Thunderbirds (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thunderbirds |
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| Genre |
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| Created by | Gerry and Sylvia Anderson |
| Voices of |
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| Opening theme | "The Thunderbirds March" |
| Composer(s) | Barry Gray |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 32 (plus 3 anniversary specials) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Gerry Anderson (Series Two) |
| Producer(s) |
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| Cinematography | John Read |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company(s) | AP Films |
| Distributor | ITC Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 35 mm film |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | 30 September 1965 – 25 December 1966 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Stingray |
| Followed by | Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons |
| Related shows |
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Thunderbirds is a classic British science-fiction TV show. It was created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and first aired in the UK in 1965. The show uses special puppets called "Supermarionation" and amazing model effects.
The story is set in the 2060s. It follows a secret group called International Rescue (IR). This group saves lives using super advanced vehicles. These vehicles are known as the Thunderbirds. The main characters are Jeff Tracy, a former astronaut, and his five sons. They pilot the Thunderbird machines from their secret island base.
Thunderbirds became very popular around the world. It has inspired many other TV shows and movies. The show is famous for its cool special effects and music. Its opening line, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1: Thunderbirds Are Go!", is very well-known.
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Meet International Rescue
Thunderbirds takes place between the years 2065 and 2067. The show is about the Tracy family, led by Jeff Tracy. He is a rich American and a former astronaut. Jeff has five adult sons: Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon, and Alan.
The Tracy family forms International Rescue (IR). Their secret mission is to save people's lives. They use high-tech land, sea, air, and space vehicles. These vehicles help when normal rescue methods fail. The most important vehicles are the five "Thunderbird machines." Each is piloted by one of the Tracy brothers:
- Thunderbird 1: A fast, blue and silver rocket plane. Scott pilots it for quick responses and scouting danger zones.
- Thunderbird 2: A large, green carrier aircraft. Virgil flies it to carry other rescue vehicles and equipment in special pods.
- Thunderbird 3: A red spacecraft that goes into orbit. Alan and John take turns piloting it, with Scott as co-pilot.
- Thunderbird 4: A yellow submarine. Gordon pilots it, and it usually launches from Thunderbird 2.
- Thunderbird 5: A grey and gold space station. John and Alan take turns manning it to pick up distress calls from Earth.
The Tracy family lives on Tracy Island. This is IR's secret base in the South Pacific Ocean. They share their luxurious home with Jeff's mother, Grandma Tracy. Also living there are Brains, the scientist who designed the Thunderbirds machines, and his assistant Tin-Tin. Tin-Tin is also Alan's girlfriend. Tin-Tin's father, Kyrano, works for Jeff. Being on a remote island keeps IR safe from spies.
Sometimes, rescues are needed because of bad guys or mistakes. For these missions, IR has secret agents. The main agents are English aristocrat Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her butler Aloysius Parker. They live in Kent, England, and travel in FAB 1. This is a special Rolls-Royce car. When IR members get an order, they say "FAB". This means "fabulous."
IR's biggest enemy is the master criminal known as the Hood. He lives in a temple in the Malaysian jungle. The Hood has powers of hypnosis and dark magic. He can control Kyrano, who is his half-brother. The Hood often tricks the Tracys into rescues that help his own evil plans. This lets him spy on the Thunderbird machines. He then sells their secrets to get rich.
Thunderbirds Merchandise
Over 3,000 different Thunderbirds products have been sold since the show started. There was such a high demand for toys and other items that special companies were set up just to handle them. The Christmas shopping season in 1966 was even called "Thunderbirds Christmas" because the show was so popular.
In the early 1990s, Matchbox released new Thunderbirds toys. Sales for Christmas 1992 were even higher than for Star Wars toys in the 1970s and 1980s. The demand for Matchbox's Tracy Island Playset was huge. People even fought in shops to get one!
Thunderbirds characters also appeared in comic strips. Lady Penelope and Parker had their own comic. Later, a full Thunderbirds comic strip started. Many books were also written based on the show.
The show also had audio stories released on vinyl records. Later, the first Thunderbirds video game came out in 1985. More games followed for systems like the Game Boy Color and PlayStation 2. The series was released on home video for the first time in the late 1980s. Later, it was made available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
In 2015, an official Thunderbirds board game was released. It was designed by Matt Leacock, who also designed the popular game Pandemic.
How Thunderbirds Influenced Others
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Thunderbirds has had a big impact on many TV shows, films, and other media. The puppet comedy in the movie Team America: World Police was directly inspired by the unique way Thunderbirds puppets moved. You can also see hints of Thunderbirds in shows like Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The idea of International Rescue even inspired a real-life group. The volunteer International Rescue Corps was formed by British firefighters. They helped people after a big earthquake in Italy in 1980.
The company Virgin Group also used Thunderbirds in their branding. Virgin Atlantic named one of its large airplanes Lady Penelope. Virgin Trains named some of their rescue trains after Thunderbirds characters and vehicles.
A stage show called Thunderbirds: F.A.B. has toured around the world. It became famous for a special way of moving called the "Thunderbirds walk."
Many musicians have covered "The Thunderbirds March" theme song. Bands like Busted have even written songs inspired by the series. In 1991, Gerry Anderson directed a music video for the band Dire Straits using Thunderbirds-style puppets.
Thunderbirds has also been used in TV advertisements for various products. The first "International Thunderbirds Day" was celebrated on September 30, 2017. This marked 52 years since the show first aired.
Images for kids
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The official logo for the Thunderbirds TV series.
See also
In Spanish: Thunderbirds (serie de televisión) para niños
