end title song. Such a great theme song. Wonderful memories.

[@allanegleston4931]

i always wanted one of those space motorbikes .

[@Hieronymous69]

Jetmobiles!

[@mikesilva3868]

Love this show 📼

[@johnclay7644]

great clip fireball XL5 (60yrs) great mono cinematography.

[@SoloPilot6]

I watched "Supercar," "Fireball XL5" and "Thunderbirds," every episode in black and white on Los Angeles TV. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I saw the beautiful paint scheme on Fireball XL5.

[@Ni999]

You show all this as if the XL5 was not a real rocket that didn't go into space piloted by a heroic human and his trusty robot, Robert. I studied these future documentaries in earnest each week when they originally appeared and I can't be fooled, I know what I saw. Perhaps some of the footage was lost and this is some fine effort to portray in modern times what happened? I guess that sounds pretty good but let's not be too silly about it. Have you heard of Commander Neptune? You might want to sit down with him and get some help. He's a great guy and his live action adventures have only recently come to life. I'm sure he'd be happy to help out.

[@anubis6864]

Oh dear!😂

[@Ni999]

@@anubis6864 You're welcome.

[@minicle426]

We're on our way 'ome.

[@NoosaHeads]

Gerry Anderson was a real, genuine visionary.

[@thatblenderguy7566]

Happy 60th Aniversary To The Second Supermarionation Show. I’ll Take You On A Trip On Fireball XL5 Since 60 Years.

[@eduardostupnik8261]

Excellent.

[@wayneblow8100]

I was there 😊

[@richardpaulcaird9192]

RIP Paul Maxwell (aka Steve Zodiac)... a truly underrated sci-fi legend🚀🌌☄️✨: Elijah Bailey in Out of the Unknown's Naked Sun 🤖, Lt. Jim Lewis in UFO 🛸, Captain Grey I Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons 👽 & Van Leuwen in ALIENS 👾

[@rabmcleod3508]

Loved this.

[@cbate2702]

Love Gerry's quips :)

[@NemFX]

Still one of the best intro songs.

[@inregionecaecorum]

The undercarriages are retrieved by souvenir hunters and sold on ebay.

[@jamesadlam9875]

Presumably the jettisoned undercarriage would be refurbished and reused, like the space shuttle boosters

[@Neil070]

When I first saw the proposed Space Shuttle, I thought "Fireball XL5!" The launch protocol from Space City always made more sense than putting a rocket on its tail....

[@Hieronymous69]

I read somewhere that a crane was used to retrieve them. Dunno if that's true or not.

[@michaelconnors7668]

F-A-B!!