The Worlds of Gerry Anderson Index



Issue 2, week ending 08 January 1977
Peter Hornsby (Whetstone, North London):
How are explosions created In Space:1999, especially when a vehicle disintegrates as In the opening sequence when an Eagle spins then crashes?

Issue 3, week ending 15 January 1977
Daniel Bailey (Harleston, Norfolk):
Do you believe in life on other planets?
Paul Jordan (Middleton, Leeds):
How big were the Thunderbirds puppets and vehicles?

Issue 4, week ending 22 January 1977
Christopher Pease (Walthamstow, East London):
When I make a model it just seems like a plastic model kit made up, and not at all realistic. How can Brian Johnson, your Special Effects Director, make his work so 'real'?

Issue 5, week ending 29 January 1977
M. Darby (Dudley):
In Space:1999, how do you get the beam from the laser gun to appear?
Stephen Pochly (Maidenhead):
How long does It take to film an episode of Space:1999?

Issue 6, week ending 05 February 1977
Space City Competition

Issue 7, week ending 12 February 1977
Russell Slinger (Heysham, Lancs):
Is the connection between Nostradamus' prophesy about 1999 coincidental or deliberate?
Maire Griffiths (Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria):
How long have Barbara Bain and Martin Landau been married, and where do they live?

Issue 8, week ending 19 February 1977
Lynn Shoesmith (Wellingborough, Northants):
I would like to know how you get the pictures on the Comlocks; it looks like a miniature television set but I'm sure it can't be.
Mark Sheridan (Birkenhead, Merseyside):
I have always wondered about the Comlocks. Whenever someone goes through a door they press the Comlock's button and the door opens. Can you tell me what type of beams are used - light or sound?

Issue 9, week ending 26 February 1977
A. Scarborough (Ilford, Essex):
What happens to all the old costumes, puppets and sets used in earlier programmes?
Dawne Adams (Bransholme, Hull):
How much do Space:1999 costumes cost?

Issue 10, week ending 05 March 1977
Linda McQueen (Ruislip, Middlesex):
On a programme quite a long time ago the story was about a 'Black Sun', a large star which collapsed to leave a gravity field from which nothing can escape. is the story based on fact, i.e. have such things really happened?
Miles Shephard (Osbaldwick, Yorks):
Can you please tell me if you are going to make any more puppet sci-fi T.V. programmes?

Issue 11, week ending 12 March 1977
Stuart Hunter (Edinburgh):
How do you make the models move, e.g. the Eagles in Space:1999?

Issue 12, week ending 19 March 1977
Andrew McKealing (Wakefield, Yorks):
In what year is Thunderbirds supposed to be set?
Clifford Morgan (Gwent, South Wales):
How do you make the sound effects in Space:1999?

Issue 13, week ending 26 March 1977
Kevin Gooch (Edinburgh):
Could you tell me about any exciting incidents which stick In your memory about filming your puppets?

Issue 14, week ending 02 April 1977
Michael Cleaver (Great Barr, Birmingham):
What are stun-guns made of?
Martin Bend (Grant Road, Coventry):
Will a full length feature film of Space:1999 be made?

Issue 15, week ending 09 April 1977
Mark Joyce (Northampton):
What material do you use for making the lunar landscapes in Space:1999?
Gregory Fisher (Cumbria):
How and why do the Eagle launch pads go up and down?

Issue 16, week ending 16 April 1977

Feature on the Gerry Anderson Space City exhibition at Blackpool, and the winners of the Space City competition, which (above, left to right) Gerry Anderson, Keith Wilson, Colin Shelbourn and Keith Shackleton judged.

Issue 17, week ending 23 April 1977
Glen Turner (Old Knebworth, Herts):
How do you create the foggy appearance in Space:1999?
Gregory Fisher (Cumbria):
How long did the Thunderbirds puppets last before they had to be replaced?

Issue 18, week ending 30 April 1977
The winner of the 'Design A Space City' competition: Mark Craig of Holyhead, North Wales

Issue 19, week ending 07 May 1977
Christopher Palmer (Melton Mowbray, Leicester):
Could you please tell me how the vehicles move along the roads in Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds etc?
Joseph Rhodes (Alton, Leeds):
Of all the Space:1999 episodes, which was the most difficlut to film?

Issue 20, week ending 14 May 1977
Stephen Pochly (Maidenhead, Berkshire):
Was Stingray filmed underwater?
Simon Eisenmann (Lowestoft, Suffolk):
I have wondered why your puppets don't get tangled up with each other because I have a lot of trouble with mine.

Issue 21, week ending 21 May 1977
Peter Ennis, age 6 (Birkinhead, Merseyside):
Where do they get the oxygen for Moonbase Alpha In Space:1999?
Roger Smith (Birmingham):
Do you believe the Earth has been visited by other beings from outer space?

