TV Century 21

On Friday 8th May 1998 the BBC hosted a live internet chat session with Gerry Anderson. This was a moderated chat, i.e. the questions were submitted during the session and selected by the moderator. The moderator then presents the questions to the guest.

The chat started at 1:05pm London time (8:05am EST) and lasted for about an hour. The chat was done using the system which seems to work very well.

For those of you using Style sheets capable browsers, I have made the questions appear blue and the answers appear in green. Enjoy.

Welcome to OI! Chat.

beeb says, "Remember, if you are not able to stay with us for the full duration of today's chat you don't have to miss out on the inside story - a full transcript of the interview with Gerry Anderson will be available at www.oi.beeb.com very soon."

beeb says, "Just joined us? This is Oi!, the online chat and forums area of beeb@the BBC. This afternoon we have an online chat with Gerry Anderson."

beeb says, "Gerry Anderson will be here in under five minutes, but you can start posting questions now. Enter your message in the window below, typing /ask before the question!"

beeb says, "Due to the large number of questions we're expecting, this will be a moderated chat, meaning general "hello" messages, and duplicate questions will be filtered out."

beeb says, "Enter your message in the window below, typing /ask before the question!"

beeb says, "Gerry Anderson has entered the building!" beeb says, "Here's the first question....Is it yours?"

beeb presents the speaker with question #2 from guest458: You started your career as an assistant editor at Gainsborough Pictures, what led you away from following a career in editing to becoming a producer?

Gerry Anderson says, "From Gainsborough Pictures I went into the Royal Air Force and when I was demobbed I became a sound editor and then an editor and then I had a yearning to start my own film company so I got together with a few friends and we formed A.P. Films. At first there was no work and we nearly went bankrupt. But at the last moment a writer came along by the name of Roberta Leigh and asked me to make the Adventures of Twizzle, a show that was to be made with puppets and that's how it all started"

beeb presents the speaker with question #3 from Hawk: Do you feel that your live action career was hijacked by your success in producing puppet based shows?

Gerry Anderson says, "The answer is simply, Yes. I enjoyed live action and I was ashamed to be making puppet films and so I tried to improve the technique to regain my self-respect. I thought that the financiers once having seen that I could make good puppet shows would then switch me on to live action features, instead of which the reaction was:"These puppet shows are wonderful - let's get him to make some more."

beeb presents the speaker with question #4 from Scimitar: Of all the show's that you've produced which one do you have the fondest affection for?

Gerry Anderson says, "I have to give you the answer as of today...because earlier in my career I may have given a different answer to the one I'm going to give you now. Thunderbirds has been such a tremendous success worldwide that where-ever I go that's the show that people want to talk about, and it's become such an important part of my life that I now consider it to be my most important and favourite show."

beeb says, "Welcome to Oi!, the online chat and forums area of beeb@the BBC. This afternoon we have an online chat with Gerry Anderson."

beeb presents the speaker with question #7 from Mike: What is your proudest achievement?

Gerry Anderson says, "When I first started making puppet shows, I put the puppet operators on a bridge over the set - which enabled us to get a great deal of depth because we could see some distance behind the puppets. The problem was that the puppeteers looking down from the bridge could only see the puppets' heads and therefore could not point them in the right direction, so I bought the Pye Industrial Television Camera and set it up so that it looked through the viewfinder of the cinecamera enabling us to show the puppeteers what the film camera was seeing. The only problem was that when the puppeteers turned their puppet to the left, the puppet on the screen would turn to the right - I corrected this by reversing the television picture. This was the beginning of television assist which is now used by film companies throughout the world - and is probably my proudest achievement."

beeb presents the speaker with question #22 from Lee: What made you start writing a Sci-Fi puppet show?

Gerry Anderson says, "At first we used "professional writers" and I would explain to them the limitations of the puppet film. Back would come a script which would open with 600 horsemen galloping across the moon's surface! I found myself doing so much correction on scripts that I decided that it would be less wearing to write them myself."

beeb presents the speaker with question #5 from Polly: If you could change one decision you've made with regard to exploiting your creations what would it be?

Gerry Anderson says, "That's a difficult one..."

Gerry Anderson thinking

Gerry Anderson says, "I think I would have got myself a really good business manager who would have ensured that I maintained ownership in my creations - thus avoiding them falling into the hands of people who haven't the least idea how to handle them."

beeb presents the speaker with question #6 from Jonathan Collins: It has been reported that you won't be involved in the big screen version of "Thunderbirds" to be produced by Working Title. Is this true, and if so, why?

