Stingray

Stingray is the flagship submarine of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, or WASP. From Marineville, Captain Troy Tempest and Lieutenant Phones investigate dangers beneath the sea, protect the surface world and discover communities hidden in the depths. Marina, their ally from the undersea world, gives the crew knowledge and understanding they could not gain from instruments alone.

The series combines exploration, rescue and defence with humour and a busy life back at base. Commander Shore and his daughter Atlanta coordinate the missions, while Titan and Agent X20 repeatedly test Marineville’s security. Underwater adventure is only part of the appeal: the relationships between the crew give the action its warmth.

Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, Stingray followed Fireball XL5 and brought the team’s television science fiction into colour. AP Films made 39 episodes, with the first UK broadcast on 4 October 1964. An enlarged production operation allowed the puppet, design and effects teams to build a richer underwater world.

Reg Hill designed the hero submarine, while Derek Meddings and the effects team created its extraordinary surroundings. Miniature sets seen through a water tank helped suggest the ocean’s depth without immersing every model. The result gives the undersea sequences their distinctive combination of colour, texture and scale.

Explore how Stingray was made.

Marineville is both a military installation and a home. Its control tower, apartments, defensive systems and concealed submarine launch route make the base feel organised around the people who work there. Stingray’s smooth, fish-like shape contrasts with the more conventional technology used around the base.

Titanica offers a very different world. Titan’s Aquaphibians crew mechanical Terror Fish, while other undersea societies bring their own unusual craft and ambitions. The series does not treat every underwater visitor as the same enemy; discovery, misunderstanding and cooperation sit alongside its battles.

Take a closer look at Stingray’s vehicles and bases.

The opening episode, Stingray, introduces the crew, Titan and Marina. Emergency Marineville puts the base under pressure; The Subterranean Sea emphasises exploration; Titan Goes Pop shows how far the series is willing to travel into comedy.

There is no single mood to the show. A tense underwater encounter can be followed by a dream, a deception or an affectionate parody. The five-episode starting guide and the archive’s Stingray Deep Dives help you choose a route through those different styles.

The 60th anniversary in 2024 became the starting point for Stingray: Deadly Uprising, a new saga told across prose, comics and audio. Its stories return to the world of the original series while giving Marineville and its enemies a larger connected adventure.

The Titanican Stratagem, the comic anthologies, Project Orca and the Marineville Minutes are parts of that expanded experience. They are later adventures, separate from the original 39 television episodes. The Deadly Uprising questions and answers explains the approach, and the dedicated anniversary section above provides a route into the available editions.

AP Films / ATV / ITC. Produced 1963–64; 39 episodes of approximately 25 minutes. First UK broadcast: 4 October 1964.

Producer: Gerry Anderson
Associate Producer: Reg Hill
Directors: Alan Pattillo, David Elliott, John Kelly & Desmond Saunders
Director of Photography: John Read
Lighting Cameraman: John Read, Julien Lugrin & Paddy Seale
Art Director: Bob Bell
Special Effects Director: Derek Meddings
Music Composed, Arranged & Conducted by Barry Gray

Voice cast: Don Mason, Robert Easton, Lois Maxwell, Ray Barrett and David Graham.