Issue 22, week ending 28 May 1977
Paul Marsden (Lindfield, Sussex):
How do you make the Moon vibrate in Space:1999?
Master C. Davies (Cumbria):
Could you tell me which you liked making best - real life shows or puppet shows?

Issue 23, week ending 05 June 1977
Paul Nethercott (Northampton):
What is the difference in 'set' sizes between the inside and outside of Moon Base Alpha inside the studio at Pinewood?
Roger Hughes (Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Wales):
I have heard some of the models in the Thunderbirds films (costing around £2,000) were blown up. Is this true? If it is, it must have been a great deal of money.

Issue 24, week ending 12 June 1977
Adrian Anderson (Bristol):
Why can you hear the noise of the Eagles' engines when you should not be able to hear anything in space?
Alan Moore (Glasgow):
Do you design all your shows' models or does designer Brian Johnson?

Issue 25, week ending 19 June 1977
Kit Beran:
Where do you obtain the various animals (birds, lions, monkeys and, in one case, a black panther) that Maya changes into?

Issue 26, week ending 26 June 1977
Robert Willingale (Chelmsford):
How do you turn Maya into animals?
Russell Smith (Herefordshire):
Do you believe that one day the Earth will be destroyed, and the survivors will have to look for a new home elsewhere, as you've shown in Space:1999?

Issue 27, week ending 03 July 1977
Gregory Lane (Worcester):
Whose voice is behind the computer in Space:1999?
Derek Woodward (Stevenage, Herts):
How long does it take for actors and actresses to have make-up applied in Space:1999?
and In the Captain Scarlet series, is it true that when you see hand shots they are human hands and not puppet hands?

Issue 28, week ending 10 July 1977
Full page Worlds Of Gerry Anderson feature on Space City exhibition at Blackpool.

Issue 29, week ending 17 July 1977
Lawrence Hay (Hove):
Could you tell me how you made the cloud-base in Captain Scarlet float in mid-air and long it was in real-life (surely it was not really half a mile long)?

Issue 30, week ending 24 July 1977
Geraint Hughes (Llanegryn, Gwynedd, Wales):
In any of your films or series have any puppets or space-craft etc. stopped working in the middle of filming because of unforeseen accidents?
Ian Allsop (Ilford, Essex):
I wonder if you would please tell me who the Mysterons are and where did they come from?

Issue 31, week ending 31 July 1977
Matthew Stringer (Chislehurst, Kent):
On what kind of fuel does an Eagle from Space:1999 run?
M. Watkinson (Sussex):
Please can you tell me why they don't celebrate Christmas or Easter or have any children in Space:1999?

Issue 32, week ending 07 August 1977
Ian Corden (aged 12):
Who designed the U.F.Os. in the television programme U.F.O.?
S.T. Daniels (Muswell Hill, London):
Does a Space:1999 fan club exist?

Issue 33, week ending 14 August 1977
Stephen Pochly (Maidenhead):
Were the cars driven by Ed Bishop and Mike Billington in the series U.F.O. actually road worthy in the sense that they could be driven like a normal car?
Ray Kewly (Wallasey, Merseyside):
There was one of your films on TV called Into Infinity. I read in a magazine that there were plans for a series based on this programme called The Day After Tomorrow. Is this true?

Issue 34, week ending 21 August 1977
In response to 'many requests... from all over the country', a picture of each of the five Thunderbird models is printed, plus Stingray for Danny Hewson of Gravesend, Kent.

Issue 35, week ending 28 August 1977
Gareth Griffiths (Dunscroft):
Could you please tell me how the Eagle transporter got its name?
Stephen Wright (Belfast) and Christopher Marshall (Kingston, Surrey):
How do you construct Maya's eyebrows?

Issue 36, week ending 04 September 1977
Mark Brooks (Bury, Lancs):
I would like to know what you think is the best model ever designed for a programme, and secondly will Starcruiser ever become a TV show?
Patrick Higgs (Doncaster):
Did you ever think you would work in the Science Fiction field when you were my age?

Issue 37, week ending 11 September 1977
Stephen Longmore (Walsall, West Midlands):
I would like to know how you film the piots flying Eagles, if Eagles are only models in Space:1999.
Eleanor Garman (Alvechurch, nr Birmingham):
Do you have any nightmares after you make your weird happenings in Space:1999?

Issue 38, week ending 18 September 1977
Feature on a vist by Mark Craig, winner of the 'Design A Space City' competition to the Space City exhibition at Blackpool, and shown around by Gerry Anderson and Joe Bramley, general manager of the Golden Mile Centre.

