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During his stint playing Commander William Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Jonathan Frakes (seen above left) underwent a rudimentary director's boot camp. Frakes was interested in directing episodes of the show, and the producers said he would only be allowed to do so after shadowing other directors for 300 hours. Frakes put in his due diligence, and he ended up directing eight episodes of the series. The producers were so impressed that they also hired Frakes to direct two of the "Star Trek" feature films. 

His directorial experience on "Next Generation," he found, could be parlayed into other directing gigs. For one, he remained with the "Star Trek" franchise for decades, coming back to helm episodes of "Deep Space Nine," "Voyager," "Discovery," "Strange New Worlds," and "Picard." He directed the family friend sci-fi adventure film "Clockstoppers" in 2002 and "Thunderbirds" in 2004, eventually moving exclusively into television, overseeing episodes of "Leverage,...

Brady Corbet is proving himself to be one of the most popular voices in independent cinema. His new film, The Brutalist, has earned praise from critics and recognition from the Academy. The period drama showing a Hungarian architect in post-war America establishes Corbet as someone who takes financial risks to explore big themes.

With a rare career journey from acting in Thirteen and Mysterious Skin to the very unique directing debut on The Childhood of a Leader, Corbet’s vision has allowed him to receive various prestigious awards, like the Silver Lion of the Venice International Film Festival and Best Director Award at the Golden Globes, for The Brutalist.

Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones in The Brutalist | Credit: A24

However, Corbet’s situation landed him in the headlines again and also raised some talks about his financial situation within the industry as he surprisingly stated that he got nothing out of The Brutalist.

It's become a fun pub trivia act to be able to rattle off the legion of beloved performers who got their start on the big screen by acting in horror movies. It's less common, however, to learn about actors famous for their roles in horror films pivoting to directing and nabbing an Academy Award nomination for Best Director in the process. But that's precisely what happened with Brady Corbet, the director behind one of the frontrunners for Best Picture (at the time of writing) and a film that /Film's Chris Evangelista called "an overwhelming triumph" in his review, "The Brutalist."

Corbet, for those not familiar, made his feature directorial debut in 2015 with "The Childhood of a Leader." Loosely adapted from Jean-Paul Sartre's short story of the same name, the film centers on an American boy living in France with his authoritarian parents during the Treaty of Versailles and explores...

Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in ‘Frankenstein’ (Photo Credit: Ken Woroner / Netflix)

Netflix’s 2025 film slate is loaded with sequels, animated offerings, and documentaries. Adam Sandler returns for Happy Gilmore 2, Charlize Theron’s back in action for The Old Guard 2, and Daniel Craig slips back into the role of detective Benoit Blanc for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. The streamer’s documentary lineup includes films on Eddie Murphy, the Air Force’s Thunderbirds, Charles Manson, and the Titan submersible. Animated offerings include a Witcher project, a K-Pop-themed film, the much-anticipated The Twits, and Simu Liu and Craig Robinson voicing the leads in In Your Dreams.

“We’re not just one thing. We’re the best of film, TV, documentaries, stand-up, animation and live events — and we’re doing it in 50 languages. We’re not afraid to make big bets on compelling voices and new ideas...

Emilia Clarke became uber famous when she was cast in Game of Thrones as the dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen. Emilia accumulated a massive fan base because her character is an icon in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe. At the time when she took on her role, Emilia had only a few minor roles in three projects, but after the success, many wanted to work with her.

Emilia has worked on over 20 projects since then, and while none of them outshone her portrayal as Daenerys, she has proven that she can play various types of characters. With several Marvel projects, a role in the Star Wars universe, and even an appearance as Sarah Connor in Terminator: Genesys, this British Thespian has built a solid career since her Game of Thrones days. The busy actress has six projects in the works, among them An Ideal Wife, a biopic on Oscar Wilde's wife.

Gerry Anderson’s Space Precinct is coming to Blu-ray for the first time, thanks to a brand new box set. More here.

As much as the late Gerry Anderson had his fair share of big successes in his lifetime – hello, Thunderbirds, for instance – one or two of his productions took a little time to find their audience. Take Space Precinct as an example. The science fiction drama was a costly affair, and 24 episodes were produced. But it was maligned at the time of its debut, and as was never really given a decent slot in the schedules on American television.

Bottom line: the show lasted for one season, as given its ratings and the cost to produce, the money stopped coming from America.

Over time, it’s built up more of a following at least, although the original DVD release of the show was long out of print. But as...

With only two features under his belt, British musician Daniel Blumberg has already cemented his name in film history. After debuting scoring abilities on 2020’s The World to Come, the composer extraordinaire is back four years later with a monumental sophomore effort––one that reflects the work of a vetted master.

