When I was a young kid in the '60s, I thought the "supermarionation" puppet technique of shows like the Thunderbirds was super cool - maybe those puppets realy were alive and doing their own walking and talking. And if not, it was impressive anyway.
Leaving no stone of nostalgia unturned, the hit British television series has been resurrected on DVD, the latest being the Thunderbirds International Rescue Edition Giftset, which includes Thunderbirds Are Go! And Thunderbirds 6, two feature-length adventures. The giftset also includes “interactive” packaging with removable die-cut model rocket ships and a “coolectible” Thunderbirds magnet, featurettes with co-producer Sylvia Anderson (voice of Lady Penelope) and other cast and crew, a photo gallery, and a Thunderbirds quiz.
Thunderbirds Are Go! synopsis here:
- Blast off into interplanetary adventure with the first feature-length film starring the International Rescue team: millionaire ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, his five stalwart sons, the fabulous secret agent Lady Penelope and, of course, their incredibly futuristic fleet of Thunderbird rescue ships!
When the mighty spaceship Zero X is sabotaged on its first take-off for Mars, International Rescue is summoned to provide security for the second launch attempt. But after the ship successfully reaches its destination, it is attacked by rampaging alien life forms! Once again, the brave and resourceful International Rescue team is called into action. Can the team help the damaged ship re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and prevent a crash-landing with devastating consequences?
Thunderbirds 6: The Tracy team is back in action in another riveting adventure! This time it will take all of their combined effort – and the cunning wit of their colleague Lady Penelope – to defeat an international ring of terrorists who’ve targeted International Rescue for destruction!
While on the maiden voyage of the fabulous new passenger vessel “Skyship One,” Lady Penelope is shocked to discover that the original crew has been killed and replaced with a ruthless gang of hijackers who want to use her to obtain classified information about the International Rescue team! As the hijacked super-plane circles the globe on a collision course with catastrophe, Penelope must outwit her captors and send an urgent SOS to get help from her fearless cohorts…before it’s too late!
Clearly.
Check out the trailer:
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And here's a clip from Thunderbirds 6:
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Cool audio clips are here.
We also have one copy of the Thunderbirds 6 soundtrack to give away to the first reader to leave a comment below.
I don't imagine it's a coincidence that the live action Thunderbirds film is coming out July 30.
Article comments
1 - tim smith
Wow.I'm the first!!!
2 - Eric Olsen
Hi Tim, you win! Please send me your address at ecolsen2003@cs.com
3 - Mark Saleski
man, that was a cool show. me & my cousins used to go outside and use their parents' old ford torino station wagon as a space ship (because it had all these seats you could fold up & down and stuff)
i completely forgot about the show until that dire straits video (Calling Elvis?) came out.
4 - Eric Olsen
I had forgoten as well - it kind of all came flooding back when I saw the trailer and the stills.
5 - Tim Hall
It's never really been forgotten in Britain. The whole run gets reshown on TV every few years; each time it captivates a new generation of children.
The technical quality still stands up pretty well considering the age; when the BBC ran the series in the late 1980s they ran it back-to-back with old episodes of Dr.Who from the same year. It showed up the cheap and tacky production of Dr Who very badly.
6 - Tom Johnson
I missed the first-run of this by quite a few years, but I still fondly remember watching the Thunderbirds as a kid. I even had a number of toys from the show, so this stuff certainly had an enduring quality.
What won't have an enduring quality, I'm sure, is the film coming out soon. What's the point of if when the main concept - the puppets - has been replaced with real people?!
7 - Mark Saleski
yea, i'm not too hot on the upcoming movie but the dvd's gonna go on my list.
8 - Eric Olsen
I had no idea there was so much awareness and interest in this - shows what I know!
9 - SFC SKI
T-Birds, along with Captain Scarlet were two of my staple programs when I was a kid. Now that I have kids, maybe I will pick up the DVD set as well, for them, of course.
I haven't checked up on the new film, but if it is a Hollywood production, it will probably suck.
10 - Tim Hall
I hate it when Hollywood trashes my childhood....
11 - Joe
Gerry Anderson, the guy that originated the Thunderbirds also did UFO and Space 1999. Big time fantasy fuel when I was younger. I'll definitely get these ones for the kids. I don't hold out too much hope for the new one, although I did see the trailer and it looked like they did try to pay some nominal tribute to the original funky spaceships.
12 - jack e. jett
i am a huge thunderbirds fan. i have not decided if i want to see the movie or not. i don't want anything to destroy the way i view the puppets.
we should all be able to carry ourselves with the authority that miss penelope does.
jack
13 - Eric Olsen
"carry ourselves": that's funny JEJ, she's a puppet
14 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
will the new flick be as weird as Thunderbirds Are Go, with its musical interludes by none other than puppet versions of Cliff Richard And The Shadows?
My mates used to say i walked like a thunderbird when i was drunk.
"You gettin thunderbird tonight?"
15 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
incidentally, i always prefered Terrawhawks, Anderson's later, much scarier puppet malarkey.
16 - Eric Olsen
I like Pinocchio, because he wanted to be a real boy. I don't get the sense Miss Penelope gives a damn about such things
17 - drew
The movie is the worst idea of all time, and I'm only exaggerating a little. Making a Thunderbirds movie without puppets is like making a grainy Paris Hilton video with no sex.