 His science fiction shows in 'Supermarionation' such as "Supercar" (1961–62), "Fireball XL5" (1962–63), "Stingray" (1964–65), "Thunderbirds" (1965–66), "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons" (1967–68) and "Joe 90" (1968–69) remain popular among followers of archive television.Their success led his backers ITC to finance the live-action shows he most wanted to develop.The first of these was "UFO" (1970–71), which featured American actor Ed Bishop as the head of an undercover military organisation with responsibility for combating aliens who came to Earth in the eponymous space craft.