Blumberg’s 32-track, 82-minute score for Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist is a vast, varied, odyssey-inducing epic that subtly clues you into the film’s expression, the soul of its architect lead, and the dawning sense of hard-earned revelation that runs through the sweeping immigrant story.

With a Golden Globe nomination for the score already, multiple awards from critics circles, and an all-but-guaranteed Oscar nomination on the horizon, Blumberg sat down to talk with us about composing the score, the various and experimental approaches he took to recording, and the beauty of working with an assured, hyper-involved director like Corbet.

Jonathan Frakes' 2004 kid-friendly sci-fi flick "Thunderbirds" had everything going for it. It was based on the cult Supermarionation series "Thunderbirds," created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson in 1964, a puppet-based adventure show that had a notable cult following among Gen-x TV addicts. The movie also leaned really hard into the show's colorful vehicle fetish, spending a lot of time looking at the five giant Thunderbirds rescue craft, all but assuring little kids would want toy versions of each. "Thunderbirds" also sported a notable cast, with Bill Paxton as the patriarch of the Tracy family, Anthony Edwards as the bookish tech guru Brain, and Ben Kingsley as dark-eyed villain Hood. Then-teen-star Vanessa Hudgens had a bit part as the girl Alan Tracy (Brady Corbet) had a crush on. 

The premise of "Thunderbirds" is pure Saturday morning: on a remote Tropical island, the Tracy family operates a freelance rescue organization called International Rescue.

There really just isn't another movie on this planet quite like "Team America: World Police." Directed by "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker from a script by Parker, fellow "South Park" co-creator Matt Stone, and Pam Brady, "Team America" is loosely a riff on the 1960s British TV series "Thunderbirds," using marionettes and various other forms of puppetry to create the entire movie. It's weird, it's vulgar, and the vast majority of the jokes have aged like milk, but there is some incredible craftsmanship on display and it's an interesting time capsule for the "edgy" comedy of 2004 and global politics at the time. "Team America" is about an international counterterrorism team taking on North Korean dictator Kim Jung Il, who himself is represented in a cartoonish puppet form. There's lots of swearing, some puppet-on-puppet violence, and even an explicit puppet sex scene, and somehow it's also apparently Jodie Foster's favorite movie.

The remarkable story of a brilliant musician and producer is told in this surreal but also strangely wrongheaded film

Pharrell Williams’s life … only it’s Lego. A fun idea – like Muhammad Ali in Etch-a-Sketch or Harry and Meghan with Thunderbirds puppets. This is a film that is boisterously childlike, surreal and eager to please, but also (I couldn’t help thinking) a strangely wrongheaded attempt to use Lego graphics to tell the remarkable, complex story of a brilliant musician and producer. Try as I might, I couldn’t make friends with this much-acclaimed film.

Piece By Piece is of course inspired by the amazing success of The Lego Movie franchise but doesn’t have those films’ crazy ironic knowingness or comedy stylings. On the contrary it is a basically heartfelt approach to Williams’s story, using real voices on the soundtrack but with Lego dramatisations of episodes in his life,...

Deep Fusion Films has announced the commission of a new 8-part podcast series Virtually Parkinson hosted by an AI replica of the late Sir Michael Parkinson to be launched later this year.

Best known for his talk show Parkinson, Sir Michael Parkinson, who died last year, was one of the UK’s most respected TV presenters, broadcasters and journalists whose career spanned seven decades. The podcast series will be a completely unscripted conversation between a guest and an AI version of Sir Michael Parkinson.

The AI ‘Michael Parkinson’ is built using knowledge garnered from his career, including his back-catalogue of over 2000 interviews with some of the most important cultural figures of our time. This approach enables AI Michael to converse in an authentic manner and offers podcast guests a true-to-life experience.

The podcast was commissioned by Night Train Digital, a new digital content agency specializing in content strategy, distribution, and the development of digital brands.

“The Brutalist” was one of the buzziest titles to come out of the Venice Film Festival, pushing filmmaker Brady Corbet immediately into many Oscar predictions lists for best director. Many might not be aware that, 20 years earlier, Corbet was the teenage lead star of the film “Thunderbirds.”

This cinematic fact was revealed on stage at the BFI London Film Festival in something of a rare public talk by the heads of Working Title, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.

Despite being arguably the U.K.’s best known and most successful production company — whose more than 150 films have landed more than 300 Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes combined — the two were asked to discuss their failures and the lessons learned along the way.

“Thunderbirds” — based on the cult sci-fi TV series — was among the flops mentioned, making just $28 million from a budget of $57 million.

The fault with that film — according to Fellner...

On Monday 30 September 2024, BBC Two broadcasts Mastermind!

