Stuff Blowing Up: The special effects crew were really, really good at explosions and flames, with the result that almost every episode had a spectacular explosion of some kind at some point. As well as Jeff Tracy, English-Canadian actor Peter Dyneley voiced the recurring character of Commander Norman, chief of air traffic control at London International Airport. His supporting character voices were typically those of upper-class Englishmen. [83] Shane Rimmer, the voice of Scott, was cast on the strength of his performance on the BBC soap opera Compact. [86] Meanwhile, fellow Canadian Matt Zimmerman was selected at a late stage in the process. [83] The expatriate West End actor was given the role of Alan on the recommendation of his friend, Holliday: "They were having great difficulty casting the part of Alan as they wanted a certain sound for him, being the youngest brother. David, who [was] a bit older than I am, told them that he had this friend, me, who would be great." [98] Vehicle Porn: The series is a celebration of futuristic technology. As such, the Thunderbird machines are as much main characters as the Tracy family. Each episode treats us to loving, slow shots of them — at minimum — taking off and landing. The Vehicles Of The Week get similar treatment, although only to start the excitement for them to get into trouble and be rescued (or explode spectacularly) by the end of the episode. Special mention to Thunderbird 3 which flew from Earth to so-close-to-the-Sun-that-it-was-on-the-verge-of-melting in the time it took Thunderbird 2 to fly from the South Pacific to the Himalayas. Set in the 2060s, Thunderbirds is a follow-up to the earlier Supermarionation productions Four Feather Falls, Supercar, Fireball XL5 and Stingray. It follows the exploits of International Rescue, a life-saving organisation equipped with technologically advanced land, sea, air and space rescue craft; these are headed by a fleet of five vehicles named the Thunderbirds and launched from the organisation's secret base of operations in the Pacific Ocean. The main characters are ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, leader of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the Thunderbird machines.

Shout-Out: In "Brink of Disaster", the gadgets that Lady Penelope deploys from the Rolls Royce are reminiscent of the Aston Martin in Goldfinger. Off-Model: The Thunderbird craft in the Comic-Book Adaptation only vaguely resemble the models seen on screen. One wonders if the artist had seen an episode of Thunderbirds once and was trying to do it from memory. The Tag: Almost all the episodes have short and usually funny scene at the very end, after the rescue has taken place, often involving the secrecy of International Rescue. (See the Recaps for individual examples.) Thunderbirds had come to a sudden and unexpected end, but the exploits of International Rescue were not over yet. A second feature film, Thunderbird 6, was to follow in 1968, albeit to similar public indifference as the first, yet the television series continued to endure in the memories of fans. Over the next 20 years nostalgia continued to grow and in 1991 the series was repeated on BBC2 – resulting in a massive resurgence of interest that at times seemed to almost exceed that from the original 1960s showing. Another equally successful repeat run followed in the early 2000s, along with a live action big screen adaptation that proved popular with children but controversial among fans – including Gerry Anderson himself. The film was a box office flop but continual interest in the original television series has lasted into the 21 st century, and the concept has recently been revived again in the form of CGI remake Thunderbirds are Go! and Supermarionation revival Thunderbirds 1965, which adapted three audio stories from the 1960s using the original puppetry and model techniques of the classic television series. He Who Must Not Be Seen: In 30 Minutes After Noon, the main villain is not seen, and communicates with his subordinates by radio. There is also a brief scene where three British agents are discussing infiltrating the mission; we do not see the men, only their hats on the stand.Sun Probe": When those in Thunderbird 3 have to move closer to the sun than was estimated, they hope that they can stand up to the heat. There is a cut to Virgil and Brains wrapped up in warm clothing on the side of a mountain, hoping that they can stand up to the cold. No Celebrities Were Harmed: Many of the cast's voices or appearances were cribbed off then-current celebrities. The Uninvited": After Scott has crash landed in the desert, Jeff says that there is not a single solitary soul for miles. There is a cut to Scott in the desert, and the archaeologists coming across him. Later, the archaeologists say they will die without water, and there is a cut to Tintin saying "The water's lovely!" in the swimming pool at Tracy Island. saw the release of a live-action version directed by Jonathan Frakes; unfortunately, Universal's Executive Meddling and being trapped in Development Hell since the 90s turned what could've been an awesome film into something most fans of the franchise would like to forget, and many, including Anderson himself, consider Trey Parker and Matt Stone‘s Affectionate Parody Team America: World Police, which was made using marionettes similar to the original series, to be the true Thunderbirds movie released that year.

