Fusée XL5

From the very outset, I was hooked by this show as a child. In a lot of ways, it was very advanced with a WOMAN doctor...even though Venus spent most of her time making coffee, cleaning up, or needing to be rescued. Robert was the best robot around, and Professor Mattic was just eccentric enough to be interesting, too. Coulda lived without the Lazoon, though. This show even had a first rate music score, too. But, it was that ship that had me! It was unlike most of the cramped ships in sci fi at the time. This one had a lounge, sleeping quarters, too. Its nose cone was detachable, and could land on the planets they visited. Most of the plots were pretty simple, but some stood out. One episode had XL5 in an unexplored area of space. The ship had been hit by meteors, and was losing its oxygen. They knew they had just a short time left, and even as a child, I was fascinated with how they were facing death. Of course, they just HAPPENED to wander into a part of the universe with its own air pocket, but hey..!

I used to think I was the only person who even cared about this show, but thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I found out there were a LOT of fans out there world wide!

I loved this show when I was young. I got as many episodes as were available on VHS when I could, and now, I see the entire series is on DVD! It probably won't win too many new fans in this day and age, but if you loved this show as a child, its a little reminder of a more innocent time. Enjoy the ride!

I can't believe anyone outside of my brother or me remembers this show. There were times throughout my life when I had to question if the show ever really existed. We were so mesmerized by all of the episodes and we played XL5 for hours up on hours. I believe that for us the spaceship itself was the real focus of our enjoyment. There just wasn't anything like it at the time. Rail launching a space ship was definitely ahead of it's time.

I must admit that that I don't really remember much of the show. Robby's electro-voice saying `Fire Retro Rockets' has definitely remained with me over the years. I still get a thrill when I reminisce about the rare episodes when XL1 was employed to help save the day. I remember a friend in school had the XL5 lunch box and I used sit and study it, on the rare occasion when he would let me. It was in color! I am a father now and my children grew up on Transformers and Power Rangers. However, the looks on their faces when these characters would save the day would sometimes take me back to the days of my childhood and XL5 and for that brief moment we shared an emotion of childhood that I will always treasure. I can only hope that they will some day be lucky enough to experience the same with their children. I plan on purchasing the DVD set of XL5. I am not sure if I will try to talk the kids into watching them with me but the opportunity will be there if they choose.

Fireball XL5 is one of my favourite Gerry Anderson shows.The theme tune is a great one as well.It took along time,but I managed to find a copy on ebay.They tend to be rather expensive as they are rare.I was very glad when we won it.It was well worth the wait.

In the library,the only copy they had had gone missing.I can`t remember when but I was dissapointed. It speaks the same for other little known Gerry Anderson shows.They had all gone missing in the library for years and there were not any copies anywhere.Thankfully,a lot of Gerry Anderson shows are now being released on DVD.That goes for Fireball XL5 to. It is being released on DVD the 20th October.

Yippee!

I was very young when I saw this show, but I still remember the special effects, especially the opening sequence of the rocket speeding down that track and the changes in the engine sounds just before it took off from the track into the air. The marionettes, especially the robot and his electronic voice. And I remember being very moved by a story involving a mermaid. The ending was sad. I would love to get this series on video. is it available?

First of all, I didn't think that anyone else remembered this show. You guys are getting OLD. Don't believe I ever saw a rerun of the series, I watched em when they ran originally in '62. Yeah, I'm getting old, too. This was the first opportunity for Baby-Boomers to watch any real sci-fi on TV. At least where we lived, these were not shown in the afternoon, but rather on Saturday morning, early, about 7:30 or maybe 8:00, so you couldn't sleep in. I can still see my little brother and me lying on the living room floor in our pajamas, eating cereal as the Saturday morning wonderland unfolded. And didn't everybody who saw the show want a Robby the robot of their own? OK, so the name wasn't original, he was still the best robot ever. This show may seem hokey and stupid with primitive special effects to a Star Wars generation, but it was the only game in town for those of my age. The next opportunity to see a sci-fi series on TV was, I guess, Lost In Space, which DOES look hokey and stupid to me now. maybe you just can't lose the love you had for a program as a small child.

Whatever the reason, I'm delighted to hear that the series is available on DVD, I suspect I'll have to update my Xmas wish list to include it. What an opportunity, indulge my own nostalgia AND drive my family nuts simultaneously!

Update!: I did receive the DVD set with the complete series for Xmas, 2004, and it was all I remembered. Incidentally, It DID drive my family nuts as I spent about a week straight watching the whole series and singing the stupid theme song with the show.