Season 22 Episode 6 Episode Summary

In the upcoming episode of *Mastermind*, airing on BBC Two, viewers can expect a captivating mix of specialist subjects as four contestants showcase their knowledge. The episode will feature topics that range from the eerie tales of *The Ghost Stories of M R James* to the world of professional snooker with *Ronnie O’Sullivan*.

Additionally, fans of classic television will enjoy the segment on Thunderbirds, the beloved puppet series, while art enthusiasts can look forward to questions about the works of the renowned painter and portraitist Hans Holbein the Younger.

With each contestant tackling their chosen subject, this episode promises to deliver intriguing facts and fascinating insights, making it a treat for trivia lovers and fans of the various topics covered. Tune in for an engaging evening of brain-teasing questions and expert knowledge.

What Time is the Episode On?

The...

David Graham, a British actor who voiced characters on TV shows like Peppa Pig and Thunderbirds across a decades-long career, has died at age 99. Anderson Entertainment, the production company behind the Thunderbirds franchise, announced the news in an X post on Friday, September 20. “We’re incredibly sad to confirm the passing of the legendary David Graham, the voice [of] Parker, Gordon Tracy, Brains, and so many more,” the company wrote. “David was always a wonderful friend to us here at Anderson Entertainment. We will miss you dearly, David. Our thoughts are with David’s friends and family.” We’re incredibly sad to confirm the passing of the legendary David Graham. The voice Parker, Gordon Tracy, Brains and so many more. David was always a wonderful friend to us here at Anderson Entertainment. We will miss you dearly, David. Our thoughts are with David’s friends and… pic.twitter.com/DB4HTawHiU...

David Graham, the man behind some of children's TVs most iconic characters, including Grandpa Pig in Peppa Pig, Parker in Thunderbirds, and the original voice of Doctor Whos Daleks, has died at the age of 99. Alongside several other iconic voice roles, Graham became known across several generations, and continued working well into his 90s, returning to voice his Thunderbirds character in the rebooted Thunderbirds Are Go series.

The British actor was born in London in 1925,but moved to New York with several other family members and trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre after serving in the Royal Air Force. After returning to England, Graham made several TV appearances before meeting producer and writer Gerry Anderson, who was in the process of developing several puppet productions. Grahams ability to mimic accents led him to make the first of many appearances as a voice actor in western puppet series Four Feather Falls.

The man behind one of the world’s most familiar voices has died aged 99.

In a long career, British actor David Graham provided the voices for characters in TV series including Peppa Pig, Thunderbirds and Doctor Who.

For today’s generation of children, his voice will be instantly familiar as that of Grandpa Pig, in the Peppa Pig series.

Previously, for nearly two decades he created the sound of the evil Daleks in the long-running sci-fi show Doctor Who – adopting a staccato style and then feeding his voice through a synthesiser.

And previously, he lent his dulcet tones to Lady Penelope’s butler and chauffeur Parker, in Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds TV series and films. The BBC reports that he also played the show’s pilot Gordon Tracy, and Brains the engineer, between 1965 and 1966. In 2015, Graham became the only original cast member to return for an ITV remake of the show.

Voice actor David Graham, best known for his role in the beloved animated show Peppa Pig, has died. He was 99 years old.

The news of Graham's death was announced on X by the official account made for Gerry Anderson, the late creator of Thunderbirds, a British animated series which featured Graham voicing several different characters. While no details were shared about Graham's passing, the post offered thoughts on the news that the voice actor had died.

"Were incredibly sad to confirm the passing of the legendary David Graham," the post said. "The voice [of] Parker, Gordon Tracy, Brains and so many more. David was always a wonderful friend to us here at Anderson Entertainment. We will miss you dearly, David. Our thoughts are with Davids friends and family."

Graham was also a popular voice actor with Doctor Who fans. He provided the voice of the Daleks, the well-known villains. His work...

Twenty years ago, I was fortunate enough to visit the set of “Team America: World Police,” an ambitious Jerry Bruckheimer-style action parody, starring puppets, for which Trey Parker and Matt Stone had constructed an enormous North Korean set out of cocktail umbrellas and take-out containers. Driven by equal parts obstinacy and nostalgia (for the vintage “Thunderbirds” TV show), it was the craziest thing the “South Park” creators had ever done.

That was before the pair decided to revive another guilty pleasure from their past: Casa Bonita, a beloved Denver-area Mexican restaurant, built by gringos in 1973 as an armchair tourist’s idea of 19th-century Acapulco. On the outside, a bubblegum-pink bell tower loomed tall enough to be seen across town, luring families to the retro fun park within. The food, which was mass-produced far from sight and pushed out through slots in the wall, tasted something like Taco Night at San Quentin.

