Why we need a Gerry Anderson expanded universe

Following the unprecedented success of the Marvel movies over the last decade, if other film studios are ever on the lookout for the next expansive and all-inclusive film franchise, then they should look no further than the Gerry Anderson universe.

The much-loved producer, director and writer was responsible for some of television’s most cherished classics in Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Stingray, Joe 90, Fireball XL5 to name just a few. The success and charm of these particular shows were rooted in Anderson’s pioneering work with ‘Supermarionation’. A term he coined himself, this was a highly advanced form of puppetry that was ahead of its time in its ambition, complexity and execution.

Thanks to Anderson’s vision, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the rest of his anthology are all popular even today. My father watched these shows when he was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. So when re-runs were televised in the 1990s he bestowed them upon me. And in the age of DVDs and Blu-rays, my eldest daughter is already hooked on Stingray.

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But, for me, there is one other element of Anderson’s visionary thinking that could help establish his iconic works at the forefront of television and film once again: his commitment to detailed backstories and, in the process, perhaps laying the seeds for linking his Supermarionation works together.

Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet were all set in the 2060s in a world characterised by innovation and technological advancements. Organisations such as the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, International Rescue and Spectrum were all built on futuristic technology and remarkable feats of engineering.

While these subtle similarities were never particularly explicit from watching these shows in isolation, it does not take much of a deeper dig to see the links behind the scenes.

The only explicit on-screen link between more than one of Anderson’s shows was the Zero-X space programme which made its debut as the centre-piece for the 1966 feature film Thunderbirds Are Go before Captain Black led a later mission during the pilot episode of Captain Scarlet. Elsewhere, issue 08 of comic strip TV21 featured an appearance by Fireflash in a Stingray story, while Troy Tempest also met the famous Sidewinder machine a few issues later (although it was named the Jungle Cat on this occasion).

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Beyond these, the clearest crossover concepts in Anderson’s works were buried within the histories of certain characters. For example, Gordon Tracy, pilot of Thunderbird 4 did his training with the World Aquanaut’s Security Patrol (WASPs), from Stingray, while Captain Scarlet character Captain Grey was supposed to have been put in charge of designing the prototype that would later become Troy Tempest’s iconic submarine. In a similar vein, Conrad Turner flew Fireball XL3 for the World Space Patrol before assuming the mantle of Captain Black at Spectrum.

I first discovered these connections as a young teenager and, even then, dreamed of seeing a Thunderbirds prequel featuring Gordon Tracy working with the WASPs. Perhaps a Fireball XL5 spin-off showing us how much of a good man Conrad Turner was before the Mysterons claimed him for their own. Over the years, this fascination only grew and grew, brought into sharper focus with the success of the aforementioned Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I wanted to see Stingray housed in the pod of Thunderbird 2 for a co-operative mission, Thunderbird 1 landing on Cloudbase or the Angels performing a bombing run on a fleet of Titan’s mechanical fish. To be honest, I also wanted a modern take on Troy Tempest’s desperate attempts to keep Marina and Altanta Shore sweet at the same time!

But the biggest question I asked myself was the most important of all. How would the characters of this universe react to an interstellar war with the Mysterons? That’s where this all pulls together as one thread, with those terrifying and transcendental Martian invaders.

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Just as the MCU built up a series of films towards one of cinema’s most memorable villains in Thanos, so too would this Anderson universe draw into an all-encompassing fight with the Mysterons, one that affected all the characters already introduced.

What made Thanos such an iconic villain was an epic three-hour movie that ended where most films don’t: with the bad guy emerging victorious. If you’re looking for something similar, in order to create the same level of dread and fear in the audience, the Mysterons are a perfect choice. Even among the largely optimistic shows Anderson made in the 1960s, Captain Scarlet stands out as the darker, grittier series – and is all the better for it.

In The Winged Assassin, the Mysterons carry out their threat to assassinate the Director General of the United Asian Republic. In Shadow of Fear, they manage to destroy the important K14 Observatory, the hub of a plan to spy on their Martian base, killing several members of Spectrum in the process. The Heart of New York sees the Mysterons succeed in demolishing the Second National Bank while a desalination plant in the foothills of the Andes Mountains is obliterated by an SKR4 recovery craft in Inferno.

There is also the three-part arc of Lunarville 7, Crater 101 and Dangerous Rendezvous which features Spectrum manage to bring a piece of Mysteron technology back from a base on the moon, only to see it destroyed before they can learn any of its secrets.

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And we should not forget, Captain Scarlet’s own version of Infinity War, written fifty years before many of us in the UK had even heard of a man named Thanos. It is the masterpiece that is Attack On Cloudbase where the Mysterons finally come to Earth and in an exceptional piece of television, kill off every character in the series (yes, even the indestructible Captain Scarlet himself!)…… until it’s revealed to be a dream. But just imagine how stunning such a plot would be if played out on the silver screen with the same tragic catharsis as Infinity War.

Such an idea produces endless possibilities for drama, as the implications of the Mysterons arrival would be massive in a wider Anderson universe. If Cloudbase is completely obliterated then I wouldn’t hold out much hope for John Tracy aboard Thunderbird 5. The ensuing damage and destruction on earth would certainly drag International Rescue, having probably lost love ones aboard their satellite, into action, while any sea-based threats carried out by the invaders would very much fall under the remit of the WASPs and their flagship Stingray. Could Professor Ian “Mac” McClain be able to feed a Mysteron’s brain pattern into the mind of Joe 90? What affect would the Hood’s hypnosis have over a Mysteron? Could it even loosen the Martian control over their duplicate, just as we saw with Captain Scarlet’s Mysteron double in the very first episode of his titular show, or with a different character in the episode Treble Cross?

And, under such circumstances, where would villains such as Titan and the Hood stand? Would they put aside their differences with the WASPs and International Rescue respectively in the interest of self-preservation, or would either of them try to strike a deal with the Martian invaders? Just think of how many thrilling films and/or televisions shows this universe could yield. The possibilities really are endless.

The next step, of course, is whether any of the larger production companies feel that this concept is worth investing in. A key element of the success Marvel had in this area was the wealth of source material. Well, you won’t find that lacking with Anderson’s legacy, as his fans will tell you vehemently.

In the modern age of connected and interweaved story and character arcs, the legacy Gerry Anderson left behind has unlimited, and untapped, potential to reach all new heights for new audiences around the world. Let’s just hope somebody thinks its worth picking up soon.