From Newsgroup: rec.arts.animation
Americans making a British series ... this is probably going to be a
disaster. :-(
Warner Bros. is developing a show that looks a lot like Team America
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Gerry Anderson was a television pioneer, using marionettes with
electric moving parts to make several British shows in the '60s
including the science fiction adventures Fireball XL5 and
Thunderbirds. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone paid
tribute to his unique style in their 2004 film Team America: World
Police, and now Warner Bros. is returning Anderson's version of
puppetry to TV by developing Hit Squad, which was announced at
Annecy Festival.
The show is based on a 1983 pitch document Anderson produced for
"a puppet-based television format with merchandising potential."
Warner Bros. Animation executive vice president Peter Girardi told
an Annecy panel he'd been trying to license Anderson's previous work,
but when the rights proved too complicated, he reached out to
Anderson's son to see if he could find any archived ideas.
Russell McLean and Darren Walsh, who previously teamed up on the
puppet-focused Black Mirror episode "The Waldo Moment," are working
on updating Anderson's style to incorporate modern technology. All
the effects are practical, though CGI is used for the mouth movements.
A preview screened at the panel focused on a new agent being debriefed
on her first day on Hit Squad. A flashback shows she had been carrying
a briefcase when a man tried to snatch it. They got into a fight in a
train station bathroom, where she shoved a urinal cake in his mouth.
The battle ends with her detonating the briefcase, blowing up her
attacker with it.
Her new boss at first seemed skeptical of aggressive tactics, but then
concludes her violence makes her perfect to be part of Hit Squad. He
shows off their collection of cars and rockets, leading to a montage
of the arsenal in action that ends with all of London exploding. It
feels a lot like a British version of Team America.
No release date has been announced for Hit Squad. Warne Bros. has been
expanding its focus on adult animation with new series including
President Curtis, Absolute Batman, and My Two Cars.
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https://www.polygon.com/adult-swim-hit-squad-gerry-anderson-reveal/>
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