Post by gigacake on Dec 23, 2012 0:02:56 GMT -6
This show ran from 1965 to 1966 in Great Britain, and I've been a great fan of the show for about 6 years or so, which is surprising since I'm a young American woman who only got introduced to the series through a fluke involving fuzzy memories of the trailer to the 2004 American movie remake of the series (an ill-conceived production IMHO). It featured a technique known as Supermarionation, which is an early form of animatronics (such as the type featured in the Thunderbirds-inspired Team America World Police) that allowed for simplistic lip syncing. Mostly, the show was well-sculpted marionettes, slightly-above-average puppetry, and LOTS OF BLOWING STUFF UP!!!
The plot mostly was that in a future time (2026 or 2065 depending on sources), people lived in a technological age full of complex and marvelous gadgetry; however, Moore's Law is well in effect here, so when things start to go deathly astray, it's up to the secret organization of International Rescue and their Thunderbird machines to save the day. International Rescue is headed by American millionaire ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, while his 5 sons, Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon, and Alan, operate the 5 Thunderbird machines in order to rescue those in need from terrible disasters. Aiding IR is the sweet secretary/special operations Tin-Tin, her father Kyrano, the super-bespectacled genius Brains (inventor of the Thunderbird machines), fabulous London Agent Lady Penelope, her chauffeur and former criminal Parker, and even Jeff's mother aids in the operation with her outfitting and moral support.
In my opinion, even with the futuristic optimism and often dated references to 60's culture, I love this show with all my heart, particularly the way the characters seem to have so much depth for a children's show. Each of these brothers seems to have realistic relationships with one another, the way that they annoy the crap out of each other sometimes and yet get along anyway. Then, of course, they turn into rescue heroes when on the rescue site, but their personalities still shine through, so they're not just average goody-goody-two-shoes (some of them can get downright violent!). As a fan of voice acting, I'm also in love with the quality of vocal work that goes into these shows; the brothers especially are voiced handsomely and honestly, so you believe them whether they're directing people to aid in the rescue effort, or griping about how their brother has pranked them again.
My favorite characters in order are:
• Scott Tracy (voiced by Shane Rimmer; it's on my bucket list to find a voice actor who can impersonate his vocal tones)
• Brains (voiced by David Graham; his nasal, "geeky", stuttering tones just add to his appeal to me)
• Virgil Tracy (voiced by David Holliday and later Jeremy Wilkin, though I much prefer the former)
• Jeff Tracy (voiced by Peter Dyneley; he's a cool old guy with enough rich-guy stuff to make my eyes turn green)
• Parker (also voiced by David Graham; he may be ugly, but he's nothing without his savviness in the underground fields)
• Alan Tracy (voiced by Matt Zimmerman; the youngest brother eager to prove himself just as capable of his older brothers)
• Gordon Tracy (again voiced by David Graham; the prankster of the Tracy brothers and consequently the most annoying, but I like him nevertheless)
• John Tracy (voiced by Ray Barrett; stuck in space because he wasn't the favorite of the series creator, poor guy)
• Lady Penelope (voiced by Sylvia Anderson; a play on the aristocratic gentlewoman who just so happens to have a tricked-out Rolls-Royce with built-in weaponry, in a fabulous shade of pink, no less)
The rest are just "meh" to me, but that's OK, because even with average performances you can get a feeling of their personal stories and backgrounds. Maybe that's just me, but...
The only reasons I mention this is because A) I want to see whether there are fans like me around this forum, and B) I actually have this really weird idea to integrate Thunderbirds into machinima, involving 3D sculpting these puppet fellows and porting them into Garry's Mod and the like for my silly projects. I wouldn't know how to continue that dream without help or at least guidance, but it seems like at least one person would be able to port what seems like the COUNTLESS amounts of 3D models made of the Thunderbirds machines into one of the popular game engines like Source or Unreal...
Anybody else either believe in my dream, remember the show, or at least have anything to add to this that isn't another "Parker, Undress" joke or overrated Team America reference?
P.S. I love the music of this show, and if I could get away with it, I would totally use it in my machinima projects.
