

Fireball XL5
1962-10-28 · 25 min / episode · ★ 6.4
Fireball XL5 is a science fiction-themed children's television show following the missions of spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol. The show was produced in 1962 by husband and wife team Gerry and Sylvia Anderson through their company APF, in association with ATV for ITC Entertainment. While developing his new show, Anderson thought a brand of motor oil—Castrol XL—had an interesting sound. A phonetic change created the name "Fireball XL", with the "-5" added as the title seemed a bit flat without the numeral. The show featured the Andersons' Supermarionation, a form of puppetry first introduced in Four Feather Falls and Supercar and used again in their subsequent productions such as Stingray and Captain Scarlet. Thirty-nine black and white half-hour episodes of Fireball XL5 were made on 35mm film: all future Anderson series were produced in colour. Several Anderson series have been shown in syndication in the US, but Fireball XL5 is the only Anderson series to have run on a US network. NBC ran the series in its Saturday morning children's block from 1963 through to September 1965. A similar programme often confused with Fireball XL5 is Space Patrol, produced by Gerry Anderson's ex business partner and co-founder of AP Films, Arthur Provis due to a number of similarities and settings.
Trailers are previews, not full movies.
No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.
Production details
- Creators
- Sylvia Anderson, Gerry Anderson
- Production companies
- AP Films, Associated Television, ITC Entertainment
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Status
- Ended
Top Cast
Gerry AndersonRobert the Robot (voice) (uncredited)
David GrahamLieutenant Ninety (voice)
Sylvia AndersonDoctor Venus (voice)
Paul MaxwellColonel Steve Zodiac (voice)
John BluthalCommander Wilbur Zero (voice)Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.
Where to watch
Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.
Streaming
Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
Purchase
Amazon Video
With ads
Shout! Factory TV, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Tubi TV, Amazon MX Player
View authorized watch options on TMDbSeasons & episodes
Recommendations

The Green Hornet is a television series on the ABC US television network that aired for the 1966–1967 TV season starring Van Williams as the Green Hornet/Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as Kato.

Fionna and Cake – with the help of the former Ice King, Simon Petrikov - embark on a multiverse-hopping adventure and journey of self-discovery. All the while a powerful new antagonist determined to track them down and erase them from existence, lurks in the shadows.

18 teams travel the world to 26 exotic locations trying to be the last team standing to win a million dollars complete with a new host.

G-Force, a five-member superhero team, fights to defend Earth and its space colonies from the threat of the planet Spectra.

Teenage superheroes strive to prove themselves as members of the Justice League.

Uzi, a sardonic teen worker robot gone rogue befriends N, an excitable optimistic disassembly drone sent to destroy her, creating what we can assume is a very bad relationship for mankind.

Follow the adventures of brave Wakandan warriors throughout history in this globe-trotting adventure, where they must carry out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. They are the Hatut Zaraze and this is their story.

It's technology versus magic as He-Man and friends fight back against the shadowy forces of Skeletor in an epic battle for the heart of Eternia.

An astronaut named Gary and his planet-destroying sidekick Mooncake embark on serialized journeys through space in order to unlock the mystery of “Final Space,” the last point in the universe, if it actually does exist.

Every teenager thinks their parents are evil. What if you found out they actually were? Six diverse teenagers who can barely stand each other must unite against a common foe – their parents.

A Flash animation series staring Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Batgirl, Catwoman and Zatanna in short stories about the daily lives of the characters.

After saving the life of the President, two secret service agents - Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer - find themselves assigned to the top secret Warehouse 13. The Warehouse is a massive, top secret facility that houses dangerous and fantastical objects. Together, Pete and Myka along with fellow agents Claudia, Steve Jinks and Warehouse caretaker Artie, must recover artifacts from around the globe before they can cause catastrophic damage.

Robotech is an 85-episode adaptation of three different anime television series made between 1982-1984 in Japan; the adaptation was aired in 1985. Within the combined and edited story, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed giant robotic machines or mecha to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.

Before Sam and Dean, there was John and Mary. Told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester, this is the epic, untold love story of how John met Mary, and how they put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world.

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law features ex-superhero Harvey T. Birdman of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio as an attorney working for a law firm alongside other cartoon stars from 1960s and 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series. Similarly, Harvey's clients are also primarily composed of characters taken from Hanna-Barbera cartoon series of the same era. Many of Birdman's nemeses featured in his former cartoon series also became attorneys, often representing the opposing side of a given case.

The ‘80s animated series about masked crime fighters, the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, out to stop the chaotic crime syndicate known as V.E.N.O.M.

The fifth season of Total Drama. In the first half, 'Total Drama All-Stars', 14 contestants from the previous seasons return to Camp Wawanakwa, now having been decontaminated from toxic waste, to win the C$1,000,000 prize. In the second half, "Total Drama: Pahkitew Island", the setting changes to Pahkitew Island, an island located in Western Canada, featuring a brand new 14 contestants.

A great warrior is displaced to the distant future by the evil shape-shifting wizard Aku. The world has become a bleak place under the rule of Aku, segregated into fantastic tribes and ruled by Aku's evil robot warlords. Jack travels this foreign landscape in search of a time portal that can return him to his home time so he can "undo the future that is Aku!".

This anthology of animated shorts from around the world celebrates the mythos of Star Wars through unique cultural lenses.

