Joe 90

I watched a "SuperMarionation" themed day yesterday on the SF TV Channel, comprising episodes of Stingray, Thunderbirds and Joe 90 and it struck me how much Anderson's puppets had evolved from Stingray, through Thunderbirds to Joe 90. Before Joe 90 the puppets looked toy-like with large heads and stunted limbs. However the puppets in Joe 90 have bodies that are correct in all proportions and faces that look human (in fact they look so human the visual effect can be a bit weird). I especially noticed it in scene in a church where the congregation puppets had such lifelike facial features that, for a second, I thought I was watching inserted library stock of human extras but they were all puppets, all with unique human facial features. Gerry Anderson had reached his goal with Joe 90 of having miniature people but it's a pity the scripts were a bit top-heavy with their wish-fulfilment fantasies of many of Britain's oppressed 10 year-old boys.

This is so underrated but I remember Joe 90:as clearly as watching Thunderbirds as a child of the late 60s. I love all Gerry Anderson's work but Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Stingray have to be my favourites. Following Captain Scarlet which this is in the style of. And of course another underrated series is The Secret Service. Not forgetting of course the charming black and white series of Fireball XL5, Supercar. Never get bored of watching these. Great storylines, effects and attention to detail.

For me personally, Joe 90 is one of the best SUPERMARIONATION shows from the creative talents of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

It was one of the first television programmes, I remember watching when I was a boy.

This 1968 tv production, actually looked like it had money spent on it, unlike some 1960's children programmes that looked cheap and awful to watch.

Both the special effects and the model work are excellent for its time. This was in the days before CGI.

The dialogue is well written, and it is spoken well by the actors doing the voices for the puppets.

I have two favourite SUPERMARIONATION tv series, this one and Stingray.

This show just doesn't seem to receive the popularity it deserves. It was made after Captain Scarlet and quite a few years after Thunderbirds when the puppet animation had improved considerably. Perhaps because it details the exploits of a young boy it seems in some way "for the kids". But some kid's show! The carnage in some episodes is unbelievable, like the time Joe "borrows" a MIG jet fighter off the Russians, they come after him, he blows them all out of the sky AND goes back to destroy the base! The hardware is as good as Thunderbirds if not as varied. Joe's dad's car for example. Not only does it look good whilst driving it flies too.

This is one of my best remembered shows from childhood days and when it is repeated I always sit down and watch. Good ol' Joe, may you never grow old and may you work for the World Intelligence Network indefinitely.

Actually there's two versions around of the first episode.

The original one where the mission was just a scenario, then there was a later compilation of episodes were the 'scenario' elements were taken out and he actually did blow up everything.

Of course the idea of a Westerner sneaking into a Russian base, jumping into a fully armed fighter, and taking off, and battling back to the West - was obviously a great idea...

... years later, the whole episode was ripped off to become a Clint Eastwood movie called Firefox...

The similarities are rather extreme, then there's that episode of Space: 1999 where a crew come across an abandoned derelict spacecraft, and find a lone creature that attacks the crew and eats them, with one lone survivor escaping in a life pod, whose story is not believed. I think that became a movie or two as well...