Gerry Anderson projects have been as much a part of my personal Geeksscape as, say, STAR TREK or STAR WARS. My love for each facet is distinct, but no less whole than the others.
The primary difference between Anderson titles and other fare for me, at least, was their availability in my formative years. Shows like THUNDERBIRDS and U.F.O....weren’t as easy for me to access as STAR TREK and STAR WARS. They were more elusive, more obscure in my neck of the woods. Leaving me to learn about the titles through STARLOG publications and dealers’ tables at Science Fiction conventions. I suspect this more limited accessibility accounts for why more people around me didn’t know and and appreciate Anderson’s work when I was growing up...sometimes, the road to appreciating the unhinged scale and fantastical world he created was a lonely one.
This has all changed lately, with the advent o DVD and Blu-ray. THUNDERBIRDS can now be had affordably HERE...
....along with Anderson’s short lived but intriguing U.F.O (man do I want that Japanese Blu-ray box set).
The spectacular and often meta SPACE: 1999 (Blu HERE - with the second season coming someday) holds a very special place in my heart, and is hugely responsible for shaping the imagination and creativity I enjoy today (in my life outside of AICN).
I mention all of this as a segue into a Kickstarter which is currently underway, and wrapping up in a little over a week (from the date of this posting). Gerry Anderson’s son, Jamie, is looking to round up some funding to complete GEMINI FORCE 1 - a series of books (initially, at least) which Gerry started working on before he passed away last year.
Here’s Jamie to tell you more about it...
You can access the project’s Kickstarter page HERE, where you’ll also find some words from the inemtitable Andrew Probert - designer for the original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, AIRWOLF, BACK TO THE FUTURE, and more. Check it out and consider helping to keep the vital and vast Anderson legacy alive. It’s a properly Geeky thing to do...
-------------------
Glen Oliver
"Merrick"
- Google +