Issue 39, week ending 25 September 1977
Sally Bailey (Kent):
When you are filming explosions in Space:1999 or UFO, has anyone ever been hurt when something goes wrong?
Sarah Clarke (Weston, Stafford):
Who designs the furniture on Alpha?

Issue 40, week ending 02 October 1977
David Jones (Plymouth):
Could you tell me how Thunderbird 4 returns to the interior of pad 4 (sic) in Thunderbirds?
Jacky Richards (Dagenham):
Do your monsters work by controls or are there people inside them?

Issue 41, week ending 09 October 1977
Stuart Smith (Manchester):
Could you please tell me why it is that whenever anyone from Moonbase Alpha lands on a strange planet the harmful rays of the different suns never blind them - their light visors are surely not dark enough to stop these dangerous rays?
Gavin Parsons (Northampton):
How did you make the foam that engulfed the Eagles in Space:1999?

Issue 42, week ending 16 October 1977
Colin McAdam (Scotland):
In Thunderbirds, how are the machine guns on Lady Penelope's car constructed and operated?
Duncan Brown (Barnborough, Hants):
Where do they get their food and water from in Space:1999?

Issue 43, week ending 23 October 1977
Norhalim Serudin (Exeter):
Is the Thunderbird 2 model made out of metal?
Kingsley Sage (no address supplied):
In an episode of Space:1999 I saw a man being lifted by another man. Please could you tell me how this was done?

Issue 44, week ending 30 October 1977
A reader (Kilmarnock):
How do you make the people in Space:1999 shoot out through the windows in outer space?
Michael Turner (London):
What do U.I.C., A.M.C. and S.A.T. on the badges of Commander Koenig's uniform jacket stand for?

Issue 45, week ending 06 November 1977
Marc Day (Hinckley):
Have you ever seen anything that looked like a UFO?
Paul Godwin (Putney, London):
I would like to know the different colour schemes on the uniform sleeves of every section of Alpha.

Issue 46, week ending 13 November 1977
David Ball (not given):
How do you make the atmosphere when the Eagles land on a planet in Space:1999?
Stephen Pochly (Maidenhead):
How do you shoot the scene from U.F.O. in which the skydiver submarine was launched from underwater into the sky?

Issue 47, week ending 20 November 1977
Philip Looker (Swindon, Wilts):
In Space:1999, how do you create different landscapes?
Nicholas Emblem-English (not given):
How do you make a person's face start throbbing when moving in a space ship?

Issue 48, week ending 27 November 1977
David Ritson (Gosforth, Newcastle):
How did you create the streaks of lightning on the moon, caused by atomic waste, which we first saw in the episode of Space:1999?
Russell Podmore (Sussex) and Michael Godward (Kent):
How do you make the travel tube move in Space:1999?

Issue 49, week ending 04 December 1977
Steven Loboda (Halifax):
Could you please print some pictures of the puppet stars from Thunderbirds?
Richard Hewison (Luton, Beds):
How do you film the astronauts floating in space in Space:1999?

Issue 50, week ending 11 December 1977
Sanjay Kotwani (Leigh-on-Sea, Essex):
I would like to know how you made the computer panels explode in Space:1999, because it must cost a lot of money.
Mark Campbell (Woking, Surrey):
How many full-length films have you made so far?

Issue 51, week ending 18 December 1977
Mark Tappenden (West Dulwich):
In your series of Thunderbirds, how many people did it require in order to work all of the puppets at the same time?
John Layton (Cambridge):
Would you tell me how you made the computers in Space:1999, and do they really work?

Issue 52, week ending 25 December 1977
Ian Scott (Brierley Hill, West Midlands):
How long does the oxygen last in the air tanks which they wear with the space suits in Space:1999?
Paul Carey (Grays, Essex):
How did you make it seem that green liquid was being pumped into an alien's space helmet in a U.F.O. episode called 'Ordeal'?

Issue 01, week ending 01 January 1978
Christopher Hopkin (Chilworth, Surrey):
What would happen on Earth as the Moon was leaving its orbit; would the tides stop or become irregular, and what would happen if Moonbase Alpha succeeded in returning to Earth's orbit?
Simon Holder (Bognor Regis, West Sussex):
How do you rate Space:1999 alongside such series as The Tomorrow People and Doctor Who?

Issue 02, week ending 08 January 1978
Stephen Pochly (Maidenhead, Berkshire) again!:
How was the effect of moving colours created behind Colonel Straker's desk in U.F.O.?
John Flook (Hatfield, Hertfordshire):
What type of missile does a U.F.O. Interceptor use?