The final six episodes of the series finally made their television debut in Japan during a 2008 rerun on the Home Drama Channel.Writers Cannot Do Math: The Fireflash's stated top speed is Mach 6, but it evidently cruises at a much lower speed as it still takes several hours to get anywhere. Rule of Drama, perhaps, but Mach 6 is approximately 4,000 mph. Orbital Station L-80 has entered a spiralling descent. Kallan James' student, Jared Reynolds, joins the crew in the effort to save his fathers' life work. Will Reynolds overcome his crippling astrophobia in time?

Scott informs the others of what Jeff wants them to do, although he also tells them that he's found out that someone's been taking pictures of TB1. Brains says he gets it now - one of their enemies has set a trap, and has City of Fire", to cut through the steel fire doors to rescue the family trapped underneath a burning building. A race of highly evolved beings have been watching countless civilizations across millions of years. Humanity have become their latest test subjects, and they must decide whether the species pose a threat to the universe. It's up to the Thunderbirds to convince the beings that Earth has evolved beyond its savage past. The production, which had been shooting two 25-minute episodes every two weeks, [20] faced great challenges transitioning to the new format: nine episodes had already been fully or partly filmed, scripts for ten more had been written, and major rewrites would be needed to satisfy the longer running time. [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] Anderson lamented: "Our time-scale was far too drawn out. ITC's New York office insisted that they should have one show a fortnight... Everything had to move at twice the speed." [60] APF spent over seven months extending the existing episodes and filmed the new 50-minute format at a rate of two episodes every four weeks. [20] [61] Cast Full of Rich People: Jeff is a billionaire, and he and his family are the focal characters, living in the lap of luxury on a private South Pacific island. The main secondary character is Lady Penelope, who downplays her wealth, yet still lives in an English stately manor with an awful lot of works of art and jewellery.Since it was necessary for the art department's interior sets to conform to the special effects department's exterior plans, each team closely monitored the other's work. [104] According to Sylvia Anderson, Bell's challenge was to produce complex interiors on a limited budget while resisting the effects department's push for "more extravagant" design. [104] This task was complicated by the unnatural proportions of the puppets: Bell struggled to decide whether the sets should be built to a scale proportionate to their bodies or their oversized heads and hands. [105] He used the example of FAB 1 to illustrate the problem: "As soon as we positioned [the puppets] standing alongside [the model], they looked ridiculous, as the car towered over them." [106] He ultimately adopted a "mix-and-match" approach, in which smaller items, such as tableware, were scaled to their hands and furniture to their bodies. [105] Costume Copycat: This happens in the "The Impostors". Two men pose as International Rescue, having copied the uniform, so they can commit crimes for which International Rescue will be blamed. Catchphrase: "F.A.B.", International Rescue's codeword for "yes". Fan theory is that it stands for " Fully Advised and Briefed". However, when asked what it meant, Gerry Anderson replied, in an isn't-it-obvious sort of way, "Fab..."

Production of Thunderbirds ended in August 1966 with the completion of the sixth episode of Series Two. [20] [76] In February that year, it had been reported that Grade had been unable to sell the series in the United States due to disagreements over timeslots. [77] [78] In July, he cancelled Thunderbirds after failing in his second attempt to secure an American buyer. [70] [76] The three major US networks of the time— NBC, CBS and ABC—had all bid for the series, with Grade repeatedly increasing the price. When NBC withdrew its offer, the other two immediately followed. [76] [79] Continuity Nod: Several projects and vehicles, such as the Fireflash atomic powered airliner and the Sunprobe project, as well as characters involved in those projects, turn up more than once and reference the previous encounters. Not surprising really, they did still have the models after all.

About Thunderbirds

Cry Wolf": When the boys call for help about being trapped down a mine, and are not believed, they then despair that they will never get out. The action then cuts to Gordon relaxing on Tracy Island, saying "this is the life". Thunderbird 13: A flying mini-sub carried aboard Thunderbird 4. It has an atmospheric speed of Mach 1, and travels at about 40 knots under water. Caper Crew: Despite being a heroic organisation, International Rescue occasionally finds itself needing to orchestrate a con-like mission to prevent the villains from starting a disaster (e.g. The Man From M.I.5, The Cham Cham). Under these conditions, the hierarchy goes thus: