Rating: 
Summary: Corny...but top-notch transfer
Review: Although I have yet to purchase this DVD set (which I certainly will), I remember the series so well. Even part of the theme song! This was a childhood favorite of mine and I'm so happy that soon I will be seeing it again! By the way, this set sells for $99.95 new through the History Channel store.Thanks!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Can't Believe Fireball is Back!
Review: Although I have yet to purchase this DVD set (which I certainly will), I remember the series so well. Even part of the theme song! This was a childhood favorite of mine and I'm so happy that soon I will be seeing it again! By the way, this set sells for $99.95 new through the History Channel store. Thanks!!!
Rating:
Summary: FIREBALL XL5 FINALLY LANDS IN OUR DVD PLAYERS!
Review: Fireball XL5 was my favorite childhood TV show and I was brokenhearted when NBC replaced it with Underdog! The things
you loved as a kid seem to always stay tucked away inside your
inner child. When I found out that the series was coming out on
DVD I felt the same thrill that I felt each saturday morning 40
years ago. As an adult Fireball XL5 seems kind of silly and the
production is far below Gerry Anderson's later kid's programs
but it's still the best series he did. This DVD boxed set features all 39 episodes in digitally remastered quality. If
you remember this show from when you were a kid buy this set. With the world in the state it's in today this program will bring
back your childhood innocence for a few hours and make you feel
young and happy again. To this day I have a model of Fireball XL5
sitting on my TV. Thanks to A & E for finally releasing this great show!
Rating:
Summary: The Fastest Man Alive
Review: Fireball XL5 was the second fully-developed Supermarionation series, Supercar being the first. But it was the first Gerry Anderson show to air on a major network (NBC) in the United States. The exploits of Colonel Steve Zodiac, space doctor Venus, professor Matt Matic and Robert the Robot made a big bang in their Saturday morning time slot, and ran for three years. The puppet strings are not as visible as in Supercar, but Fireball XL5 was slow in getting off the ground, and in many ways Supercar was a better show. Unlike Supercar's dynamic opening theme, Fireball opened with moody instrumental music and dramatic shots of the rocket. Professor Matic sounded too much like Supercar's Professor Beaker, but voiceovers make or break a puppet show, and Beaker was the better character. Supercar's casting was better also, with Jimmy and Mitch the monkey for comic relief. The obvious exception was the addition of Venus in Fireball XL5. By the fourth show Fireball had hit its stride, introducing an alien mascot character in the role of Mitch, and a few sparks between Steve and Venus, as hinted at in Barry Gray's clever closing song, smoothly sung by Don Spencer: "My heart would be a fireball, and you would be my Venus of the stars." Here are all 39 episodes digitally restored in glorious black and white, along with various extras on each of the five discs, including voice actor commentaries, photo galleries, and "The Noble Art of Fireball XL5," a featurette with comic strip artist Mike Noble.
Rating:
Summary: Love the ANDERSON Box sets!
Review: First of all, A & E/CARLTON VIDEO are to be commended for putting these series out in one full, affordably priced sets! The STINGRAY and CAPTAIN SCARLET sets were perfect....didn't like buying THUNDERBIRDS in the seperate sets BUT I bought them all.
