A ‘Tech Talk’ feature narrated by David Graham in character as Brains from Thunderbirds manages to tie the two shows together in a way which is logical yet still mind-boggling. As well as some vintage ads and rare archive material (including a French version of the end credits, with a version of the song ‘Aqua Marina’ en français), there are also non-visual treats to enjoy, with some audio Stingray adventures. Immensely fun to see a contemporary skit featuring Des O’Connor having an extremely up-close-and-personal encounter with Stingray et al during an off-guard moment. Network have finally confirmed what we’ve been hoping for (and they’ve been hinting at) for ages. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s groundbreaking underwater series Stingray is being remastered in high definition for a release on Blu-ray Disc in 2022! Audio Recording - presented here is the cleanest version of Jerry Riopelle's tune "Hi Gear", taken from the remastered film. (6 min). In their initial forays into the world of puppets, Gerry handled the production, writing, direction, and occasional voice work—wife Sylvia handled most of those chores along with designing costumes for the characters (the marionettes were formidable in their own right; between two and three feet high, and rigged with complex mechanisms, they were great for detail but hell on production costs—bigger manikins meant bigger studios). As work began on Stingray, Gerry stepped away from directing and Sylvia took a break from voice work so they both could concentrate on the nuts and bolts of the production and the rigorous art of storytelling—and the effort shows. Generally delightful, sometimes weird sci-fi/fantasy puppet action at 6,000 fathoms. ITV Studios Global Entertainment, with Timeless Media Group's help, has released Stingray: The Complete Series -- 50th Anniversary Edition, a 5-disc, 39-episode collection of the beloved 1964 U.K. "Supermarionation" kiddie show from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's AP Films (...or from Sir Lew Grade's ITC, if you want to get technical). Here in the States, most guys my age and older caught a few episodes of the Andersons' internationally-popular hi-tech puppet action/adventure series, Thunderbirds, in syndicated re-runs. Their other marionette series, however, like Supercar, Fireball XL5, and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, are probably better known by name--if not by actual sight--so a re-release like Stingray: The Complete Series -- 50th Anniversary Edition is a great, affordable way to fill in the blanks for one of the more influential artists working in children's television (or really sci-fi television in general). One bonus from A&E's 2002 complete series release is carried over here, along with a never-before-seen interview with Gerry Anderson accompanying the nice fullscreen color transfers.

Truth be told, all the characters sport relatively vacant stares, an obstacle that was leavened by cycling through an expressive variety of puppet heads from shot to shot. The greatest hurdle remained the profusion of strings enveloping the marionettes—that those wires are rarely intrusive is a tribute to the diligent folks at the other end of those strings and the craftspeople behind the scenes. The show’s head shop aesthetic was fully-formed right from the start thanks to future Bond special effects artist Derek Meddings, the art direction of Bob Bell, and model-maker Reg Parks, whose stylish creations include the Stingray sub itself, a sleek piece of machinery that borrows its futuristic curves from a toy space gun.If nothing else, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Stingray should be celebrated for inspiring Team America: World Police, the gonzo marionettes-on-the-make political satire from South Park agitators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. If their 2004 farce was designed to provoke just about everybody, Stingray was also pretty out there, albeit in a trippy, Summer of Love kind of way. An aquatic puppet show swimming in psychedelic color, languid pacing, and underwater scenes apparently filmed inside a lava lamp, Stingray reflected the inveterate stoner’s mindset better than anything in Yellow Submarine. The entire series has just been released in an extravagant five disc box set from Network, Stingray: The Complete Series Deluxe Edition, and the high definition imagery is not just surreal, it’s hyper-real—a single frame is as vivid as any View-Master reel. Stingray is also noteworthy for the refinements made to the Supermarionation process between shows, with the puppet sculpts having more detail, and being more proportionate in comparison to those featured in earlier productions, making the characters seem more defined and realistic. Model work also feels more polished, the design of Stingray itself being a genuine stroke of pop culture iconography. The ‘underwater’ sequences stand up remarkably well, even now.

On the Set of Set Sail for Adventure: From the estate of Stingray contributor Alan Fennell, we present some previously unseen home movie footage taken by Alan whilst filming Set Sail For AdventureCommentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, director Richard Taylor goes down memory lane and explains how Stingray was conceived and shot in Edwardsville, Illinois; how different actors behaved and improvised during the filming process; where and how key sequences were shot; how his original concept for the film evolved; etc. There are some interesting comments about the reconstruction of the Director's Cut of the film as well. Watching Stingray now, I can more fully appreciate the extensive effort that went into synching up all the details of the impressive production--not just the marionettes' mouth movements, but all of the effects, including moving the dolls around, the impressive, consistently imaginative production design, and the almost big-screen-worthy direction and editing of these little half-hour sci-fi adventures. With that said, I'm not sure what else I can add to a discussion or evaluation of the show...without sounding like some creepy old weirdo who's taking this all too seriously. Thunderbirds is my childhood touchstone with Gerry Anderson's world, and I have found memories of occasionally catching it when I was quite young. I've seen it a few times since then, and it never fails to entertain me. Briefly. Stingray, which came out the year before Thunderbirds, is less ambitious technically (not only in its half-hour run time, but in the scope of its special effects), but it still satisfies that nostalgia-driven rush of childlike pleasure when an adult viewer sees some cool models and funny-looking puppets moving around in herky-jerky fashion on the TV screen. However, there are remnants of your pop culture history that were perfectly acceptable to watch as a child (my two littlest kids watched Stingray for a couple of episodes--my little girl in particular took to the Barbie doll-like aspects of mute Marina), or cool and cute to watch in your twenties (girlfriends and wives love that "little boy" enthusiasm at that age when you're revisiting something in your past)...but which now feel a tad, um... juvenile when you're pushing 50--no matter how much you loved it when you were a kid (everyone knows that even Gerry Anderson, who always hoped for a big-screen live-action career, was slightly embarrassed having to do what amounted to kiddie shows with dolls). And the 75-second home movie footage of behind-the-scenes work is great, despite the sound of the projector drowning things out. Not that there’s any dialogue, but we didn’t need a deafening projector sound either. Miss Moneypenny' Lois Maxwell with the Marina character being mute. Network offer optional English subtitles English television titan Lew Grade (he produced everything from The Prisoner to The Muppet Show) was so impressed by the Anderson’s success he bought out their company, and it was Grade who made the call to produce their next series, Stingray, in color—but just for U.S. markets, the color version didn’t appear in the U.K. till 1969. They dubbed the chromatic upgrade “Videcolor” and the Anderson’s trademark style—string-operated manikins bobbing and weaving through intricately detailed sets—was given a fancy moniker too: Supermarionation (perhaps a sneaky tribute to Dynamation, Ray Harryhausen’s space age brand for his own animation technique.)

Anyway, the series is a delight for newcomers and nostalgia fans alike. I can only imagine the amount of 1960s kids who must have spent ages playing with Stingray submarines at bath time. Into Action With Troy Tempest/A Trip to Marineville/Marina Speaks: Three 21-minute Mini-Albums, released in 1965, and featuring the original voice artistsTroy is a member of WASP, a sort of oceanic police force, and he pilots a submarine called Stingray. What are the chances?