Thunderbirds

[Ivo]

Towards the end of last year I started going on almost incessantly about Pokémon. I eventually made a thread about it which didn't quite hit 100 posts, but I expect that it will before the thread is closed given it is only a couple short!

Anyhow, you might have noticed that my primary focus has shifted away from yellow mice to massive futuristic machines - the Thunderbirds craft of International Rescue, of course. When I was younger I used to ask my father why I was named Scott and not Virgil, given I always felt a strong affiliation to him (God only knows why given he is artistic and I am not), and to Thunderbird 2 in particular, but then he couldn't have known how much I would like the series. By contrast, you have probably noticed my noting occasionally that I have bought the entire series for £20 from HMV (a fine price in my opinion), and have now watched 28 episodes out of 32, with only Disc 8 remaining. (I have been watching them in broadcast as opposed to DVD order; I must be sad to know the episodes in order - oh wait, we knew that )

My traditional favourite episode is #4, Sun Probe, with #15 (Day of Disaster) and #28 (Path of Destruction) close behind. The other episodes I really like are #1 (Trapped in the Sky), #8 (Operation Crash-Dive) and #25 (The Cham-Cham). Details below...

#1 Trapped in the Sky Courtesy of The Hood, the Fireflash - a massive atomic-powered airliner capable of 4,500mph - has a bomb fixed to its landing gear and thus cannot safely land. The then-unknown International Rescue organisation arrives to secure a safe landing. Among the best opening episodes I have ever seen, and probably 2nd only to Gerry Anderson's next series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons - not a bad feat for Gerry!

#4 Sun Probe A rocket is sent to the Sun to collect some particles from a prominence. But when the main ship tries to collect the Sun Probe itself, it fails to break away from the Sun's gravity and requires Thunderbird 3 to save it - which then falls into the same trap. A very inventive episode, and a real showing of how important Brains (the character to whom I feel most attached) is to the series.

#8 Operation Crash-Dive Some time after Episode #1, Fireflash 3 disappears on a journey to San Francisco. Tests are carried out which lead to another Fireflash being destroyed, but this time Thunderbird 4 saves the crew. International Rescue then test Fireflash themselves - and uncover an international sabotage plot. An all-around good episode, and a showing how the series evolved early on - not to mention the cows of course!

#15 Day of Disaster The Martian Space Probe is sent to England for launching to Mars - but fails to cross Allington Suspension Bridge after storm damage. The crew are saved from the nose cone just before the rocket activates itself and explodes. A very likeable episode that was very easy and fun to replicate with Lego! Just not sure about Brains though.

#25 The Cham-Cham Several US aircraft are shot down, so Lady Penelope and Tin Tin head to Switzerland after Alan establishes a link between the attacks and a prominent song. Soon the team realise his hunch was correct, and the next transporter is saved - but the perpetrator wants revenge! One of the best plots I have ever seen in a fictional series, complete with a Parker Poppins moment...

#28 Path of Destruction The Crab-Logger, a massive pulp-creating machine, spirals out of control and threatens a dam. The team have to shut down the Crab-Logger's reactor and drain its fuel before it falls into the dam. A technological terror of an episode, which was part of what made it so appealing.

Enough of me then. Who else here is or was a fan of this legendary mid-60s series? I know there are some out there!

 

[Temple Meads]

I like it, but haven't seen one for god knows how long, probably about 2005.

 

[deltic1989]

I love thunderbirds, I still have the whole collection of craft that Matchbox brought out (all exept thunderbird 4 which went missing when I let my son play with them, still got the pod though), and my Blue Peter Tracy Island (remember that?) my thunderbirds school bag bit the dust when I tried to use it as a sledge though (I was 5 at the time). If I'm honest I dont think the recent film, did the original series justice, maybe thats partly because Busted did the theme tune and being forced to learn it on the guitar kind of made it wear thin. But the boys with the strings were what my afternoon TV was all about when I was a kid (mornings dominated by Stingray). couldnt really give my favorite episode though. Thunderbirds is such an endearing show though shown by the fact that even though it was made with puppets (where you could see the strings) in the mid-60's a child of the late 80's growing up in the 90's such as myself still has fond memories of the show.

 

[EM2]

I love Thunderbirds, although I was always a Thunderbird 3 fan. Don't really have a favourite episode, but I love all the 'non-IR' vehicles, things like the airport fire tenders which just look really cool!
But if I'm really honest, I prefer Captain Scarlet...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Which of the craft featured least in the episodes?

 

[Class172]

I loved the Thunderbirds; it's a shame they don't show it on TV anymore. It used to be shown as one episode per day at about 11:30am on BBC2 during the summer holidays.

I think Thunderbird 3 featured the least out of them all. I liked the fictional motorways they cam up with — one of the episodes features a motorway sign with M31 to London (I think).

 

[sprinterguy]

Thunderbirds is/was a brilliant show, my favourite of the Gerry Anderson string puppet creations. I still think that the Fireflash aircraft are absolutely brilliant pieces of kit. The Atlantic - Pacific monorail across the breadth of America was an interesting proposal too!

