As a child I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Thunderbirds on a Saturday morning. Although it was riddled with continuity errors, there was something lovable about the puppets trying to keep the world safe from all manner of threats, including evil villains and natural disasters. They would be signalled at a moments notice, drop everything and run off in their amazing contraptions. Personally I think Thunderbird 1 was my favourite (piloted by Scott Tracey, it was the fastest and always the first to reach the danger zone), having said that there was always a part of me that was excited to see which extra machine Thunderbird 2 (piloted by Virgil Tracey, it was used for long distance flying, making it slower than the others) had brought along to aid International Rescue, but nothing can top hearing the immortal words “F-A-B” upon receiving instructions.
The original Thunderbirds puppets
Like most people I was thrilled to hear that they were making a live action film in 2004, only to be very disappointed with the outcome. My main issue with the movie was that it changed some of the key aspects of the original show. What happened to nobody being allowed to take pictures of the crafts? I understand the reasons behind updating the uniforms but they could have at least kept it the right colour and style instead of some sort of race suit/overalls. However the special effects were not too bad and my younger sister seemed to find it fun (having been to young to fully appreciate the original series) so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
Due to this I was relatively sceptical when I found out that they were planning to reboot the series as a TV show in late 2012. The idea intrigued me and with Gerry Anderson on board (unlike the movie) it was sure to be a success. I washoping it would have the same light and enjoyable plots as the original series. Unfortunately they (ITV) have decided to go for CGI instead of the previously used supermarionation. For me this is definitely a negative. In saying that Gerry Anderson’s previous CGI (formally puppet) reboot, Captain Scarlett, was very well revived.
It is fair to say I am very much looking forward to seeing how ITV, now without Gerry Anderson due to his tragic death earlier this year, will bring some of my favourite childhood characters back to life. If you want to watch the revival you will however have to wait until 2015 (the series 50th Birthday), but I’m sure we’ll get more information as the project continues.
This is great, I love Thunderbirds!