Supermarionation a puppet hand, suspended by wires, operating the controls of "Thunderbird 1". The term "Supermarionation" was not coined until during production of later episodes of "Supercar". As a result, "Four Feather Falls" is often omitted from lists of Supermarionation productions. Two feature films based upon "Thunderbirds" were also made with Supermarionation: "Thunderbirds Are Go" (1966) and "Thunderbird 6" (1968). Numerous episodes of "Thunderbirds", "Captain Scarlet", and other series were also edited together (sometimes with the addition of new narration) to form movie-length features for VHS release and TV syndication in the 1980s. "The Secret Service" was actually a hybrid of
Supermarionation Supermarionation Supermarionation (a portmanteau of "super", "marionette" and "animation") is a style of puppetry devised in the 1960s by British television production company AP Films (APF). It was used extensively in the action-adventure puppet series produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, of which the best known is "Thunderbirds". The term was coined by Gerry Anderson. The term "Supermarionation" was expressive of Gerry Anderson's preference for artistic realism and his desire to make APF's puppet-filming techniques "more and more life-like". According to Sylvia Anderson, it was created "to distinguish the pure puppetry of the stage from our more sophisticated filmed-television version".