I also picked up the box set from HMV, about a year ago, and I'm pretty sure I didnt pay £20 for it: I think I paid about 12 quid.

 

[Ivo]

Which of the craft featured least in the episodes?

Definitely TB3. Not including shuttles to TB5 and other non-emergency uses, it appeared only three times, in Episodes #4 (Sun Probe), #19 (The Imposters) and #31 (Ricochet). Truth be told, this is not surprising given how rarely a person is likely to find themselves in mortal danger in space. Instead, Alan would regularly assist with resuces from TB2, and in one instance, Episode #27 (Atlantic Inferno), took over TB1 when Scott was put in charge of Tracy Island after Jeff went on vacation. However, it could be argued that all three movies (including the 2004 one) focussed on Alan more than the others, and in the first of the three TB3 has a part to play in the safe launching of Zero-X.

The Atlantic - Pacific monorail across the breadth of America was an interesting proposal too!

Something tells me that no amount of safety precaution would persuade the White House to agree to such a scheme

 

[Temple Meads]

I loved the Thunderbirds; it's a shame they don't show it on TV anymore. It used to be shown as one episode per day at about 11:30am on BBC2 during the summer holidays.

Yeah that was when I used to watch it as well.

 

[Schnellzug]

Where did they propose launching the Mars Probe from in the UK?
And I'm afraid the CAA ought to take a vey long look at these Fireflash things, or their operator's safety procedures. Why was a bomb attached to the landing gear not picked up on in the pre-flight inspection? :x

 

[Oracle]

Can we argue that The Mole was a TB? How many times was that seen?

I can recall waiting with baited breath for weeks back in the late 1960s for Thunderbirds to appear: it was touted in ITV well in advance of the first episode being shown. The series proved much better than might be expected...better than Stingray, and Supercar, and of course Fireball XL5, which were all excellent in their way. I may have seen Twizzle, Torchy the Battery Boy and Four Feather Falls but I was only a Junior School kid by '60.

 

[Class172]

Yeah that was when I used to watch it as well.

They only stopped showing it about 3 years ago.

 

[Ivo]

Can we argue that The Mole was a TB? How many times was that seen?

Three: Episodes #2 (Pit of Peril), #3 (City of Fire) and #23 (The Duchess Assignment). It was also set for use in Episode #7 (Vault of Death), but the cables underneath London prevented the team from using it (so they used what was left of the Underground instead!). It also appeared in the 2004 movie. But The Mole was not a Thunderbird.

About TB2 though, if you watch through the series you will notice a large number of continuity erros, often but not exclusively due to use of stock footage. A film of it leaving with Pod 3 was almost always used, irrespective of the Pod in use. But more alarming, in one episode (I forget which though) Virgil is told to use Pod 6 - but has TB4 to hand. Interestingly, of all the Pods we only ever see Pod 2 in use once - taking Chip back home after he attempted to penetrate the base out of childhood curiosity (the clip show, Episode #26 - Security Hazard).

 

[Eng274]

I was a huge Thunderbirds fan in my childhood, and my mum took the time to record the re-runs on UK Gold in the mid-90s. It was all undone when my dad taped over them with The Bill, football matches and the like when he was working night shifts!!!

As a young boy I was lucky enough to get the highly sought-after Tracy Island of the early 90s as well as all the matchbox Thunderbirds, and many many happy hours were spent playing with them. I remember losing the minuscule Thunderbird 4 often, and finding it again whilst barefoot!

I have had a Thunderbirds renaissance recently, and as an engineer (Scalextric, Hornby and Thunderbirds as my childhood hobbies.. could I have became anything else??) I can revisit the science fiction involved and marvel/scoff/appreciate the writing behind it. Megalomania, environmental disasters, pure evil, action, politics, poorly thought-out military/civilian technology, an unfavoured son in a space station, and a hapless arch enemy. Thunderbirds has it all. Some of the iffy action techniques were glaringly obvious though, like tilting the camera to show ascent/descent or level flight - not as bad as Voyage to the Bottom Of The Sea, with the crew falling over during battles while maps and pencils are planted to the table ironically another sunday afternoon childhood favourite!

I'll be trawling shops for the boxset so I can enjoy it end-to-end again. My favourite episodes are "Trapped in the Sky", "Ricochet", "Path of Destruction", and "Lord Parker's 'Oliday".

 

[Oracle]

One of my favourites (the #1 being the one with the Crablogger: it seems so logical to build such a monster) was the one with the allligators. Live action animals + puppets!

 

[Temple Meads]

the highly sought-after Tracy Island of the early 90s
.

Good lord, I had one of those, might still have it somewhere, are they worth anything?

 

[table38]

I remember going to see the movie with Zero-X and the Martian Rock-snake Monsters when I was about 5 and being scared to bits!

I was disappointed with the last movie. Why was it necessary to drop "International Rescue" and call them the Thunderbirds?

