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"You're a bundle of nerves as you search for a way to open the gleaming door
But your amazing spirit is the key. Not only are you already standing within but you are the room of dreams." 
Endless Perceptions will always hold your interest because it's an entertainment experience. If you like strange stories, odd videos or need an opinion on your love-life, you've come to the right place. You you feeling jittery? Relax with unusual and imaginative writings, which will delight you and inform you. Curious?
Enjoying Your
Endless Perceptions
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As an old poorly colorized movie fought its way though my HDMI cables and the mostly red and blue images lit up my flat screen, I thought back to the state of movie-watching, decades past, as compared to now. It’s hard to believe that there was such a thing as “pre-cable.”
Movies were such precious things back in the day. The only way that you could see a beloved film would be to return to the theater again and again. Popular ones could run for years and at times it seemed they would never find their way to the small, home screen. I guess after the money that Hollywood and theater owners could squeeze out of patrons had been exhausted, we couch potatoes could finally get to see our favorites. That is, after they cut the film to pieces with commercials, parental restrictions and made-to-fit your-television formatting, of course.
I remember a particular TV show, which came on only in the evening, in New York on Channel 9. It was called The Million Dollar Movie. It would run only movies, some pretty old, others pretty bad. There was one in particular that made me have nightmares and the fear stayed with me for years. By today’s standards, the flick might be considered pretty lame but it had enough of a strong theme to scare the crap out of a particular ten year old. By the time the movie got to the small screen, in 1963, I was ten. The movie I’m talking about was called Invaders from Mars and it was made back in 1953. Invaders from mars
When the film premiered in theaters, Americans were still healing from the open wounds of World War II, which ended in 1945. The country was also dealing with the creeping fear that insidious forces might still attempt to influence and overcome their way of living. The not so unreal paranoia of take-over caused many to relate to this film and similar ones of the era.
I’ve read countless reviews about Invaders from Mars and the common thread was always the same. The fact that scary movies easily instilled fear in those of us who were of an impressionable age goes without saying. But the fear that a more ominous threat was on the way helped the more adult audience to identify on a level that they all knew too well.
The belief that the Black man of the 1950s might be someone to be uncomfortable around was not so quietly being used in this film. For some, having this person’s face, as the leader was probably a little more than disturbing, especially since he was described as, “Mankind developed to its ultimate intelligence.” He was of ultimate intelligence on Mars but still fighting for rights on Earth. I guess the movie producers decided to use a Black guy to mess with the movie-goers heads. In actuality, this “guy” was an actress named Luz Potter born in Chihuahua, Mexico. Her name was never mentioned in the credits but neither were any of the other Martians in the movie for that matter.
As seen today as a horror flick, it’s hard to understand what all the fuss was about. The visible zippers down the backs of the Martians made me laugh and the long lectures by the scientist about space travel were drawn out and boring. But regardless of how rationally we can look at things today, the ten year old in all of us will always have a reason to fear the unknown. I guess it’s just a matter of perspective. 
Gerry Anderson and his Supermarionation team were determined to make their new show Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons as real as possible but by doing so, moved closer to the darker side of human nature.
The year is 2068 and the responsibility for world security is in the hands of an organization called Spectrum. While on a Mars mission, one of Spectrum's agents offends an alien-form known as the Mysterons. They seek the slow and painful destruction of mankind by controlling Spectum agents and many others. Mysterons have mastered the science of 'Retro-metabolism' which is the ability to reverse matter. When they kill their enemies, these same people are brought back to like, under Mysteron control. This tragedy happened to Captain Scarlet but when he plunges to his death, he returns with his full prior memories and consciousness. From then on, he became Spectrum's best weapon against the Mysterons because Captain Scarlet is indestructible. Captain Scarlet
And The Mysterons
Remember the intense opening credits and catchy end theme? Relive these stirring moments.
The series premiered on British television on September 29, 1967 and officially ended on May 14, 1968. The first episodes were not broadcast to other nations (including the United States) until 1968. As compared to the puppets of their previous shows (Stingray, Thunderbirds, etc.), gone were the days of over-sized heads and short legs. The new puppets were scaled closer to more realistic human proportions. An even bigger difference from the previous shows was that characters were not only getting shot but they were actually getting killed. During the era that the series premiered, some parents condemned the show because of its realistic carnage. They were afraid that the gritty realism might negatively effect their poor children. The fact that the main character got killed and came back to life on almost every show didn't help their views.
Another little know fact:
From the series, two of the puppets were fashioned after two well known celebrities.
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was praised for the diversity that it presented both racially and gender-wise. Multiple cultures were represented and the fighter pilots (called Angels) were all females.
