Product Details

• Actors: Paul Maxwell, Sylvia Anderson, David Graham, John Bluthal, Gerry Anderson
• Writers: Gerry Anderson
• Format: Animated, Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: February 25, 2003
• Run Time: 1014 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007J6DN
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,287 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

FIREBALL XL5 - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As nostalgia, this is great, July 2, 2003

By 

Jmark2001 (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series (DVD)

Kennedy was in the White House when this aired. No one had heard of the Beatles yet. All televisions were black and white and most ran on cathode tubes. I was 7 years old. This is a great treat to anyone who wants to relive the children's programs of their youth. It is not sophisticated like "Thunderbirds", though. Thunderbirds had effects that still make you wonder how they did them. It also had scripts that approached B movie quality. Fireball is in black and white and is quite primitive by comparison. Still, it will make you want to grab some milk and cookies and watch with delight.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This show made an impression on me as a four-year-old, March 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series (DVD)

I would have been three or four when this show was on the air. But yet the few episodes I must have seen stuck with me strongly enough that I tried for years to find out what it was. The only thing I remembered was "Fireball." A year or so ago, the Gerry Anderson Thunderbirds set came out on DVD. Based on the cover photos, I thought maybe this was the show I had enjoyed as a small child in South Dakota. When I heard about the Fireball XL5 release it all clicked. End result: I ordered this set and have watched about six episodes. Nostalgia aside, it's really a fun look back at what must have been and exciting space adventure for kids back in 1962. The stories are what grabbed me originally and I must say, they aren't at all bad. You can see a lot of influence on Star Trek in this effort. Is it cheesy? Of course! But in the best way. It's a glimpse into the excitement of the JFK-era space race that must have captured every person's imagination in the early 1960s.

One of my friends said of the cover - "It looks so old!" But the transfers in this box are pretty amazing for a 41-year-old show. The intro to the show ("OK Venus?" "OK, Steve!") are the perfect start to each episode and a chance to boldly go where no puppet (these shows are filmed in "Super Marionation") has gone before. If you're someone who likes clever stories and is willing to put up with Black and White video from 1962, I think you'll have a blast!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the wait, March 18, 2003

By 

W. Jones (Mantua, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series (DVD)

It took 41 years, but we finally have them all, and in glorious black & white! I loved these as a 6 year old and appreciate it even more now. Looking back at these, I see their influence on more mainstream shows like Star Trek (Space City's chief engineer was even Scottish...beam me back to '62 Scotty!). The re-mastering is superb, the bonus stuff is great. I wish there had been some sort of guide book in the set with info about the episodes, but all-in-all it's still a great set. A must-have for fans and campy fun for everyone else.