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67.19371032714844 10 WikiText2 |
22700 The effects for all the APF series from Supercar to UFO were directed by Derek Meddings , who later worked on the James Bond and Superman films . Knowing that Thunderbirds would be the " biggest project [ APF ] had worked on " , Meddings found himself struggling to manage his workload with the single filming uni... |
86.19853210449219 120 WikiText2 |
22701 An addition to the effects department was Mike Trim , who served as Meddings ' assistant in designing vehicles and buildings . Meddings and Trim jointly pioneered an " organic " design technique in which the exteriors of models and sets were customised with parts from model kits and children 's toys . Models and... |
83.1553955078125 203 WikiText2 |
22702 One of Meddings ' first tasks was to shoot stock footage of the Thunderbird machines and the series ' main locations , Tracy Island and Creighton @-@ Ward Mansion . The finished island model was a composite of more than a dozen smaller sets that could be detached from the whole and filmed separately . The archit... |
72.79833221435547 145 WikiText2 |
22703 During the designing and filming process , Meddings ' first priorities were realism and credibility . With the exception of Thunderbird 5 , each vehicle was built in three or four scales . Meddings ' swing @-@ wing concept for Thunderbird 1 was inspired by his wish to create something " more dynamic " than a fix... |
58.60163497924805 152 WikiText2 |
22704 The largest model of Thunderbird 3 , whose design was based on the Soviet Soyuz rocket , was six feet ( 1 @.@ 8 m ) tall . Thunderbird 4 was particularly difficult to film : as the scale of the model did not correspond to the water inside the shooting tank , creative camera angles and rapid editing were used to ... |
87.3722915649414 164 WikiText2 |
22705 As the puppets of Lady Penelope and Parker needed to fit inside , the largest of all the models was the seven @-@ foot FAB 1 , which cost £ 2 @,@ 500 ( approximately £ 46 @,@ 000 today ) to build . The Rolls @-@ Royce 's name and colour were both chosen by Sylvia Anderson . Rolls @-@ Royce Ltd. supervised the co... |
96.85481262207031 138 WikiText2 |
22706 Scale explosions were created using substances such as fuller 's earth , petrol gel , magnesium strips and Cordtex explosive . Originally filmed at up to 120 frames per second ( f.p.s. ) , they were slowed down to 24 f.p.s. during post @-@ production to increase their apparent magnitude and length . Gunpowder ca... |
82.86762237548828 214 WikiText2 |
22707 By 1966 , Meddings ' commitments were split between Series Two and Thunderbirds Are Go . While Meddings worked on the film , camera operator Jimmy Elliott assumed the responsibility of directing the TV effects . By this stage , the basic frame of Thunderbird 2 had been damaged so many times that the model had ne... |
67.16384887695312 108 WikiText2 |
22708 Critic David Garland suggests that the challenge facing the Thunderbirds effects department was to strike a balance between the " conventional science @-@ fiction imperative of the ' futuristic ' " and the " seeping hyper @-@ realist concerns mandated by the Andersons ' approach to the puppets " . Thunderbirds h... |
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22709 = = = = Title sequence = = = = |
80.8853759765625 10 WikiText2 |
22710 The series ' title sequence , storyboarded by Gerry Anderson , is made up of two parts . It opens with a countdown of " 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 : Thunderbirds Are Go ! " , provided by Dyneley in character as Jeff Tracy . In a departure from the style of Stingray , the Thunderbirds title sequence varies with each episo... |
64.98246765136719 105 WikiText2 |
22711 The second part , accompanied by composer Barry Gray 's " The Thunderbirds March " , features portraits of the main puppet cast superimposed on various vehicles and settings . Peel describes this as " ostensibly a return to the ' series stars ' concept long known in TV " , while Garland considers such imagery de... |
128.19265747070312 99 WikiText2 |
22712 According to Daniel O 'Brien , writer of SF : UK : How British Science Fiction Changed the World , the Thunderbirds title sequence encapsulates the reasons for the series ' enduring popularity . Dyneley 's countdown is particularly well remembered and has been widely quoted . Dean Newman of the Syfy channel webs... |
82.49064636230469 86 WikiText2 |
22713 = = = Music = = = |
139.59780883789062 7 WikiText2 |
22714 The score was composed by Gray , who served as musical director for all of the Anderson productions up to the first series of Space : 1999 . In response to Gerry Anderson 's request that the main theme have a " military feel " , Gray produced a brass @-@ dominated piece titled " The Thunderbirds March " , which ... |
72.57962036132812 156 WikiText2 |
22715 Peel considers " The Thunderbirds March " to be " one of the best TV themes ever written – perfect for the show and catchy when heard alone " . Morag Reavley of BBC Online argues that the piece is " up there ... in the quintessential soundtrack of the Sixties " with the James Bond films and the songs of Frank Si... |
