Thunderbirds (TV)

Gerry, this is not a series, this is a feature film!

Lew Grade,

Thunderbirds
Production
Released by	ATV
Producer	Gerry & Sylvia Anderson
Directed By	Brian Burgess David Elliott David Lane Alan Pattillo Desmond Saunders
Music Director	Barry Gray
Special Effects	Derek Meddings
Details
Medium	Colour
Episodes	32
Season 1	26
Season 2	6
Duration	50 Minutes
Original Air Date	30th September 1965
Series Guide
Previous	Next
Stingray	Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

For other uses of Thunderbirds see Thunderbirds (Disambiguation)

Thunderbirds - the fifth Gerry Anderson series to be Filmed in Supermarionation, and the second in Videcolor - is an acclaimed television show originally aired in Great Britain, as well as in many countries around the world. More than 50 years after its mid-1960s debut, it remains the most popular and fondly-remembered of all Anderson shows.

Plot

Set in either 2026 or 2065 (Depending on who you believe), Thunderbirds tells the story of the top-secret lifesaving organization International Rescue, headed by millionaire and former astronaut Jeff Tracy and based at Tracy Island, located somewhere in the greater South Pacific.

Other members of the organisation include Jeff's five sons - pilots Scott and Virgil, astronauts/space monitors Alan and John, and aquanaut Gordon - along with scientific genius and engineer "Brains," designer/builder of the Thunderbirds craft.

Supporting IR in its mission is a network of field-agents scattered all around the world, the most important of which are the London-based Lady Penelope and her butler Parker.

Using its vast array of sophisticated rescue equipment, the mission of International Rescue is to save people in distress no matter where in the world the help is needed.

They also have to thwart the schemes of the Hood, a ruthless international crook who will stop at nothing to steal the secrets of their organisation.

History

After hearing of a tragic disaster in a German mine, in which rescue equipment was too remote to get there on time to save the trapped men, Anderson was inspired to create a new series. "International Rescue" would be its name, and special craft, named Rescue 1 through 5, would be the ultimate rescue tools, super-fast, super-powerful, and extraordinary. His initial pitch to Lew Grade started with him saying it might not be a show he (Grade) would be interested in financing. Grade promptly responded by grabbing Gerry on the shoulder and saying, "Gerry. Do you see that light bulb up there? If you wanted to make a TV show about that light bulb, I would finance it!" Thus the real pitch began...

(However, the name of the programme, and the vehicles, would change to Thunderbirds when he was inspired by writing to his older brother, a member of the RAF who was training in the United States during World War II; he referred to an American Air Force base known as "Thunderbird Field.")

When Gerry showed his half-hour pilot to Lew Grade, Grade responded, "Gerry, this is not a series; this is a FEATURE FILM!!!" whereupon he told Anderson to expand all the episodes produced to an hour-long format.

Main Characters

Jeff Tracy
(Peter Dyneley)

Scott Tracy
(Shane Rimmer)

Virgil Tracy
(David Holliday, Season 1)
(Jeremy Wilkin, Season 2)

Alan Tracy
(Matt Zimmerman)

Gordon Tracy
(David Graham)

John Tracy
(Ray Barratt)

Brains
(David Graham)

Kyrano
(David Graham)

Tin-Tin Kyrano
(Christine Finn)

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
(Sylvia Anderson)

Aloysius Parker
(David Graham)

Grandma Tracy
(Christine Finn)

The Hood
(Ray Barratt)

Main Equipment

The Thunderbirds

Thunderbird 1

Thunderbird 2

Thunderbird 3

Thunderbird 4

Thunderbird 5

The Pod Machines

Booster Mortar

Elevator Car

Mole

Firefly

Excavator

Jet-Air Transporter

Transmitter Truck

Monobrake

Recovery Vehicle

Episodes

(Production Order)

Season 1:

1. Trapped In The Sky
2. Pit Of Peril
3. City of Fire
4. Sun Probe
5. The Uninvited
6. The Mighty Atom
7. Vault Of Death
8. Operation Crash-Dive
9. Move - And You're Dead
10. Martian Invasion
11. Brink Of Disaster
12. The Perils Of Penelope
13. Terror In New York City
14. End Of The Road
15. Day Of Disaster
16. Edge Of Impact
17. Desperate Intruder
18. 30 Minutes After Noon
19. The Impostors
20. The Man From MI.5
21. Cry Wolf
22. Danger at Ocean Deep
23. The Duchess Assignment
24. Attack of the Alligators!
25. The Cham-Cham
26. Security Hazard

Season 2:

1. Atlantic Inferno
2. Path Of Destruction
3. Alias Mr. Hackenbacker
4. Lord Parker's 'Oliday
5. Ricochet
6. Give Or Take A Million

(Broadcast Order)

Season 1:

1. Trapped In The Sky
2. Pit Of Peril
3. The Perils Of Penelope
4. Terror In New York City
5. Edge Of Impact
6. Day Of Disaster
7. 30 Minutes After Noon
8. Desperate Intruder
9. End Of The Road
10. The Uninvited
11. Sun Probe
12. Operation Crash-Dive
13. Vault Of Death
14. The Mighty Atom
15. City of Fire
16. The Impostors
17. The Man From MI.5
18. Cry Wolf
19. Danger at Ocean Deep
20. Move - And You're Dead
21. The Duchess Assignment
22. Brink Of Disaster
23. Attack of the Alligators!
24. Martian Invasion
25. The Cham-Cham
26. Security Hazard

Season 2:

1. Atlantic Inferno
2. Path Of Destruction
3. Alias Mr. Hackenbacker
4. Lord Parker's 'Oliday
5. Ricochet
6. Give Or Take A Million

 

Other Media Stories

Feature Films

• Thunderbirds Are Go
• Thunderbird 6

Compilation Films

• Thunderbirds to The Rescue -- a compilation of the installments Trapped in the Sky and Operation Crash- Dive.
• Thunderbirds in Outer Space -- a compilation of the installments Sun Probe and Ricochet.
• Countdown To Disaster -- a compilation of the installments Terror in New York City and Atlantic Inferno.

