For other uses of Firestorm see Firestorm (Disambiguation)
Promotional artwork for the series
Gerry Anderson's Firestorm, also known as Firestorm, is an upcoming television series produced by Anderson Entertainment. It is the third Gerry Anderson legacy project following the release of the Gemini Force One novels and the Terrahawks audio series.
Following on from its predecessors, Supermarionation, Supermacromation, and Hypermarionation, Firestorm is filmed using a process dubbed Ultramarionation. A physical process, this uses rod controlled puppets and miniatures, although CGI is also used on a minimal basis to blend the various effects together.
The Story[]
As described on the Firestorm Kickstarter page.
By the end of the 22nd century mankind has pulled itself up by its bootstraps. The wars and political disputes that were so common throughout the 21st century are long behind us, and man has finally taken responsibility for his own actions. The Earth in 2200 is very different from the one we worried about in 2014 - environmental, social and humanitarian crises are a thing of the past, and things have been that way for nearly 50 years. But in 2202 a new threat emerges.
Terrorist activity surfaces on several continents. At first the world governments deal with them quietly, without any real public awareness but the activity becomes better and better co-ordinated and more widespread. Soon the Continental senates decide to take action, and they invest vast amounts of resources into forming Storm Force - an organisation designed specifically to investigate and neutralise this new threat.
Supplied with the most advanced technology available Storm Force begin operation Firestorm to bring down the terrorist group known as Black Orchid. But as the 9th division of Storm Force (SF9) begin to make progress, they discover that Black Orchid is only a very small part of the picture, and that they themselves have had to make an impossible choice…
History[]
The Original[]
Firestorm was originally developed by Gerry Anderson in 2001 with his then business partner John Needham. The concept was purchased by the Japanese production company Enoki Films and produced as an anime series. The production met with many roadblocks, including an unwillingness from the production company to listen to Gerry Anderson’s input, as well as budget issues which resulted in the series being made in an odd combination of CGI and cel animation.
The series failed and is generally met with derision from anime and Anderson fans alike.
The Remake[]
On July 25 2014, Gerry’s son Jamie uploaded an image to the Official Gerry Anderson Facebook page, depicting the Storm Force 9 emblem with the tagline “No. Strings. Attached.” From the 18th to the 21st July further images were uploaded to the social media site of monchome, obscured images of craft and from the show. Each carried a label reading: “SYSTEM ERROR: PROCESSING UNIT COULD ONLY RENDER PART OF THE INCOMING IMAGE. 30092014”
The project was announced on the 21st accompanied by an image of the character Sam Scott, and a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, similar to that which Anderson Entertainment had previously done with Gemini Force One, was announced to start on September 30th. The campaign was a runaway success and met its minimum target of £49,280 within just four days.
Funding was completed on November 2nd 2014 with a total of £88,931 being raised, 180% of its original goal and reaching four of its six stretch goals.
The Minisode[]
Production for the pilot minisode continued for the next four years and involved the participation of many industry professionals who often worked on the project in between their other working commitments. The team was comprised of several members who had worked with on some of Gerry Anderson's previous projects, such as Steve Begg.
The finished minisode was released digitally to backers in September 2018, and received its official premiere at MCM London ComicCon on October 27th 2018. It was released on the Firestorm HQ website, the Anderson Entertainment Twitch and Youtube Channels simultaneously for viewers worldwide.
Voice actors for the minisode included several performers with previous Anderson connections, including Nick Tate as the voice of the NASA Chief, Sophia Myles (who played Lady Penelope in the live-action Thunderbirds film) as Laura, and Nicholas Briggs (actor, writer and producer for Big Finish Productions, which has created a series of audio dramas based upon Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons) as a computer.