Throughout late 2024 and early 2025, we marked Stingray's 60th anniversary with a spectacular multi-media event - Stingray: Deadly Uprising. This colossal saga tells a brand new Stingray story, set within the 'walled garden' of the classic 1964 Supermarionation series. The first truly original, official Stingray story in decades is told over a carefully tied-together range of audio dramas, novellas, comic strips and more, all of which are tasked with telling a grandiose underwater adventure that serve as an authentic expansion of the original series.

Let's dive into the Deadly Uprising and discover how enthralling this new saga is!

WARNING - MILD SPOILERS AHEAD FOR STINGRAY: DEADLY UPRISING. PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION!

Stand By for Battle Stations

Stingray: Deadly Uprising is an ambitiously multifaceted saga that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. It chiefly consists of four distinct releases; two novels and two sets of comic strip adventures, which can be found in both of our Stingray Comic Anthologies or in the dedicated Deadly Uprising comic anthology.

With such a wide-ranging format, chiefly overseen by producer Andrew Clements, it's inevitable then that Stingray: Deadly Uprising is an eclectic, surprising, and adventurous continuation of the classic series. Its epic length imbues the saga with a cinematic feel, playing out almost like a feature length finale to the original series. Alternatively, its pitstop format, in which stories can be enjoyed as standalone instalments, elicit an episodic feel that aids in the authentic attitude the saga boasts. Indeed, despite its apparent complexity, the saga moves at a fluid pace that's easy to follow across each release. 

Emphasising the saga's episodic nature is its premise. The mighty underwater despot Titan hits upon the idea of uniting as many undersea civilisations as possible to launch an overwhelming assault against Marineville and sets about convincing various races to join his cause. Some are willing participants, but others have their own agendas. Suffering several devastating setbacks as Titan's forces grow in numbers, Marineville is pushed to its limits in defending terrainean soil. The Stingray crew in particular face a variety of fantastic threats, including the possible irrelevance of Stingray itself as WASP resorts to desperate measures to quell Titan's unstoppable threat. 

One of the saga's greatest strengths lies in this piecemeal format of Titan's plan. His determination to acquire new forces strikes a handsome balance in the saga's execution. Deadly Uprising is naturally all the more satisfying as being enjoyed as a sprawling, interconnected event, yet it's also enjoyable individually. The format also allows for an intriguing mixture of returning villains and new undersea races being introduced, stretching Stingray's worldbuilding remit while losing none of the original series' retrofuture flavour. 

Dive to Danger

Deadly Uprising kicks off with the prequel story, Deadly Concerto, initially performed live as part of the Stand By for Action! 2: Tunes of Danger concert with a brilliant cast consisting of Wayne Forester, Nicholas Briggs, Marc Silk, Jules de Jongh, Jon Culshaw, and Wendy Carr, backed to stirring effect by the concert's orchestra. In this pre-saga chapter, Titan's alliance with a new alien race, the Harmoniums, sets in motion his grander scheme for further unions with other races. Can Marina's unique connection to the Harmoniums' devastating weapon save the Stingray crew when they fall under a mysterious influence that draws them to Titanica?

Deadly Uprising begins in earnest with Chris Dale's novel, Stingray: The Titanican Stratagem. With the Harmoniums on his side, Titan next seeks the Igneatheans, last seen in the TV episodes A Nut for Marineville and Trapped in the Depths. Dale's marvellous adventure takes advantage of the classic TV series' only instance of reusing pre-existing puppet characters to confirm that they are in fact meant to be the same characters (Trapped in the Depths never quite confirms if the recycled puppets are intended to be the same Grupa and Noctus from their previous appearance). Dale's inventive novel even binds things further by building on established TV canon to inform his depiction of the Igneatheans, whose backstory and motivations are engrossingly expanded upon to paint a compelling picture of this undersea race. 

Surface Agent X-20 and the snivelling inventor Sulpin (The Golden Sea) also make substantive appearances, adding humour and levity to both The Titanican Stratagem and Bob Ayres' later novel, Project Orca. X-20's secretive disdain for his master is one of The Titanican Stratagem's many highlights. Titan's attempts at allying with the Igneatheans unravel when it becomes apparent that the Igneatheans have their own score to settle against the terraineans. However, Dale's gripping adventure is packed with twists and turns that deliver a nuanced take on these underwater aliens, and injects a thrillingly unpredictable prospect into the saga. Other races may have their own agendas against the WASPs, but that's not a guarantee of safe partnership with Titan. Throughout Deadly Uprising, Titan's masterplan is permanently one false move away from collapsing around him.

The first batch of comic strips form the second instalment of Deadly Uprising - Shadows from the Deep, Warning Below the Waves, The Undefeated, Shifting Seas and Voyage to Danger. Compared to the prolonged, sustained nature of the two novels, the comic strips bear a far snappier energy with their relatively concise page lengths. This also helps inject a growing intensity to Titan's alliances taking firmer shape. Once more, the emphasis is that Titan may rule much of the oceans with an iron fist, but other, more independent races, either welcoming or antagonistic, capture a far-reaching appeal to Stingray's vast underwater world.