Dublin, Ireland’s National Wax Museum quickly removed its new figure honoring the late Sinead O’Connor following a backlash — including from the singer’s family — over the waxwork’s “hideous” appearance.

The wax museum unveiled the O’Connor figure on Thursday and, soon after, was met by swift criticism over the work, which more resembled an android impersonating a human than the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer. (The uproar became so loud that the National Wax Museum had to lock the comments on the social media posts that revealed the figure.

As Twisters blows into cinemas worldwide, this week’s film quiz includes some questions about weather on film…

In summer 2024, UK weather has been as unpredictable as ever, which is a fine hook for a Twisters-adjacent quiz about movie weather. As well as seeing if you know your Little Miss Sunshine from your Rain Man, this week’s batch of 30 questions covers subjects such as movie-star parents, awards-worthy performances, and film-to-tv spin-offs. Thinking cap and quizzing trousers are a must, but dress for all weather as usual!

Once you’ve completed all three rounds, you’ll find a link to a separate post with the correct answers at the bottom of this post. As always, this is all just for fun, but please let us know how you did in the comments (scores out of 30 this week!) and give us any other lovely feedback. Come rain or shine, we...

As the driving force behind a blockbuster franchise, Peter Jackson has not only secured a place among some of the most celebrated filmmakers in the industry, but has also made quite a fortune for himself. His journey to Tinseltown has been nothing short of extraordinary, and began with an early start in New Zealand, with multiple short films and cult classics like Bad Taste.

Peter Jackson | Credit: Canal Cat Films

However, his filmmaking journey truly commenced with a 16 mm camera with his two years of savings, which has since transformed into a fortune that now surpasses the combined wealth of two Hollywood giants, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron.

Peter Jackson Reflected on His Humble Beginnings

Peter Jackson’s initial fascination with the world of cinema began with the TV series Thunderbirds and the 1933 film King Kong, which led him to experiment with his family’s home camera and stop-motion animation technique.

Exclusive: Drag Race Producer World of Wonder is about to set the House on Fire. It has snagged the titular reality series for its streaming service Wow Presents Plus.

House on Fire is set in New York and follows the pre-eminent ‘House’ in the Ballroom scene, the House of Miyake-Mugler. Produced by ITV America, Good Company and Hey, Man Productions it follows the house’s family members and the heads of the household, Yusef Mugler and Exotic Mugler, as they juggle the pressures of competition and mentoring their talented cohort. It follows in the footsteps of documentary film Paris is Burning, which offered a first glimpse into New York’s drag ball competitions, voguing and house culture.

“It is something we feel absolute confidence that our audience is going to eat up,” World of Wonder cofounder Randy Barbato told Deadline. “It’s anchored in ballroom culture, which is such an...

World of Wonder has announced that they have licensed a 10-film collection from Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, The Elvira Collection, for their Wow Presents Plus streaming platform. The collection will feature some of Elvira’s best B-Movie horror camp features, and debuted in conjunction with the Grand Finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race this past Friday, where she was the recipient of the Giving Us Life-time Achievement Award.

The Elvira Collection includes episodes from Elvira’s Movie Macabre, an old-fashioned style horror movie marathon, hosted and commentated on by the Mistress of the Dark herself, also known as Cassandra Peterson. The collection will feature 10 classic films, including “Night of the Living Dead”, “The Terror”, “Scared To Death”, “A Bucket of Blood”, “The Manster”, “The House That Screamed”, “The Devil’s Wedding Night”, “Maneater of Hydra”, “The Killer Shrews”, “Gamera”, and “Super Monster”. Wow acquired the collection from Shout! Studios and...

Exclusive: Iconic British driver James Hunt is the subject of a feature doc from Deep Fusion Films.

British production house Deep Fusion has entered into a creative partnership with the James Hunt Estate on the production of Hunt: We Need to Talk About James, a 90-minute film that will offer “an unprecedentedly intimate look at the life and legacy of the man who helped define the glamour and danger of Formula 1, both on and off the track.”

Hunt had a well-publicized reputation as a playboy and adrenaline junkie, and was considered a golden boy of motorsports during his seven-year Formula 1 career, which culminated in him winning the 1976 World Championship in a dramatic final race.

While his personality and attitude made him hugely popular with the public and a familiar face in newspapers, his ‘live fast, die young’ approach was less well received by Formula 1’s establishment, who...

Roger Dicken, the Oscar-nominated British special effects artist, sculptor and model maker known for his work on Alien and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, has died. He was 84.

Dicken died Feb. 18 at his home in North Wales, Mick Cooper, a friend of more than five decades, told The Hollywood Reporter.

