The Animated World of British Retrofuturism | Futuretoons

Futuretoons returns with a look at the animated world of British retrofuturism!

related material:

Britain of the Future as seen in the '60s

Dan Dare: Pilot Of The Future (2002 TV Series)

Fireball XL5: Season 1 Episode 1: Planet 46

Space Patrol S1E01 The Swamps of Jupiter

Stingray: Season 1 Episode 1 - Stingray

01 Thunderbirds Trapped in the sky

music:
Thunderbirds (NES) Music - Title Theme
Thunderbirds (NES) Music - Stage Theme 03
Thunderbirds (NES) Music - Stage Theme 01

I do not own any of the content presented. Credit to the copyright holders and thanks to the original uploaders.

For the purpose of review/education.

[danbeaudet]

I was 9, when the Thunderbirds showed on local TV. That's all we were talking about at school!

[bigbluecar]

One of the best channels on Youtube. The nostalgia factor is off the charts. Thanks for creating and sharing your videos. A personal favorite, yet often overlooked, is Gerry Anderson's "Joe90" series. The idea of a kid stealing a secret Soviet jet fighter, etc. because the knowledge to fly it had been "downloaded" into his brain by his father. The show had it's appeal to a young boy watching reruns in the 70's. The attention paid to the detail of the buildings, vehicles, and other props was phenomenal. All done without the use of cgi.

[Phase]

Lucky for us most of the Gerry Anderson series are available in HD from Networkonair in the UK.

[kmjeffels]

My only channel I go to at night to relax to sleep. Brings me back to the 70’s I remember. Thank you!

[Axaul]

I’ll be sharing this on the Gerry Anderson Podcast group 👍

[RumboMercy]

As someone who recently fell into the rabbit hole of retrofuturism, I think your YouTube channel is a true gem. Thank you for your content! and for linking all the materials!!

[colinhalliley]

The Thunderbirds were fab. I remember them from the start. The marionette handlers were so dedicated to quality !!

[dagrizz-ekih]

Along with how fun all these series were I was amazed to realize I had watched all of them as a child and through the eyes of a child I was total enthralled. D*** I feel old!! At the time it was such fun! Thanks for reminding me!!

[toastbubbles]

A lot of the Anderson Supermarionation shows were set around the 2060s (although Terrahawks was 2020, but that was Supermacronation), with them not really crossing over on-screen, but I'm print they do seem to share a universe. Whilst the BBC had Doctor Who for interesting kids with potential future predictions, ITV's library of mostly Anderson shows was pretty good too. Captain Scarlett did also get the cgi treatment not long after Dan Dare, but the way that was broadcast alienated adult fans who had grown up with the original. We then have the recently finished Thunderbirds Are Go, which mixes practical effects (by the same people who do work for Peter Jackson) with cgi. Apparently that was an odd one for the effects company who were used to their stuff being used to film one scene every few days for Peter Jackson movies, with TAG requiring multiple scenes per day because of the difference in media. The Andersons did move onto a lot of live action stuff, with a few shows mixing between Supermarionation and live action before going all the way, but their shows still kept a lot of the future elements of the old Supermarionation days. Definitely a highlight of British sci-fi.

[aceyspud]

Thanks for letting me know Dan Dare got a reboot!

[marcbrasse]

The Thunderbirds made me the man I am. That might sound like hyperbole but basically I am still trying to build my own Thunderbirds craft today. Pity only that the real future was not so bright as the one promised in it. Imagine real secret private ventures only meant for the common good. Thanks for the Dan Dare tip.

[brianarbenz]

Here in the United States, Fireball XL5 was the one of these Anderson series that make a huge impact. I lived for my weekly visit with Steve, venus and the various other cyber and creature characters. I bought a book of the show and loved a top 40 pop song of the theme. Thanks for a terrific look at the extensive British contributions to retrofuturism!

[marcberm]

Would definitely love to see an eventual Max Headroom video. There's so much fascianting about it! Like the fact that even though I grew up in the 80's, I only realized a couple of years ago that it wasn't even animation! Just live action trying to look like sophistocated computer animation of the day.

[abundantYOUniverse]

Best channel on the net. If people like Thunderbirds they should check out the new Thunderbirds Are Go! Series from I think 2015. It is all cgi, but it is so well done, and the stories are so good! Thanks for a great great channel!

[russellpotter]

As a kid in the 60s I loved the Gerry Anderson shows and TV21 comic. It is hard to believe that the future is still closer to George Orwell than Gerry Anderson. But then the more communication we have the more isolated we become. Ah the joy of looking back at the future.

[retiredguy]

I was a huge fan of supermarionatiom. Thunderbirds are go! Haha I love it. Thank you so much for the work you do on this channel.

[Game_Hero]

Just a tip because I really enjoy your content and I want it to be even better than it already is : allow yourself to be even a little bit emotional in your voice, you seem like you really want to talk with passion about these science-fiction things yet you seem (just my perception, sorry if I'm off the mark) like you're restraining yourself to talk in a neutral encyclopedic manner throughout the entire video without any change of tone in your voice from times to times like a text-to-speech. Your great videos would benefit from this.

[inovakovsky]

Thunderbirds animatronics inspired Team Ameirca World Police, in which Trey Parker and Matt Stone dislike Thunderbirds.

[stifledvoice]

I'm so old I remember watching those British puppet shows and Japanese cartoons on the local NBC affiliate, either before school or early Saturday and Sunday mornings. The puppet show tech had an interesting look, but the puppets themselves seemed completely laughably ugly.. I preferred the Jetsons, especially the first season played in perpetual rerun on the local CBS station.

[Avaruuskettu]

What was the vaguely erotic animated music video at the end after Max Headroom? I remember seeing those characters long time ago somewhere.