text stringlengths 8 3.87k |
|---|
197.67796325683594 7 WikiText2 |
22650 " Irresistible " received largely positive reviews from critics . Entertainment Weekly rated " Irresistible " a B + , saying it was based on " an unsettling concept to begin with " that was reinforced by " Chinlund 's skin @-@ crawling one @-@ man show " . Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club rated the episode A , ... |
47.508583068847656 357 WikiText2 |
22651 Chris Carter said " Irresistible " was effective for " being really scary " , and that not only it was one of his favorites but inspired him to create the television series Millennium later . |
104.79341125488281 36 WikiText2 |
22652 = Thunderbirds ( TV series ) = |
656.5964965820312 7 WikiText2 |
22653 Thunderbirds is a British science @-@ fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson , filmed by their production company AP Films ( APF ) and distributed by ITC Entertainment . It was produced between 1964 and 1966 using a form of electronic marionette puppetry ( dubbed " Supermarionation " ) co... |
99.5363540649414 99 WikiText2 |
22654 Set in the mid @-@ 2060s , Thunderbirds is a follow @-@ up to the earlier Supermarionation productions Four Feather Falls , Supercar , Fireball XL5 and Stingray . It follows the exploits of International Rescue ( IR ) , a life @-@ saving organisation equipped with technologically @-@ advanced land , sea , air an... |
94.668212890625 121 WikiText2 |
22655 Thunderbirds began its first run in the United Kingdom on the ITV network in 1965 and has since been broadcast in at least 66 other countries . Periodically repeated , it was adapted for radio in the early 1990s and has influenced many TV programmes and other media . As well as inspiring various merchandising ca... |
55.544193267822266 108 WikiText2 |
22656 Widely considered to be the Andersons ' most popular and commercially successful series , Thunderbirds has received particular praise for its effects ( directed by Derek Meddings ) and musical score ( composed by Barry Gray ) . It is also well remembered for its title sequence , which opens with an often @-@ quo... |
67.48372650146484 111 WikiText2 |
22657 = = Storyline = = |
340.4810485839844 5 WikiText2 |
22658 Set between 2065 and 2067 , Thunderbirds follows the exploits of the Tracy family , headed by American ex @-@ astronaut turned multi @-@ millionaire philanthropist Jeff Tracy . He is a widower with five adult sons : Scott , John , Virgil , Gordon and Alan . The Tracys form International Rescue ( IR ) , a secret ... |
71.978515625 124 WikiText2 |
22659 Thunderbird 1 : a hypersonic rocket plane used for fast response and accident zone reconnaissance . Piloted by primary rescue co @-@ ordinator Scott Tracy . |
626.28466796875 28 WikiText2 |
22660 Thunderbird 2 : a supersonic carrier aircraft that transports rescue vehicles and equipment to accident zones in detachable capsules known as " Pods " . Piloted by Virgil . |
142.6426239013672 29 WikiText2 |
22661 Thunderbird 3 : a single @-@ stage @-@ to @-@ orbit spacecraft . Piloted alternately by Alan and John , with Scott as co @-@ pilot . |
166.32736206054688 35 WikiText2 |
22662 Thunderbird 4 : a utility submersible . Piloted by Gordon and normally launched from Thunderbird 2 . |
283.4317321777344 17 WikiText2 |
22663 Thunderbird 5 : a space station that relays distress calls from around the world . Manned alternately by " Space Monitors " John and Alan . |
173.34104919433594 26 WikiText2 |
22664 With the engineer Brains and Jeff 's elderly mother , as well as the Malaysian manservant Kyrano and his daughter Tin @-@ Tin , the family reside in a luxurious villa on Tracy Island , their hidden base in the South Pacific Ocean . In this location , IR is safe from criminals and spies who envy the organisation ... |
128.41136169433594 73 WikiText2 |
22665 Despite its humanitarian principles , some of IR 's operations are necessitated not by misadventure but deliberate sabotage motivated by greed for power and wealth . For missions that require criminal investigation , the organisation incorporates a network of undercover agents headed by English aristocrat Lady P... |
92.86474609375 180 WikiText2 |
22666 = = Production = = |
919.78857421875 5 WikiText2 |
22667 Thunderbirds was the fourth Supermarionation puppet TV series to be produced by APF , which was founded by the husband @-@ and @-@ wife duo of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson with their business partners Reg Hill and John Read . Pitched in late 1963 , the series was commissioned by Lew Grade of ITC , APF 's parent com... |
114.66243743896484 75 WikiText2 |
22668 Gerry Anderson drew inspiration for the series ' underlying concept from the West German mining disaster known as the Wunder von Lengede ( " Miracle of Lengede " ) . In October 1963 , the collapse of a nearby dam flooded an iron mine in the municipality of Lengede , killing 29 miners and trapping 21 others under... |