Merchandise

Books

• Thunderbirds (Novel) by John W. Jennison|John Theydon
• Calling Thunderbirds by John W. Jennison|John Theydon
• Thunderbirds: Operation Asteroids by John W. Jennison
• Thunderbirds: Lost World by John W. Jennison
• Lady Penelope: Cool For Danger by Kevin McGarry
• Lady Penelope: A Gallery Of Thieves by Kevin McGarry
• Thunderbirds: Ring Of Fire by John W. Jennison|John Theydon
• Lady Penelope: The Albanian Affair by John W. Jennison|John Theydon
• Countdown To Action! by Joan Marie Verba
• Action Alert! by Joan Marie Verba
• Deadly Danger! by Joan Marie Verba
• Situation: Critical! by Joan Marie Verba
• Extreme Hazard! by Joan Marie Verba
• Danger Zone! by Joan Marie Verba

Audio Books

• Introducing Thunderbirds (audio)
• FAB (audio)
• The Stately Homes Robberies (audio)

Soundtrack

Thunderbirds (soundtrack vol.1)|First volume of the soundtrack for Thunderbirds TV series, written by Barry Gray has been released on CD from Silva Screen Records on 25^th of March 2003. Nine months later Silva Screen Records released the Thunderbirds (soundtrack vol.2) of the soundtrack. The most recent version of the series soundtrack was released in 2020.

Trivia

• Thunderbirds is the only Supermarionation series with an hour-long format.
• The year in which Thunderbirds takes place has always been in debate; while the canon suggests the year would be 2026 _(src), Gerry Anderson himself disagrees, claiming the true year to be 2065, - 100 years into the future at the time it was made.
• In a similar vein, the birth-order of the Tracy brothers has also been controversial; John and Virgil often swap places as second and third eldest. (However, official canon (Original research?) states that John is the second and Virgil is the third, as this is the order they appear in the title sequence.)

Read More...

Thunderbirds on Thunderbirds Wiki: Thunderbirds Wiki

v - e - d

Characters International Rescue: Jeff Tracy • Scott Tracy • Virgil Tracy • Alan Tracy • Gordon Tracy • John Tracy • Brains • Tin-Tin Kyrano • Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward • Aloysius Parker Others: Lucille Tracy • Kyrano • Grandma Tracy • The Hood TV Series Episodes Season 1 Trapped In The Sky • Pit of Peril • The Perils Of Penelope • Terror In New York City • Edge Of Impact • Day Of Disaster • 30 Minutes After Noon • Desperate Intruder • End Of The Road • The Uninvited • Sun Probe • Operation Crash-Dive • The Mighty Atom • City of Fire • The Impostors • The Man From MI.5 • Cry Wolf • Danger at Ocean Deep • Move - And You're Dead • The Duchess Assignment • Brink Of Disaster • Attack of the Alligators! • Martian Invasion • The Cham-Cham • Security Hazard Season 2 Atlantic Inferno • Path of Destruction • Alias Mr. Hackenbacker • Lord Parker's 'Oliday • Ricochet • Give Or Take A Million Anniversary Episodes Introducing Thunderbirds • The Abominable Snowman • The Stately Homes Robberies] Films Thunderbirds Are Go • Thunderbird 6 Audio Adventures Introducing Thunderbirds • F.A.B. • Thunderbird 1 • End of the Road • The Stately Homes Robberies • Sun Probe • Terror in New York City • The Perils of Penelope • Vault of Death • Desperate Intruder • The Impostors • Day of Disaster • The Cham-Cham • Alias Mr. Hackenbacker • Brink of Disaster • Atlantic Inferno • Ricochet • Move and You're Dead • Thirty Minutes After Noon Compilation films Thunderbirds To The Rescue • Thunderbirds In Outer Space • Countdown to Disaster Books Young Corgi • The Vault Thunderbirds Thunderbird 1 • Thunderbird 2 (Pod Vehicles: Mole • Firefly • DOMO • Elevator Cars • Transmitter Truck • Recovery Vehicles • Monobrake • Excavator • Mobile Crane • Fire Truck • Laser Cutter • Thunderizer • Neutralizer Tractor • Jet-Air Transporter • Fire Tender • Yellow Trailer Truck • Red and Black Truck • Red Curved Vehicle) • Thunderbird 3 • Thunderbird 4 • Thunderbird 5 • Thunderbird 6 Other Craft and Vehicles: FAB 1 • FAB 2 Locations Tracy Island • Creighton-Ward Mansion • The Hood's Temple

Supermarionation:
About Supermarionation:	What is it? | Who makes it? | The marionettes | the legacy
The Series:	Four Feather Falls |Supercar | Fireball XL5 | Stingray | Thunderbirds | Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons | Joe 90 | The Secret Service
The Films:	Thunderbirds Are Go | Thunderbird 6
Other Uses:	Calling Elvis | The Investigator
Imitators and tributes:	Paul starr | Team America World Police | Interster | X-Bomber (Star Fleet) | Superthunderstingcar | Thunderbirds F.A.B. | Misc. Parodies and references

Preceding series:	Thunderbirds (TV)	Following series:
Stingray		Thunderbirds Are Go