Thunderbirds - now if like me you've never seen a single episode - well do not be discouraged. Actually it might even be better - well at least it won't be worse. Wait that doesn't make any sense. All kidding aside and while I can't say what is better - I can tell you that watching this documentary will make you want to watch the Thunderbirds. And if a documentary achieves something like that - well what more can you ask for? That would be a rhetorical question of course.

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the voices of the cast a couple of years ago. And in the UK where this was produced, people are still quite fond of the show. And as far as I can tell, rightfully so. So many looks behind the scenes, honest reactions to things that went south or why certain things probably worked (by accident or on purpose) ... really well done and edited. You can tell whoever did this was a fan of the show and also a good filmmaker.

FILMED IN SUPERMARIONATION is a two-hour documentary celebration of the puppet productions made by Gerry Anderson throughout the 1960s. I was never a huge fan of these shows - it wasn't my era, after all - although I do remember watching and enjoying STINGRAY and CAPTAIN SCARLET as a kid. In any case, this documentary is very handsomely mounted and nicely put together. It's a real labour of love and love is what comes to the fore for all involved, with lots of assembled cast and crew members reuniting. You get a good sense of setting and era and the sheer hard work that went into making these shows such a success, and indeed a real one-off internationally. Lots of well-chosen clips add to the fun, too.

I grew up watching three of the most famous 1960s puppet television series from producer Gerry Anderson (Stingray, Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlet - my favourite) when they repeated in the 1990s and early 2000s. I was most looking forward to watching a documentary film about his career, and the TV shows and films that he and his studio made. "Supermarionation" (a combination of the words "super", "marionette" and "animation") was a term coined by AP Films and Century 21 studios, to describe the unique form of puppetry employed by Gerry Anderson, and his wife Sylvia, and their team of puppeteers, writers, and team of technicians, special effects producers and more. This film also serves as a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of probably the most popular and successful shows from Anderson, Thunderbirds. So, it is hosted by the show's lead female, Lady Penelope (voiced by Sylvia Anderson),and her faithful butler Parker (voiced by David Graham),with appearances from International Rescue engineer, scientist and inventor Brains (also voice by Graham). The film examines the early beginnings for Anderson in the world of puppetry, with The Adventures of Twizzle (1957-1958),the young children's series (the puppets had no moving lips),followed by low-budget series, Torchy the Battery Boy (1958-1959) (the first to have puppets with moving lips). The third series was the first to introduce the term "Supermarionation", the children's western fantasy-adventure series Four Feather Falls (1959-60). Anderson's company was suffering financial difficulty, but was rescued by Lew Grade, head of the Associated Television (ATV),who offered a bigger budget for a bigger show. The new series was science-fiction Supercar (1960-61),which centred around a vertical-takeoff-and-landing craft, invented by Prof. Rudolph Popkiss and Dr Horatio Beaker, and piloted by Mike Mercury. The next series by APF was the futuristic space adventure Fireball XL5 (1962),which at the time was the company's biggest success. Then followed the submarine and underwater themed science-fiction series Stingray (1964),the first British TV series to be filmed in colour, with bigger facilities and bigger special effects. It was the 1963 Wunder von Lengede mining disaster the inspired the Andersons to create Thunderbirds (1964-1965),the show cantered around the secretive Tracy family, who formed International Rescue. The series revolves around many disasters occurring around the world, and rescue organisation who would rescue them using the five distinctive rocket-based machines, the Thunderbirds. The show enjoyed immense success worldwide, and led to a feature film, Thunderbirds Are GO (1966),which was a box office flop. But the show was cancelled, as Grade was unable to sell the show to an American network. The studio moved on to create a new show, science-fiction fantasy adventure series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967) which saw the creation of much more humanistic puppets and was a "darker" children's series. It revolves around the Spectrum organisation, who must defend Earth in a "war of nerves" against the Mysterons, invisible aliens on Mars who seek vengeance for the attack on their Martian complex. The leading character is Captain Scarlet, who was originally a Mysteron himself, but survived and gained the Mysteron powers of "retro metabolism", making him vertically indestructible. A second feature film, Thunderbird 6 (1968),was also unsuccessful. Century 21's next (and penultimate) Supermarionation series was science-fiction fantasy series Joe 90 (1968-1969). This series returned to more "child-friendly" territory, and centred around the adventures of a young boy who is also a secret agent who, with a supercomputer called 'BIG RAT', could be programmed to gain special knowledge and abilities for his missions. Anderson created a third feature film, Doppelgänger (1969),the first live-action production, and although it was not a commercial success, it was nominated an Oscar for its special effects. The final "Supermarionation" series to be created was The Secret Service (1969),about a priest who was an operative of the intelligence agency BISHOP ("British Intelligence Service Headquarters, Operation Priest"). The lead character was known for his nonsense language, 'Unwinese', and Lew Grade considered this unsellable to American audiences. The show was also notable for its strange mix of the close-up of puppets, but wider shots being played in real locations by live-action actors. All these television series are talked about, with behind-the-scenes footage and insights. This includes the special effects of Derek Meddings and the teams, including high-speed camerawork to create impressive looking explosions, and computer technology operating the lips of puppet heads to move in sync with the actors' recorded dialogue. It also mentions the great music of composer Barry Gray, who created iconic theme tunes, background music and songs (including "Aqua Marina"). With contributions from Gerry Anderson (filmed before his death),Sylvia Anderson, Jamie Anderson (Gerry and Sylvia's son),David Graham, Shane Rimmer (voiced Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds and appeared in other series),Nicholas Parsons (voiced Sheriff Tex Tucker in Four Feather Falls),David Elliott (director),Mary Turner (puppetry coordinator),Roger Woodburn (puppeteer),Desmond Saunders (supervising director),Hugh Woodhouse (Writer),Keith Wilson (production designer),Elizabeth Morgan (voiced Destiny, Rhapsody and Harmony Angels in Captain Scarlet),David Lane (editor and director),Brian Johnson (special effects director),Matt Zimmerman (voiced Alan Tracy in Thunderbirds),John Blundall (sculptor),Robert Easton (voiced Phones in Stingray),Ken Turner (director),and Alan Perry (camera operator). This is the perfect film to watch if you are a fan of classic children's puppet TV shows from Gerry Anderson, a nostalgic look back at some of the most popular and influential shows of the 1960s era, and an interesting insight into what went into making them, a most watchable documentary. Very good!