New Gerry Anderson TV project “FireStorm” launches via Kickstarter
Anderson Productions has launched a Kickstarter campaign today to fund production of a pilot for Gerry Anderson’s FireStorm, a new adventure series in the tradition of the original Anderson series like Thunderbirds and Stingray. Only hours after its start, the campaign has already been 25% funded of its initial goal.
Once funded, the pilot will be filmed in “Ultramationation”, described as a new hybrid process “using a combination of puppetry, practical effects, physical props and sets, and model miniatures”. Fans of iconic Gerry Anderson shows like Space: 1999, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Thunderbirds will be able to back the project to help fund the pilot episode in return for special limited edition rewards from props and collector edition DVDs, to set visits and film credits.
Originally developed by Gerry and his business partner John Needham, the project originally became a Japanese animated series produced in 2003. The new series starts from scratch, re-developed from Gerry Anderson’s original notes, synopses and designs. The series synopsis captures the feel of classic Anderson series with a modern twist:
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 tak en 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 coordinated 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 par t of the picture, and that they themselves have had to make an impossible choice…
Once funding from the Kickstarter campaign has been successfully raised, a pilot episode will be made with a new filming technique called ‘Ultramarionation’, the next stage in evolution from the famous ‘Supermarionation’ technique of Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, using a combination of puppetry, practical effects, physical props and sets, and model miniatures. Plans range from a 5-8 minute short to a 45-minute pilot, depending on the funding goals reached.
Anderson Entertainment has already had great success with Kickstarter. A campaign last year to fund Gemini Force 1, a book series based on concepts by Gerry, reached 130% of its funding goals, with book one of a planned trilogy already published. The company has also signed a licensing agreement with ITV to produce limited-edition collectibles of past Anderson series.
Interest in the Anderson series has reached a high point. ITV, who owns the right to several Anderson series, is producing a new CGI-animated series based on the original Thunderbirds. With the new FireStorm series, fans of Gerry’s work will have the unique opportunity to see classic Anderson works in a new way, and new Anderson-inspired work, presented in a classic way.
There’s only one way to describe that. One word, three letters: FAB.
For further information, see www.GerryAnderson.co.uk/Firestorm.
To contribute to the campaign, visit their Kickstarter page.