Tony Barwick
Encyclopedia
Tony Barwick was a British
television scriptwriter who worked extensively on series created and produced by Gerry Anderson
.
Barwick scripted episodes for Anderson's Supermarionation
series Thunderbirds
(two out of 32 episodes), Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
(21 out of 32 episodes), Joe 90
(16 out of 30 episodes) and The Secret Service
(four out of 13 episodes), as well as his live-action series UFO
(14 out of 26 episodes), The Protectors
(ten out of 52 episodes) and Space: 1999
(two out of 48 episodes).
He also contributed scripts to Anderson and Christopher Burr's Supermacromation series Terrahawks
, writing under various pseudonyms for all but one episode. All of these pseudonyms ended with the suffix "-stein" in imitation of the name of the leading character, Dr Tiger Ninestein. Barwick wrote 35 of the 39 episodes of Terrahawks; "The Midas Touch", which he co-wrote with Trevor Lansdowne, is the only episode in which it was his real name as opposed to a pseudonym that appeared in the end credits. With the completion of Terrahawks, Barwick went on to script the whole of Anderson's two-part stop-motion series Dick Spanner, P.I.
(for which he was credited as "Harry Bolt").
Anderson and Barwick collaborated on other projects, one of which was a James Bond
film script, Moonraker
, that would ultimately be rejected. The similarities between this script and the 1979 film are limited to their shared title, and the plot of the completed film incorporates none of Barwick and Anderson's ideas.
Barwick also served as script editor
for Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and UFO. Other writing credits include The Persuaders!
, The Pathfinders
, The Protectors
, The Professionals
and Shadowchaser.
His scriptwriting is known for its humour. He often set the events of a particular episode on the date of his birthday, 10 July.
Barwick continued to work as a scriptwriter until his death of cancer in 1993.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
television scriptwriter who worked extensively on series created and produced by Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
.
Barwick scripted episodes for Anderson's Supermarionation
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
series Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
(two out of 32 episodes), Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
(21 out of 32 episodes), Joe 90
Joe 90
Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and...
(16 out of 30 episodes) and The Secret Service
The Secret Service
The Secret Service is a British children's espionage television series, made as a Century 21 production for ITC Entertainment and broadcast in 1969...
(four out of 13 episodes), as well as his live-action series UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
(14 out of 26 episodes), The Protectors
The Protectors
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It is Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in the present day...
(ten out of 52 episodes) and Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
(two out of 48 episodes).
He also contributed scripts to Anderson and Christopher Burr's Supermacromation series Terrahawks
Terrahawks
Gerry Anderson & Christopher Burr's Terrahawks, simply referred to as Terrahawks, was a British science fiction television series produced by Anderson Burr Pictures and created by the production team of Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr. The show was Anderson's first in over a decade to utilize...
, writing under various pseudonyms for all but one episode. All of these pseudonyms ended with the suffix "-stein" in imitation of the name of the leading character, Dr Tiger Ninestein. Barwick wrote 35 of the 39 episodes of Terrahawks; "The Midas Touch", which he co-wrote with Trevor Lansdowne, is the only episode in which it was his real name as opposed to a pseudonym that appeared in the end credits. With the completion of Terrahawks, Barwick went on to script the whole of Anderson's two-part stop-motion series Dick Spanner, P.I.
Dick Spanner, P.I.
Dick Spanner, P.I. was a 1986 British stop-motion animated comedy series which parodied Chandleresque detective shows. The titular character and main protagonist was Dick Spanner, voiced by Shane Rimmer, a robotic private detective who works cases in a futuristic urban setting...
(for which he was credited as "Harry Bolt").
Anderson and Barwick collaborated on other projects, one of which was a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film script, Moonraker
Moonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
, that would ultimately be rejected. The similarities between this script and the 1979 film are limited to their shared title, and the plot of the completed film incorporates none of Barwick and Anderson's ideas.
Barwick also served as script editor
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...
for Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and UFO. Other writing credits include The Persuaders!
The Persuaders!
The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
, The Pathfinders
Pathfinders (TV series)
Pathfinders is a 1970s ITV drama set in World War 2 and follows the story of the fictitious Royal Air Force 192 Pathfinder squadron. The Pathfinders were specialised RAF squadrons that marked targets for the RAF's heavy bombers....
, The Protectors
The Protectors
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It is Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in the present day...
, The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
and Shadowchaser.
His scriptwriting is known for its humour. He often set the events of a particular episode on the date of his birthday, 10 July.
Barwick continued to work as a scriptwriter until his death of cancer in 1993.