Supercar (1961–1962) User Reviews

Supercar still does it.... "Now who's a fool"

[dblackshire · 8/10 · 2 November 2011]

Supercar for me has been a TV program that has had to wait. Way back in the 1960's in the UK many people had TV sets that only could receive BBC programs, in other words a single TV tuner. Many of my friends could watch ITV programs which Supercar was featured on at the time. I spent part of my childhood trying to understand what my friends were on about when they mentioned Mike Mercury and Mitch the Monkey. A long time had to pass, in fact I was in my mid 50s before the thought came to me to buy the DVD box set. WOW what a surprise that was. I was expecting something quite childish and on a par with maybe Torchy the Battery Boy, but no this was of a high standard in deed. Each episode has an excellent story the best ones feature the arch villain Master Spy. Check out as the episodes progress how the special effects get better. I think that's due to the introduction of Derrick Meddings.

Mike Mercury To The Rescue!

[strong-122-478885 · 6/10 · 22 October 2015]

I guess following TV's "Howdy Doody Show" from the 1950's - 1961's "Supercar" was the next in line as the absolute best puppet show that early-television had to offer the wee kiddies as entertainment.

Of course with Supercar now being 55 years old it would be totally unfair to compare it to today's standards of television-amusement for the youngsters.

But, regardless of its primitive visual effects and almost snail-paced action, Supercar does have a certain quirky and laughable charm that's all of its own.

Created by Gerry Anderson (who 4 years later produced "The Thunderbirds" TV Series, yet another elaborate puppet show), the "supercar" featured in this program was actually quite impressive, especially since this vehicle could be used (with but a few flips of the control-panel switches) on land, under water and up in the air.

Filmed in b&w - This TV show (whose episodes were a half-hour in length) had an unintentionally hilarious theme song which was played (along with visuals) at the start of every episode.

Anyway - Because of Supercar's position in the history of TV's time-line, I certainly cut it some well-deserved slack and, with that, give it a 6-star rating.

That theme song, that car

[xredgarnetx · 6/10 · 31 July 2006]

I was 11 when SUPERCAR debuted on American TV. That cool car, which looked like something any kid could build out of paper and tape and gray paint, could fly and dive under water, and it even made coffee. More importantly, the opening to the theme song haunts me to this day "Supercahhhhhh..." the veddy British singer intones over and over again. I have no memory of THUNDERBIRDS, which came after. I was probably busy with girls by then. However, I do remember GIGANTOR aka the Space Age Robot. That limited animation cartoon series, from Japan, also had a heckuva catchy theme song. "Gi-gan-tor, Gi-gan-tor, Gi-gan-an-tor..." intoned the deeply baritone chorus. Gigantor looked a little like a flying version of the Tin Man from "The Wizard of Oz." Ah, those were the days.

Now, that was truly TV for a kid's imagination!

[PJ-73 · 15 March 2001]

This is the program my friends and I would watch in the evening; then spend our days cutting up cardboard boxes to make our own "Supercars" (and, of course, each of us was Mike Mercury).

Supercar could do absolutely anything, go absolutely anywhere and get out of absolutely any nail-biting jam. What was great about Supercar was that it didn't rely on any previous-show precedent for design or capabilities...if Supercar needed new features, good ol' Doctor Beaker and Professor Popkiss just added them!

Comic relief came in the form of Mitch (some sort of anthropomorphic monkey), and the Dr. and the Professor (who tended to bumble). I never really understood why Jimmy was there, but I figured he was the luckiest kid on earth. So my friends and I would watch each episode, living vicariously through Jimmy, then construct our banana-box Supercars, complete with all of the most recent episode's modifications.

Now, that was truly TV for a kid's imagination! Just think what would happen if it played in 2005, with Dr. James Dobson watching like a hawk -- three men, a boy and a monkey living together!

A good start to Supermarionation

[rt-ingram · 7/10 · 9 September 2016]

Supercar was the first of the many Gerry Anderson puppet series and while the stories were simpler, and not as exciting compared to the later shows, it was a good series in its own right and a good start to Supermarionation as a whole.

Another of Supercar's plus points was that the stories were versatile; the title vehicle could travel on land, sea, air and space, so you had a good range of stories. And all the characters were likable, although Mitch the Monkey could be decidedly irritating at times.

Well worth watching if you are curious as to how Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation productions started.

Satisfactory, Most Satisfactory

[screenman · 6/10 · 9 November 2008]

Well, not really. Gerry Anderson's first pukka supermarionation series was pretty short on special-effects. It was the puppet characters themselves that provided most of the entertainment.

Mike Mercury as pilot and hero was about as bland as they come. Jimmy was a doting young twit. But Doctor Beaker proved a real character who was never quite as smart as he thought himself. Professor Popkiss was the real brains of the outfit.

It was the height of the cold war, so no experimental wonder-craft could go unnoticed for long before foreign agents took an interest. And so, larger-than-life shaven-headed 'Masterspy' set his sights on stealing their secrets and sabotaging Supercar, ably assisted by his weaselly, Peter Lorre-like sidekick 'Zarin'. Interestingly, Masterspy always referred to him as 'friend' Zarin, and never 'comrade' Zarin; though the name and their accents left you in no doubt as to their origins.