63.876094818115234 138 WikiText2 |
22669 Seeking to distinguish his 26 @-@ episode proposal from APF 's earlier productions , Anderson attempted to pitch stories at a level that would appeal to both adults and children . Whereas previous series had been shown during the late afternoon , Anderson wanted Thunderbirds to be broadcast in a family @-@ frien... |
85.77784729003906 203 WikiText2 |
22670 The series ' title was derived from a letter written by Gerry 's brother , Lionel , while he had been serving overseas as an RAF flight sergeant during World War II . While stationed in Arizona , Lionel had made reference to Thunderbird Field , a nearby United States Army Air Forces base . Drawn to the " punchin... |
65.3765640258789 157 WikiText2 |
22671 In the DVD documentary The Thunderbirds Companion , Anderson explained how a rise in filming costs had made overseas distribution revenue even more important and essentially caused Thunderbirds to be made " as an American show " . During the character development and voice casting process , the Andersons ' main ... |
103.9187240600586 105 WikiText2 |
22672 = = = Filming = = = |
211.39398193359375 7 WikiText2 |
22673 Thunderbirds was filmed at APF 's studios on the Slough Trading Estate between 1964 and 1966 . In preparation , the number of full @-@ time crew was expanded to 100 . Shooting began in September 1964 after five months of pre @-@ production . Due to the new series ' technical complexity , this was a period longer... |
56.019222259521484 143 WikiText2 |
22674 Alan Pattillo , a veteran scriptwriter and director for APF , was appointed the company 's first official script editor in late 1964 . This move was aimed to reduce the burden on Gerry Anderson who , while reserving his producer 's right to overall creative control , had grown weary of revising scripts himself .... |
69.5943832397461 181 WikiText2 |
22675 After viewing the completed 25 @-@ minute pilot , " Trapped in the Sky " , Lew Grade was so impressed by APF 's work that he instructed Anderson to double the episode length and increased the series ' budget per episode from £ 25 @,@ 000 to £ 38 @,@ 000 . As a result , Thunderbirds became not only the company 's... |
58.10124969482422 209 WikiText2 |
22676 Tony Barwick , who had impressed Pattillo and the Andersons with an unsubmitted script that he had written for Danger Man , was recruited to assist in the writing of subplots and filler material . He found that the longer format created opportunities to strengthen the characterisation . Science @-@ fiction write... |
118.65072631835938 146 WikiText2 |
22677 Filming of Series One was completed in December 1965 . A second series was also commissioned late that year and entered production in March 1966 . Barwick became a full @-@ time member of the writing staff and took over the role of script editor from the outgoing Pattillo . The main puppet cast and vehicles were... |
57.92092514038086 186 WikiText2 |
22678 Production of Thunderbirds ended in August 1966 with the completion of the sixth episode of Series Two . In February that year , it had been reported that Grade had been unable to sell the series in the United States due to disagreements over timeslots . In July , he cancelled Thunderbirds after failing in his s... |
37.97527313232422 105 WikiText2 |
22679 By the time of its cancellation , Thunderbirds had become widely popular in the UK and was being distributed extensively overseas . Grade , however , believed that without the financial boost of an American network sale , a full second series would fail to recover its production costs . He therefore asked Anders... |
79.00503540039062 83 WikiText2 |
22680 = = = Casting and characters = = = |
415.86285400390625 9 WikiText2 |
22681 Voice @-@ recording sessions were supervised by Pattillo and the Andersons , with Sylvia Anderson in charge of casting . Dialogue was recorded once per month at a rate of two scripts per session . Supporting parts were not pre @-@ assigned , but negotiated by the cast among themselves . Two recordings would be m... |
89.21922302246094 102 WikiText2 |
22682 In the interest of transatlantic appeal , it was decided that the main characters would be mostly American and therefore actors capable of producing an appropriate accent were used . British , Canadian and Australian actors formed most of the voice cast ; the only American involved was stage actor David Holliday... |
58.35475158691406 100 WikiText2 |
22683 British actor David Graham was among the first to be cast . He had previously voiced characters in Four Feather Falls , Supercar , Fireball XL5 and Stingray . Beyond the APF productions , he had supplied one of the original Dalek voices on Doctor Who . Cast alongside Graham was Australian actor Ray Barrett . Lik... |
91.50465393066406 170 WikiText2 |
