In the year 2063, the World Space Patrol is in charge of keeping humanity safe from extraterrestrial threats from beyond the solar system. From its Space City headquarters, located on an island in the Pacific Ocean, the gruff Commander Zero and his assistant, Lieutenant 90, oversee the fleet of impressive Fireball spaceships that patrol the many sectors of the universe. The most famous of these vessels is Fireball XL5, which patrols Sector 25; it is piloted by the heroic, square-jawed Steve Zodiac, along with his trusty crew: Professor Matthew ‘Matt’ Matic, the eccentric navigator and scientific officer; Doctor Venus, the ship’s beautiful medic; and Robert, a transparent robot created by Professor Matic. (They are also joined by an extremely irritating alien creature named Zoony the Lazoon, but the less said about him the better).

Fireball XL5 was made by prolific puppet producer Gerry Anderson. Although the series is much younger in tone than Anderson’s later shows, such as ‘Thunderbirds’ or ‘Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons’, it was immensely popular at the time of its first transmission, and is still highly entertaining today. It’s thirty-nine episodes contain much that is memorable: an imaginative array of model spaceships, vehicles and miniature sets – Fireball XL5 itself is a terrific design, blasting off into space via a huge trolley and track system, and possessing a detachable nose-section named Fireball Junior, which was used to journey down to the surface of a planet while the main body remained in orbit; lots of over-the-top villains, who mainly travelled around in pairs (perhaps they were lonely?) planning the destruction of Earth, revenge on Steve Zodiac, or both; and a very catchy song called ‘Fireball’, which was sung by Don Spencer over the end credits.


Fireball XL5 - Season 1

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