Gerry Anderson Movies

When two dim-witted blonde bombshells are mistaken for the underworld's most cunning assassins, they are approached with a lucrative contract to take out the head of the Chinese mafia in a globe-trotting, air-headed comedy starring Pamela Anderson and Denise Richards. Two fair-haired beauties have just witnessed a high-profile mob hit, and now the Godfather is convinced that they have what it takes to rub out his most fearsome rival. After accepting a hearty payout and agreeing to carry out the dangerous assignment, the two brainless beauties hit the open road on the adventure of a lifetime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Nominated for seven Academy Awards, Norman Jewison has directed some of Hollywood's most acclaimed and beloved movies such as Moonstruck, Fiddler on the Roof, and In the Heat of the Night. This video profile of his life and career features interviews with Whoopi Goldberg, Rod Steiger, and Sylvester Stallone. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

From playing Meathead in All in the Family to directing such cult classics as This is Spinal Tap and Misery, Rob Reiner is one of Hollywood's most popular directors. This video profile highlights his life and career. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Space: 1999 was one of the more visible sci-fi disasters of early-'70s television, although it started out with some promising credentials. It was produced by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson, who had been responsible for several fondly remembered series such as Supercar, Fireball XL-5, Stingray, Captain Scarlet & the Mysterons, and Thunderbirds, all built around marionettes and utilizing superb special effects and model work. The Andersons had also produced one intermittently engaging live-action series, UFO, and a fine feature film, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun. The series starred Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, who were the closest thing to a power-couple among television actors in those days (from their work together on Mission: Impossible) and Barry Morse, an excellent Canadian actor. Moreover, the producers started with what, in those days, was an admirable and challenging goal -- to create a television series that tried to follow in the footsteps of 2001: A Space Odyssey (then less than a decade old), mixing lunar settings, interstellar adventure, and a profound sense of cosmic wonder. The story of Moonbase Alpha and its crew, blasted into deep space when the nuclear waste deposited on the moon propelled the satellite out of orbit, was a silly, but intriguing, one once the audience got past the notion of the moon moving fast enough to reach interstellar space. The series never found a balance between its cosmic consciousness and the need for a steady dose of action each week, and once it underwent a major retooling of its cast for the second season, the smell of broadcast death hung over Space: 1999 for the remainder of its run. The presence of the first episode, alas, shows the shortcomings of even the superior first season that followed: After a good thriller plot for the opener, comprised of straightforward action and presenting well-delineated characters, the show came to rely heavily on plots involving lots of pseudo-science, symbolic illusions, and alien machinations, and never properly interwove its action with its philosophical ponderings. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Elements of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers, and The Forsyte Saga were melded together in the internationally produced, half-hour TV series The Protectors. Former U.N.C.L.E star Robert Vaughn was cast as Harry Rule, an American private eye working as one-third of a team of crime-preventing "protectors" operating in Europe. Rule's cohorts included onetime Forsyte Saga leading lady Nyree Dawn Porter as Contessa di Contini, a sexy Britsh noblewoman who was an expert at fencing and martial arts -- not unlike The Avengers' Emma Peel. The third member of the triumvirate was Frenchman Paul Buchet (Tony Anholt, who did most of the team's leg work. The Protectors was produced by Gerry Anderson, who'd cemented his reputation on such marionette adventure shows as Fireball XL-5 and Thunderbirds, and who would go on to mastermind the expensive sci-fi series Space: 1999. Shown in the United Kingdom over the ITV network and distributed worldwide by ITC, the two-season Protectors was syndicated in the United States with the sponsorship of Faberge cosmetics. Reportedly, the series would have run longer but for Faberge's decision to focus on "seasonal" rather than weekly advertising campaigns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This animated, futuristic puppet fantasy finds Lady Penelope and Professor Brains working for the organization International Rescue. The professor has developed an aircraft for the New World Aircraft company. Corporate spies secretly working for the NWA organization steal the experimental flyer. The Lady and the Professor chase the villains around the world in their quest to return the plane to the rightful owners in this action-packed children's feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This British sci-fi film is based on a popular British television series Thunderbirds. The characters are portrayed by special marionettes. The story centers on the exploits of International Rescue, who use spaceships to save beautiful Lady Penelope from her kidnappers, the evil villains of New World Aircraft Corporation ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Tired of being constantly ignored by his superiors, a young cop takes it upon himself to expose a ring of hijackers. This crime drama chronicles his investigation. To get close to the culprits, he pretends to accept a bribe from the truck thieves. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide