Deb and I just picked up Gerry Anderson’s “Stingray”. If you love Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbirds” but don’t know “Stingray, you’re in for a treat. I love “Thunderbirds”, and sure, it is Gerry Anderson’s masterpiece, but “Stingray” is my favorite. It’s light, it’s corny, and it’s tongue-in-cheek. Plus it’s got a classic theme song–in the tradition of ’50’s pop crooning in the Jerry Vale/ Eddy Fisher mold–that you can’t get out of your head.
(Fireball XL5 has it’s own classic theme song–a great, early 60’s pop-tune that could’ve come straight from the Fabian songbook. check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed0jsVgIHu8)
“Stingray” features Troy Tempest, of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (WASP). his shipmate “Phones” and love interests Atlanta Shore and Marina, a refugee from the Underwater worlds Stingray patrols. It’s completely ridiculous, totally unbelievable, absurd and sexist in an early ’60’s way, but it never takes itself seriously for a second. The stories are silly fun, and the villains knowingly comic. Unlike Gerry Anderson’s later programs, Captain Scarlet or Joe 90, the puppets look like puppets–instead of Barbie Dolls. Their heads are big and their movements awkward, like puppets should be! Anderson and crew don’t try to hide the characters “puppet-ness”, and they seem all the more believable for it. So if you’re a fan of “Thunderbirds” but don’t know Gerry Anderson’s earlier work–check out “Stingray”. You won’t be sorry!
Geoff Grogan 