22684 Although Lady Penelope and Parker ( the latter voiced by Graham ) were among the first characters developed , neither was conceived as a major role . Parker 's Cockney manner was based on a waiter at a pub in Cookham that was sometimes visited by the crew . On Gerry Anderson 's recommendation , Graham dined ther... |
74.05769348144531 145 WikiText2 |
22685 As well as Jeff Tracy , English @-@ Canadian actor Peter Dyneley voiced the recurring character of Commander Norman , chief of air traffic control at London International Airport . His supporting character voices were typically those of upper @-@ class Englishmen . Shane Rimmer , the voice of Scott , was cast on... |
75.44621276855469 160 WikiText2 |
22686 Christine Finn , known for her role in the TV serial Quatermass and the Pit , provided the voices of Tin @-@ Tin Kyrano and Grandma Tracy . With Sylvia Anderson , she was also responsible for voicing most of the female and child supporting characters . Other minor parts were voiced by Charles Tingwell , Paul Max... |
114.2334976196289 79 WikiText2 |
22687 = = = Design and effects = = = |
210.46592712402344 9 WikiText2 |
22688 The puppet stages used for the filming of Thunderbirds were only one @-@ fifth the size of those used for a standard live @-@ action production , typically measuring 12 by 14 by 3 metres ( 39 @.@ 4 by 45 @.@ 9 by 9 @.@ 8 ft ) in length , width and height . Bob Bell , assisted by Keith Wilson and Grenville Nott ,... |
94.34447479248047 116 WikiText2 |
22689 Since it was necessary for the art department 's interior sets to conform to the effects department 's exterior plans , each team closely monitored the other 's work . According to Sylvia Anderson , Bell 's challenge was to produce complex interiors on a limited budget while resisting the effects department 's p... |
55.38334274291992 175 WikiText2 |
22690 While designing the Creighton @-@ Ward Mansion sets , Bell and his staff strove for authenticity , ordering miniature Tudor paintings , 1 ⁄ 3 @-@ scale Georgian- and Regency @-@ style furniture and carpeting in the shape of a polar bear skin . This realism was enhanced by adding scrap items acquired from househo... |
194.3308868408203 81 WikiText2 |
22691 = = = = Puppets = = = = |
67.61123657226562 9 WikiText2 |
22692 The head puppet sculptor was Christine Glanville , who also served as the lead puppeteer . Glanville 's four @-@ person team built the 13 members of the main cast in six months at a cost of between £ 250 and £ 300 per puppet ( approximately £ 4 @,@ 569 and £ 5 @,@ 483 today ) . Since pairs of episodes were being... |
54.054203033447266 147 WikiText2 |
22693 The puppets were made up of more than 30 individual components , the most important of which was the solenoid that synchronised lip movements with the characters ' pre @-@ recorded dialogue . This device was positioned inside the head unit ; consequently , torsos and limbs appeared relatively small . The puppets... |
67.07657623291016 177 WikiText2 |
22694 The appearances of the main characters were inspired by those of actors and other entertainers , who were typically selected from the show business directory Spotlight . According to Glanville , as part of a trend away from the strong caricature of previous series , APF was seeking " more natural faces " for the... |
96.35294342041016 144 WikiText2 |
22695 Main character heads were initially sculpted in either Plasticine or clay . Once the general aspect had been finalised , this served as the template for a silicone rubber mould . This was coated with Bondaglass ( fibreglass mixed with resin ) and enhanced with Bondapaste , a putty @-@ like substance , to accentu... |
108.07430267333984 151 WikiText2 |
22696 Wigs were made of mohair or , in the case of the Penelope puppet , human hair . Puppet bodies were built in three sizes : " large male " ( specifically for the Tracys and the Hood ) , " small male " and " small female " . Sylvia Anderson , the head costume designer , devised the main characters ' attire . To giv... |
67.32947540283203 105 WikiText2 |
22697 Each puppet 's head was fitted with about 10 thin tungsten steel wires . During the filming , dialogue was played into the studio using modified tape recorders that converted the feed into electronic pulses . Two of the wires relayed these pulses to the internal solenoid , completing the Supermarionation process... |
80.66898345947266 224 WikiText2 |
22698 Due to their low weight and the fact that they had only one control wire per leg , the puppets were unable to walk convincingly . Therefore , scenes involving movement were filmed from the waist up , with a puppeteer holding the legs below the level of the camera and using a " bobbing " action to simulate motion... |
58.585933685302734 154 WikiText2 |
22699 = = = = Special effects = = = = |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.