Keith Burns' evocative page spreads are effectively deployed in his and Ben Page's Warning Below the Waves, which introduces the Queen of Olympia. James Swallow and Matt Brooker's The Undefeated is another highlight that sees the return of the Solarstar race, who appeared to meet a very definitive end in their fan-favourite TV episode, The Big Gun. Swallow's tightly written script and Brooker's intense, retro-tinged colours and deep inks breath new life into the race and reveals that their barely survived state after the Solarstar city was destroyed by Stingray makes them easy prey for Titan - or so he thinks. Voyage to Danger climaxes this batch of comic adventures with the devastating action of Stingray caught in the violent grip of the piranha-like Gamarus' tsunami-triggering war machine, but another deadly vessel also foreshadows the risk of Stingray's ultimate destruction. The connective tissue between these stories strengthens with the introduction of the WASP's newest vessel, the Orca, which plays as significant presence in the saga's later chapters. Lew Stringer's expansive panel structures and Connor Flanagan's bold colours imbue a cinematic edge to Ian Edginton's cliffhanger finale.

The Orca makes its disruptive presence felt in Bob Ayres' novel, Stingray: Project Orca, the third instalment in Deadly Uprising. A fiercely advanced warship, superior to Stingray in just about every mechanical aspect, it falls victim to its insufferable and overzealous captain and the infiltration of X-20, who plots to regain Titan's approval by capturing the craft to aid in Titan's ongoing ambitions. Much like Dale's efforts, Project Orca greatly benefits from its novel format, its lengthily sequence of events signalling a gradually increasing sense of desperation for the Stingray crew, who find their futures greatly threatened. Both novels also boast a wonderfully positive depiction of Marina, portrayed with emotion, humour, and intelligence, as well as new character Lieutenant Sara Coral, WASP's newly assigned security officer. Her eventual bonds with Marina and Lieutenant Fisher are welcome moments of character-driven gentleness amidst the breakneck levels of deadly adventure.

Project Orca gifts Deadly Uprising even further layers of jeopardy thanks to the Orca's advanced weaponry and capabilities threatening Stingray's outdated existence. However, it's the spirited interplay of Troy, Phones and Marina that ensures Stingray proves its worth. It's not just about the fantastic machines - it's the heroes who are at their controls that give Deadly Uprising its dramatic stakes. We leave Project Orca with the titular vessel sustaining severe damage, but still falls to the clutches of Titan, which segues into the final batch of comic strips. Desperate Measures, Tempest Fugit, Rescue in the Depths, Triple Cross and Battle for Marineville pull Deadly Uprising into increasingly riveting and surreal directions as Titan's armada prepares to launch its final assault.

Nick Abdazis and Simon Fraser craft a new and compelling narrative language for Stingray to traverse with Tempest Fugit and Rescue in the Depths, a two-hander that sees Troy mentally experimented on by the illusive, sand-based Sillicans to prove he's not a warmongering presence. Swallow and Flanagan's Triple Cross showcases Titan's bombast and cunning when the Solarians dare to challenge his union with their renewed weaponry following on from The Undefeated. Titan however is more than prepared for this act of teachery. It's that engaging mixture of boisterous confidence, devious cunning and maniacal leadership that makes Titan such a fun villain to see in action. 

Stingray: Deadly Uprising concludes with the riotous Battle for Marineville, itself something of a feature-length comic strip compared to the mostly uniformed 6-page format of the other strips. Heroes and villains from across the saga and the classic series itself make their final charge in a chaotic yet deftly delivered finale that marries all-out aqua-mecha adventure with daring character-driven heroics. Sullivan's artwork and page layouts lets rip with an eye-popping sense of visual pace. 

Battle for Marineville ends the saga on a satisfying note of well-earned triumph for the Stingray crew, proving that even with the mightiest marine menaces at his beck and call, the spirit and determination of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol extinguishes Titan's firesome rage and tears his deathly ambitions asunder. We leave Deadly Uprising with the series' status quo falling back into place and Titan surely the wiser for believing such an audacious scheme could ever truly overpower the valiant efforts of the WASPs.

A brand new Stingray saga

Complimenting all of the major Deadly Uprising chapters further are the Marine Minutes, a series of eight mini-episodes that use footage from the TV series and our Deadly Concerto cast to tell new interstitial stories set in-between the more substantial chapters. These succinct stories, often around four to five minutes in length, greatly enhance the connective threads of the saga, as well as its overall ebb and flow, allowing moments of relative calm interspersed throughout the action and adventure. The Marine Minutes pleasingly expand various characterisations and plot points throughout Deadly Uprising; it's highly recommended, for instance, that you listen to/watch Final Warning and Anything Can Happen in between the final pair of comic strip adventures, as they serve as wonderful 'calm before the storm' interludes.

Stingray: Deadly Uprising is a thrillingly delivered adventure whose high ambition is matched with the overall quality of its individual components. Stingray's story mostly begins and ends with its brief lifespan in the 1960s, so to have freshly composed stories on such a gargantuan scale makes for a dizzyingly fun ride. From appealing character dynamics to enthralling underwater dangers, Stingray: Deadly Uprising enlivens the classic Supermarionation series by telling a new and wonderfully produced adventure that can proudly sit alongside the much-loved TV series.

Be sure to check out our above video to learn more about Stingray: Deadly Uprising, and read up on five key reasons why you should discover the saga if you haven't done so already!

Stingray: Deadly Uprising remains readily available across its various releases. As well as being available in novel and anthology form, you can enjoy The Titanican Stratagem and Project Orca as digital audiobooks. Discover this latest electrifying chapter in the Stingray saga now!

The events of Stingray: Deadly Uprising also feed into the Stingray W.A.S.P. Technical Operations Manual. Discover the stunning cutting-edge technical details of Stingray, Orca and many more from the world of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol!  

Sign up to the Anderson Entertainment newsletter to receive all the latest Gerry Anderson news, exclusive releases and more transmitted direct to your inbox!