It's got to be ten-out-of-ten for this classic adventure series. Gerry Anderson hit it right on the head with this one, a futuristic family-run, hi-tech set-up 'International Rescue' squad. The head of the family, Jeff Tracy, was a former astronaut and his sons, Alan, Gordon, Scott and Virgil were literally the driving force behind the specially derived 'Thunderbird' aircraft. (Though Gordon commanded 'Thunderbird 4', a kind of submersible craft, deployed from one of Thunderbird 2's 'pods'). There was also 'Thunderbird 5', a space station manned - well - in space - mostly by John which received the distress calls the organisation answered, but Alan and he swapped duty every month. 'Thunderbird 3' was a space ship/rocket.
The 'marionation' although a little bit of a laughing stock to today's kids, who are growing up with CGI is still superb in its own right. It's often the butt of jokes with the movements of hands, exclaimation, etc, but it's an endearing mickey-take, not malicious from so many fans.
'Thunderbird 1' piloted by Scott (Voiced by the great Shane Rimmer) flew a rocket ship, that had a vertical take off and landing (VTOL) as well, but with swing wings. This is especially a feat of foresight as swing wings were in development in the 'sixties on military 'planes such as the General Dynamics F-111 and the VTOL was in development also.
Scott's aircraft had a top speed of 15,000 mph, to enable it to get to a disaster spot quickly, assess the situation and inform the Thunderbirds what equipment was needed to effect the rescue. This was mostly to involve the also excellent 'Thunderbird 2' aircraft, piloted by Virgil though at times, with space-rescue, Thunderbird 3 was the rescuer. Thunderbird 2 was an amazing aircraft and had a portable 'pod' with the rescue equipment needed in it, contained/loaded into its centre section and would fly to the disaster zone at a speed of 5,000 mph. It would then with its hydraulic legs, deploy the pod, and the appropriate 'gear', still often operated by the same crew.
Naturally they were to tackle difficult and dangerous situations. One of my favourites and I believe the first episode was an airliner called 'Fireflash', with a bomb on board (Actually in a time when hi-jackings weren't so common) and it had to be brought down without its undercarriage. Thunderbirds deployed three 'hydraulic cars' beneath the wings/body of the aircraft to land it on the runway. It's a fine scene and one the makers should be proud of. Another one, well-handled is where Virgil in'T2' is shot down and crash-lands on the Tracy's Island (See further below).
The series also had support from Kirano, the Tracy's loyal servant, his daughter, Tin-Tin, Lady Penelope, a British aristocratic Thunderbirds agent, based in Britain, with her worldwise butler, 'Nosey' Parker. The pair were by no means afraid to help defend the Thunderbirds organisation, which must remain secret. It's this that brings a foil into the fray, against the Thunderbirds. Foreign agents would love to have the plans for the Thunderbird aircraft to use as military applications. A character aptly just named 'The Hood' is tasked by his mentors to infiltrate and deceive the organisation, but the worst of it is, he has a kind of 'telepathic hold' over Kirano (Who is his 'good' brother, it turns out) and literally hypnotises him over the waves. The scenes where he does this are interesting as he leaves Kirano in a painful heap, extracting information out of him. This was a bizarre thing among the plots, but welcome as it added some intrigue. It was actually The Hood who sometimes created potential disasters for the Thunderbirds, for them to turn up to effect rescues just so he could attempt to apply his fiendish plans. There's also the excellent, eccentric 'Brains', the Thunderbirds technical adviser and innovative problem-solver for many rescues.
As I've said, the organisation had to remain secret about the family who ran it, and of course this included the base they flew from. This was an idyllic Pacific Island (Tracy Island) where to the untrained eye, the Tracys lived a peaceful existence (Well they actually did when they weren't rescuing!). The Thunderbirds craft were hidden in caves/underground silos (In the case of Thunderbird 1 and 3)and the scenes of their launches are astounding in cinema/TV history alone. 'T1' launched from beneath a large swimming pool, 'T2' from a cave, where the covering of fake palm trees wilted to one side to allow T2 to take its place on the launchpad. Even the lead-ups to the launchpads where the pilots were shown to reach the aircraft were amazing and T2 selected its 'pods'.
The series comes back and forth every few years and with it a new wave of enthusiasm. Kids' computer games may play a part in its ratings dropping, as have happened to comics and many toys. An interesting 'not for some' would be that the series wouldn't appear 'politically correct'. The adults in what is supposedly a kids' show (But has more adult fans maybe!) has scenes of casual smoking among anyone including the 'nice' Tracys and a lot of bad guys being foreign. Brains also has a stutter, but he's a respected genius. The questions you always ask yourselves is how can they afford to run and maintain the fleet, financially and physically. In one episode mention was made of the fact they had ordered aircraft parts and put them together in their own fashion to repair a Thunderbirds aircraft. But to ask these questions means you wouldn't have a series as good as this! Favourite tools of the Thunderbirds? It has to be 'The mole' for me! It also had a fine score, incidental as well, by the great John Barry, who also composed for the likes of the 'James Bond' films and 'Zulu'.
