Thunderbirds Are Go (again, maybe)

[Buzz Bumble]

There have been numerous rumours and even trailers for a new TV series of the old British children's puppet show Thunderbirds. Reportedly this is a picture of the Thunderbird 1 model being used in the new series.



Looks okay-ish, although the added cockpit and huge thruster ports look a little silly ... but almost anything is better than the awful Americanised live-action movie made a few years ago. Except for what looks like a changed Thunderbird 5 space station, the images down the sides look like the orginal vehicles as well (what we can see of them), which is potentially a good sign.

I'm not sure if this is just a promotional model, since the last trailer I saw said it was a CGI series.

[droosan]

I did some CG model work on a (failed) pitch/pilot for a CGI Thunderbirds, way-y-y back in 1999, while at Foundation Imaging.

Foundation Imaging's founder Ron Thornton (himself an 'ex-pat' Brit) was a huge fan of the original show .. but the main push-back from Gerry Anderson (as I understood it at the time) was that he didn't want a new Thunderbirds to be produced outside of England.

A few years later, Mr. Thornton left Foundation Imaging and returned to England to oversee a CGI revival of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

---------------------------

While the 2004 Thunderbirds movie suffered from wanting desperately to be Spy Kids instead, I thought the vehicles and effects were rather nicely-realized and respectful of the original show. Sophia Myles as Lady Penelope was actually pretty amazing; I ended up wishing they'd made her the main character.

[Randall]

The CGI Captain Scarlet, though having some technical limitations, was a pretty good show! Just finished watching it with my son, and he adored it.

The Thunderbirds movie, though... Lots to like in terms of design and acting, but sooooooo wrongheaded plot-wise. It could have worked as a single episode of a series, but as a movie showcasing the concept, it was just the wrong way to go.

I could certainly be up for a new Thunderbirds show.

[Buzz Bumble]

From the New Zealand TV Guide's junk email today ...

F.A.B. Scott! News this week that the iconic 1960s kids' adventure series, Thunderbirds, is to make a TV comeback in 2015 with a big dollop of Kiwi input and expertise will have excited fans of the show.

Let's just forget the dismally-failed 2004 attempt at a movie version of Thunderbirds and pray that this remake will pay homage to the original series and its wonderfully-inventive ideas and adventures.

Thunderbirds, created by British husband-and-wife team Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and their Century 21 production team, broke new ground in the use of scale models to create the futuristic world of International Rescue. As much a part of the Swinging 60s as The Beatles and mini-skirts, Thunderbirds was the show that millions of kids watched, loved and dreamed about. Yes, yes - it may all look so dated and quaint to today's children, who have grown up with the almost unlimited power of Computer Generated Imagery. But it was Thunderbirds that set the tone for the half a century of film and TV sci-fi adventure that followed after it began in 1965. It deserves a Golden Anniversary re-birth, doesn't it?

I did some CG model work on a (failed) pitch/pilot for a CGI Thunderbirds, way-y-y back in 1999, while at Foundation Imaging.

I don't know if it's the same one, but the promo trailer I've got for a CGI version which says "Coming 2005" at the end.

While the 2004 Thunderbirds movie suffered from wanting desperately to be Spy Kids instead, I thought the vehicles and effects were rather nicely-realized and respectful of the original show. Sophia Myles as Lady Penelope was actually pretty amazing; I ended up wishing they'd made her the main character.

The live-action movie was complete and utter rubbish from start to finish, and is ignored by any true Thunderbirds fan. Not only was it trying to jump on the Spy Kids bandwagon, but the ships were awful and didn't look like the original versions, the story didn't fit in any way with the established history, ..., basically just a typical silly "reboot" where they steal the name and basic idea, and then butcher it almost beyond recognition. Plus there's no way a British Lady would even be seen dead in a Ford. It wasn't helped by the fact that Jonathan Frakes' (from Star Trek The Next Generation) was put in charge and had absolutely no idea what the original was, watched a few episode, and then thought he knew it all.

[Ben]

My favorite quote from Frakes was "I wasn't a fan of the original show"...right at the top of a trade promo for the movie...and they let him direct it!!


Small-ish world, Drop...I was involved with an aborted CG Captain Scarlett around that same time. Pretty good take on it it was too, with some great visuals and some killer lines. That didn't work out but I wonder if they saw any of that when they started the more recent attempts...

[Buzz Bumble]

According to the latest New Zealand TV Guide, Francis Matthews died recently - he was the actor who voiced the original Captain Scarlet. Scooby Doo, Captain Scarlet, who is next?

[Ben]

Tony Danzer.

Tony Danzer is next.