Parker!
Yes M'Lady?
Parker... take off my dress.
Yes, M'Lady.
Parker... take off my bra.
Yes, M'Lady.
Parker... take off my knickers.
Yes, M'Lady.

Parker...

Yes M'Lady?

Parker, you must never wear my clothes again.

 

[Eng274]

Good lord, I had one of those, might still have it somewhere, are they worth anything?

I've no idea, more modern versions with all the bells and whistles have since been released.. I'd imagine the original would have some value, but sadly mines is long gone

I have however found what appears to be the original matchbox one for sale for 99p.

The four die-cast metal Thunderbirds will set you back slightly more...

 

[Schnellzug]

I remember going to see the movie with Zero-X and the Martian Rock-snake Monsters when I was about 5 and being scared to bits!

I was disappointed with the last movie. Why was it necessary to drop "International Rescue" and call them the Thunderbirds?

there is actually an organisation called International Rescue, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rescue_Corps

which surprises me that Mr. Anderson didn't copyright the name.

*

incidentally, does anyone else always get confused between Gerry Anderson and Gerry Adams, the bloke from Sinn Féin?

 

[Heinz57]

Parker!
Yes M'Lady?
Parker... take off my dress.
Yes, M'Lady.
Parker... take off my bra.
Yes, M'Lady.
Parker... take off my knickers.
Yes, M'Lady.

Parker...

Yes M'Lady?

Parker, you must never wear my clothes again.

Hahaha! Just sprayed my keyboard with cola!

I always was, and still am a fan of Thunderbirds. Used to watch it loads as a kid. My favorite episodes were (Are) probably 'City of Fire', 'Day of Disaster' and who could forget 'Danger at Ocean Deep'

We had all the Mathcbox Thunderbirds toys - Tracey Island, the thunderbirds machinea and of course FAB1. Think we've still got them up in the loft.

The original films were OK. That 2004 live action thing however was an abomination. How they can call that thing Thunderbirds I'll never know. Incorrect pilots for half the crafts - Jeff Traceey not only being out there on the rescues but also captain of TB2 and Alan Tracey as a school kid? He's supposed to be the pilot of TB4, crafts and Tracey Island being given the complete (and poor) new look, poor story line. I could go on but we'd be here all week.
The only good thing about the film was Venessa Hudgens

 

[Ivo]

Danger at Ocean Deep (#22) was good, and it was one of only two episodes to have what is effectively the proper TB1 theme. It just never appealed to me as much as some of them though. I did quite like City of Fire (#3) though - the combination of the Mole and the Firefly showed everything good about the series, and the plot was very believable too.

The only good thing about the film was Venessa Hudgens

I think you need a reality check

 

[Heinz57]

My favorite Thunderbird when I was a kid was TB2, because it was the biggest, and like most kids I liked big machines. However, in more recent years its been TB1. Maybe because of its speed and adjility.

Danger at Ocean Deep (#22) was good, and it was one of only two episodes to have what is effectively the proper TB1 theme. It just never appealed to me as much as some of them though. I did quite like City of Fire (#3) though - the combination of the Mole and the Firefly showed everything good about the series, and the plot was very believable too.

I think City of Fire was perhaps the first episode I ever seen, and I agree, I think it is a great story line.

One I didn't realy like though was 'Edge of Impact'. I don't know, it seemed a bit boring in a way. Send a couple of jet packs up and jobs a goodun'. Especialy compared to half of the others where its explosions, rubble, fire and big machinery.

I think you need a reality check

Shows how rubish the film was though doesn't it?

 

[Techniquest]

I dunno, I recall enjoying the film the first time I watched it, but then I wasn't watching it hoping it may be some follow-up to the series or whatever. I've seen it since then and I don't remember enjoying it so much, but I admit to being tempted to getting it watched again now just to find out what I think of it again.

Ivo may already recall that I'm a fan of Thunderbirds as we've discussed it a bit via PM last year. Quite, my location on this and other forums is 'Nowhere Heath', which has a bit of a long story behind it but the short version is that, at the time, I was watching all the episodes of Thunderbirds with the aid of Wikipedia for the episode names. Still not watched 202 - 206 on that list, or whatever numbers they actually are. Anyway, during this time I ended up watching Vault of Death - thanks Ivo for the episode name! - and during one part of that FAB1 races past a roadsign which showed Nowhere Heath on it. I decided this was much better than 'Variant unknown' for my location on the forum, a long story in itself, and have stuck to it ever since.

Recently I watched the Zero X movie and enjoyed it, although those monsters on the moon still give me the shivers! Tried watching Thunderbird 6 on the other disc, alas this second-hand copy of the movies set from CEx didn't work Of course, I'll be looking out for the boxset of the series, why I haven't already got it I don't know. 5 days until payday so I will hopefully get it then. A long list of other things to do with that money, some of them will be delayed even further since the fare to London I need in a couple of weeks has gone up by £3.50 :-x So much for this supposed funding to keep fares increases down, especially when LM put theirs up in September as well as this month...:-x:-x:-x