The Investigator (TV Pilot)
''The Investigator'' is a 1973 British television pilot devised, produced and directed by Gerry Anderson, creator of '' Thunderbirds'' and other Supermarionation TV series of the 1960s. It centres on two American youths, John and Julie, who have been recruited by an extragalactic being called "the Investigator" to aid his self-appointed task of ridding Earth of evil and corruption. Miniaturised and given special knowledge and abilities, they take on Stavros Karanti, an unscrupulous businessman plotting to steal a priceless painting from a Maltese cathedral. Shane Rimmer and Sylvia Anderson voice John and Julie, who are represented by marionette puppets, while Charles Thake and Peter Borg appear as Karanti and his minion Christoph. The pilot marked Gerry Anderson's first use of puppets since ''The Secret Service'' (1969). Written by his wife Sylvia from a story by Rimmer, it was filmed on location in Malta between the production of ''The Protectors'' and a planned second ser ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Beatrice Anderson (; 25 March 1927 – 15 March 2016) was an English television and film producer, writer, voice actress and costume designer, best known for her collaborations with Gerry Anderson, her husband between 1960 and 1981. In addition to serving as co-creator and co-writer on their TV series during the 1960s and early 1970s, Anderson's primary contribution was character development and costume design. She regularly directed the fortnightly voice recording sessions, and provided the voices of many female and child characters. She also helped develop the shows and characters, in particular creating the iconic characters of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, Lady Penelope and Aloysius Parker, Parker in ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds''. Early life Anderson was born in Camberwell, London, England on 25 March 1927. Her father, Sidney Thomas, was a champion boxer, and her mother, Beatrice (), a dressmaker. After graduating from the London School of Economics wit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
UFO (TV Series)
''UFO'' is a 1970 British science fiction television series about the covert efforts of a government defence organisation to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 for Grade's ITC Entertainment company. A single series of 26 episodes (including the pilot) was filmed over the course of more than a year; a five-month production break was caused by the closure of MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, where the show was initially made. Production then moved to Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. ''UFO'' was first broadcast in the UK and Canada in 1970, and in the US syndication over the next two years. It also has been rerun on UKTV channel Drama. The Andersons' live-action science fiction movie ''Doppelgänger'' (also known as ''Journey to the Far Side of the Sun'') is considered an immediate precursor to ''UFO'', which was their first entirely live-action T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Off-the-shelf Company
A shelf corporation, shelf company, or aged corporation is a company or corporation that has had no activity. It was created and left with no activity – metaphorically put on the "shelf" to "age". The company can then be sold to a person or group of persons who wish to start a company without going through all the procedures of creating a new one. Reasons for buying Common reasons for buying a shelf corporation include: * To save the time involved in taking the steps to create a new corporation. * To gain the opportunity to bid on contracts. Some jurisdictions require that a company be in business for a certain length of time to have this ability. * To show corporate longevity in order to attract consumers or investors. * To gain access to corporate credit. These reasons are open to criticism. Many years ago, it would take months to properly incorporate a business. However, it is now quite easy, at least in Australia, Canada, the United States, Western Europe and Dubai, to d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Venture Capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which have demonstrated high growth (in terms of number of employees, annual revenue, scale of operations, etc). Venture capital firms or funds invest in these early-stage companies in exchange for equity, or an ownership stake. Venture capitalists take on the risk of financing risky start-ups in the hopes that some of the firms they support will become successful. Because startups face high uncertainty, VC investments have high rates of failure. The start-ups are usually based on an innovative technology or business model and they are usually from high technology industries, such as information technology (IT), clean technology or biotechnology. The typical venture capital investment occurs after an initial "seed funding" round. The first ro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Reg Hill
Reginald Eric Hill (16 May 1914 – 1999) was an English model-maker, art director, producer, and freelance storyboard artist. He is most prominently associated with the work of Gerry Anderson. Early life Born on 16 May 1914, Hill started his working life during the 1930s in the display department of a London wholesale grocer before progressing to a role of advertising designer. He obtained a private pilot's licence in June 1939. Hill served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, spending time at Benson in Oxfordshire as an airframe fitter instructor. After the war ended, he was posted to Germany and, on his return, flew an Avro Lancaster from Germany to England. Post-war After returning to England, Hill joined National Interest Picture Productions as a designer for British Army, RAF and other government-made films, working as a model maker and animator. He also used his artistic and design skills as a commercial artist creating paper cut-out model books (three ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