On his first film, Dicken was a member of the effects team for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); later, he created and operated the dinosaur puppets seen in The Land That Time Forgot (1974).

Dicken sculpted several prehistoric creatures — plus a pair of full-sized pterodactyl feet — for the stop-motion adventure tale When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970), written and directed by Val Guest for Hammer Films. He and American animator Jim Danforth shared the Oscar nomination for visual effects.

For Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), Dicken constructed and controlled the terrifying chest-bursting creature that kills Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt) in...

A history of the most underrated British science fiction of the 1970s is, largely, just a history of British science fiction of the 1970s. It gets a bad rap. Think “1970s British Sci-Fi” and your mind will be flooded with associations of dodgy special effects, less-than-perfect gender politics, and so much knitwear. That, and a certain time traveller with a predilection for scarves and jelly babies.

But the truth is the 70s was a golden age for British science fiction stories with ideas and ambition, completely unrestrained by any concept of production values. While even the most pedestrian attempt at modern science fiction telly feels it has to go toe to toe with the MCU’s latest CGI eyeball-blaster, a year after Star Wars was on our screens the Doctor was still routinely facing off against dressed like this, and it was better for it.

Blake’s 7 (1978 – 1981)

Stream on: Itvx...

Some of the best sci-fi on television first appeared in the 1960s, shaping much of what followed on the big as well as the small screen. It's hard to imagine what the genre would be like today without Star Trek, Doctor Who and The Twilight Zone, and harder yet for many baby-boomers to imagine what their childhood would have been like without Thunderbirds, The Time Tunnel or Astro Boy.

Gerry and Sylvia Anderson are known as legends in the field of science fiction television series, and rightfully so. While they are probably most famous for their live action series Space: 1999 and the puppet series Thunderbirds, they have been responsible for a lot more titles. The British distributor Network is now releasing these older titles as lavish Blu-ray boxsets, and these are a sight to behold. Soon, the series Stingray will get its release and I'm looking forward to that. But already you can buy the set for the even older Fireball XL5, the first series the Andersons managed to sell to American networks, and for many people the first exposure to their work. It's a magnificent set. And a looker too, so here...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Sequel

Sf Studios has announced that the 2021 Berlin Generation Kplus player “Nelly Rapp: Monster Agent” is getting a sequel. The original was a hit among kids and parents alike in its native Sweden and won a pair of Swedish Guldbagge Awards. Based on Martin Widmark’s popular children’s books of the same name, the film features rising star Matilda Gross as the titular Nelly, a young girl who, along with her dog London, are dragged into a world of ghosts, vampires and werewolves.

Johan Rosell will direct with Jon Nohrstedt and Niklas Larsson producing for Sf Studios. Filming will kick off in Gothenburg on Feb. 21, with the film scheduled to premiere in Swedish theaters in 2023 and an international launch shortly thereafter.

“The ambition with the new film is to bring the whole family to an exciting new world where Nelly Rapp embarks on a new adventure,” said Nohrstedt and Larsson.

Richard Conway, a special effects supervisor who collaborated closely with director Terry Gilliam, has died, his family announced. He was 79.

Conway began working in television in the 1960s, where he began his career working alongside Gerry Anderson. He worked on shows such as “Thunderbirds,” “Captain Scarlet” and “Joe 90”. While there, Conway met fellow visual effects pioneer George Gibbs and together they would go on to work on the 1969 classic “The Battle of Britain.”

From there, Conway segued into film work. He was a senior effects supervisor on Dino De Laurentiis’ “Flash Gordon.” It was Conway who created the unforgettable multi-colored skies around Mongo and its neighboring planets.

Other films Conway worked on included “Conan the Barbarian,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Sunshine.” He also contributed to Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth.” During this time, Conway met Gilliam and the two began their collaboration together, working on “Monty Python’s Meaning of Life,...

UK Global Screen Fund Awards

The UK Global Screen Fund, backed by Dcms and administered by the BFI, has awarded a further £2.1M ($2.8M) to UK companies through its £7M ($9.3M) International Business Development strand. The financial support will provide companies from around the UK with funding for business strategies to create, acquire and exploit Intellectual Property (IP) for increased international revenue, activities and profile.d The awards come in the form of non-repayable grants and range between £50,000 and £117,600 in total over a three-year period. Companies to benefit from this round include Number 9 Films (Mothering Sunday), The Ink Factory (The Night Manager), Warp Films (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) and Good Chaos. Further awards went to: Alphablocks Limited; Avanti Media; The Black Camel Picture Company; Blazing Griffin; Bohemia Club; Cantilever Media; Digital Media Distribution; Dog Ears; Dorothy Street Pictures; Ida Rose; Ie Ie Productions Little Door Productions; Outsider Games...

