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Fireball XL5 DVD boxset
01/07/2005 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
DVD: Carlton 37115 04233. 39 black and white episodes on 5 DVDs. 16.25 hours. Price: £26.95 but prices vary so check around for the best deal. Buy Fireball XL5 in the USA - or Buy Fireball XL5 in the UK  check out website: www.carltonvisual.com
Showing my age again. This series was first shown in 1962 and I saw it regionally about a year latter. Apart from a scattering of episodes, they haven't been shown in their entirety on the box since, largely cos of the change to colour back in 1966. Mind you, I didn't have colour until much later. Wanting to see the series again and with a significant price drop after a release a year ago, its been an interesting way to while away half an hour a day in recent months.
'Fireball XL5' was the third series in Gerry Anderson's Century 21 empire. Unlike the first two, westerns and various terrains on Earth ('Four Feather Falls' and 'Supercar' - both also out on DVD about now), this one was their first space adventure series.
The XL5 is a stylised rocket with detachable nose cone very much in the Buck Rogers mode with a glassed cockpit so the pilot, Colonel Steve Zodiac and his co-pilot, usually Robert the (transparent) robot or members of his crew, Doctor Venus and Professor Matt Matic. We do see other spaceships of the XL grade but they seem under-staffed compared to Fireball. Mind you, most of the World Space Patrol's problems ends up on Zodiac's lap usually ordered by the tetchy Commander Wilbur Zero and his subordinate, Lieutenant Ninety.
Other consistent characters include Venus' pet monkey-like voice imitating alien Lazoon called Zoony, Zero's family and Jock, Space City's engineer. Technology wise, no one needs wear spacesuits cos they have oxygen tablets. Shame that doesn't explain how you can survive in the low temperatures of space. Interestingly, kicking your legs wearing a thruster pack could well push you along in space.
When I started with the first episode, it has manned space missiles heading for Earth and it dawned on me that this was probably one of the first examples of suicide bombers before the term came into use in the past decade. This certainly upped my awareness of anything socially relevant to today. The only other one in that category was 'Space Pen' and the stealing of ID papers.
I also looked for clues to the future series here as well. The theory being that everything is built on foundations of other things in a career. The XL5 certainly had enough rescue missions, not to mention seeing a lot of ground crews and their vehicles going out to stop fires around Space City. The episode 'Space City Special' has an interesting parallel to 'Captain Scarlet' in as much a pilot is brainwashed to follow orders regardless by aliens.
This is also the series to see the nascent skills of special effects wiz Derek Meddings and his crew developing, not to mention the writing skills of Dennis Spooner amongst others. Other names crop up who stayed with Anderson's company and graduated through the ranks if you pay attention to the animated credits.
If you are going to pick up this DVD boxset, remember its age and that its target audience was children. Whether today's junior audience would appreciate watching this show with you is debatable. Certain my Mother enjoyed watching it with me and been cat-calling Zoony's 'Welcome home' and 'Howdy folks' before dropping into giggles.
Despite the quirkiness of the technology, the stories do hold up reasonably well with only a couple that could be considered slightly cringey with the cast as circus performers and singing as a band. The latter, 'Space City Special', also has the distinction for quiz nights to being the only episode to have an instrument end track. Considering the colour references, it's a shame no one has thought of digitally colourising this series.
If you like the Anderson produced shows then I'm already talking to the converted and you own this boxset already. The only disappointment is no extras so if you still have the video 'Thunderbirds' Volume 9, don't loose it cos it contains the XL5 Zoom lollipop adverts. If you haven't, then it'll probably make an interesting talking point on your shelf. Don't be a tootie this can be boss - to coin their slang.
GF Willmetts
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