Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's futuristic puppet worlds are packed with beloved heroes and villains. However, other and lesser-known characters have proved just as capable of stealing the spotlight, whether they appear in a single episode, or perhaps a single scene. Whether comedic, sympathetic or villainous, their appeal is a testament to the craftsmanship in puppetry, character design and voice acting that's such a prevalent aspect of the Supermarionation productions. 

Let's celebrate ten of the greatest Supermarionation characters you may never have heard of!

10. Admiral Denver (Stingray)

Commander Shore may lead the World Aquanaut Security Patrol with a dependably no-nonsense leadership, but his authority is reliably punctured to amusing effect whenever his rival shows up. Former navy buddies whose love-hate relationship stretches back over the decades, the very sight of Admiral Denver is sure to make Shore's blood boil. Denver's comically provocative presence is crucial to instigating the events of Loch Ness Monster and Set Sail for Adventure. Denver then enables Stingray's tonally lighter side to shine, helping the series in showcasing its more comedic leanings. 

9. Major Gravener (Captain Scarlet)

Not everybody can claim to have been murdered and replicated by the Mysterons and then lived once more to tell the tale, but that's exactly what happens to Major Gravener in Captain Scarlet's Treble Cross. The experimental test pilot is attacked and seemingly killed, only for passing doctors to successfully revive him, leading to the novel scenario of two Major Graveners at play. 

When the Mysterons' first attempt to use their own doppelganger version of the major to steal an aircraft armed with a nuclear warhead fails, Spectrum exploit the Mysterons' apparent unawareness of Gravener's revival by planting the human man in the doppelganger's place. Major Gravener himself valiantly and willingly commits himself to Spectrum in flushing out the Mysterons' destructive actions, bravely accepting orders from the Martian menace as if he's their operative. Major Gravener's bravery is central to one of Captain Scarlet's most deceptively layered episodes.

8. Commander Norman (Thunderbirds)

Commander Norman of London International Airport boasts more connections to International Rescue than most others who call upon the outfit's help. Appearing in Trapped in the Sky, Edge of Impact, Operation Crash-Dive and Alias Mr Hackenbacker, Commander Norman is the man who allows International Rescue to perform its very first rescue operation in saving the stricken Fireflash in Thunderbirds' debut episode, therefore enabling I.R. to demonstrate its heroic actions to the world. 

Norman's semi-regular appearances throughout the series is a rarity for Thunderbirds, which wasn't too reliant on ongoing characters outside of the ensemble Tracy family set-up. Norman's reassuringly authoritative presence in leading many aerial operations seen throughout the series can't help but echo Gerry Anderson's real-life background in the RAF.

7. Unnamed Alien (Stingray)

The Stingray crew face an aquatic rogues gallery of formidable enemies, but this unnamed villain from The Ghost Ship presents a desperately impossible scenario for Captain Troy Tempest to endure. Knowing full well the implications of capturing the W.A.S.P. commander when the Stingray crew investigate a ghostly galleon, Commander Shore demands that Troy open fire on the alien's ghostly galleon - with Shore and Phones aboard! Troy's rejection of these orders plays havoc between himself and his commanding officer - just as this scheming villain predicts.

Seemingly succeeding in capturing Shore, Phones and eventually Troy himself and fully intended to place the Stingray captain on trial against the underwater peoples, Troy's quick thinking results in a bizarre method of neutralising the enemy. The Ghost Ship delivers one of Stingray's most connivingly intelligent underwater enemies. 

6. Harper & Judd (Supercar)

It may technically be classified as cheating to feature two characters in one spot on this listing, but in Harper and Judd's case from Supercar, you can't have one without the other. Stomped-down J.P. Electronics employee Harper turns to a life of crime when he employs the services of safecracker Judd in Grounded, prompting the pair to become a dynamic duo of crime throguhout Supercar.

The pair appear in several episodes, hatching a variety of schemes which mostly fixate on making themselves financially better off. The pair read like comical class juxtapositions cherry-picked out of any one of Rank-era Brit-crime capers of Supercar's era; neither would look out of place in The Ladykillers or The League of Gentlemen. The troublesome twosome provide an enjoyable alternative for Supercar's villains compared to Masterspy and Zarin, and may even be interpreted as an earlier effort of the style of character stereotypes eventually embraced by Lady Penelope and Parker from Thunderbirds.