85.569091796875 184 WikiText2 |
22716 David Huckvale identifies Wagnerian homage in both the theme music and the series ' premise . Noting that the theme 's opening string ostinato is similar in effect to a recurring motif in Ride of the Valkyries , he also likens the Thunderbird machines to Valkyries themselves : " Their function is more benevolent... |
74.56279754638672 127 WikiText2 |
22717 To celebrate the shows anniversary , " Thunderbirds Are Go - 50 Years On " at Colston Hall , Bristol was celebrated as the theme music is brought to life , led by Charles Hazlewood and his All Star Collective . |
140.08798217773438 41 WikiText2 |
22718 = = Broadcast = = |
1651.8486328125 5 WikiText2 |
22719 Thunderbirds premiered on British television on 30 September 1965 on the ITV franchises ATV Midlands , Westward and Channel . Other broadcasters , including ATV London and Granada , started transmissions the following month . The Christmas @-@ themed series finale , " Give or Take a Million " , was first broadca... |
97.81089782714844 120 WikiText2 |
22720 Granada transmitted Thunderbirds in its original , 50 @-@ minute format for the first time with the start of repeats in 1966 . In 1968 , the franchise briefly aired episodes in three parts due to timeslot restrictions . The availability of repeats during the 1960s and 1970s varied among regions . ATV Midlands sc... |
96.17576599121094 92 WikiText2 |
22721 In 1990 , 8 of the 19 audio episodes released by APF Records were converted into radio dramas , which were transmitted on BBC Radio 5 . The success of the radio series encouraged the BBC to acquire the rights to the TV episodes , which it broadcast simultaneously in all regions from September 1991 on BBC 2 . |
55.85659408569336 59 WikiText2 |
22722 Since the end of the first network run , which achieved average viewing figures of more than six million , the BBC has repeated the series six times : between 1992 and 1993 ( Series One only ) , 1994 and 1995 ( nine episodes only ) , and 2000 and 2001 ( in remastered form ) , as well as in 2003 , 2005 and 2006 .... |
39.80672836303711 135 WikiText2 |
22723 Before its UK debut , Thunderbirds was distributed to 30 other countries including the US , Canada , Australia and Japan . Pre @-@ sales revenue totalled £ 350 @,@ 000 ( approximately £ 6 million today ) . In the year following the series ' first appearance , the number of countries increased to 66 . In Japan , ... |
71.73687744140625 174 WikiText2 |
22724 = = Reception = = |
513.3173828125 5 WikiText2 |
22725 Thunderbirds is generally considered the Andersons ' most popular series and their greatest critical and commercial success . In 1966 , the show received a Royal Television Society Silver Medal for Outstanding Artistic Achievement and Gerry Anderson received an honorary fellowship of the British Kinematograph , ... |
72.5115737915039 98 WikiText2 |
22726 For Peel , Thunderbirds is " without a doubt the peak of the Supermarionation achievement " . Suggesting that the series is pitched at a " more adult " level than its predecessors , he adds that its sense of adventure , effective humour and " gripping and convincing " episodes ensured that " everyone in the audi... |
85.91072082519531 192 WikiText2 |
22727 In his foreword to John Marriott 's book , Thunderbirds Are Go ! , Anderson put forward several explanations for the series ' enduring popularity : it " contains elements that appeal to most children – danger , jeopardy and destruction . But because International Rescue 's mission is to save life , there is no g... |
57.10258865356445 231 WikiText2 |
22728 Jeff Evans , author of The Penguin TV Companion , argues that the series ' 50 @-@ minute format allows for stronger character development and " tension @-@ building " . O 'Brien is less positive in his appraisal of the writing , asserting that the plots are often " formulaic " and are sometimes " stretched to sn... |
98.55288696289062 196 WikiText2 |
22729 Noting the attention to detail of the series ' launch sequences , Jonathan Bignell argues that part of the motivation for dedicating large amounts of screen time to the Thunderbird craft is the need to compensate for the limited mobility of the puppet cast . The focus on futuristic machines has also been explore... |
77.28926849365234 193 WikiText2 |
22730 Thomas argues that the world of Thunderbirds is similar to the 1960s to the extent that contemporary capitalism and class structures appear to have survived mostly intact . He also observes , however , that wealth and high social status are often depicted as character flaws rather than strengths . According to T... |
82.59597778320312 249 WikiText2 |
22731 Various commentators – including Bignell , Cull and O 'Brien – have also discussed Thunderbirds as a product of the Cold War era . Bignell comments that the Hood 's Oriental appearance and mysterious powers draw parallels with James Bond villains and fears of China operating as " a ' third force ' antagonistic t... |
