You have to admit, that growing up in the 60's and 70s ..we got more than our fair share of sci-fi legends...Dr who, Lost in space , Space 1999, Kirk and Spock ...AND...puppets with AWESOME gadgets...the mighty Thunderbirds....the whole premise is just brilliant..billionaire philanthropist and his sons aid people in danger using gigantic machines...It would of looked brilliant as a cartoon...BUT...it was made unforgetable because Gerry Anderson used SuperMarionation....or puppets if you like.
My personal favourite was Scott Tracy...maybe cause he was the point man, I dunno....I did however wonder how they maintained the secrecy prior to the first mission...I mean how did they gut Tracey Island and put in the hangars let alone getting all the gear constructed...they must of had constructuion crews , RIGHT !...now thats a AWESOME non disclosure contract.
And lets give humongous cudo's to Brains...part engineer, part physicist, all geek...I hope Jeff and the boys looked after him when he retired...if he retired that is ....
T-BIRD HISTORY
The events of Thunderbirds open in 2065, as stated in the official scriptwriters' guide. The setting of the final episode, "Give or Take a Million", is Christmas 2067. Gerry Anderson envisioned a setting of "100 years in the future", which is supported by visual evidence in the episode "30 Minutes After Noon" and additionally corroborated by tie-in media, such as the TV Century 21 "Thunderbirds" comic strip and the Century 21 mini-album "Thunderbird 3" (in which it is explicitly stated that the year is 2065).
However, some Thunderbirds episodes suggest different settings: 1993 vintage champagne is discussed in "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker",while according to a calendar, the events of "Give or Take a Million" in fact occur in 2026.
The show follows the adventures of the Tracy family, headed by American ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy (one of the first to walk on the Moon)
A widower for some years, and now a philanthropist, Jeff's adult sons and only children – Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon and John – are all named after Mercury Seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Virgil Grissom, Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper and John Glenn.
Unknown to the rest of human civilisation, the Tracys front International Rescue, a top-secret organisation funded by Jeff's multi-million–dollar fortune that is committed to saving human life in the face of mortal danger. They are assisted in this mission by highly-advanced land-, sea-, air- and space-rescue vehicles and equipment, which are ordered into action when conventional civilian or military rescue techniques have proven ineffective. Leading the IR fleet is a series of five machines known as the Thunderbirds, all assigned individually to one of the five Tracy brothers:
Thunderbird 1 –
a 115 feet (35 m)-long, hypersonic, variable-sweep wing rocket plane used for fast response and rescue-zone reconnaissance, and as a mobile control base. Piloted by rescue primary co-ordinator Scott Tracy and launched from underneath the Tracy Villa swimming pool.
Thunderbird 2
a 250 feet (76 m)-long, heavy-duty, supersonic, VTOL, lifting body carrier aircraft used for transporting major rescue equipment and vehicles, including Thunderbird 4, in detachable containers called "Pods".Piloted by Virgil Tracy and launched from the Tracy Island cliff-face runway.
Thunderbird 3
a 287 feet (87 m)-tall, re-usable, vertically-launched single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spacecraft used for space rescue and maintenance of Thunderbird 5. Manned by astronaut Alan Tracy (typically with Scott as co-pilot) and launched from a silo underneath the Tracy Island Round House.
Thunderbird 4 – a 30 feet (9.1 m)-long utility submersible used for underwater rescue. Piloted by aquanaut Gordon Tracy and typically launched from Thunderbird 2's Pod 4.
Thunderbird 5
a space station in permanent geostationary orbit used for monitoring emergency broadcasts and SOS signals and relaying communications within International Rescue. Manned alternately by "Space Monitors" John Tracy and Alan Tracy....
The Tracy brothers wear a common blue uniform that comprises a polo-neck tunic, trousers, boots and a simplified side cap, accompanied by a sash bearing the IR insignia (of an arm outstretched across the Earth's surface) and carrying a holster and two pouches. Every pilot's sash is a different colour, matching the cuffs on his boots Scott wears light blue, Virgil canary yellow, Alan white, Gordon orange and John lilac.
Along with "Brains", a scientist and engineer and the inventor of the Thunderbirds machines (birth name unknown, though "Hiram K. Hackenbacker" is an alias of his), the manservant Kyrano, Kyrano's daughter Tin-Tin (a romantic interest for Alan) and Jeff's elderly mother, Grandma Tracy, the Tracys reside in the luxurious Tracy Villa on an un-charted island ("Tracy Island" in tie-ins, though not designated as such in the series itself) in the South Pacific Ocean.