The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.
Similar titles

Joe 90 is a 1960s British science-fiction television series following the adventures of a nine-year-old child, Joe McClaine, who starts a double life as a schoolboy-turned-spy when his scientist father invents a device capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and experience from one human brain to another. Equipped with the skills of the foremost academic and military minds, Joe is recruited by the World Intelligence Network and, becoming its "Most Special Agent", pursues the ideal of world peace and saving human life.

In 2064, Captain Troy Tempest of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol and his crew explore the oceans in their combat submarine Stingray, encountering friendly and hostile undersea aliens.

Captain Scarlet heads up an international intelligence agency as they battle against the Mysterons, an alien species from Mars that vows vengeance after a misunderstanding with humans.

Thunderbirds is a 1960s British science-fiction television series which was produced using a mixed method of marionette puppetry and scale-model special effects termed "Supermarionation". The series is set in the 21st century and follows the exploits of International Rescue, a secret organization formed to save people in mortal danger with the help of technologically advanced land, sea, air and space vehicles and equipment, launched from a hidden base on Tracy Island in the South Pacific Ocean.

The Secret Service is a 1969 British children's espionage television series, produced by Century 21 / ITC Entertainment for Associated Television, Granada Television, and Southern Television. Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, and produced by David Lane and Reg Hill, it was the eighth and final Century 21 production to feature Supermarionation. Under the direction of Gerry Anderson, who wanted to compensate for the inadequacies of Supermarionation and increase the realism of the format, The Secret Service incorporates footage of live actors for long-distance shots. Father Stanley Unwin, voiced by and resembling the real-life comedian of the same name, is the parish priest of a rural English village. But Unwin is in fact a secret agent for BISHOP, a covert British Intelligence branch that battles international criminal and terrorist threats. Aided by junior operative Matthew Harding, Unwin answers to his London-based superior 'The Bishop', as he would in his public profession.

‘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.

Prior to Stingray, Gerry Anderson produced three series in black and white - their only colour representation being a small number of on-set stills taken during production. Using these as a basis, key episodes of Four Feather Falls, Supercar and Fireball XL5 have been colourised from High Definition remasters using state-of-the-art software, enabling fans to see their favourite shows in a whole new way!

'Stand by for Action' takes an in depth look at the career of the legendary Gerry Anderson, creator of Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, UFO, Space 1999 and many many more. Features interviews with the people who brought his ideas to life as well as Anderson himself.

Adam Luff interviews fans of the legendary Gerry Anderson, a man famous for TV shows such as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Space 1999, and many others. However, the fans have a tough challenge ahead: they must list five examples of his work that they like, and five examples that they dislike.

David Choe hitchhikes his way across these United States by (other people's) trains, cars, and boats.

In the center of a cave There is an ancient bronze lion statue. The eyes of the statue were lifelike. and is waiting for the real owner to return... Duangjai came to Chiang Mai to attend the event of his dear friend Muk. Kraisorn, Duangjai's grandfather, agreed to allow him.

From Severin Films and Kier-La Janisse, a new series of chilling short form horror in the tradition of telling ghost stories for Christmas. From Severin Films and renowned author, producer, and filmmaker Kier-La Janisse comes The Haunted Season. Created by Janisse, one new episode of The Haunted Season will arrive on Shudder each December with chilling short form horror tales in the tradition of telling ghost stories for Christmas.

The MixMups follows the three preschool friends, Pockets, Giggle and Spin, as they together as the MixMups, and they use the wooden magic spoon, which they say "Mix up the magic" of play and imagination and transport themselves on a host of magical adventures.

Aman has no special powers unlike his father, the leader of the Super Hero group. His mother has been kidnapped by a mysterious super villain and Aman tries to save her.

Shark Meow is an orange tabby kitty who wears a shark suit. A little clumsy and always taking things at their own cozy pace, but every day with their best kitty friends—and the rescued baby kitty, Little Meow—is filled with unexpected little mishaps and sweet adventures. A sunny warm spot in the park, the sparkle of the sea, steam rising from freshly roasted sweet potatoes, the fluttery feeling of the first snowfall… These small everyday moments fill their world with warmth and delight. You can’t help but smile and think, “So true!” A soft and snuggly kitty anime that brings joy to everyday moments.

A young man named Hassin with a beautiful family including wife Fatma, daughter Maram, and son Rawad, destroys everything in a scheme to get his inheritance early. After hiring a woman to scare his father by making him sick with bad food, she shows everyone the true nature of evil. Is there any way to make things right? Why did he do this? Can a strange reclusive holy man named Talal help him?

Follow a group of misfit adventurers who come together after signing up for a quest posted in a tavern: Jackson the Rogue, Pepper the Bard, Mara the Barbarian, Rayne the Ranger and Elliot the Warlock!

A chaotic indie series following the misadventures of Melon, Corn, Pumpkin, and Apple. Set in a world where physics are a suggestion and death is a daily occurrence, the gang finds themselves in everything from deadly food contests to viral trends gone wrong. It’s a mix of surreal humor and brutal sandbox carnage where the characters might die today, but they'll be back tomorrow to do it all over again.

Han Ji-hyuk, an NIS agent gone MIA, returns after one year to join a new team as he searches for his lost past.

In the shadowy world of espionage, Sam Fisher is a rumor and a legend. Pulled back into action, he must help a new recruit unravel a global conspiracy.