AP Films
AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette television series – most significantly '' Thunderbirds'' – produced for British ITV network companies Associated-Rediffusion, Granada, ABC and ATV. At its height, the company employed more than 200 staff. Origins Established in 1956 by editor-director Gerry Anderson and cinematographer Arthur Provis, following the liquidation of their employer Polytechnic Films, AP Films was set up. They took with them producer Reg Hill, cinematographer John Read and secretary, then known as Sylvia Thamm. Thamm would later become Anderson's second wife. The company was created with the intention of it becoming a conventional film production house. With no commissions and funds running low, APF were approached with an offer of collaboration ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Air Traffic Control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. The primary purpose of ATC worldwide is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots. Air traffic controllers monitor the location of aircraft in their assigned airspace by radar and communicate with the pilots by radio. To prevent collisions, ATC enforces traffic separation rules, which ensure each aircraft maintains a minimum amount of empty space around it at all times. In many countries, ATC provides services to all private, military, and commercial aircraft operating within its airspace. Depending on the type of flight and the class of airspace, ATC may issue ''instructions'' that pilots are required to obey, or ''advisories'' (known as ''flight infor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cessna 150
The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 1977, it was succeeded in production by the Cessna 152, a minor modification to the original design. The Cessna 150 is the List of most produced aircraft, fifth most produced aircraft ever, with 23,839 produced. The Cessna 150 was offered for sale in named configurations that included the Standard basic model, the Trainer with dual controls, and the deluxe Commuter, along with special options for these known as Patroller options. Later, these configurations were joined by the top-end Commuter II and the aerobatic Aerobat models. In 2007, Cessna announced a successor to the Model 150 and 152, the Cessna 162, Model 162 Skycatcher. Development Development of the Model 150 began in the mid-1950s with the decision by Cessna Aircraft to produc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mdina
Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melite (ancient city), Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Northern Region, Malta, Northern Region of Malta which served as the island's capital from antiquity to the medieval period. The city is still confined within its walls, and has a population of just under 300, but it is contiguous with the town of Rabat, Malta, Rabat, which takes its name from the Medina quarter, Arabic word for suburb, and has a population of over 11,000 (as of March 2014). The city was founded as Maleth in around the 8th century BC by Phoenician settlers, and was later renamed Melite (ancient city), Melite by the Ancient Rome, Romans. Ancient Melite was larger than present-day Mdina, and it was reduced to its present size during the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine or Arab occupation of Malta. During ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Renaissance Neoplatonism, Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. His father was court painter to the ruler of the small but highly cultured city of Urbino. He died when Raphael was eleven, and Raphael seems to have played a role in managing the family workshop from this point. He trained in the workshop of Perugino, and was described as a fully trained "master" by 1500. He worked in or for several cities in north Italy until in 1508 he moved to Rome at the invitation of the pope, to work on the Vatican Palace. He was given a series of important commissions there and elsewhere in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Visual Imagination
Visual Imagination Ltd. was a British company that produced genre magazines. It was founded in 1985 by Stephen Payne and originally only published the science-fiction magazine ''Fantasy Image''. After Payne bought the magazine '' Starburst'' from Marvel UK, its list of titles expanded to include: * ''Cult Times'' * ''Film Review'' * ''Movie Idols'' * '' Shivers'' * ''Space Junkk'' * ''TV Zone'' * ''Ultimate DVD'' * ''The Works'' * ''XPosé'' It also published translated editions of some of the above in France and Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe .... The company was disestablished in early 2009. External links * 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom 2009 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1985 Companies dis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
TV Zone
''TV Zone'' is a British magazine that was published every four weeks by Visual Imagination that covered cult television. Initially, it mostly covered science fiction, but branched out to cover other drama and comedy series. History ''TV Zone'' was launched in September 1989 by publishers Visual Imagination as a spin-off of their existing title '' Starburst''. Its original and longest serving editor was Jan Vincent-Rudzki and original tagline was "The Magazine of Cult Television" (later "The World's Longest-Running Cult Television Magazine"). Originally, the magazine concentrated solely on science fiction and fantasy television, but over time it broadened its interests to occasionally include comedy (mostly through articles by Andrew Pixley) and mainstream drama programmes such as ''The West Wing'' and '' Spooks''. It also covered science fiction radio (mostly in its review section). Tom Spilsbury took over as editor from Jan Vincent-Rudzki in late 2000 and was responsible fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |