Desmond Saunders

Biography

Desmond "Des" Saunders (24 June 1926– 21 April 2018) was a British television director and film editor. He had a long association with producer Gerry Anderson, having served as a director for the series Supercar (1961–62), Stingray (1964–65), Thunderbirds (1965–66), Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967–68), Joe 90 (1968–69) and Terrahawks (1983–86). Saunders was also production controller for Joe 90 and co-wrote one of the episodes, "Lone-Handed 90". He briefly worked as a production supervisor for The Secret Service (1969). Elsewhere in television, Saunders had both production and post-production roles for The Protectors (1972–73). His film editing credits are: RX for Murder (1958), A Woman's Temptation (1959), Escort for Hire (1960), Compelled (1960), Tarnished Heroes and So Evil, So Young (both 1961) and Voyage of the Damned (1976). He was sound editor for Floods of Fear (1959). While working on puppet series for Anderson, the A.P. Films team received constant requests to make the puppets more real. Once, Saunders chose all of the male puppets and put little penises on them. When the girls came in during the morning, there was, as Saunders describes, "the most terrible up…

Directed

1. Thunderbirds (1965) — Director
2. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967) — Director
3. Stingray (1964) — Director
4. Inside the Labyrinth (1986) — Director
5. Joe 90 (1968) — Director
6. Supercar (1961) — Director
7. Terrahawks (1983) — Director
8. Invaders from the Deep (1981) — Director
9. This Is Supermarionation (2014) — Director
10. Terrahawks: Expect the Unexpected (1983) — Director
11. Thunderbirds: The Uninvited (1965) — Director
12. Thunderbirds: The Perils of Penelope (1965) — Director
13. Thunderbirds: Atlantic Inferno (1966) — Director
14. Thunderbirds: Edge of Impact (1965) — Director
15. Thunderbirds to the Rescue (1980) — Director
16. Captain Scarlet vs. The Mysterons (1980) — Director
17. Countdown to Disaster (1982) — Director
18. Thunderbirds: Pit of Peril (1965) — Director
19. The Amazing Adventures Of Joe 90 (1981) — Director
20. HD21 The Worlds of Gerry Anderson in High Definition (2016) — Director
21. Thunderbirds: Operation Crash-Dive (1965) — Director
22. Thunderbirds: The Imposters (1966) — Director
23. Thunderbirds: Danger at Ocean Deep (1966) — Director
24. Thunderbirds: Security Hazard (1966) — Director
25. Presented in Supercolorisation (2022) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Filmed in Supermarionation (2014) — Self
2. Stand by for Action (2007) — Self