Gerry Anderson Associated Television (ATV) boss who offered to buy the show. This began a long friendship and a very successful professional association between the two men. The new series, "Supercar", (1960–61) was developed by Gerry & Sylvia Anderson and Reg Hill based on a story written by Sylvia Anderson and marked several important advances for APF. Sylvia Anderson took on a larger role and became a partner in the company. The series was also the official debut of Supermarionation, the electronic system that made the marionettes more lifelike and convincing on screen. The system used the audio signal from pre-recorded tapes
Gerry Anderson they licensed a huge range of toys, books, magazines and related items. The worldwide popularity of their TV shows, coupled with astute marketing, made APF one of the most successful merchandising ventures of the decade. The die-cast metal toys from series such as "Thunderbirds" were very popular at the time, and they now number among the most collectible toys of their kind. Models from almost all their series have been reproduced ever since by companies throughout the world, notably in Japan, where the TV series produced by Anderson has a dedicated following. The next series by APF was the futuristic