The National Film & Sci-Fi Museum opened its doors this August and I finally got around to visiting this weekend. The museum is located in Milton Keynes, right in the town centre. I still can’t believe the town where I was born and live is the home of the national anything. Let alone something I have an interest in!

It is good to see both a use of a space that was otherwise going to ruin and a new business venture coming to life during the pandemic. Before going into detail I can safely say the museum is well worth the price of admission. Being ‘film & sci-fi’ makes it much more encompassing of what is on display. I would be the first person to admit there are parts of sci-fi I just have no time for, so this was of benefit to me. Currently there are a lot of franchises...

After a 14-month hiatus as theaters in New York City and beyond closed their doors during the pandemic, we’re delighted to announce the return of NYC Weekend Watch, our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. While many theaters are still focused on a selection of new releases, there’s a handful of worthwhile repertory screenings taking place. If you don’t live in NYC, some of these films are also available in the respective theater’s Virtual Cinema, so check out the links below.

Film at Lincoln Center

World of Wong Kar Wai, featuring new restorations from the legendary Hong Kong director, begins today, while the new restoration of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror is playing daily.

Film Forum

The new 4K restoration of Jacques Deray’s La Piscine opens, while Melvin Van Peebles’ The Story of a Three–Day Pass continues playing daily.

Museum of the Moving Image

Along with...

To mark the release of Journey to the Far Side of the Sun on 22nd March, we’ve been given 2 copies to give away on Blu-ray.

It’s 2069 and two astronauts are sent to uncover the secrets of a “duplicate” Earth on the other side of the sun. When they crash land three weeks earlier than they had planned, they must embark on a life-or-death mission to determine whether they have arrived back home or on the strange mirror world.

Classic sci-fi adventure Journey to the Far Side of the Sun was written and produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. The pair made some of the most popular children’s TV shows of the 60s including cult classics Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Journey to the Far Side of the Sun was their first major live-action production.

Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only...

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By Darren Allison

Fireball XL5

It’s always a gratifying feeling when Silva screen produces another title in their successful Gerry Anderson collection. This time around, they have focused on the 1962-63 series, Fireball XL5 (SILLP1595).

The black & white puppet television series followed the missions of Fireball XL5, a vessel of the World Space Patrol in the year 2062. Commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, XL5 travels the universe encountering alien civilisations and defending planet Earth from interstellar threats. It was produced, like most other Anderson productions, in Supermarionation, using puppetry techniques that captured the imagination of a generation.

The Fireball XL5 soundtrack has been newly compiled, mastered and designed by the creative and committed team at Fanderson – The Official Gerry And Sylvia Anderson Appreciation Society.

The album features 24 tracks from 16 episodes, including the Fireball XL5 main theme and single version. In the opening theme,...

The new Netflix miniseries The Liberator is a World War II story about brave men who bond through that terrifying experience, and who say things like, “Fear is a reaction; courage is a decision.” It is similar, in all ways but two, to dozens and dozens of filmed tales set amid that event, in particular the HBO classic Band of Brothers. But those two ways are fairly interesting, even if The Liberator doesn’t always take full advantage of them.

The first is that our heroes are members of the...

This week Vice Press launched the next releases in their licensed Gerry Anderson series with a new selection of limited edition Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons pins by Florey and art prints by Dan Orgill, as well as a brand new series of Thunderbirds limited edition art prints by Rodrigo Barraza – all now on sale at vice-press.com

Series 1 of Rodrigo Barraza’s prints capture Thunderbird 1 and 2 and Spectrum’s Angel Interceptor in flight in these stunning pieces:

“In Action” Series 1 by Rodrigo Barraza Edition of 200 A3 in size Giclee prints on 300gsm acid free paper using archival inks. £24.99 each / £79.99 set of four

Florey follows on from his previously released Thunderbirds pins with these brilliantly designed Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons set:

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons Enamel Pins by Florey Approx 1” diameter Hard enamel pins with nickel plating Black rubber clutch £8.99 each / £34.99 set of four

And Dan Orgill follows...

Here’s a bumper crop of the weird and the British – streaming service Britbox, which is home to a wide selection of BBC, ITV and Channel 4 series including classic Doctor Who, is fortifying its sci-fi ranks. From Thursday the 20th of August, a host of new additions will be joining the classic and modern British fare, including cult series The Prisoner and the complete collection of Sapphire & Steel.

Here’s the full list of new arrivals, known collectively on BritBox as the ‘Out of this World Collection’…

The Prisoner (1967)

All 17 episodes of the television drama created by and starring Patrick McGoohan. A former British secret agent is abducted and held captive in a strange coastal village while those who captured him try to discover the truth of why he suddenly resigned from his position.

