Firestorm

New Gerry Anderson project features familiar model makers.

3 October, 2014

Although their broadcast eras rarely tended to coincide, the worlds of Red Dwarf and Gerry Anderson have had a long and entwined history, going back as far as the late, great Peter Wragg, who worked on Thunderbirds, Joe 90 and Captain Scarlet in the 1960s.

Although Anderson himself passed away in 2012, his imaginative concepts continue to live on - and so too does their connection with Red Dwarf, thanks to a brand new series that is currently seeking Kickstarter crowdfunding.

Firestorm was originally envisioned by Anderson in the early 2000s, but never made it to production as a classic Anderson-style live action or "Supermarionation" show. Instead, the concept was adapted into a Japanese anime. But now, the Anderson stable are looking to bring it back - and in the form it was originally intended. The new Firestorm will be an "Ultramarionation" production - the evolution of the original models-and-puppets style - and a crack team of practical effects experts have been assembled to work on the show.

What's that, you say? Effects experts? Sounds like a job for some of the Red Dwarf crew. And you'd be right! The main effects supervisor is Steve Begg, who worked on Series VIII, while model creation and other practical effects work is being undertaken by both Mike Tucker and Bill Pearson! It's possibly the highest-powered gathering of Dwarf model-makers outside of a Dimension Jump convention.

At present, the team are trying to raise £49,000 of backing via Kickstarter, in order to produce at bare minimum a 5-8 minute proof-of-concept "minisode" - but should they raise enough, there's also scope to make a 22-minute pilot or even a 45-minute "feature pilot"! This is all with the intent of hopefully attracting a commissioning buyer to bring the project to the screen in full.

If it sounds like your kind of thing - and heck, it's practical-model-effects-driven sci-fi, why wouldn't it be? - then you can find out more and potentially back the project for an array of different rewards on the Kickstarter page. The campaign is open until 2nd November, so get your skates on!

Read more about Firestorm at the Anderson Productions website!