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Fireball XL5 is a science fiction-themed children's television program that follows the missions of the starship Fireball XL5, under the direction of Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol. The show was produced in 1962 by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, husband and wife, through their firm APF, in partnership with ATV, for ITC Entertainment. Anderson believed Castrol XL motor oil had a fascinating sound while he was developing his new program. The name "Fireball XL" was derived from a phonetic change, and the"-5" was added because the title lacked a digit and felt a bit empty without it. The show featured the Andersons' Supermarionation, a kind of puppetry that debuted in Four Feather Falls and Supercar and was utilized in following projects like Stingray and Captain Scarlet. On 35mm film, 39 half-hour episodes of Fireball XL5 were filmed in black and white; all subsequent Anderson series were shot in color. Several Anderson series have aired in syndication in the United States, but Fireball XL5 is the only Anderson series to have aired on an American network. From September 1963 until September 1965, NBC aired the series during its Saturday morning children's block. Space Patrol, created by Gerry Anderson's former business partner and co-founder of AP Films, Arthur Provis, is sometimes confused with Fireball XL5 due to a number of setting similarities.