Supermarionation "Thunderbirds", who closely resembled Sylvia Anderson, and Captain Blue in "Captain Scarlet", who looked like Ed Bishop (the similarity was reportedly coincidental). Other characters were based on well-known film actors: Troy Tempest of "Stingray" was based on James Garner, Scott Tracy of "Thunderbirds" on Sean Connery and Captain Scarlet on Cary Grant. "Stingray" also featured the only non-speaking Supermarionation puppet: the water-breathing woman Marina. Occasionally, close-ups of a live actor's hand would be inserted to show actions such as turning keys and pressing buttons. This was affectionately parodied in the 2004 live-action feature film "Thunderbirds", with a brief shot of
The Magic House (puppet show) appearing in adverts for the Trustee Savings Bank for children's savings accounts. The Magic House (puppet show) The Magic House was a children's animation puppet show created by Joe Austen and made for Scottish Television. The series was adapted from a series of children's books written and illustrated by Austen in the early 1980s. The show's 55 10-minute episodes were aired across the ITV Network between 1994 and 1998. As well as the television episodes, a spin-off series of books was also produced, written and illustrated by Joe Austen. The show, which featured Uncle Teapot, Kitty Kettle, Barney Bin and