Here, IR is protected against the danger posed by underworld criminal, terrorist and spy elements that envy the organisation's technological superiority, and which would otherwise stop at nothing to acquire the secrets of the Thunderbirds machines (either for personal advantage, or to change the balance of world power).
Tracy Island's purpose as IR's base of operations is not evident from the air, since the organisation's vehicles and equipment are stored in subterranean hangars that are accessible only via hidden launch tubes. Visitors from the outside world leave the island in ignorance of the Tracys' double life thanks to the "Operation Cover-Up" security protocol, which physically erases evidence of IR's presence.
Although the organisation's principles are humanitarian, IR's rescue operations are sometimes triggered not by misadventure, but by deliberate sabotage. For missions requiring criminal investigation or military intelligence, IR incorporates a global network of undercover agents, headed by English aristocrat Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her Cockney butler and chauffeur Aloysius "Nosey" Parker. Based at Creighton-Ward Mansion in Kent, their primary mode of transport is FAB 1 – a custom-built, pink, amphibious Rolls-Royce.
Most persistent of IR's enemies is the criminal mastermind known only as the "Hood" (named only in tie-ins). Operating from a Malaysian jungle temple, and possessing hypnotic and voodoo-like dark magic abilities, the Hood is named for his skills of physical disguise and exercises a powerful telepathic influence over his estranged half-brother, Kyrano. Exploiting his sibling's weak-mindedness and inside knowledge of IR, he regularly manoeuvres the Tracy brothers into rescues that unfold according to his own nefarious design; this gives the Hood, masked, opportunities to spy on the Thunderbirds machines and, by selling their stolen secrets, become rich.
IR's radio code, "F.A.B." – defined by the Collins English Dictionary 2002 as "an expression of agreement to, or acknowledgement of, a command" – was not conceived as an abbreviation. When asked what the "initials" stood for in 2000, Anderson responded: "... absolutely nothing! ...
The abbreviation "fab", as in "fabulous", was all the rage and I just changed it a bit." In tie-ins, the expression has been interpreted as "Fully Advised and Briefed", in a manner similar to "P.W.O.R." ("Proceeding With Orders Received"), used in Stingray, and "S.I.G." ("Spectrum Is Green") and "S.I.R." ("Spectrum Is Red"), affirmative and negative codes used in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
THE 2004 MOVIE
RE-MAKES
Prior to the 2013 announcement of an official re-make, Gerry Anderson made a number of attempts to resurrect Thunderbirds. In 1976, in association with Star Trek and Space: 1999 producer Fred Freiberger, he developed Inter-Galactic Rescue 4 for the American NBC network as an updating of both Thunderbirds and Supercar. The series was to have been filmed in live action and to have followed the adventures of the variable-configuration land-, sea-, air- and space-rescue vehicle of the title, Rescue 4, patrolling the "north-west quadrant of space".Century 21 designers Reg Hill, Brian Johnson and Martin Bower contributed pre-production concept art, but the 13-episode proposal was ultimately rejected by NBC in favour of rival story ideas.
In 1984, following the completion of Terrahawks, Anderson conceived T-Force, which would have transferred International Rescue's base of operations to a giant submarine, re-imagined FAB 1 as a custom-built Porsche, and eliminated Brains' short-sightedness and stutter. Although Anderson was unable to secure the funding necessary to develop the series further, some of the plot devices originally intended for T-Force eventually surfaced in Firestorm (2003), a Japanese anime series based on an idea by Anderson and John Needham.
In 1993, the concept for T-Force was re-developed under the title G-Force, and later as GFI – an abbreviation of Gee Force Intergalactic, the rescue organisation that was to have featured in lieu of International Rescue. The flagship of the G-Force fleet, the colossal spaceship Galaxy, was to have housed a factory capable of manufacturing vehicles and equipment specialised to fulfil the requirements of any rescue mission.[280] Only one of the 13 scripted or partially scripted episodes of GFI – "Warming Warning", written by Tony Barwick – was filmed; it combined traditional cel animation (for sequences featuring the characters) and computer animation (for vehicle sequences). The former, which was provided by a Russian studio, was judged to be of poor quality; when it was determined that re-creating and upgrading this material would render the series cost-prohibitive, production on GFI was abandoned. According to Anderson, "the studio in Moscow was, in my opinion, ill-equipped. After some six months of desperately trying to make this co-production work, I finally had no option but to call it off."
