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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 @-@ year sh...
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 Penelop...
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 and ZX S...
= = Later productions = =
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 .
= = = Film = = =
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 . Neither ...
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 features ...
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 .
= = = TV = = =
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 anime re @...
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 Thunderbirds m...
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 followed in ...
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 " updated ...
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 " Thunderbirds 1...
= = Influence = =
Thunderbirds has influenced TV programmes , films and various other media . The puppet comedy of the film Team America : World Police was directly inspired by the idiosyncrasies of Thunderbirds @-@ era Supermarionation techniques . Allusion and homage are also evident in Wallace and Gromit : A Close Shave , Austin Pow...
IR 's life @-@ saving mission inspired the founding of the volunteer International Rescue Corps , originally made up of a group of British firemen who contributed to the humanitarian effort following the 1980 Irpinia earthquake . Virgin Group has used the series in branding its services : Virgin Atlantic operates a Bo...
A mimed stage show , Thunderbirds : F.A.B. , has toured internationally and popularised a staccato style of movement known colloquially as the " Thunderbirds walk " . The production has periodically been revived as Thunderbirds : F.A.B. – The Next Generation .
Cover versions of " The Thunderbirds March " have been released by musicians and bands such as Billy Cotton , Joe Loss , Frank Sidebottom , The Rezillos and The Shadows . Groups who have written songs inspired by the series include Fuzzbox ( with " International Rescue " ) , TISM ( with " Thunderbirds Are Coming Out "...
During the 1960s , APF produced themed TV advertisements for Lyons Maid and Kellogg 's . Aspects of Thunderbirds have since been used in advertising for Swinton Insurance , Nestlé Kit Kat , Specsavers and the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency .
= T. Arthur Cottam =
T. Arthur Cottam is a screenwriter , actor , producer and film director . A graduate of the Film and Television Production program at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University , Cottam resides in Los Angeles , California . He acted in theatre , and received an Artistic Director Achievement Award from the Val...
His existential work Pornographic Apathetic deals with four people recounting pornographic film dialog in a state of apathy . Pornographic Apathetic was featured in numerous movie festivals , and received eight film awards as well as critical acclaim . Cottam 's film Carbuncle was featured in 2006 at the Milano Film F...
= = Education = =
Cottam graduated from the Film and Television Production program at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University . Cottam 's thesis work at NYU was titled Beer Goggles , the film received the Best Editing award at the First Run Film Festival and was featured at the Chicago and New York Underground Film Festival...
= = Career = =
T. Arthur Cottam is an actor , and film @-@ maker , based in Los Angeles , California . Cottam was a member of Zombie Joe 's Underground Theatre Group , and performed along with actors Denise Devin and Bernadette Larsen in 2000 in a series of productions titled " Sketches 7 : Bury the Hatchet " , directed by Zombie Jo...
Pornographic Apathetic received positive reception from journalist Gary Dowell of The Dallas Morning News , who described it as " Especially notable ... an experimental work that strips the mystique from porn " . Pornographic Apathetic was selected for inclusion in the Puchon International Fantastic Festival ( PiFan )...
In 2006 , Cottam 's film Carbuncle competed at the Milano Film Festival , alongside another U.S. film titled The Blood of my Brother by Andrei Berends . Carbuncle received a nomination in the category of " Best Feature Film " at the Milan Film Festival . Cottam 's 2006 film Filthy Food was featured in the San Francisc...
= = Filmography = =
= = = Film = = =
= = = Theatre = = =
= = Awards and nominations = =
= Partington =
Partington is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester , England , about ten miles ( 16 km ) to the south @-@ west of Manchester city centre . Historically part of Cheshire , it lies on the southern bank of the Manchester Ship Canal , opposite Cadishead on the northern ...
A paper mill built in Partington more than 250 years ago was the first factory in Trafford . The completion of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 transformed Partington into a major coal @-@ exporting port and attracted a range of other industries . Until 2007 Shell Chemicals UK operated a major petrochemicals manufact...
Shortly after the Second World War , local authorities made an effort to rehouse people away from Victorian slums in inner @-@ city Manchester . An area of Partington extended as an overspill estate is now one of the most deprived parts of the Greater Manchester conurbation . The Cheshire Lines Committee opened a rail...
Partington and Carrington Youth Partnership was established to provide the town 's youth with activities and the town has seen investment in a new youth centre . Broadoak School , the only secondary school in the town , is used by Trafford College to provide further education .
= = History = =
Partington , first recorded in 1260 , was in the medieval and post @-@ medieval parish of Bowdon . The name derives from Old English : the first element may be a personal name such as Pearta or Pærta , or part " land divided up into partitions " followed by inga , meaning " people of " ; the suffix tun means " farmste...
In 1755 a paper mill on the River Mersey was opened in Partington , the first factory to be established in present @-@ day Trafford . Erlam Farmhouse dates from the late 18th century and is a Grade II listed building . Also protected as a Grade II listed building are the stocks on the village green . Its stone pillars...
The completion of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 transformed Partington into a major coal @-@ exporting port . The canal was widened to 250 feet ( 76 m ) for three @-@ quarters of a mile ( 1 @.@ 2 km ) to allow for the construction of a coaling basin , equipped with four hydraulic coal hoists . Partington was the n...
= = Governance = =
The civil parish of Partington was created in 1894 , under the Local Government Act 1894 and has its own town council . Partington became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in 1974 upon the borough 's creation , but was previously in Bucklow Rural District . The town is part of the Bucklow St Martin electora...
Partington also belongs to the Stretford and Urmston constituency and is part of the North West England constituency of the European Parliament . Since its creation in 1997 the constituency 's Member of Parliament has been a member of the Labour Party , Kate Green being the present incumbent .
= = Geography = =
At 53 ° 25 ′ 12 ″ N 2 ° 25 ′ 48 ″ W ( 53 @.@ 42 , − 2 @.@ 43 ) , Partington lies west of Sale , north @-@ east of the civil parish of Warburton , and is on Trafford 's northern border with the City of Salford . It is nine miles ( 14 km ) south @-@ west of Manchester city centre . Sinderland Brook runs east – west thro...
Partington 's local drift geology is a mixture of alluvial deposits , fluvio @-@ glacial gravel , and peat deposited about 10 @,@ 000 years ago , during the last ice age . The bedrock is Keuper sandstone in the south and Bunter sandstone in the north . The town 's climate is generally temperate , like the rest of Grea...
= = Demography = =
According to the Office for National Statistics , at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001 , Partington had a population of 7 @,@ 723 . The 2001 population density was 5 @,@ 348 inhabitants per square mile ( 2 @,@ 065 / km2 ) , with a 100 to 93 @.@ 1 female @-@ to @-@ male ratio . Of those over 16 years old , 34 ...
As of the 2001 UK census , 76 @.@ 8 % of Partington 's residents reported themselves as being Christian , 0 @.@ 8 % Muslim , 0 @.@ 2 % Hindu , 0 @.@ 2 % Jewish , and 0 @.@ 1 % Sikh . The census recorded 14 @.@ 7 % as having no religion , 0 @.@ 1 % had an alternative religion and 7 @.@ 1 % did not state their religion ...
= = Economy = =
The main shopping area of Partington is on Central Road , in the centre of town . Partington also has a traditional market on Smithy Lane .
Spanish company , SAICA , bought a lease on a disused wharfside site by the Manchester Ship Canal in 2009 to recycle paper into packaging . The plant is the most " advanced , fully integrated facility in the UK " . It uses water recycled from the ship canal and its heat and power plant supplies surplus power to the na...
According to the 2001 UK census , the industry of employment of residents aged 16 – 74 was 19 @.@ 3 % retail and wholesale , 15 @.@ 0 % manufacturing , 14 @.@ 7 % property and business services , 10 @.@ 8 % health and social work , 9 @.@ 1 % transport and communications , 7 @.@ 2 % construction , 5 @.@ 2 % education ,...
= = Education = =
Trafford maintains a selective education system assessed by the Eleven Plus exam . There are three primary schools and one secondary school in Partington . The oldest school still standing in the town was opened in 1958 and used to be called Partington County Primary School . There is one other state primary schools a...
= = Transport = =
Partington 's main road is the A6144 between Lymm and the Brooklands area of Sale . The Manchester Ship Canal also carries some industrial traffic . The nearest road crossing over the canal is at Warburton Bridge , one of the few remaining pre @-@ motorway toll bridges in the UK , and the only one in Greater Mancheste...