Sapphire & Steel (1979)

The complete collection featuring all six seasons and 34 episodes from the...

Another month of avoiding social contact lies ahead, which means our old pal Netflix is likely to keep us company a little more than usual in the warm month of June. If you’re planning to close the curtains, pop the popcorn and binge until you can’t feel feelings anymore, the streaming service will certainly have you covered.

June will see the return of 13 Reasons Why for its fourth and final season, Queer Eye will be back for another a cathartic cryfest, a new season of F Is For Family also awaits, as do further blocks of Ryan Murphy’s The Politician and German time-bending sci-fi series, Dark. Elsewhere, Spike Lee brings a stacked cast back to Vietnam in search of lost treasure in Da 5 Bloods, while Eurovision gets the Hollywood treatment thanks to Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, who are playing Iceland’s hopeful favourites in Netflix...

Satire is hard to pin down, especially in a time when extremes have become a normal part of society. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, however, are masters of this comedic art. We all know that South Park will go down in history as one of the greatest satirical shows of all time, but what about the other various properties Trey and Matt have created?

Related: 10 Facts And Trivia You Never Knew About South Park

It's not always about animation, as one of the more famous full-length movies from the comedy team used vintage puppets to tell its story. Team America: World Police was inspired by old shows like Thunderbirds, but the dialogue and story have the same biting satire as South Park. Here are a few reasons why Team America: World Police is Trey and Matt's satirical masterwork along with a few ways that South Park still takes the top spot.

For 18 long years, Star Trek: Nemesis was the last we saw of the beloved Next Generation crew. And, to put it bluntly, it sucked. The movie totally wastes a young Tom Hardy, has a nonsensical plot and there’s a ridiculous dune buggy chase sequence. Thank god Star Trek: Picard came along to give the Tng crew a proper swansong.

Nemesis director Stuart Baird has come under specific criticism for his behavior on set. At one point, he proudly told the cast that he’d never watched an episode of The Next Generation, acting as if the job was beneath him. To rub salt into the wound, Baird also made no effort to pretend that he knew who the cast were, repeatedly calling LeVar Burton, Laverne Burton.

But it could have all been so different. Star Trek: First Contact and Insurrection were directed by Commander Riker himself, Jonathan Frakes. Those...

Lauren Hartwin in ‘Demolition Down Under.’

When WildBear Entertainment’s Veronica Fury and series director and producer Ian Withnall embarked on an observational documentary series that explores the demolition industry, they made a surprising discovery.

There are a sizable number of women – some leading their own crews, others working in partnership with their husbands – in a workforce which they expected to be heavily male-dominated.

Supported by Screen Queensland and French media group Mediawan, the six-part Demolition Down Under premieres on 10’s Bold at 5.30 pm next Sunday; Discovery has the second window.

“It was a nice surprise to find so many strong female characters in the demolition industry,” Fury tells If. “In the husband and wife teams the women were just as involved as the men in ripping off heavy roofs, dropping giant walls and navigating 50 tonne machines.”

The series follows demolition crews as they tackle everything from high-rise apartments and...

It’s been quite some time since Star Trek: The Next Generation went off the air, but series veteran Jonathan Frakes has been keeping busy since we last saw Commander William T. Riker traveling through space. While some of his colleagues may have faded into obscurity, Frakes has found steady work both as an actor and also as a director.

Aside from numerous Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Discovery episodes, he directed Star Trek: First Contact and Insurrection, as well as Clockstoppers and Thunderbirds. He’s kept busy with numerous television roles, too, appearing on Family Guy, Adventure Time, Guardians of the Galaxy, and NCIS: Los Angeles over the past decade.

Still, most will remember him from his work on The Next Generation and as a result, it might come as a shock that Frakes is celebrating his 67th birthday today. Still, despite his age, he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

Shane Rimmer, whose 60-year career as a character and voice actor included three James Bond films, a lead turn in the 1960s puppet series Thunderbirds and uncredited bit role in the original Star Wars, died early today at his home in England. He was 89. No cause of death was announced.

IMDb list more than 160 credits for Rimmer spanning six decades — from early TV through current series The Amazing World of Gumball. Along the way he appeared in such high-profile films as Batman Begins, the first three Superman films with Christopher Reeve and Best Picture Oscar winners Gandhi and Out of Africa. Four of his other films — Reds, Star Wars, Julia and Dr. Strangelove — were nominated for the Academy’s Big Prize. He also turned up in the 007 films The Spy Who Loved Me, Diamonds Are Forever and You Only Live Twice.

We are very sad to hear that Shane Rimmer...

