Firestorm Live And Kicking

Kickstarter funds new Gerry Anderson minisode

Unless you’re an Anderson completist you may not have heard of Firestorm, let alone seen the 2003 anime. Jamie Anderson hopes to change that by resurrecting his father’s original concept. “When Firestorm was bought by the Japanese production company it changed a lot, and I think it lost a bit of heart and the philosophical side,” Anderson explains. “By going back to the original documents it’s got the fun of Thunderbirds and the slightly darker side of Captain Scarlet. So there’s depth to it now.”

After struggling to fund the show through traditional channels, Jamie turned to Kickstarter. “We had a lot of enthusiasm, but also a lot of hesitation. Having already funded Gemini Force One through Kickstarter, and seeing a major publisher go ‘ hang on, there is support for this’ I see it as a really good way to market.”

Firestorm is set in 2202, where a new terrorist threat has emerged leading to the formation of Storm Force. “Sam Scott is the slightly rambunctious hero who will attempt to fix things before thinking about the ramifications of his actions,” says Anderson. “He’s offset by Nagisa, a second generation Japanese- American girl, fiercely intelligent, extremely brave, very sensible and the perfect counterpart to Sam. In the pilot we’ll get a feel for how they work as a team.”

The pilot will be created by a crew of Anderson veterans using Ultramarionation – an evolution of Gerry Anderson’s fabled Supermarionation technique. At the time of writing a 5- 8 minute minisode has been funded, but Jamie Anderson’s ultimate goal is to open the doors to a full series.

“The pilot will showcase what it’s all about. We’ll be able to show the characters moving, the effects, the sets and introduce the morally dubious side to the story. I’m hopeful someone like Netflix might get sight of it and go, ‘ this is perfect for us’ when they see how great it can look.”