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Sun Probe
"Sun Probe" is an episode of '' Thunderbirds'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. Written by Alan Fennell and directed by David Lane, it was first broadcast on 9 December 1965 on ATV Midlands as the 11th episode of Series One. It is the fourth episode in the official running order. Set in the 2060s, the series follows the exploits of International Rescue, an organisation that uses technologically-advanced rescue vehicles to save human life. The main characters are ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, founder of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the organisation's main vehicles: the ''Thunderbird'' machines. In "Sun Probe", '' Thunderbirds 2'' and '' 3'' are launched to save a crew of astronauts whose spacecraft is locked on a collision course with the Sun. Plot At Cape Kennedy in Florida, Colonel Benson oversees the launch of ''Sun Probe'', a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thunderbirds (TV Series)
''Thunderbirds'' is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It was made between 1964 and 1966 using a form of electronic marionette puppetry (dubbed " Supermarionation") combined with scale model special effects sequences. Two series, totalling thirty-two 50-minute episodes, were filmed; production ended with the completion of the sixth episode of the second series after Lew Grade, the Andersons' financial backer, failed in his bid to sell the programme to American network television. Set in the 2060s, ''Thunderbirds'' is a follow-up to the earlier Supermarionation productions ''Four Feather Falls'', ''Supercar'', ''Fireball XL5'' and '' Stingray''. It follows the exploits of International Rescue, a life-saving organisation equipped with technologically-advanced land, sea, air and space rescue craft; these are headed by a fleet of five vehicles nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thunderbirds Machines
The Thunderbird machines are a series of vehicles imagined for the mid-1960s film and television ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'' series developed by Gerry Anderson. The released work began with the Supermarionation television series ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'' and was followed by subsequent feature films ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' and ''Thunderbird 6'' in 1965–68. The series featured a large variety of futuristic air, land and sea vehicles and machines, the majority of which were designed by special effects director Derek Meddings. In the context of the series, most of the advanced machines appearing in the series belonged to the International Rescue organisation and were used during their rescues. These were known as the "Thunderbirds", of which there were five core machines and a variety of other rescue craft. It was after these that the series was named. In the series, all of the International Rescue vehicles were designed by the organisation's resid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgil Tracy
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the ''Eclogues'' (or ''Bucolics''), the ''Georgics'', and the epic ''Aeneid''. A number of minor poems, collected in the ''Appendix Vergiliana'', were attributed to him in ancient times, but modern scholars consider his authorship of these poems as dubious. Virgil's work has had wide and deep influence on Western literature, most notably Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', in which Virgil appears as the author's guide through Hell and Purgatory. Virgil has been traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. His ''Aeneid'' is also considered a national epic of ancient Rome, a title held since composition. Life and works Birth and biographical tradition Virgil's biographical tradition is thought to depend on a lost biography by the Roman poe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shane Rimmer
Shane Rimmer (born Shane Lance Deacon; May 28, 1929 – March 29, 2019) was a Canadian actor and screenwriter who spent the majority of his career in the United Kingdom. The self-proclaimed "Rent-A-Yank" of the British entertainment industry, he appeared in over 160 films and television programmes from 1957 until his death in 2019, usually playing supporting North American characters. Among his best known roles were the voice of Scott Tracy in the original ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'' series, Air Force Captain "Ace" Owens in ''Dr. Strangelove'', Joe Donnelli and Malcolm Reid on ''Coronation Street'', Edward R. Murrow in ''Gandhi (film), Gandhi'', and Louie Watterson on the Cartoon Network series ''The Amazing World of Gumball''. He also made several appearances in the James Bond film series. He also made several on-stage appearances for the Royal National Theatre, and contributed scripts to ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' and ''Joe 90''. Early life Rimmer was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Tracy
Scott Tracy is a fictional character in Gerry Anderson's 1960s Supermarionation television series ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'', the subsequent films ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and ''Thunderbird 6'' (1968) and the TV remake ''Thunderbirds Are Go!''. He is the pilot of the primary vehicle of the ''Thunderbird'' fleet, ''Thunderbird 1''. His specialist training is as a First Responder and Team Leader. Original series Character biography The eldest son of Jeff Tracy (founder and financier of International Rescue), Scott is named after American astronaut Scott Carpenter. Sources vary in the Canon (fiction), canon of the ''Thunderbirds'' series as to Scott's age and birth date. One written source suggests that Scott was born on 4 April 2000 or 2039, making him 26 years old. Educated at Yale University, Yale and University of Oxford, Oxford Universities, Scott was decorated for valour during his service with the United States Air Force before taking up his duties with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', its film sequels '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and '' Thunderbird 6'' (1968), as well as the TV remake '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. The character also appeared in the 2004 live-action film adaptation, '' Thunderbirds''. ''Thunderbirds'' (1965-1966) Background The face of the Alan Tracy puppet was modelled on actor Robert Reed. Matt Zimmerman voiced the character for all but one of his 1960s appearances; since Zimmerman was a late addition to the cast, Ray Barrett provided Alan's voice for his debut appearance in the series opener, " Trapped in the Sky". Zimmerman was recommended to producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson by David Holliday, the voice of Virgil Tracy. In an interview, Zimmerman remembered of his casting: "They were having great difficulty in casting the part of Alan Tracy as they wanted a certain sound for him ...As I walked in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collision Course
{{wiktionary A collision course, also known as a ''kamikaze run'', is the deliberate maneuver by the operator of a moving object (or often in Sci-Fi a spaceship) to collide with another object. It is a desperate maneuver since it often damages or destroys both. Uses in history *Ancient Greek Triremes were reinforced and equipped with bronze rammers, so they could collide with enemy ships to sink them *Admiral Nelson used a similar tactic to attack the French fleet at Trafalgar, to the horror of Captain Hardy, when he ordered the British ships to 'run aboard' (crash into, or just ahead of the ships). *PT-109, a torpedo boat commanded by the future U.S. President, then Lieutenant junior grade John F. Kennedy, was believed to have been rammed intentionally by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri (1930). The destroyer cut the PT boat in half, killing two men and badly injuring another two. *Kamikaze pilots from Japan used collision course tactics to take out naval vessels or large Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retro-rocket
A retrorocket (short for ''retrograde rocket'') is a rocket engine providing thrust opposing the motion of a vehicle, thereby causing it to decelerate. They have mostly been used in spacecraft, with more limited use in short-runway aircraft landing. New uses are emerging since 2010 for retro-thrust rockets in reusable launch systems. History Rockets were fitted to the nose of some models of the DFS 230, a World War II German Military glider. This enabled the aircraft to land in more confined areas than would otherwise be possible during an airborne assault. Another World War II development was the British Hajile project, initiated by the British Admiralty's Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development. Originally a request from the British Army as a method to drop heavy equipment or vehicles from aircraft flying at high speeds and altitudes, the project turned out to be a huge disaster and was largely forgotten after the war. Although some of the tests turned out to be suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solar Prominence
A prominence, sometimes referred to as a filament, is a large plasma and magnetic field structure extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the solar corona. While the corona consists of extremely hot plasma, prominences contain much cooler plasma, similar in composition to that of the chromosphere. Prominences form over timescales of about a day and may persist in the corona for several weeks or months, looping hundreds of thousands of kilometers into space. Some prominences may give rise to coronal mass ejections. Scientists are currently researching how and why prominences are formed. A typical prominence extends over many thousands of kilometers; the largest on record was estimated at over long, roughly a solar radius. History The first detailed description of a solar prominence was in 14th-century Laurentian Codex, describing the Solar eclipse of 1 May 11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humanoid Robot
A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipedal locomotion, or for other purposes. In general, humanoid robots have a torso, a head, two arms, and two legs, though some humanoid robots may replicate only part of the body, for example, from the waist up. Some humanoid robots also have heads designed to replicate human facial features such as eyes and mouths. Androids are humanoid robots built to aesthetically resemble humans. History The concept of a humanoid robot originated in many different cultures around the world. Some of the earliest accounts of the idea of humanoid automata date to the 4th century BCE in Greek mythologies and various religious and philosophical texts from China. Physical prototypes of humanoid automata were later created in the Middle East, Italy, Japan, and France. Greece The Greek g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brains (Thunderbirds)
Brains is a fictional character introduced in the British mid-1960s Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', who also appears in the sequel films '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and ''Thunderbird 6'' (1968) and the 2004 live-action adaptation '' Thunderbirds''. The puppet character was voiced by David Graham in the TV series and the first two films, while Anthony Edwards played the role for the live-action film. Brains is voiced by Kayvan Novak in the CGI remake series '' Thunderbirds Are Go'', which aired in 2015. Conception and development According to series co-creator Sylvia Anderson, Brains was conceived as "yet another version of our regular boffin-type characters who had appeared in all our previous series". She compares the character to Professor Matthew Matic (of ''Fireball XL5'') and George Lee Sheridan, nicknamed "Phones" (of ''Stingray''). Brains has also been viewed as an updated version Dr Beaker (of ''Supercar''), an eccentric scientist who similarly s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tracy Island
Tracy Island is the secret headquarters of the International Rescue organisation in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'' and its adaptations. In the original series, the heavily-camouflaged island is located in the South Pacific Ocean and is home to the Tracy family, scientists Brains and Tin-Tin, and housekeeper Kyrano. The name "Tracy Island" originates in ''Thunderbirds'' comic strips and other tie-in media; in the series itself, the characters refer to it simply as International Rescue's "base". The island has had several releases as a children's toy, most notably in the early 1990s, 2000 and 2015. The first two models were commercially very successful, causing retailers to run out of stock. It was the 1993 British Association of Toy Retailers' Toy of the Year. Depiction The centrepiece of the island is the Tracy Villa, the home of the island's residents. Various features of the original series' villa – such as the outside staircase descend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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