Adaptations
In 1981, a compilation film of the Joe 90 episodes "The Most Special Agent", "Splashdown", "Attack of the Tiger" and "Arctic Adventure", titled The Amazing Adventures of Joe 90, was created under the supervision of Robert Mandell of ITC Entertainment's New York offices. Intended to boost American syndication sales, The Amazing Adventures of Joe 90 is one of a number of composite films of Gerry Anderson productions, which were released both to stations and on home video under the promotional banner of "Super Space Theater". Material for "The Most Special Agent" was re-edited to remove the framing sequences set at Culver Bay Cottage and WIN Headquarters London, with the result that Joe's fictitious mission to steal the Russian prototype fighter appears to be a real assignment for the nine-year-old WIN agent. Despite each of the episodes in this compilation receiving a U certificate from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), The Amazing Adventures of Joe 90 was rated PG.
From the 1980s, the distribution rights to the ITC productions belonged to PolyGram Television. Subsequent sales were made to Carlton International in the late 1990s and finally Granada International which, through a merger with Carlton International in 2004, now forms ITV Global Entertainment, a division of ITV plc. During the 1990s, the possibility of a live-action film adaptation of Joe 90 was mooted by PolyGram. The idea re-emerged in the 2000s, when in 2003 the magazine Variety reported that a film version was in the planning stages, to be produced by Disney. However, to date, the film proposal remains to be developed. In 2005, Anderson said of negotiations with Granada, "We have regular meetings and although they are very polite and very nice, nothing ever happens."
When I Love the '70s, '80s and '90s, three British pop culture nostalgia programmes, were broadcast on BBC Two in 2001, a set of Joe 90-themed "trailers" were filmed to precede instalments of the last of these series. In each of the three previews, the character of Joe is depicted entering the BIG RAT's "Rat Trap" to receive the brain pattern of a 1990s household name, from Oasis bandmember Liam Gallagher (representing 1990) to comedian Vic Reeves (1991) to the character of Garth (portrayed by Dana Carvey) from the 1992 film, Wayne's World. On leaving the "Rat Trap", Joe has assumed the identity of each BIG RAT subject and acts and speaks using their mannerisms. Edited versions of the trailers missing the BBC Two voiceovers and logos are included as special feature material on the Region 2 release of the Joe 90 DVD box set.
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