First Action Bureau

This weekend finds me at Phoenix Fan Fusion in Phoenix, Arizona. If you’re planning to drop into the convention, you can find me and several other great authors at the Artisans of Words and Wonder Area in the Exhibit Hall at tables B914-B923. On my table, you’ll find science fiction, steampunk, and horror. It should come as no surprise that I write such a mix of genres when you realize that I grew up watching shows like Star Trek, The Wild Wild West, and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. Another show I remember seeing early on is Gerry Anderson’s UFO. It told the story of a top-secret organization called SHADO, whose job was to thwart an alien invasion of the Earth. In particular, I remember the SHADO Interceptor craft, which would launch from the moon to go fight alien spacecraft and the women on the moon base with purple wigs.

In fact, over the course of fifty years, Gerry Anderson produced or created some twenty television series. Some featured puppets and were intended for a children’s audience. Others were live action and intended for a more adult audience. Although Anderson passed away a little over a decade ago, his son, Jamie, has been keeping the Anderson Entertainment legacy alive. In posts here at the Web Journal, I’ve spoken of his role in creating new audio episodes of series like Space: 1999 and Terrahawks with Big Finish Productions. However, Jamie Anderson hasn’t just rebooted or continued projects created by his father. In 2020, Jamie Anderson teamed with Nicholas Briggs to create a new series for audio called First Action Bureau.

Like many of Gerry Anderson’s series, First Action Bureau’s titular organization is a secret agency formed to fight the forces of evil in the near future. However, Jamie Anderson’s series takes a decidedly darker and more adult tone than many of his father’s series did. The future society of this world is a peaceful utopia. The peace is maintained, in part, by the bureau which monitors the activities of people and if there’s sufficient evidence of a crime about to happen, they will send an agent to deal with the soon-to-be perpetrator before the crime actually happens. First Action Bureau agents are perfectly capable of killing such would-be criminals.

The first series introduces us to one of the First Action Bureau’s top agents, Nero Jones played by Genevieve Gaunt. She’s sent on a mission to Mars because the bureau suspects celebrity entrepreneur Charlize Wilkin, played by Nicola Walker, of preparing some kind of terrorist plot. As Jones begins to gather evidence, she finds herself beset by debilitating, migraine-like episodes which seem to include visions. She also finds herself beset by calls from Benjamin Saal, a bureau computer expert she once had an affair with. However, Saal doesn’t seem interested in renewing a relationship. It seems he’s uncovered something wrong at the very top of the bureau’s hierarchy. Saal is played by Sacha Dhawan who Doctor Who fans may recognize as the most recent incarnation of the Doctor’s nemesis, the Master. Other actors who appear include Richard James who played in the Gerry Anderson series Space Precinct and Wayne Forester, who played the title character in Gerry Anderson’s New Captain Scarlet.

The plot of the first audio series takes us through many twists and turns and ends on a stunning revelation. You can listen to the first series for free at https://www.firstactionbureau.com/ or on your favorite podcast platform. Unfortunately, a second series hasn’t happened yet. However, Richard James has penned a First Action Bureau novel called Damaged Goods, which is expected to release soon. You can learn more at https://shop.gerryanderson.com/en-us/products/first-action-bureau-damaged-goods-hardcover-novel

It would be good to see this series continue and really nice to see it find it’s way onto the screen as many of Gerry Anderson’s series did. The concept offers a lot of potential to consider everything from balancing the right to privacy with maintaining public safety to the dangers of AI and deep fakes.