RIP Brian Johnson

Upon hearing the recent death of Brian Johnson (not to confuse anybody with the singer from AC/DC), I speak as a long-time fan of Gerry Anderson’s shows, and I feel it’d be my duty to honour the memory of who, in my opinion, was one of the most awesome special effects artists. In fact, I even saw the following video, which justifies why.

For those of you who don’t know, Brian Johnson worked as a special effects artist on some of the TV shows produced by Gerry Anderson, including Thunderbirds (alongside Derek Meddings) and Space 1999. I have to say, for what came during the pre-CGI era, when I look back on those shows, those effects do look impressive.

For the underwater scenes, the production team used shots filmed in a fish tank with water mixed with green dye and with real fish! To me, this created a realistic and beautiful underwater atmosphere.

The video also covered the dirt Brian used for the vehicles in Thunderbirds. By that, what I mean is that in some episodes of Thunderbirds, you might’ve noticed some smoke stains, dust, or other forms of dirt on the vehicles’ paintwork. For instance, in the episode Desperate Intruder, when the Hood attacks Thunderbird 4, leading to an epic battle scene, you’ll notice some black marks on Thunderbird 4. I think fans will agree that it gives the impression that, given their ongoing emergencies, the International Rescue team lacks the time to clean their vehicles before the unpredictable. If you compare it to the recent TV remake of Thunderbirds, you can clearly see how sparkling clean they are throughout. It’s not that I’d expect everything to be gritty, but if you think about it, imagine if the local fire brigade had to handle another emergency situation in little time after returning from putting out a fire; they wouldn’t have much time to clean their fire engine, or even change their tires, would they?

I should also like to point out the many explosions that occurred on the shows. On those occasions, the team used real detonators – i.e., with aircraft blowing up after crashing. Of course, they’d be dangerous to use, which is sometimes why many SFX artists use CGI nowadays. The latter method is understandable, and they’d always do their best. But the blow-ups that Brian used tend to look a little bit more realistic on-screen. I do realise that I’ve addressed realism quite a lot, but I say this from a creative’s point of view.

It’s also great to know that, outside the Anderson world, Brian has since developed an impressive filmography as a special effects artist – 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Alien, The NeverEnding Story, Dragonheart, to name a few. Apparently, he even worked behind the scenes for the sitcom, On The Buses. Working on Thunderbirds and Space: 1999 must’ve really boosted his career.

So farewell, Brian Johnson. May you rest in peace.