Thunderbirds (TV series)

Thunderbirds is a mid-1960s Sylvia and Gerry Anderson television show which used a form of puppetry called "Supermarionation".

Cast, crew, and production notes

Thunderbirds was the fourth children's action-adventure series made by AP Films (APF) (at the time of production renamed Century 21 Productions) for the British production company ITC Entertainment and Clearwater Features, and first broadcast on ATV, and it remains by far their most successful and enduringly popular production. Two seasons were produced, comprising thirty-two episodes in total. Production commenced in 1964 and the series premiered on British television in September 1965 in the ATV Midlands region. Other ITV regions followed, including London on 25 December 1965.

Related Topics:
AP Films - Century 21 Productions - British - ITC Entertainment - Clearwater Features - ATV

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The show's title derived from a letter written to his family by Anderson's older brother, while he was serving in the United States during World War II. In the letter, he referred to an American airbase called "Thunderbird Field"; years later, Anderson decided to use the name because of its romantic sound.

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Many of the crew came directly from APF's previous production Stingray, but for Thunderbirds the crew was expanded, and it was shot in a new and much larger studio facility in Slough. It was also APF's first one-hour series. Thunderbirds had been in production for several months when ITC Entertainment boss Lew Grade was shown the completed pilot episode, "Trapped In The Sky" and he was reportedly so excited with the result that he immediately instructed Anderson and his team to expand all the episodes from 25 minutes to 50 minutes. Many fans believe this was a wise decision that enhanced the series with more complex plots and characters that drew considerable viewer interest. It's worth pointing out that Grade not only owned ITC, but also owned part of APF/Century 21 and ATV - through which he broadcast his productions.

Related Topics:
Stingray - Slough - Lew Grade

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The voice cast were all experienced character actors and several were already (or became) regular Anderson performers. Interestingly, David Holliday (the original voice of Virgil in Series I) was the only real American cast in any voice role in the series; all the others were British, Australian or Canadian.

Related Topics:
Australia - Canadian

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Versatile Australian actor Ray Barrett provided the voices of John Tracy and The Hood, as well as many other one-off character parts. He was regularly used by Anderson and voiced both Commander Shore and King Titan in Stingray. Thanks to his extensive experience in live radio back in Australia, he was adept at rapid changes from one voice to another and he could also perform both English and American accents convincingly. By the time that "Thunderbirds" began, Barrett was a major star on British TV and since his return to Australia in the Seventies he has become one of the nation's senior film and TV actors.

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Veteran Canadian actor Shane Rimmer (Scott) went on to appear in -- and occasionally write scripts for -- many subsequent Anderson productions. Rimmer has an extensive list of prominent TV and movie credits, but he is probably best known for his appearances in several James Bond films and for his role as Capt. G.A. 'Ace' Owens in Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove. Rimmer has appeared in many action, thriller and science fiction films, including Star Wars, and has often been cast in military or political roles.

Related Topics:
Shane Rimmer - James Bond - Stanley Kubrick - Dr Strangelove - Star Wars

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David Graham, one of Anderson's longest serving voice actors, had previously worked on Supercar, Fireball XL5 and Stingray and was also one of the original voices of the Daleks in Doctor Who in 1963.

Related Topics:
Supercar - Fireball XL5 - Stingray - Dalek - Doctor Who

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Voice cast

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• Sylvia Anderson .... Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward / various characters
• Ray Barrett .... John Tracy/The Hood / various characters
• Peter Dyneley .... Jeff Tracy / various characters
• Christine Finn .... Tin-Tin / Grandma / various characters
• David Graham .... Gordon Tracy / Brains / Parker / Kyrano / various characters
• David Holliday .... Virgil Tracy / various characters
• Shane Rimmer .... Scott Tracy / various characters
• Jeremy Wilkin .... Virgil Tracy (1966) / various characters
• Matt Zimmerman .... Alan Tracy / various characters