Only for Anderson fans and collectors now, and not a patch on 'Fireball', 'Stingray', 'Thunderbirds' or 'UFO'.

I had always thought that there would be a REAL Supercar by the 21st century

[texford1940 · 10/10 · 8 October 2010]

Supercar was my absolute favorite show when I was around eight or nine years of age in 1962-63. I had enough knowledge to understand even at that age, exactly what this vehicle was. It was the first anti gravity aircraft. I knew what turbines were, and I loved the sound of them, and Supercar Had them! But what made Supercar levitate was NOT jet propulsion (as a Harrier jet uses now), but you could hear another certain sound it made like a bunch of gyros all spinning in hyper-unison velocity or something along with the turbines, and in my young mind that produced this anti-gravity. And that music throughout each episode was so perfect! Every time the spacey sounding organ music started as they slowly opened the roof doors and the clouds above came into view in anticipation of another flight, my eyes were as big as saucers, and you could'nt have pulled me away from the t.v. for ANYTHING! And even to this day..true anti gravity is elusive. And there has'nt been anything like it since (Thunderbirds, Stingray, Fireball XL5 was good, but of a different caliber as was other Sci-fi's).

I had thought about Supercar at times all my life afterwards, and never got to see it again for decades until around 1998, when I found Gerry Anderson in the library book of "Who's Who", and after a little detective work, I found the first English PAL VHS video versions of the first 16 episodes, and had them converted to NTFS so they could play in U.S. VHS players, and once again even now at age 57...am still fascinated at what Supercar is, and the adventures & characters that surround it, and was stunned when the entire series of 39 episodes finally came out on DVD, and was so clear and sharp that you could see the strings on the puppets even better than before! Ha! (love it, LOVE IT!). You should hear Supercar fire up it's engines on a 200 watt 12 inch woofer tower speaker stereo system cranked up enough to rattle the windows and vibrate right through your gut! (I guess i'm a big kid at heart, ha!)

Unbearable

[13Funbags · 1/10 · 12 March 2019]

It took me 3 sittings to get half way through the first episode without falling asleep. I wanted to like this but it's insanely boring. I never thought I could actually hate a marionette but this scientist is terrible. He drones on and on while a little boy clearly voiced by an adult woman whispers through a plane crash and what seems like an eternity in a raft. But it couldn't have been an eternity because I only watched 13 minutes. Next...

48 Years old and remember Supercar like it was yesterday.

[ghlist7876 · 20 October 2004]

Maybe you got here after seeing "Team America" and couldn't help but trace the geneology of these puppets back to their earliest roots. As for me, I recall sitting on my living room floor at age 7 watching this on WPIX TV (New York) in total fascination. My parents looked down at me and asked; "Why do you watch this garbage? Turn it off". I couldn't, I was transfixed. I didn't care if they couldn't walk right, talk right, or that you could see the strings as plain as day. I was hooked. The Supercar looked like a deluxe Monogram kit with a sparkler stuck in the back. Thank you Trey and Matt for bringing em' back alive. Well, maybe not alive, but at least kickin'. I haven't laughed like that in years. Hans Brick - Oh No!

Memory Lane

[Steve_Smith54 · 25 January 2006]

I used to really enjoy watching this show as a youngster. I think some of the children's shows today are okay, but in general they just are not of the same caliber as Supercar and some of the other shows and cartoons that were around in 1961.

Maybe some of the cable stations should consider airing Supercar again. Even today in 2006, Supercar would still be futuristic. Maybe some of today's auto manufacturers should take notes.

Incredibly talented puppeteers made this a one-of-a-kind classic.

I hope Supercar used some fuel other than gasoline. They couldn't afford to run it at today's prices.

Mike Mercury, Dr. Beaker, Professor Popkiss, Jimmy, and Mitch, long time no see. Hope you are all well.

Supercar should be a movie!

[Morgus88 · 17 April 2002]

Supercar is among the best sci-fi TV shows ever produced, with the ability to create a lifetime impression on those fortunate enough to experience it. The characters compliment each other perfectly, and of course, Supercar is an amazing machine! The sound effects and theme music make my scalp tingle.

The first 16 episodes are available on video tape, and we at Black_Rock_1 (a Yahoo egroup dedicated to Supercar) hope that not only are DVDs in the works, but that the series will make a big-screen debut soon. Supercar has a strong, dedicated following, and would certainly be a success at the box office! Be sure to watch for the upcoming Supercar comic and T-shirt!

Rob Haeuser [-----]

I still remember Supercar

[marcbillington · 18 August 2006]

I used to watch Supercar in 1963/64 when we were living in a one bedroom apartment in Canyon, Texas. I was around 6 at the time. I can't picture all of the characters anymore. I remember the lead character and an old man. I think I remember the basic sound of the theme song. But, I remember I was quite taken in by the show and really watched it intently and regularly. There was something about being that age and seeing that show. It was really entertaining for a six year old, if not mesmerizing. I think it came on Saturday or possibly Sunday between morning and noon. It was quite a sight in 1964. I remember the "strings". I'm glad to find that people remember the show. Our family moved to California in the summer 64 and I never saw the show again. I've never met anyone in California (in the Sacramento area)who has seen it. But, we did have The Mighty Hercules!