Mary Turner

A look at the story behind Thunderbirds (1965).

‘Nebula-75' is a new puppet lockdown drama made entirely during confinement in 2020 using only existing puppets and materials. Filmed in Supermarionation, it follows in the tradition of 'Thunderbirds', 'Stingray' and 'Fireball-XL5' while at the same time also being filmed in SuperIsolation and Lo-Budget! 'Nebula-75' charts the exploits of Commander Ray Neptune and the crew of the spaceship NEBULA-75 as they make their way across the stars, encountering strange worlds and forms of life hitherto unknown by mankind. It has been created and produced by a small group of filmmakers during the British lockdown of 2020.

The Adventures of Rupert Bear was a live-action/puppet television series, based on the Mary Tourtel character Rupert Bear, produced by ATV Network, and aired from 28 October 1970 to 24 August 1977 on the ITV network, with 156 11-minute episodes produced over four series. Of the 156 episodes made only 74 are known to exist in their original colour film format, while there are a further 16 duplicated on black & white 16mm film. The remaining episodes are currently missing, whereabouts unknown. The characters were all puppets, although the opening sequence memorably featured a toy version of Rupert Bear sitting in a live-action child's bedroom. Rupert's friends and flying chariot appeared straight from the Daily Express pages, although he was joined by some new friends including a sprite called Willy Wisp.