Gerry Anderson says, "When Polygram acquired the rights to many of my shows, including Thunderbirds, they asked me to make a Thunderbird feature film for reasons that I fail to understand they then gave the production to one of their own production companies Working Title. They did not invite me to be part of the production..." Gerry Anderson says, "As I was not on the production I can only tell you what I've been told by friends in the business. It would appear that some 50 highly-paid technicians were taken on to develop and design hardware for a script that had been written. A week or so ago I was told that all of these people had been fired and are now going on to other pictures because the film was going to exceed its allocated budget. Since these people had been employed for some 7 months, a considerable sum of money must have already been spent. I further understand that the script was sent to an American writer in the States to bring it down to shootable proportions. From what I've heard, the film cannot now possibly start shooting for some nine months. Left to my own devices I would have made a year 2000 movie using the highly sophisticated puppets of today backed with the magic of CGI and in this way the audience would have been watching the same characters that they've got to know and love."

beeb presents the speaker with question #41 from guest460: Would you consider producing new episodes of Thunderbirds should the movie not come to pass, and could we see Thunderbirds on video here in the United States?

Gerry Anderson says, "I would be absolutely delighted to make a new television series of Thunderbirds which I believe would be fabulous. I'm quite sure that it would be televised in America and equally sure that it would then be released on video - both here and in the USA, and indeed, around the world. Once again, I have to remind you that the rights belong to Polygram."

beeb presents the speaker with question #35 from Jacqueline: How would the cast of the Thunderbirds interact with the internet?

Gerry Anderson says, "Well I think the Tracy brothers would be able to handle it...Jeff Tracy might be somewhat bemused and Parker would be totally confused."

beeb says, "Welcome to Oi!, the online chat and forums area of beeb@the BBC. This afternoon we have an online chat with Gerry Anderson."

beeb presents the speaker with question #26 from Brian: - I understand you are in London this weekend. Where can we meet you!??

Gerry Anderson says, "I will be appearing at the Animation Art Gallery at 13 Great Castle Street, London W1 from 2-4pm (phone - (0044 171 255-1456) tomorrow, Saturday, 9 May. Look forward to seeing you there!"

beeb presents the speaker with question #8 from Josephine: Can you tell us about your future projects? You ask, "any plans to visit the states in the near future?" Your question has been given id #46

Gerry Anderson says, "At the moment I am making a new TV series called Lavender Castle...It feature characters designed by the famous science-fiction artist, Rodney Matthews, who roan the universe in a thatched cottage equipped with jet engines...They are searching for the elusive Lavender Castle which will be every kid's idea of heaven. The show comprises 26 ten-minute episodes and is filmed with state-of-the-art puppets that can hop, skip and jump without wires!!! and heavily supported with computer generated images, computer animation and enhancement. Lavender Castle is being distributed worldwide except in the UK by Warner Brothers and it has been sold to the UK network to be screened in January."

beeb presents the speaker with question #32 from Brian: I've seen on the net a Thunderbirds sculpture by The Animation Art Gallery, what do you think of it?

Gerry Anderson says, "I am launching this particular sculpture if Scott Tracy at the Animation Art Gallery this Saturday afternoon. Over the years there have been hundreds of items produced of the Thunderbird characters, but this one is very special - it has been copied from the original puppet of Scott, that was used in the series and I have followed through every detail as has Christine Glanville who was the chief puppeteer on Thunderbirds In my view it is the best item yet produced and it is intended to eventually make all the characters in the Thunderbirds series. Anyone who visits the gallery tomorrow can meet Christine and see the original Scott Tracy puppet."

beeb presents the speaker with question #33 from joe: Frank Bellamy's Thunderbird comics for TV 21 were classics. Did you like any of the comic adaptations of your creations?

Gerry Anderson says, "I think the simple answer is that some of the illustrations in my view let the original characters down and in the case of Frank Bellamy, his drawings were absolutely superb and I always felt safe when my characters were in his hands."

beeb presents the speaker with question #45 from David: do you think your Supermarionation shows were a unique product of the sixties and cannot realistically be reproduced now?

Gerry Anderson says, "I have no doubt that the supermarionation shows of the '60's were unique but time has passed and techniques have improved and so I think it would be a retrograde step to try and recreate the shows as they were then today. Having said that, I believe that the shows could be remade now without any loss of charm but being better presented with the new techniques available."

beeb presents the speaker with question #48 from guest460: The vehicles in your productions always show remarkable resemblances to aircraft and spacecraft that are eventulally developed. In Thunderbird 6, the Zero X used lifting body wings to get into space, then detached and returned to Earth. Now NASA is going to try that very same concept for the space shuttle orbiter. How do you predict the future so accurately?

