[Tribute] Sylvia Anderson, producer of ‘Fireball XL5’ and ‘Thunderbirds’ and the voice of Venus

Sylvia Anderson (March 27, 1927-March 15, 2016) will be familiar to Indians growing up in the 1970s and ’80s even though they might not have known her name. They knew her voice: she was Doctor Venus, part of the World Space Patrol in the black-and-white animated show Fireball XL5 and the constant companion of the shovel-jawed hero Steve Zodiac. Produced in 1962 and aired on Doordarshan several years later, the British series featured the “Supermarionation” technique, which combined puppetry and animation and was created by AP Films, the production company set up by Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis. Sylvia joined the company and later married Anderson. She has been credited as a co-creator and co-writer on the company’s futuristic shows aimed at children, apart from lending her voice to important characters.

She voiced Venus, a doctor of French origin with a shiny wig and undying support for Steve, as well as other characters. The enduring thrills of Fireball XL5 include Venus’s pet Zoonie (whose trademark line is “Welcome home”) and Barry Gray’s musical score for the opening sequence of Steve and Venus entering their spacecraft.

Gerry Anderson first used the Supermarionation technique in the show Four Feather Falls, set in a fictitious town in Kansas and featuring a cowboy sheriff. The technique was used again in Supercar, about the adventures of a car that can be driven as well as flown.

The Andersons were better known for Thunderbirds, another show revolving around space travel that ran between 1965 and 1966. Thunderbirds follows the exploits of former astronaut Jeff Tracy and his five sons, each of whom operates the titular five vehicles that form the fleet of the International Rescue team. The opening sequence, composed once again by Barry Gray, proved hugely popular.

The character of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, an aristocratic British spy who is consulted by the International Rescue team, was voiced by Sylvia Anderson. She fell out with Gerry Anderson in 1975 and they were divorced in 1981. Anderson later worked in television shows and served as the programming head for the United Kingdom division of HBO. In an obituary about Sylvia Anderson, her daughter, Dee, described her as “a force in every way” and “the first lady of sci-fi”.