Supercar (TV series) series proposed to the BBC by Hugh Woodhouse that was never produced. Anderson would later claim that the whole point of having a series based on a vehicle was to minimize having to show the marionettes walking, an action which he felt never looked convincing. The plot of the show consisted of Supercar, a vertical takeoff and landing craft invented by Prof. Rudolph Popkiss and Dr. Horatio Beaker, and piloted by Mike Mercury. On land it rode on a cushion of air rather than wheels. Jets in the rear allowed it to fly like a jet and retractable wings were
Gerry Anderson made as an affectionate "Thunderbirds" pastiche (with Anderson co-producing), and by Lady Penelope and Parker appearing in a successful series of UK advertisements for Swinton Insurance. In 1991 Gerry asked journalist and author Simon Archer to write his biography, following an interview by the latter for a series of articles for "Century 21" magazine. In September that year in the UK, BBC2 began a repeat showing of "Thunderbirds", which rivalled the success of its original run a generation before. This was also surprisingly the series' network television premiere, having never been shown nationally by ITV. It became so popular in