Review: Fireball Xl5 and Space Patrol (Glamor vs. Grunge)

By Mario Fenech 

In an alternate universe, Roberta Leigh did not approach Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis to produce a puppet television series. Fans of the many subsequent puppet television series which came out of the collaboration would shudder to think that some of their favorite shows might not have come into existence.

In this universe, Roberta's timely offer saved the two men from financial ruin as their ambitions for filmmaking had not gone to plan. For Anderson, making children's shows was a means to an end and he would employ all the techniques he would have used had he been able use real actors. This changed the way puppet shows were filmed from a relatively static delivery to a more dynamic cinematic style.

After making Twizzle and Torchy the Battery Boy for Roberta, Anderson went off to create his own puppet series.  In the early 60s, Anderson would produce Fireball Xl5. Around the same time Roberta Leigh and Arthur Provis would make the pilot for their science fiction series Space Patrol in an old grease stained garage. 

After the much loved Supercar,  Anderson continued to appeal to the  ever increasing interest in science fiction with the more ambitious Fireball Xl5. Fireball was very stylish and referenced popular culture in many ways.  The appearance of the two lead puppets was modeled on popular screen stars of the period. The music by Barry Gray was a highlight of the series. His music enhanced each episode with incidental music that ranged from Jazz to ethereal space sounds as well as the catchiest theme song of the 60s.

Visually, the series was stunning with detailed sets and gleaming rockets throughout the 39 episodes. There were a range of good stories, but there was no effort to be scientifically accurate. The most obvious inaccuracy? Instead of wearing a space helmet when they were outside of the ship, the characters would swallow an oxygen pill. The oxygen pill would save precious time and money that would be required to change costumes on the puppets.

Fireball was in some ways a template for all future Anderson series, mystery, suspense, character dynamics , pyrotechnics and lots of action (as Commander Shore announces in the opening of each Stingray episode, "Stand by for action, anything can happen in the next half hour!").

Roberta Leigh and Arthur Provis' vision of the future Space Patrol is steeped in atmosphere. The opening shows the sun, and then the Galosphere spins into frame with accompanying electronic tune (composed by Leigh). The opening continues as the Galosphere lands on a platform at Space Patrol Headquarters while a voiceover explains the purpose of Space Patrol as the camera pans over the futuristic city.

There is a definite contrast between Xl5's cool retro future and Space Patrol's gloomy gray skies and the strange electronic score. In an interview, Leigh said that their intention was to be as scientifically accurate as possible. The characters do wear helmets in hostile environments, but the depictions of planets in the solar system are far from being scientifically accurate.

There is an abundance of wonderful imagination over the 39 episodes. Arthur Provis knew it would not be easy to film some of the concepts but did not try to dissuade Roberta from realizing her unique vision. In episode 19, "The Walking Lake of Jupiter", inanimate objects that come into contact with the Lake begin to float and move around.
At the time, Space Patrol was made when there was limited information about the planets in the solar system. However, this episode was Leigh saying that we can expect matter to behave in strange and wonderful ways in extreme conditions. Had she made more episodes, Leigh might have written stories about the diamonds of Neptune.

Fireball Xl5 and Space Patrol are lightyears apart in tone, but what they do have in common are characters imbued with the humanity of all the artists assembled by Anderson, Leigh and Provis: the puppeteers, actors, sculptors, film crew, everyone who worked to create each episode brought them to life and continues to delight people who see them for the first time.