Writers: Gerry & Sylvia Anderson and Alan Fennell
Directors: Alan Pattillo, David Elliott and David Lane
5-4-3-2-1 Thunderbirds are back! 60 years after Gerry & Sylvia Anderson’s hit series appeared on television two 50-minute episodes are released in cinemas, an opportunity for fans of all ages to relive the joys of life on Tracy Island and for a whole new generation to discover the amazing feats of International Rescue. Screening first edition Trapped in the Sky and the highly respected action-packed adventure Terror in New York City this anniversary double bill, given a new 4k restoration and coming to a cinema near you in Supermarionation is edge of your seat stuff.
Formed from five brothers – Scott, Virgil, Gordon, Alan, John and their father Jeff, International Rescue insist on absolute secrecy when they launch their rocket-based superhero service to help a cutting-edge jet on its maiden flight from London that has a bomb concealed somewhere onboard relying on their UK agent Lady Penelope. Later the family firm are called when a skyscraper starts to crumble in New York city and the team try to save the world one more time.
Watching these stories decades after they were created, it’s clear that Hollywood and the big streaming platforms could learn or thing or two from the Andersons and co-writer Alan Fennell who produce tightly plotted, thrilling action sequences all with a handful of puppets, model spaceships and rescue craft in under an hour. Directed by Alan Pattillo, David Elliott and David Lane, each story is impressively tense as the creative team increasingly up the ante, adding further and further jeopardy which the Tracy boys must overcome to complete their missions – sometimes at personal cost to themselves as the bedbound Virgil discovers at the start of Trapped in the Sky, hampering the rescue effort.
And despite all the advances in CGI, puppetry and action storytelling, Thunderbirds is still hard to beat with gripping storylines that hold the audience’s attention, uncorruptible good guys and some innovative technologies that reflect an enjoyable 1960s futurism. And the choice of these two episodes showcases the fully equipped range of the brothers and their extended family of helpers including Brains, Tintin and her father Kyrano all making a contribution. In their new restoration, the pictorial quality is crisp and rich, aiding the immersive approach that defined this series and making the luxury of Tracy Island and the various locations even more aspirational.
If you watched this originally, on one of its many repeat outings on television down the years or seeing it in the cinema for the first time, there’s plenty to enjoy from the entertaining way the eldest sons travel to their ships, the Bond-esque take-off procedures or a wry smile when Virgil does all the work and Scott takes the credit (every week!), the imaginative creation of International Rescue and its world will compel you anew. Thunderbirds really are go!
An Iconic double-bill of Thunderbirds will be back in UK Cinemas in stunning 4K Restoration from 20th September.