Gerry Anderson says, "I suppose any science-fiction writer thinks of how things should be as opposed to how they are. For example, if you want to build an airport, you have to have gigantic runways and this of course can mean demolishing anything that stands in their path...The science-fiction therefore thinks:"wouldn't it be great if aircraft could take off vertically?" From there the thought process is fairly simple - if the thrust of a jet-engine is pointed downwards then theoretically with sufficient thrust the aircraft will rise vertically. The next stage is to go to the studio to design and make an appropriate model and make it take off vertically. Of course the designers of real aircraft take longer to bring this sort of idea to fruition."

beeb says, "Remember, if you are not able to stay with us for the full duration of today's chat you don't have to miss out on the inside story - a full transcript of the interview with Gerry Anderson will be available at www.oi.beeb.com very soon."

beeb presents the speaker with question #11 from Ziggy Stardust: Can you remember what you were doing when man first landed on the moon?

Gerry Anderson says, "All I can say is that I was glued in front of the television set. But I can't remember what else was going on at the time."

beeb presents the speaker with question #55 from Julie: If you could go on the Space shuttle would you go?

Gerry Anderson says, "I think the answer is: Yes I would...and I also ought to tell you that I am lying."

beeb presents the speaker with question #43 from Neil Jones: Gerry, Lew Grade in a recent interview that an updated "Joe 90" could be successfully made, what with the new scientific breakthroughs in DNA/genetic engineering instead of brain waves. Could these twists be successful in other Anderson films?

Gerry Anderson says, "He does like to dabble does our Lew!"

beeb presents the speaker with question #10 from Bean: Throughout your production career you have overcome many adversities, what do you consider to be your greatest triumph?

Gerry Anderson says, "I'm stumped on this one!..."

Gerry Anderson says, "It seems that throughout my long career for a variety of reasons I have switched from feature films to super-marionation to stop-motion to live action and now onto CGI and computer animation and I suppose it to be something of a triumph to have mastered all these different techniques."

beeb presents the speaker with question #51 from Tanya: Are you a Sci-Fi freak? If so what is your favourite Sci-Fi show or film?

Gerry Anderson says, "It may surprise you to know that I don't watch a great deal of science-fiction. I have very varied interests when it comes to entertainment and I am equally at home with Evita and Mickey Mouse. In some ways I'm glad I'm not an avid watched of science-fiction because I like my ideas to be original and that is very difficult when you're saturated with other people's products."

beeb presents the speaker with question #61 from MIB72: What do you think of the current trend towards conspiracy theory based sci-fi?

Gerry Anderson says, "I have no worthwhile opinion on that subject."

beeb says, "Just 5 minutes to go with Gerry Anderson"

beeb presents the speaker with question #13 from David Filde: What was the proposed second series of UFO going to be like prior to it transforming to Space:1999? Where any scripts written for the new show and if so can you remember what they were about?

Gerry Anderson says, "We really hadn't got very far into the pre-production of the second series of UFO before the axe wielded by the New York office landed in the studio in London I had decided that the moonbase would be very, very much larger and indeed this had already been designed when the series was cancelled. This design became Moonbase Alpha in Space 1999 - no scripts were written for the proposed new series of UFO and so I'm afraid I can't give you the information that you're looking for."

beeb presents the speaker with question #64 from guest460: When George Lucas was making Star Wars, he said that his effects had to be at least as good as Gerry Anderson's! Have you had the opportunity to meet and discuss your craft!?

Gerry Anderson says, "Why on earth didn't George Lucas say that to me? Oh what an opportunity missed! No I haven't met him."

beeb presents the speaker with question #37 from Jacqueline: Have you any thoughts about creating a new series for the nineties?

Gerry Anderson says, "My plans at the moment are strictly limited to Lavender Castle.We hope eventually to make in excess of 100 episodes and I'm already scripting a movie on the subject. The reason for this is the technique we're using is really slow and even if we were to get the movie financed it would take at least 2-3 years to bring it to the screen. Having said that, if I had a bright idea of the way home all of that may change!"

beeb says, "Just time for one more question..."

beeb presents the speaker with question #59 from Ian: Did you dream of becoming an astronaut when you were young?

Gerry Anderson says, "Well first of all, there weren't any astronauts when I was young. And the name hadn't even been invented!. In any event, I think these people have incredible courage and I don't think I could summon up enough to become one myself. I think I was made to be an armchair observer"

beeb says, "That's it I'm afraid. Here's Gerry Anderson with a final word"

Gerry Anderson says. "It's been very nice to meet you all today and I look forward to meetings in the near future when we will be able to see each other on our respective computers. The way things are progressing, that will probably be in a week or two!"

beeb says, "Thank you Gerry for letting us know some of your secrets. FAB! Thanks for joining us today.