Thunderbirds (TV)

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

Lew Grade,

Thunderbirds (TV)
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	24
Season 2	8
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 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.

Plot

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.

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, 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 "Gerry, this is not a series, this is a feature film!" and told him to expand all the episodes produced to an hour-long format.

Main Characters

Jeff Tracy
(Peter Dyneley)

Scott Tracy
(Shane Rimmer)

Virgil Tracy
(1. David Holliday)
(2. Jeremy Wilkin)

Alan Tracy
(Ray Barrett)

Gordon Tracy
(David Graham)

John Tracy
(Ray Barratt)

Grandma Tracy
(Christine Finn)

Brains
(David Graham)

Kyrano
(David Graham)

Tin-Tin Kyrano
(Christine Finn)

The Hood
(Ray Barratt)

Lady Penelope
(Sylvia Anderson)

Aloysius Parker
(David Graham)

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

Movie

• Thunderbirds Are Go
• Thunderbird 6

Film

• 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."

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

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.

Trivia

• 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.

External links

• Thunderbirds wiki

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