Gerry Anderson Encyclopedia
Register
Advertisement
Supercar
Supercar-logo
Production
Released by ATV
Producer Gerry Anderson
Directors Bill Harris
David Elliott
Allan Pattillo
Desmond Saunders
Creators Gerry Anderson
Martin Woodhouse
Hugh Woodhouse
Director of Photography Arthur Provis
Art Director Reginald E. Hill
Music Director Barry Gray
Special Effects Derek Meddings
Details
Medium Black and White
Episodes 39
Season 1 26
Season 2 13
Duration 25 Minutes
Original Air Date 28 January 1961
Series Guide
Previous Next
Four Feather Falls Fireball XL5

For other uses of Supercar see Supercar (Disambiguation)

Supercar was a British science-fiction television programme, comprising 39 episodes (2 series/seasons), which first aired during 1961 and 1962.

The second of British producer Gerry Anderson's puppet shows to be Filmed in Supermarionation (in the second season's closing credits), Supercar was also the first to be aired outside of Great Britain - notably, in the United States.

The series (as might be divined from its title) centred around Supercar itself - a unique, one-of-a-kind, experimental vehicle versatile enough to travel to any environment, be it land, sea, sky or even to the very edges of outer space!

With test pilot Mike Mercury at the controls, Supercar carried out daring rescue missions (the series itself begins with one); and, along with its decidedly-eclectic support team, encountered many other exciting adventures.

As with the later Anderson programme The Secret Service, Supercar was set in what was then the present day (specifically C.E. 1961).

Inception[]

After Granada TV failed to renew Anderson's previous programme, Four Feather Falls, for another season, he went back to the drawing board...

With the Space Age dawning, he thought a more futuristic theme to be the way to go. Teaming up with the writing duo of Martin and Hugh Woodhouse - who had previously written for Four Feather Falls - Anderson set about laying the foundations for a series about a car that could, quite literally, go anywhere (see above). From their collaboration, Supercar was created.

Production[]

The brothers Woodhouse wrote 24 scripts in total for the programme's first series, at a rate of 1 shooting script per week. Voice-acting for the series was recorded on the weekends, with around 4 episodes' worth of dialogue being recorded per week. Once series 1 concluded, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson took it upon themselves to write the entirety of series 2 by themselves.

Supercar - along with all of the Andersons' subsequent Supermarionation shows - was released by ATV, headed by businessman and impresario Lew Grade (later Sir Lew; later Lord Grade).

Crew organisation[]

In producing Supercar, Gerry Anderson and the former Sylvia Thamm began to organise the behind-the-scenes crew of "Anderson-Provis Films" - APF (or AP Films), for short - the production company that would be the forerunner of Century 21 Television And Cinema Productions, Mentorn Television And Cinema Productions, and the present-day Anderson Entertainment headed by Gerry's son, Jamie Anderson.

Among these were:

  • Arthur Provis (the P in APF), Anderson's earliest production partner, who was then the cinematographer of Supercar;
  • Reginald E. "Reg" Hill, then art director of Supercar, and later one of the staff producers of Anderson's companies;
  • Desmond Saunders, a frequent director of Anderson's productions;
  • Barry Gray, Anderson's favourite composer; and
  • Derek Meddings, the foremost special-effects expert of Anderson's companies.

Regular Cast[]

Felicity Farnsworth - Sylvia Anderson

Aunt Heidi - Sylvia Anderson

Zizi - Sylvia Anderson

Telephone Operator - Cyril Shaps

Newsreader - Graydon Gould

Narrator - Graydon Gould

Guest Cast[]

Main article: Supercar Characters

Episodes[]


Merchandise Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Gerry Anderson went on record saying that he wanted to include black characters in one episode of Supercar, but network executives in America shot down that idea. Not until Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, produced in the later 1960s - and set in the mid-to-late 2060s - would he achieve his goal of including black characters (dates are C.E.).
  • Britain's Royal Mail, in 2011, celebrated Supercar and 5 other Supermarionation series (Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds (classic), Captain Scarlet (original) and Joe 90) in a special stamp-sheet issue. FAB - The Genius of Gerry Anderson also included a second stamp-set featuring all five Thunderbird craft. (More here: https://postalheritage.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/fab-the-genius-of-gerry-anderson/)
  • After Supercar production finished its music was heard in future Gerry Anderson productions until Season 1 of Space: 1999 where it was last heard in.
  • The canopy on Supercar was reused for Hepcat in the Stingray episode Raptures of the Deep.
  • Black rock laboratory set was revamped for Space City Control in Fireball XL5.
  • The model of black rock laboratory there was seen in Season 2, was seen again in Stingray as background building which was sadly destroyed in the famous exploding finery of the famous Gerry Anderson series Thunderbirds.
  • The console in which Professor Popkiss sat at was seen again in Fireball XL5 and later in Thunderbirds when it had the microphones removed from the prop on the set of Cape Kennedy control in which both creators Gerry and Sylvia Anderson sat on it with Troy and Marina's puppet from Stingray also in several appearances of Thunderbirds.

External links[]

Supermarionation:
About Supermarionation: What is it? | Who makes it? | The marionettes | the legacy
The Series: Four Feather Falls |Supercar | Fireball XL5 | Stingray | Thunderbirds | Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons | Joe 90 | The Secret Service
The Films: Thunderbirds Are Go | Thunderbird 6
Other Uses: Calling Elvis | The Investigator
Imitators and tributes: Paul starr | Team America World Police | Interster | X-Bomber (Star Fleet) | Superthunderstingcar | Thunderbirds F.A.B. | Misc. Parodies and references



Preceding series: SupercarFollowing series:
Crossroads to CrimeFireball XL5
Advertisement