Canadian actor Shane Rimmer, who voiced pilot Scott Tracy on the series “Thunderbirds” and appeared in multiple James Bond movies, died early Friday at his home in England. He was 89.

His death was reported on the official website of Gerry Anderson, who created “Thunderbirds” and said Rimmer’s widow, Sheila, confirmed the news. A cause of death was not reported.

Rimmer was born on May 28, 1929, in Toronto. In addition to “Thunderbirds,” he worked with Anderson on “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons,” “Joe 90,” “The Secret Service,” “UFO,” “Space: 1999,” and the pilot “Space Police.”

His first major movie role came in 1964’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” as Capt. Ace Owens, co-pilot of the B-52 Stratofortress opposite Slim Pickens and James Earl Jones. Rimmer had uncredited roles in the early James Bond movies “Live and Let Die” and “Diamonds are Forever” and...

Shane Rimmer, a Canadian actor known for his leading voice role as a pilot on the series “Thunderbirds” and appeared in multiple James Bond movies, has died. He was 89.

According to the official website of Gerry Anderson (via the Guardian), who created “Thunderbirds,” Rimmer’s widow confirmed that he died on Friday in his home. No cause of death was given.

Rimmer provided the voice of Scott Tracy in the British TV series “Thunderbirds” between 1965 and 1966, and he also starred in three different James Bond films, including “You Only Live Twice,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “The Spy Who Loved Me.” He also appeared in the “Superman” films, “Gandhi,” “Dr. Strangelove,” “Out of Africa” and even had an uncredited part in “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.” He appeared in over 100 films in all.

Also Read: Agnes Varda, French New Wave Film Director, Dies at 90

Rimmer said in an interview...

Star Trek: Nemesis is an awful movie and a horrible sendoff to The Next Generation‘s characters. It squanders a young Tom Hardy, has a nonsensical plot and generally feels like something that was tossed together with little care and attention. In fact, the cast has since gone on to fiercely criticize Nemesis’ director, Stuart Baird, who proudly claimed on set that he’d never watched an episode of The Next Generation and had no idea who the majority of the actors were.

After receiving poor reviews, the film suffered at the box office, though being released in competition with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers couldn’t have helped matters. But perhaps it would’ve been different if Jonathan Frakes (aka Commander Riker) had taken the directorial reins. After helming the successful First Contact and Insurrection, he was certainly the logical choice for the job,...

By Mark Mawston

(All photos copyright Mark Mawston. All rights reserved.)

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We’ve all had it happen to us: after years of watching your favourite films in your “second home”, your favourite cinema closes its doors and the projection light flickers on the end titles for the last time, only to be replaced by the flutter of pigeon’s wings who come to roost in the empty theatre before demolition. It happened to me with the Jesmond Picture House in Newcastle and I’m sure most readers have had a similar experience. In these days of theatres without flesh and blood projectionists and the slightly automated feeling that brings to movie-watching, it is always special to have one last bastion, thriving on the tradition it’s built up over many years and one you love and visit like an old friend. Such has...

It wasn’t easy coming up with fresh space ships for the rebooted “Star Trek Discovery” and “Lost in Space,” or the “Star Trek” riffs on “USS Callister” (“Black Mirror”) and Seth MacFarlane’s “The Orville.” After all, there’s cultural significance and legacy and immense pressure in creating what amounts to homes and playgrounds and battle arenas, with distinct shape languages that help define the looks of their shows.

Of course, “Star Trek” offers its own set of challenges and, with “Discovery,” it required a special Federation ship that was only a decade removed from the original Enterprise. For “Lost in Space,” they had a lot more artistic license in designing a futuristic Jupiter 2. However, for the USS Callister, the “Black Mirror” team had to steer clear of any direct references to “Star Trek” while still evoking its ’60s vibe. MacFarlane’s team, meanwhile, was tasked with coming up...

Author: Zehra Phelan

ITV have announced that the Iconic British series, Thunderbirds will be back on our screens this spring with Part 1 airing on Citv.

As well as the likes of Thomas Brodie-Sangster (watch our interview with him here from the Newport Beach awards), Rasmus Hardiker, David Menkin, Kayvan Novak, Rosamund Pike and David Graham, the new season will introduce multiple award-winning actress Ruth Jones, playing an unflappable rig driver, and Ben Bailey Smith as Jensen Hunt to the cast.

Also in the news – New set of images revealed for Westworld season 2

As well as the new cast members, two new characters are added to make up a villainous coalition, The Choas Crew – Havoc (a master thief and pilot) and Fuse (a hulking demolition expert). They bring an array of exciting destructive skills, weapons and vehicles including Havoc’s car, Basher, Fuse’s Atv, and their combined aerial jet known as The Chaos Cruiser.