The 'marionation' although a little bit of a laughing stock to today's kids, who are growing up with CGI is still superb in its own right. It's often the butt of jokes with the movements of hands, exclaimation, etc, but it's an endearing mickey-take, not malicious from so many fans.
'Thunderbird 1' piloted by Scott (Voiced by the great Shane Rimmer) flew a rocket ship, that had a vertical take off and landing (VTOL) as well, but with swing wings. This is especially a feat of foresight as swing wings were in development in the 'sixties on military 'planes such as the General Dynamics F-111 and the VTOL was in development also.
Scott's aircraft had a top speed of 15,000 mph, to enable it to get to a disaster spot quickly, assess the situation and inform the Thunderbirds what equipment was needed to effect the rescue. This was mostly to involve the also excellent 'Thunderbird 2' aircraft, piloted by Virgil though at times, with space-rescue, Thunderbird 3 was the rescuer. Thunderbird 2 was an amazing aircraft and had a portable 'pod' with the rescue equipment needed in it, contained/loaded into its centre section and would fly to the disaster zone at a speed of 5,000 mph. It would then with its hydraulic legs, deploy the pod, and the appropriate 'gear', still often operated by the same crew.
Naturally they were to tackle difficult and dangerous situations. One of my favourites and I believe the first episode was an airliner called 'Fireflash', with a bomb on board (Actually in a time when hi-jackings weren't so common) and it had to be brought down without its undercarriage. Thunderbirds deployed three 'hydraulic cars' beneath the wings/body of the aircraft to land it on the runway. It's a fine scene and one the makers should be proud of. Another one, well-handled is where Virgil in'T2' is shot down and crash-lands on the Tracy's Island (See further below).
The series also had support from Kirano, the Tracy's loyal servant, his daughter, Tin-Tin, Lady Penelope, a British aristocratic Thunderbirds agent, based in Britain, with her worldwise butler, 'Nosey' Parker. The pair were by no means afraid to help defend the Thunderbirds organisation, which must remain secret. It's this that brings a foil into the fray, against the Thunderbirds. Foreign agents would love to have the plans for the Thunderbird aircraft to use as military applications. A character aptly just named 'The Hood' is tasked by his mentors to infiltrate and deceive the organisation, but the worst of it is, he has a kind of 'telepathic hold' over Kirano (Who is his 'good' brother, it turns out) and literally hypnotises him over the waves. The scenes where he does this are interesting as he leaves Kirano in a painful heap, extracting information out of him. This was a bizarre thing among the plots, but welcome as it added some intrigue. It was actually The Hood who sometimes created potential disasters for the Thunderbirds, for them to turn up to effect rescues just so he could attempt to apply his fiendish plans. There's also the excellent, eccentric 'Brains', the Thunderbirds technical adviser and innovative problem-solver for many rescues.
As I've said, the organisation had to remain secret about the family who ran it, and of course this included the base they flew from. This was an idyllic Pacific Island (Tracy Island) where to the untrained eye, the Tracys lived a peaceful existence (Well they actually did when they weren't rescuing!). The Thunderbirds craft were hidden in caves/underground silos (In the case of Thunderbird 1 and 3)and the scenes of their launches are astounding in cinema/TV history alone. 'T1' launched from beneath a large swimming pool, 'T2' from a cave, where the covering of fake palm trees wilted to one side to allow T2 to take its place on the launchpad. Even the lead-ups to the launchpads where the pilots were shown to reach the aircraft were amazing and T2 selected its 'pods'.
The series comes back and forth every few years and with it a new wave of enthusiasm. Kids' computer games may play a part in its ratings dropping, as have happened to comics and many toys. An interesting 'not for some' would be that the series wouldn't appear 'politically correct'. The adults in what is supposedly a kids' show (But has more adult fans maybe!) has scenes of casual smoking among anyone including the 'nice' Tracys and a lot of bad guys being foreign. Brains also has a stutter, but he's a respected genius. The questions you always ask yourselves is how can they afford to run and maintain the fleet, financially and physically. In one episode mention was made of the fact they had ordered aircraft parts and put them together in their own fashion to repair a Thunderbirds aircraft. But to ask these questions means you wouldn't have a series as good as this! Favourite tools of the Thunderbirds? It has to be 'The mole' for me! It also had a fine score, incidental as well, by the great John Barry, who also composed for the likes of the 'James Bond' films and 'Zulu'.