Candy and Andy

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Evel Knievel toys Ideal Toys, the major manufacturer of Evel Knievel toys, got their start in the Knievel business in 1972 when they…

Candy and Andy are just like any other children, except that they are plastic and live with two panda bears called Mr and Mrs Bearanda. They drive around in a Mini called Stripey. He had already designed the puppets, and with the recent success of Thunderbirds behind him, he was confident it would be given the green light. But the proposed new series received a unanimous thumbs down from television executives. Gerry Anderson had hoped that this bizarre combination would take the World by storm, but sadly (or perhaps happily, on reflection) it was not to be. TV executives were wholly unimpressed by the Candy and Andy concept, and once the comic run was complete, the gradually disappeared.

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This very unusual and mostly forgotten Gerry Anderson project featured in TV Century 21. Gerry wanted to have a different style of comic strip, and so decided to have the characters photographed rather than drawn. Despite its unusual style, and strange characters (with no explanation of why two dolls were living with Mr and Mrs Bearanda, nor why they were pandas, nor whether they were adopted parents, guardians, or captors of the doll children), the Candy and Andy comic (called simply “Candy”) ran for 154 issues as well as many annuals and story books. The new series was given a unanimous thumbs down by television executives, but undeterred, Anderson turned his idea into a franchise, spawning 154 issues of a comic and several books. The whole sorry episode lasted less than three years but it was long enough to screw-up a generation of under 5s. Andy is a sweet and loving person and has a horrific sense of humor, often bantering with Max and trading good-natured insults. While he is apparently physically attractive, part of his charm comes from his wit and charisma. He makes a lot of jokes, and is very generous, providing Max with unlimited free candy, even before he started Caroline, and even offering to pay their shop's rent when they were struggling. He has the qualities of a good boyfriend, being thoughtful, considerate, and romantic, and will go to lengths if he believes it will make Caroline happy. Andy is also very helpful, and knows what advice is good or not, and is patient and tolerant, able to and even happy to deal with Caroline's spoiled side and the general chaos she and Max create. In 1966, at the height of his powers, “supermarionation” creator Gerry Anderson came up with a bold concept for a new television series. He had already designed the puppets and with the recent success of Thunderbirds behind him, it looked certain that the new project would be given the green light. The weekly stills-based adventures were photographed by trusted Anderson photographer Doug Luke who found the whole process very frustrating with toppling pandas and awkward dolls to deal with on a daily basis.

Candy Darling “never lost her head even when she was giving head”, Reed sang. He’d sung about her before – she was the Candy who said “I’ve come to hate my body / And all that it requires in this life” on the third Velvet Underground album in 1968. Reed had feared the reaction of his characters to Walk on the Wild Side, but, he later recalled: “Candy Darling told me he’d memorised all the songs and wanted to make a ‘Candy Darling Sings Lou Reed’ album. It probably wouldn’t sell more than a hundred copies!” Darling, too, was a transgender Warhol superstar, appearing in Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1971). There were other films, too – but it was a brief career. Darling died of lymphoma, aged 29, in 1974. Little JoeThe new series was given a unanimous thumbs down by television executives, but undeterred, Anderson turned his idea into a publication franchise, spawning 154 issues of a comic and several books. The whole sorry episode lasted less than three years but it was long enough to screw-up a generation of under 5s. The Candy and Andy books fail to explain the children’s relationship with the Bearandas. It is clearly not a genetic bond, so were Candy and her brother adopted? Is Andy even Candy’s brother? We are never told. Steerforth lifts the lid on Gerry Anderson’s worst idea – an unintentionally grotesque show so awful that it traumatised a generation despite never even making it onto television… Andy is an outgoing man. He is fun to hang around with and is good with jokes. He used to work on Wall Street, pushing pharmaceuticals in an office. Andy had access to unlimited pills. One day he went into the office, and saw that it was all gone, and there was nothing there left. Then he used all his savings to open up Candy Andy's Sweets & Treats. After selling candy for some time, he closes up his shop in And the Psychic Shakedown. Perhaps it is time to form a support group for victims of Candy and Andy. We may have had our childhoods stolen by the weird, perverted fantasies of Gerry Anderson, but at least we can work together to end the nightmares.