Filmed at a cost of approximately £1 million, Stingray was the first British TV series (and Anderson's first) to be made entirely in colour, a move intended to increase its appeal to the lucrative American market. In preparation for the series, APF acquired new, larger studios that it would continue to occupy for the remainder of the 1960s. Stingray 's adventures bring it into contact with various underwater civilisations, some friendly and others hostile, as well as strange natural phenomena. The WASP's flagship is Stingray, a combat submarine crewed by Captain Troy Tempest, navigator Lieutenant 'Phones' and Marina, a mute young woman from under the sea. Set in the 2060s, the series follows the exploits of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (WASP), an organisation responsible for policing the Earth's oceans. It premiered in October 1964 and ran for 39 half-hour episodes. Filmed in 1963 using a combination of electronic marionette puppetry and scale model special effects, it was APF's sixth puppet series and the third to be produced under the banner of ' Supermarionation'. Stingray is a British children's science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment.