In September 2005, a QuickTime video file, titled Thunderbirds IR, was published on P2P networks. It opened with music by Barry Gray and clips of the original Thunderbirds launchings, before shifting to scenes from a new series, to be produced by Carlton Television. The trailer, produced using a combination of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and puppetry, included scenes showing a re-designed Thunderbird 1, Scott Tracy, the Hood, and the rescue of a falling lighthousekeeper. Scott was seen to walk, and perform a backflip (making the tongue-in-cheek quip "Look, no strings!"). The series was developed with Asylum responsible for puppet work and set design and The Mill for CGI. Anderson, after meeting the Carlton team in the initial stages of development, gave the project his blessing; however, when Carlton merged with Granada plc, work on the series was postponed indefinitely
Writing in 2005, after the filming of a Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons re-make had been completed, Anderson stated that he had been unable to secure Thunderbirds re-make rights from Granada. By July 2008, Anderson was still in negotiations with ITV, but promised a new version of Thunderbirds that would be "updated for the 21st-century audience" and which would, he hoped, be filmed in CGI. He added, "This is very much a pet ambition of mine, and I am putting everything into what I consider would be ITV's answer to Doctor Who. Similar statements were reported in The Sun newspaper in August.[ Although Anderson continued to express his belief that such a series would finally be produced with his involvement, ITV was still refusing to return the rights into late 2008 and early 2009.
On 11 January 2011, a new series of Thunderbirds was announced by Anderson during an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live. Anderson stated that he was unable to reveal many details because he had signed a non-disclosure agreement, but that the production of the series was assured and that it would indeed be made in CGI, with modernised characters and vehicles. In the 15 January edition of The Sun, he said that he had yet to script the first episode, but that he had "fleshed it out" in his mind. ..
Anderson died in December 2012, initially leaving the future of the new series uncertain. However, on 4 February 2013, a ITV press release confirmed that ITV Studios and New Zealand-based Pukeko Pictures were planning to re-invent Thunderbirds as a series of twenty-six 30-minute episodes, to be filmed using a mixture of computer animation and live-action model sets and broadcast on the CITV channel. The re-make was expected to appear in 2015, the original series' semi-centennial year.
On 30 September, the 2015 transmission year of the re-make, now titled Thunderbirds Are Go!, was confirmed. It was revealed that the character of Lady Penelope will be voiced by Rosamund Pike, and that David Graham is to reprise the role of Parker The regular voice cast will also include Rasmus Hardiker (as Scott and Alan Tracy), David Menkin (as Virgil), Thomas Sangster (as Gordon and John), Kayvan Novak (as Brains), Sandra Dickinson (as Grandma Tracy), and Andres Williams (as the Hood) Two new characters have been announced: "Kayo", a friend of the Tracy brothers, is to be voiced by Angel Coulby, and Adjoa Andoh will provide the voice of "Colonel Casey". Weta Workshop, whose previous commissions include Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–03), will contribute special effects to the series
Gerry Anderson didn't stop with the T-Birds ..here is a thorough list of his body of work
Television
The Adventures of Twizzle (1957–59)
Torchy the Battery Boy (1960)
Four Feather Falls (1960)
Supercar (1961–62) – first Supermarionation production
Fireball XL5 (1962–63)
Stingray (1964–65)
Thunderbirds (1965–66)
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967–68)
Joe 90 (1968–69)
The Secret Service (1969)
UFO (1970–71)
The Protectors (1972–74)
Space: 1999 (1975–77)
Terrahawks (1983–84, 1986)
Dick Spanner, P.I. (1987)
Space Precinct (1994–95)
Lavender Castle (1999–2000)
Firestorm (2003)
Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet (2005)
Film
Crossroads to Crime (1960)
Thunderbirds Are Go (1966)
Thunderbird 6 (1968)
Doppelgänger (1969) a.k.a. Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (US title)
Publishing
Gemini Force One (2008, Continued posthumously)
Miscellaneous
The Investigator (pilot episode – unbroadcast)
The Day After Tomorrow (a.k.a. Into Infinity) (1976)
Space Police (pilot episode – unbroadcast)
GFI (pilot episode – unbroadcast)
SO...there you go...my homage to some Super Marionette's
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