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By 1965, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson had built a reputation for themselves for making highly-rated television series loved by both children and adults. The newest show, again using puppets as its stars was called Thunderbirds. It zoomed into living rooms and saved Thursday afternoons from September 30, 1965 until December 25, 1966. The basic premise of the series was that Jeff Tracy and his five adult sons formed International Rescue (IR), a secret organization dedicated to saving human life. They were aided in their missions by technologically advanced land, sea, air and space vehicles, which were called into service when conventional rescue techniques proved ineffective. There were five amazing Thunderbird units, which were run by each of the diversely different and talented brothers.
Thunderbirds
Most of the 32 episodes filmed were 50 minutes long as compared to the 25 minutes of the previous series (Supercar, Fireball XL5 and Stingray). The increased length allowed for better stories and better character development. In response to Gerry Anderson's request that the theme music have a military feel, composer Barry Gray created "5-4-3-2-1: Thunderbirds Are Go" and "The Thunderbirds March." The latter piece has been described as one of the best TV themes ever written, perfect for the show and catchy when heard alone.
Interesting fact:
The Thunderbirds special-effects department were praised for their flair with keeping an overall futuristic look to the characters and surroundings. Even with the use of advanced puppetry and innovative camera techniques, the wires that controlled movement were a constant distraction. As filming progressed, the crew started to dispense with the wires and instead manipulate the puppets from the studio floor using rods.
Another Interesting fact:
The five Tracy brothers were named after the Mercury Seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, John Glenn, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Gordon Cooper and Alan Shepard.
The natural looking faces of the puppets probably looked more than familiar because most were based on actors and other popular performers of the 1960s. I'm certain you'll recognize most of them.
Lastly, the likeness of Lady Penelope was fashioned after the co-creator of the series, Sylvia Anderson (wife of Gerry Anderson). Ms. Anderson's voice was also used to bring the secret agent to life. And why shouldn't the creator have to last word?
Sylvia Anderson and Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
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Traveling under the sea seemed to be the next natural step for Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation team and from that idea was hatched the children’s marionette television show named Stingray, filmed entirely in color. Do you remember swimming along on the missions of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (W.A.S.P.) and the crew of the most advanced combat submarine? The organization was based at Marineville, just off the California coast in the year 2065.
Stingray
Relive the lively way each episode began and the romantically moving ending theme.
To be honest (from eleven-year old me), Stingray was the most boring of the sophisticated puppet series. The water-logged pilot was launched on October 4, 1964. After thirty-nine soggy episodes, the show finally drowned on June 27, 1965. Strangely enough, the information behind the characters was more interesting than the actual series.
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Fireball XL5 and its members of the World Space Patrol were launched on its mission to save the galaxy on Saturday morning, October 28, 1962 on NBC. It ran until September 1963. It was the only Gerry Anderson series that ran on a US network. It was also the second puppet series that was filmed in Supermarionation.
Fireball XL5
Fireball
The Crew
Fireball XL5s brave team of stringed puppets were Colonel Steve Zodiac, Doctor Venus (voiced by Sylvia Anderson), Professor Matthew Matic and the transparent robot co-pilot named Robert (voiced by Gerry Anderson with the aid of an artificial larynx). And let’s not forget about Zoonie, Venus' pet, a Lazoon who liked mimicking things. In space, the crew maneuvered with thruster packs and never wore spacesuits outside of the ship. They instead took oxygen pills (talk about ways to cut the budget). The Ship There was no mistaking the old Soviet design of the long cylindrical spaceship, along with the launch concept, which was used in the 1951 film When Worlds Collide. The XL5 was comprised of a winged nose cone, the Fireball Junior, which contained the cockpit and separated from the main body to land on other worlds. The Future Filmed totally in black and white, Fireball XL5 established a style, which Gerry Anderson refined and improved in each series. The next step was to move into a wider market, and also doing it in color.
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For laughs, take a look at the music video done in 2011.
On Saturday morning, January 28, 1961, an excited seven-year old sat down to watch the over-advertised pilot for a brand new kind of children's television series. As NASA's Mercury program was struggling to launch capsules into orbit, the new show would be about a spaceship kind of car that could soar through the sky, dive underwater and maybe travel into space. Mike Mercury was the pilot of the fantastic vehicle and the adventures were about to begin.
Supercar
Long before there was CGI (computer generated images), Gerry Anderson and his team were looking for an innovative way to bring their fantasies to life. Beginning in the early 1960s, multiple series involving puppets on strings driven by science fiction type plots created a new kind of entertainment, which was named Supermarionation.
The first of these sci-fi action series was called Supercar. For the next few weeks, let's reminisce about these childhood visions of the future.
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supermarionation
A sweet little doggie storybook by Ann Iodice
Can We Talk? is such a precious little book for children and those that love pets. Heart-warming photographs. I really wish the book was much longer though. Four out of five stars. Can We Talk
A vindictive psychic seeks revenge on a not-so-innocent married man and his family in the paranormal horror called The Green Legacy.
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