We all know ventriloquist dummies are scary as hell, you don't need me to tell you that. But I've got to come clean, Gerry Anderson's "supermarionation" creeped me out a kid..... still does.
No doubt, Gerry was a genius. UFO, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Supercar, Firball, Stingray.... all freaking brilliant. Unfortunately for me, they were also freaking scary. There's something about the way they looked and moved, and those vacant stares...
Particularly troubling was Joe 90, Anderson's last supermarionet TV show. It was all very surreal - something about a boy and this all-controlling super computer. It's been a long time since I've seen it - all I have is some old magazines to refresh my memory.
I think a lot of the trouble comes with the odd realism of Anderson's marionetts. The Muppets never scared me, nor did Davey and Goliath.... they were cartoonish. Joe 90's marionetts were the most realisticly proportioned of all his shows... inded, it was all too real.