Issue 03, week ending 14 January 1978
Ian Wallace (Morayshire, Scotland):
How many Eagles are there on Moonbase Alpha and how many launch pads are there?
Angus Lockie (Birmingham):
Could you tell me how they measure time on Moonbase Alpha?

Issue 04, week ending 22 January 1978
The Starcruiser strip took a break for a feature and competition.

Issue 05, week ending 29 January 1978
Alan Luckhurst (Bristol):
How big is Skydiver and could Sky 1 really fly in the UFO series?
Joseph Howe (West Denton, Newcastle):
What is the ball-shaped cage used for in the Joe 90 series?

Issue 06, week ending 05 February 1978
Andrew Holten (Halifax, Yorkshire):
How much do the models in Thunderbirds weigh?
Jonathan Parker (Horsford, Leeds):
Please tell me what FAB stands for in the Thunderbirds series?

Issue 07, week ending 12 February 1978
Alex Spencer (Peterborough) :
What was the first model you actually made?
Joseph Rhodes (Halton, Leeds):
In your second series you made a lot of alterations in Space:1999. You introduced a female alien called Maya and had a new producer called Freddy Freiberger, who used to produce Star Trek. I was wondering if he gave you the idea of having Maya in the series as a sort of female Mr Spock?

Issue 08, week ending 19 February 1978
Jan Paxon (Ibstock, Leics) :
How were the Angel Jets launched?
Peter Doherty (Hale, Cheshire):
In U.F.O., why do the U.F.O.s blow up in space when there is a vacuum?

Issue 09, week ending 26 February 1978
Roger Price:
In the Space:1999 episode 'Brian The Brain', how did the Brain move around?
and Why did you make The Protectors, a crime series, after you had made a number of sci-fi shows?

Issue 10, week ending 05 March 1978
Robert Hirons (West Yorkshire) :
Why do the wings on Thunderbird 2 point forwards when most other planes and spacecraft have wings pointing backwards?
Stephen Pochly (Maidenhead, Berkshire) once again!:
What is the most expensive model you've made?

Issue 11, week ending 12 March 1978
Gerry Anderson gives his thoughts on Star Wars and the latest crop of sci-fi films.

Issue 12, week ending 19 March 1978
Patrick Osborne (St. Ives, Cornwall) :
Which puppet is your favourite?
Jonathan Stroud (Surrey):
My theory is that the missile attached to the interceptor in U.F.O. would make it over balance. Is this true?

Issue 13, week ending 26 March 1978
No questions answered this time, but a quiz based on Gerry Anderson's previous shows - Answers in next week's issue!

Issue 14, week ending 02 April 1978
No questions again, and the answers to last week's quiz but a picture of Moonbase Alpha for all those who requested one.

Issue 15, week ending 09 April 1978
A final, full-page Worlds of Gerry Anderson, showing some of the 'alien craft' competition designs, and listing the 50 winners.

Look-In Television Annual ©1977

The Worlds of Gerry Anderson: Sci-Fi Foundations
Pages 38-39, duotone.

A two page special in which Gerry Anderson answers the question, 'How did you start your fascinating career?'.

Originally, the questions were to have been sent to Look-In's usual Tottenham Court Road address but when the column eventually started in the new year, from issue 2 for 1977, dated week ending 08 January, this was changed to Gerry Anderson's production at Pinewood Studios - no doubt saving time and cost.

The questions which were put to Gerry Anderson were an ecletic mix, from those about the actual production, to speculating how actual science applied to certain concepts, to views on alien life and UFOs. Space:1999, still going strong as a black and white strip, and which The Worlds of Gerry Anderson usually followed in Look-In, was the main topic, but this quickly expanded to include his older puppet series. Most answers were straight-forward, but some are slightly surprising (the possible dating of Thunderbirds being 1992!). Some names are intriguingly familiar... Kit 'Beran'? Surely that's Kit Bevan, a log standing fan of Space:1999 who helped out in the production of Message from Moonbase Alpha in 1999? And Roger Price... not the creator of The Tomorrow People, surely!? Winner of the 'Most Persistent Question Asker' goes to Stephen Pochly of Maidenhead, who managed to get a staggering six answers in a little over a year!

By early 1978, it would seem the feature was running out of steam. But not the concept, for shortly after Gerry Anderson started a column called Space Report in the American SF magazine Starlog along a very similar question and answer format (and identical publicity photo for the masthead!), intermixed with articles about the production of Space:1999 which was, according to the introduction of the first of these, 'alive and well and living in syndication'. This ran until the end of 1980 when as Anderson himself explained, in the final regular instalment in issue 41, his business duties (quite rightly) had to take precedence.

The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History would like to thank:
Kim Stevens
Martin Willey
and Malcolm White
- for their help with this feature.

Version 1.1 - 31.08.07


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