I disagree with the first review left here...When ANDERSON did SUPERCAR, this series and STINGRAY... GERRY ANDERSON was hitting his peak, in my opinion. These are the shows that were much more interesting to watch because they were character driven and had very colorful secondary characters and villians. I also like the more 'CARTOONY' designs used. The later series became more about special effects and vehicles. Not to say THUNDERBIRDS and CAPTAIN SCARLET are not GREAT shows...they are. I just prefer the earlier work like FIREBALL XL-5. Also, a clip from this series most recently appeared in the TOM HANK'S film 'THAT THING YOU DO' and everyone knows about his admiration of space series, etc., which this falls into nicely. This is a GREAT series! AND I am sure it will look much better than the PAL VHS transfers which have been the only things available until now! Rick Goldschmidt RANKIN/BASS Historian
Rating: 
Summary: Fireball-XL5 coming to the states first
Review: Hard to belive that a Gerry Anderson puppet series will be released in the United States first instead of the United Kindom! Especially this series that only aired on NBC from 1963 to 1964, and short clips used on Dennis Miller's short lived talk show. Filmed in black and white, this is the point Anderson's supermarionation shows started to steer towards Outer Space themes that would be used a lot in later shows such as Thunderbirds, Captian Scarlet, UFO, Space 1999 ect. Certainly a kids show, it's still amazing to see the effects the production crew managed to pull off, it also serves as proof that with each new puppet series, the sets, effects, puppets, and stories were improving until they finally peaked with Captain Scarlet, Anderson's finest hour. I myself have only seen short clips of this rarely scene series, and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this box set, visible wires, kiddie stories and all. I wonder if A&E will do the same thing with Supercar?
Rating:
Summary: At last - Fireball XL5 on DVD!
Review: Here in the UK it's often surprising (and annoying!) to find British films and TV programmes released first on DVD in the US, but then that's what I suppose multi-region DVD players are for! I suspect that in the case of Fireball XL5, potential audience numbers come into play here. Black and white programmes are always perceived to be low-tech. nowadays, which is a shame. I also wonder just how many people actually remember the series. I watched Fireball XL5 here in England as a child. For me, it will always be the best of the Anderson productions, partly I suppose because it brings back many fond childhood memories. I certainly think that the programme was ahead of its time and it's clear that it formed the platform for the likes for Stingray, Thunderbirds et al. I have a complete VHS set of Fireball XL5, which includes two Fireball XL5/Supercar combinations. I'm eagerly waiting for the DVD release of Fireball XL5, so that I can watch the programmes in the best possible quality and claim back a large chunk of shelf space in my lounge! Now, if only I could persuade someone to release the 1949 UK film The Blue Lamp on DVD .....
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful for Young & Old
Review: I am now 50. I watched this show faithfully when I was little. In 1962, I was 8, and never missed it. Like Superman, it was standard for me to be sitting in front of the tube, watching it in black & white. I totally recommend this series highly. It has everything that anyone could want in what I believe was a true pioneering area of TV. Love it, Love it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic series.
Review: I bought this set for my husband for our anniversary and he really enjoyed it. He use to watch it on saturday TV. The theme song was his favorite. Actually I really enjoyed the series myself. For the early 60's our space technology was really non-existant. The puppets were actually quite sophisticated and really quite enjoyable. My only fault was the episode titles were not always in the right order,also I wished they had included interviews with Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Other than than that the DVD set to me is highly recommended. My only wish now for christmas is to recieve Sting-Ray the next series that Gerry Anderson did.
Rating:
Summary: This show made an impression on me as a four-year-old
Review: I would have been three or four when this show was on the air. But yet the few episodes I must have seen stuck with me strongly enough that I tried for years to find out what it was. The only thing I remembered was "Fireball." A year or so ago, the Gerry Anderson Thunderbirds set came out on DVD. Based on the cover photos, I thought maybe this was the show I had enjoyed as a small child in South Dakota. When I heard about the Fireball XL5 release it all clicked. End result: I ordered this set and have watched about six episodes. Nostalgia aside, it's really a fun look back at what must have been and exciting space adventure for kids back in 1962. The stories are what grabbed me originally and I must say, they aren't at all bad. You can see a lot of influence on Star Trek in this effort. Is it cheesy? Of course! But in the best way. It's a glimpse into the excitement of the JFK-era space race that must have captured every person's imagination in the early 1960s. One of my friends said of the cover - "It looks so old!" But the transfers in this box are pretty amazing for a 41-year-old show. The intro to the show ("OK Venus?" "OK, Steve!") are the perfect start to each episode and a chance to boldly go where no puppet (these shows are filmed in "Super Marionation") has gone before. If you're someone who likes clever stories and is willing to put up with Black and White video from 1962, I think you'll have a blast!
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