5. Ma Doughty (Fireball XL5)

Ma Doughty is emblematic of Fireball XL5's delightfully archaic futuristic world; despite being set 100 years in the future at the time of the series' debut in 1962, it maintained a firm grip on its relative real-world past with these sorts of aged characters. Ma Doughty, proprietor of Space City's music shop, isn't easily dismissed by Steve Zodiac's rejection of her desire to follow in her space traveller father's footsteps. In fact, she proves to be the heroine of the hour when a marauding armada of unstoppable robotic tanks threatens a pair of scientists on Planet 73. 

Ma Doughty injects a charmingly welcome presence into The Granatoid Tanks' otherwise blistering space-mecha adventure. If anything, that juxtaposition between Ma Doughty's superstitious beliefs surrounding her apparent ability to ward off the enemy robots and the hard sci-fi of the deadly robots themselves is what makes her solitary appearance all the more noteworthy. 

4. Reverend Shepherd (Joe 90)

In Joe 90's The Unorthodox Shepherd, The hard-of-hearing Reverend Shepherd appears to be the prime suspect in the World Intelligence Network's investigations of counterfeit money. Fortunately, the Reverend is not so dim-witted as his apparent deafness makes him out to be. Reverend Shepherd is soon revealed to be sharp-minded yet targeted by criminals when the full scale of the money forgery operation taking place within his church is revealed.

Reverend Shepherd's amusing interactions with the W.I.N. crew in the episode's early moments, initially maintaining his false deafness, capture Joe 90's absurd sense of humour perfectly, at once distinguishing the series from the darker style of the earlier Captain Scarlet and foreshadowing the increased absurdity that comes with The Secret Service. Reverend Shepherd brings humour, smarts, and deception to one of Joe 90's stand-out adventures.

3. Kruger (Captain Scarlet)

Most people would surely react to the Mysterons' freakily unknowable powers of reconstruction with fear and disgust. In the case of criminal gang leader Kruger, he sees a financial opportunity to perform what promises to be the easiest heist of his criminal career. In Captain Scarlet's The Heart of New York, an attack on Spectrum Security Vaults reveals the extent of the Mysterons' presence on Earth, giving Kruger the idea to exploit the Mysterons' powers of reconstruction by pretending to act as Mysteron agents to rob the Second National Bank of New York.

Kruger compacts villainous cunning with lustful greed and isn't outwardly bothered by the interplanetary war that grips the Earth. He's a dastardly villain who gets his just desserts when Captain Black impedes on his and his cronies efforts to steal the riches hidden in the bank, delivering one of Captain Scarlet's weirdly tragic yet justified defeats against Spectrum. 

2. Lindsay & Wilson (Thunderbirds)

Pyramid hunters of The Uninvited from Thunderbirds Lindsay and Wilson are two of the series' most watchable helpers-turned-victims who rescue Scott from being attacked by enemy fighters before requiring International Rescue's assistance themselves later on. The pair are introduced in stirring form; Lindsey's childlike enthusiasm for tracing the lost pyramid of Khamandides brilliantly rubs up against the pessimism of Wilson.

However, once the pair fall captive of the deadly Zombites, the dynamic ingeniously switches without sacrificing their personas. Lindsey naturally turns deranged when presented with the treasures he seeks, in turn threatening Wilson and Scott Tracy. Wilson, in turn, naturally gives way to a stoic assistance for Scott in evading the Zombites. Lindsay and Wilson exemplify how dramatically engaging Thunderbirds' guest characters can be, emphasising how these sorts of one-off characters don't need to be entirely two-dimensional in their personalities.

1. Sam Loover (Joe (90)

One of Joe 90's core characters may be an unusual choice for our top underrated character, but Sam Loover proves to be something of a boundary-breaking break-out star. Between himself and W.I.N. chief Shane Weston, the pair fulfil the 'commander-and-assistant' character dynamic that's a core feature of many Anderson productions, particularly the Supermarionation ones. In a striking reversal of that dynamic however, it's the straight-faced Loover who has to tolerate the comical antics of his senior operative.

As a field agent for World Intelligence Network, Sam is a dependable agent who's not above provocative tactics in maintaining a peaceful world order. Events such as Business Holiday demonstrate his knack for underhand tactics in using Joe and Professor McClaine to W.I.N.'s advantage, as well as him being the instigator of incorporating the B.I.G. R.A.T. for espionage purposes. Sam is a formidable alley with strands of compellingly shady behaviour, making him a surprisingly watchable protagonist onscreen.

The worlds of Supermarionation are littered with imaginative characters who don't let their brief onscreen appearances hinder their memorable impacts for the likes of Spectrum, International Rescue, and beyond!

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