66.60661315917969 198 WikiText2 |
22732 The presentation of smoking in Thunderbirds was the subject of a study published in the medical journal Tobacco Control in 2002 . Despite identifying examples in 26 episodes , Kate Hunt of the University of Glasgow concluded that Thunderbirds does not actively promote smoking – a view opposed by the Roy Castle L... |
50.58753204345703 116 WikiText2 |
22733 = = Merchandise = = |
438.26812744140625 5 WikiText2 |
22734 More than 3 @,@ 000 Thunderbirds @-@ themed products have been marketed since the series ' debut . To accommodate the high demand for tie @-@ ins , APF established three dedicated subsidiaries : AP Films Merchandising , AP Films Music and AP Films Toys . Some British commentators dubbed the 1966 end @-@ of @-@ y... |
101.4013900756836 142 WikiText2 |
22735 A comic strip featuring the characters of Lady Penelope and Parker debuted in the early issues of APF Publishing 's children 's title TV Century 21 in 1965 . A full @-@ length Thunderbirds strip appeared a year later , at which point the Lady Penelope adventures were given their own comic . Thunderbirds , Lady P... |
98.9091796875 102 WikiText2 |
22736 Between 1965 and 1967 , APF Records released 19 audio episodes in the form of vinyl EPs . Three are original stories ; the rest are adapted from TV episode soundtracks , with additional narration provided by a member of the voice cast . The series ' first video game tie @-@ in , developed for the Commodore 64 an... |
46.71424865722656 153 WikiText2 |
22737 = = Later productions = = |
1527.6104736328125 6 WikiText2 |
22738 Thunderbirds has been followed by two film sequels , a live @-@ action film adaptation , two animated TV remakes and several re @-@ edited presentations for TV broadcast and home video . The second of the remakes , Thunderbirds Are Go , premiered on ITV in 2015 , the 50th anniversary year of the original . |
83.44026184082031 61 WikiText2 |
22739 = = = Film = = = |
178.0762481689453 7 WikiText2 |
22740 The feature @-@ length film sequels Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 were released in 1966 and 1968 . The first was greenlit by Lew Grade before the TV series had started its broadcast run . Written and produced by the Andersons and directed by David Lane , both films were distributed by United Artists . Ne... |
95.87044525146484 78 WikiText2 |
22741 In the early 1980s , episodes of Thunderbirds and other Supermarionation series were re @-@ edited by ITC 's New York offices to create a series of compilation films . Branded " Super Space Theater " , this format was mostly intended for family viewing on American cable and syndicated TV . Three Thunderbirds fea... |
79.08988189697266 74 WikiText2 |
22742 Plans for a live @-@ action film adaptation were first announced in 1993 . These eventually culminated in the 2004 film Thunderbirds , directed by Jonathan Frakes and produced by StudioCanal and Working Title Films . It was a critical and commercial failure and was poorly received by fans of the TV series . |
49.62714385986328 56 WikiText2 |
22743 = = = TV = = = |
144.9303741455078 7 WikiText2 |
22744 The Andersons sold their intellectual and profit participation rights to Thunderbirds and their other productions in the 1970s . As a result , they had no developmental control over subsequent adaptations of their works . Thunderbirds was first remade for TV in the early 1980s as Thunderbirds 2086 . In this anim... |
110.89786529541016 109 WikiText2 |
22745 Two re @-@ edited series , based on condensed versions of 13 of the original episodes , aired in the US in 1994 . The first , Thunderbirds USA , was broadcast as part of the Fox Kids programming block ; the second , Turbocharged Thunderbirds , was syndicated by UPN . Developed as a comedy , Turbocharged Thunderb... |
70.27281951904297 95 WikiText2 |
22746 As well as Thunderhawks , Anderson developed other ideas for a remake . A 1976 concept , Inter @-@ Galactic Rescue 4 , was to have featured a variable @-@ configuration craft capable of performing rescues on land and sea , in air and in space ; Anderson pitched the idea to NBC , who rejected it . This was follow... |
70.98833465576172 127 WikiText2 |
22747 In 2005 , Anderson re @-@ affirmed his wish to remake Thunderbirds but stated that he had been unable to secure the necessary rights from Granada Ventures . His negotiations with the company and its successor , ITV plc , continued for the next few years . In 2008 , he expressed his commitment to creating an " up... |
45.0423583984375 161 WikiText2 |
22748 In July 2015 , to celebrate the series ' 50th anniversary , Filmed in Supermarionation documentary director Stephen La Rivière launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds necessary to produce three new puppet episodes based on the Thunderbirds mini @-@ albums of the 1960s . The project , titled " Thunderb... |
89.48819732666016 71 WikiText2 |
22749 = = Influence = = |
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