THUNDERBIRDS Episode 1965 "Martian Invasion" Part 3 of 5

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Supermarionation
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  • Added: 25-Apr-08

1965
Thunderbirds was the fifth Supermarionation children's series made by Gerry Anderson's AP Films (later Century 21 Productions). The logo of Supermarionation had previously been seen in the shows Supercar, Fireball XL5, and Stingray. Gerry Anderson came up with the concept for the series after hearing about a German mine disaster in 1963. The heavy equipment needed to rescue the miners was located far away - transportation time was a major hindrance in ensuring the survival of the miners. The "race against time" element is one of the recurring themes in Thunderbirds. 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 Air Force base called "Thunderbird Field".

Many of the crew came directly from APF's previous production Stingray, but for Thunderbirds the crew was expanded, and was shot at A.P. Films' ever growing studio at Stirling Road, Slough, Berkshire (at the time Buckinghamshire). It was 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. This initially proved to be a headache as nine episodes had already been completed.

Production commenced in 1964 and the show premiered on British television on 30 September 1965 in the ATV Midlands region. Other ITV regions followed, including London on 25 December 1965. Two series were produced, comprising thirty-two episodes in total.
Set in the 21st century (the actual year remains a hot topic amongst fans, due to contradictory dates seen on newspapers and calendars in different episodes, though Gerry Anderson stated in a Sci-Fi interview that it was set in 2065) the show depicts the adventures of the Tracy family, which consists of millionaire former astronaut Jeff Tracy and his five sons: Scott (pilot of Thunderbird 1 and principal rescue co-ordinator), Virgil (pilot of Thunderbird 2), Alan (astronaut in Thunderbird 3), Gordon (aquanaut in Thunderbird 4) and John (principal duty astronaut on the space station Thunderbird 5) - each named after a Mercury astronaut - Scott Carpenter,[1] Virgil Grissom,[2] Alan Shepard,[3] Gordon Cooper[4] and John Glenn,[5] respectively. Together with Jeff's elderly mother called Grandma Tracy, the scientific genius and engineer "Brains", the family's manservant Kyrano and his daughter Tin-Tin, the Tracy family live on a remote, uncharted Pacific island (Tracy Island). They are, in secret, the members of International Rescue, a private and highly-advanced emergency response organisation, which covers the globe and even reaches into space, rescuing people with their futuristic vehicles, the Thunderbirds.

  1. Categories: Art & Animation
Comments on

THUNDERBIRDS Episode 1965 "Martian Invasion" Part 3 of 5

5 Comments | Add Comment
  • He I find out ...

    He

    I find out the British Railway locos are Name after Thunderbirds

    By stuew6 [Affiliate User] 1213827545 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • i know what you ...

    i know what you mean. they got a lot of stuff mixed up and changed stuff around. classic is always best.

    By sunstreak1 [Affiliate User] 1213212268 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • I think,, The ...

    I think,, The recent Thunderbirds film should have been with puppets, not live. Mr.Frakes knows about star trek,, and knows Nothing of Thunderbirds..lol

    By peternoer [Affiliate User] 1212995103 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • oh good point, ...

    oh good point, thank you for answering

    By jeektamboon [Affiliate User] 1211588273 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • did thunderbird 2 ...

    did thunderbird 2 not have that filming thing?

    By jeektamboon [Affiliate User] 1211511753 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
5 Comments | Add Comment
 
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