Seasons and episodes
1 - 1Planet 46 Oct. 28, 1962
1 - 2The Doomed Planet Nov. 04, 1962
1 - 3Space Immigrants Nov. 11, 1962
1 - 4Plant Man From Space Nov. 18, 1962
1 - 5Spy in Space Nov. 25, 1962
1 - 6The Sun Temple Dec. 02, 1962
1 - 7XL5 to H2O Dec. 09, 1962
1 - 8Space Pirates Dec. 16, 1962
1 - 9Flying Zodiac Dec. 23, 1962- 1 - 10Space Pen Dec. 30, 1962
1 - 11Space Monster Jan. 06, 1962
1 - 12The Last of the Zanadus Jan. 13, 1963
1 - 13Planet of Platonia Jan. 20, 1963
1 - 14The Triads Jan. 27, 1963
1 - 15Wings of Danger Feb. 03, 1963
1 - 16Convict in Space Feb. 10, 1963
1 - 17Space Vacation Feb. 17, 1963
1 - 18Flight to Danger Feb. 24, 1963
1 - 19Prisoner on The Lost Planet Mar. 03, 1963
1 - 20The Forbidden Planet Mar. 10, 1963
1 - 21Robert to the Rescue Mar. 17, 1963
1 - 22Dangerous Cargo Mar. 24, 1963
1 - 23Mystery Of The TA2 Mar. 31, 1963
1 - 24Drama At Space City Apr. 07, 1963
1 - 251875 Apr. 14, 1963
1 - 26The Granatoid Tanks Apr. 21, 1963
1 - 27The Robot Freighter Mystery Apr. 28, 1963
1 - 28Whistle for Danger May. 05, 1963
1 - 29Trial by Robot May. 12, 1963
1 - 30A Day in the Life of a Space General May. 19, 1963
1 - 31Invasion Earth May. 26, 1963
1 - 32Faster Than Light Jun. 02, 1963
1 - 33The Day the Earth Froze Jun. 09, 1963
1 - 34The Fire Fighters Jun. 16, 1963
1 - 35Space City Special Jun. 23, 1963
1 - 36Ghosts Of Space Oct. 06, 1963
1 - 37Hypnotic Sphere Oct. 13, 1963
1 - 38Sabotage Oct. 20, 1963
1 - 39Space Magnet Oct. 27, 1963
Synopsis
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.