For other uses of Thunderbirds see Thunderbirds (Disambiguation)

Thunderbirds is an acclaimed television show originally aired in the mid 1960s. It was the fourth Gerry Anderson show to be filmed in Supermarionation and the second in Videcolor. It is the most popular and fondly remembered of all Gerry Anderson shows.

PlotEdit

The series takes place in the year 2065. It tells the story of International Rescue organisation set by a millionaire and a former astronaut Jeff Tracy. Other members of the organisation are Jeff's five sons: Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, John, a scientific genius and engineer "Brains" - constructor of the Thunderbird craft, and agents scattered all around the world, the most important of which are Lady Penelope and her butler Parker. Using their sophisticated rescue equipment, the mission of International Rescue is to save people in distress no matter where in the world the help is needed.

HistoryEdit

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, superpowerful, and extraordinary. However, the name of the series and the vehicles would change to Thunderbirds when he was inspired by writing to his older brother, who was in the United States during World War II, he refered to an American Air Force base known as "Thunderbird Field". When Gerry showed his half-hour pilot to Lew Grade, Lew responded with:

and told him to expand all the episodes produced to an hour-long format.

CharactersEdit

The Tracy family:

• Jeff Tracy, father of the Tracy brothers and leader of International Rescue.
• Scott Tracy, eldest brother, pilot of Thunderbird 1.
• Virgil Tracy, third eldest brother, pilot of Thunderbird 2.
• Alan Tracy, youngest brother, astronaut of Thunderbird 3.
• Gordon Tracy, second youngest brother, aquanaut of Thunderbird 4.
• John Tracy, second eldest brother, space monitor at Thunderbird 5.
• Grandma Tracy, mother of Jeff.

Other residents of Tracy Island:

• Brains, engineer of the Thunderbirds craft.
• Kyrano, manservant to the Tracy family. He is the half-brother of The Hood.
• Tin-Tin Kyrano, daughter of Kyrano and Alan's love interest.

The London Agents:

• Lady Penelope, special London agent.
• "Nosey" Parker, Penelope's butler and chauffeur.

As well as

• The Hood, main antagonist of International Rescue. This character was not seen at all in the 2nd season of Thunderbirds'. It was said by Sylvia Anderson in an offical interview that the feature film Thunderbirds Are Go featured the death of the Hood.

Recurring CharactersEdit

• Commander Norman is head of command of London Aiport. (He appeared in Trapped In The Sky, Operation Crash-Dive, Edge Of Impact, Security Hazard and Alias Mr. Hackenbacker.
• Captain Hanson is a pilot for the latest craft Fireflash. (Trapped In The Sky, Operation Crash-Dive, The Impostors, The Man From MI.5, The Duchess Assignment and Security Hazard)

CastEdit

Series OneEdit

• Peter Dyneley
• Shane Rimmer
• David Holliday
• Matt Zimmerman
• David Graham
• Ray Barrett
• Christine Finn
• Sylvia Anderson
• John Tate

Series TwoEdit

• Peter Dyneley
• Shane Rimmer
• Jeremy Wilkin
• Matt Zimmerman
• David Graham
• Ray Barrett
• Christine Finn
• Sylvia Anderson
• John Tate
• Paul Maxwell
• Charles Tingwell

Machines and CraftEdit

• Thunderbird 1
• Thunderbird 2
• Thunderbird 3
• Thunderbird 4
• Thunderbird 5
• FAB 1
• Pod Vehicles
• Fireflash

EpisodesEdit

Other Media StoriesEdit

MovieEdit

• Thunderbirds Are Go
• Thunderbird 6

FilmEdit

• 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 "Sunprobe" and "Ricochet."
• Countdown To Disaster -- a compilation of the installments "Terror in New York City" and "Atlantic Inferno."

BooksEdit

• Thunderbirds by John Theydon
• Calling Thunderbirds by 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 Theydon
• Lady Penelope: The Albanian Affair by 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

Audio BooksEdit

• Introducing Thunderbirds
• FAB
• The Stately Homes Robberies

SoundtrackEdit

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 second volume of the soundtrack.

TriviaEdit

• The year in which Thunderbirds takes place has always been in debate, while the canon suggests the year would be 2026 _(src), Gerry 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 orders of the Tracy brothers has also been controversial; John and Virgil often swap places as second and third eldest. However, official canon (Original reaserch?) states that John is the second and Virgil is the third, as this is the order they appear in the title sequence.

ReferencesEdit

References or Tributes

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 Investigator
The Films:	Thunderbirds Are Go | Thunderbird 6
Imitators and tributes:	Team America World Police | Interster | X-Bomber (Star Fleet) | Superthunderstingcar | Thunderbirds F.A.B. | Misc. Parodies and references