- [Narrator] Thunderbirds first launched
onto British television in 1965 and, for many fans,
remains the pinnacle of the Gerry Anderson legacy.
- Any more information?
- [Narrator] This series centred around the exploits
of International Rescue, a global response organisation
founded by billionaire ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy
on a beautiful island somewhere in the Pacific.
His five sons, each named after a real-life astronaut,
took control of the five Thunderbirds machines,
a fleet of rescue craft designed
by the engineering genius Brains.
- [Jeff Tracy] Your phenomenal mind made all this possible.
Now you're gonna see it in operation.
- [Narrator] These included Thunderbird 1,
a hypersonic rocket piloted by Scott.
- International Rescue doesn't give up that easy.
- [Narrator] Thunderbird 2,
the heavy transporter piloted by Virgil.
- Approaching danger zone.
- [Narrator] Thunderbird 3, the space rocket flown by Alan.
- Well I do take Scott with me as a rule.
- [Narrator] Thunderbird 4, a submarine operated by Gordon.
- Ah, relax, will ya?
- [Narrator] And Thunderbird 5, an orbiting space satellite
we most often saw manned by John.
- Wowie!
That's serious!
- [Narrator] Other regular characters on Tracy Island
included Jeff Tracy's mother, Grandma,
engineer Tin-Tin, and her father Kyrano,
while deep in the Malaysian jungle,
Kyrano's sinister half-brother The Hood
plots his latest diabolical scheme
to capture International Rescue's secrets.
- I shall be invincible!
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] Jeff Tracey could also call on
a worldwide network of agents to assist in operations,
but the most-often seen were British agent
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
and her faithful manservant Parker,
who carried out there missions in style
in the famous Pink Rolls-Royce FAB 1.
- Home, my lady?
- Home, Parker.
- [Narrator] Whenever disaster strikes,
be it an accident or deliberate sabotage, it's--
- Thunderbirds are go!
- [Narrator] And if the situation requires
specialised rescue equipment, Thunderbird 2's pod
will always be carrying exactly what is needed
to save trapped people or stop a runaway machine.
- [Puppet] These International Rescue boys
sure have some great equipment.
- Yeah.
- [Narrator] Originally planned
as a series of half-hour episodes,
the Thunderbirds format was expanded to a full hour
on the orders of ITC head Lew Grade,
who was extremely impressed by what he saw
in the opening episode, "Trapped in the Sky."
- We're not gonna make it!
We're running out of runway!
- [Narrator] Right from the start,
the series promised and delivered action and spectacle
on the scale of a feature film,
and continued to do so throughout its first season.
The longer running time now allowed
for a greater emphasis on the characters
and their relationships, as well as action and excitement.
And viewers also got to spend time getting to know
each episode's guest characters
before they thrown into mortal danger.
- Maybe we can get through to International Rescue.
If anyone can help us, they can.
- [Narrator] Despite this greater emphasis on character,
the show's star attractions were always the machines,
with both the Thunderbirds craft and guest vehicles alike
lingering in the minds of viewers
long after the programme had ended.
- That's a great aircraft.
- [Narrator] The show's format of disasters and rescues
enabled the writers to come up with more exciting
and action-packed scenarios than ever before,
with the special effects and model department
then realising those ideas on a scale that,
even today, still stands as some of the best work
ever produced for television.
- A fine piece of filming.
- [Narrator] Along with dynamic vocal performances
from the cast.
- You've got to locate them within the next two minutes!
- [Narrator] And a stirring brassy musical score
from Barry Grey, every element of Thunderbirds
came together almost perfectly to produce a series
that very quickly became a hit with audiences worldwide.
Crucially, it managed to capture the attention
of adults as well as children,
which perhaps made paying for the flurry of merchandising
that came along with the show slightly more bearable.
- What's the next move?
- [Narrator] Thunderbirds was now
an international phenomenon, and it only made sense
to transfer that success to the big screen.
- Action!
- [Narrator] 1966 saw the release of the movie
Thunderbirds Are Go, which was expected to be
a box office sensation, but things didn't turn out that way.
- [Gerry Anderson] I can only think that it was because,
at that time, people weren't used to seeing
television productions turned into picture films.
- [Narrator] Alongside the film, a second season
of the television series was also being shot,
but this was to be cut short after just six episodes,
when Thunderbirds was cancelled, following a failed attempt
to sell the series to an American network.
- I won't believe it.
I just can't!
- [Narrator] Believing that this sale was crucial
to the show making its money back,
Lew Grade ordered that Anderson and his team
should instead get to work on another brand-new series.
(dramatic music)
Thunderbirds had come to a sudden and unexpected end,
but the exploits of International Rescue were not over yet.
A second feature film, Thunderbirds 6,
was to follow in 1968,
albeit to similar public indifference as the first.
Yet, the television series
continued to endure in the memories of fans.
Over the next 20 years, nostalgia continued to grow,
an din 1991, the series was repeated on BBC Two,
resulting in a massive resurgence of interest
that at times seemed to almost exceed that
from the original 1960s showings.
Another equally successful repeat run
followed in the early 2000s,
along with a live action big screen adaptation in 2004
that proved popular with children
but controversial among fans,
including Gerry Anderson himself.
The film was a box office flop,
but continual interest in the original television series
has lasted well into the 21st century.
- Well that's just great!
- [Narrator] The concept has recently been revived again,
in the form of CGI remake Thunderbirds Are Go.
And to mark the show's 50th anniversary,
a trilogy of new supermarionation episodes
were produced in 2015,
which adapted three audio stories from the 1960s,
using the original puppetry and model techniques
of the classic television show.
- How do you like that?
- I like it very much, dear.
- [Narrator] More than 50 years after it first appeared
on our screens, Thunderbirds continues to thrill
and delight audiences young and old around the world.
- And that's how it's gonna be, always.
- [Narrator] It's unique bled of high action adventure
and magic of the ever-appealing puppets and models
makes it an almost perfect family show.
(dramatic music)
Although it only ran for 32 episodes,
the series has become an enduring television phenomenon,
and it will no doubt continue to inspire and entertain
for at least another 50 years.
- FAB!
(dynamic orchestral music)