The Duchess Assignment
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The Duchess Assignment
"The Duchess Assignment" 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 Martin Crump and directed by David Elliott, it was first broadcast on 17 February 1966 on ATV Midlands as the 21st episode of Series One. It is the 23rd 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 primary fleet of vehicles: the ''Thunderbird'' machines. The plot of "The Duchess Assignment" follows an elderly British duchess who has lost nearly all of her fortune through gambling so is forced to loan out a valuable painting in her possession to avoid financial ru ...
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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 ...
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Lady Penelope
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is a fictional character introduced in the British 1960s Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', which was produced by AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. The character also appears in the film sequels '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and ''Thunderbird 6'' (1968), the 2004 live-action film '' Thunderbirds'' and the CGI remake series '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. In the world of ''Thunderbirds'', Penelope is employed by the secret organisation International Rescue as its London field agent. The puppet character of the TV series and first two films were voiced by Sylvia Anderson. In the live-action film, she was portrayed by Sophia Myles, while in the remake series she is voiced by Rosamund Pike. Background The original puppet character was devised with transatlantic viewers in mind. In a 2014 interview, ''Thunderbirds'' co-creator Sylvia Anderson explained: "I said to myself, 'What do the Americans think of us Brits? They think we're eithe ...
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Thunderbird 2
The Thunderbird machines are a series of vehicles imagined for the mid-1960s film and television '' Thunderbirds'' series developed by Gerry Anderson. The released work began with the Supermarionation television 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 resident technical genius known as Brains. The use o ...
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Thunderbird 1
The Thunderbird machines are a series of vehicles imagined for the mid-1960s film and television '' Thunderbirds'' series developed by Gerry Anderson. The released work began with the Supermarionation television 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 resident technical genius known as Brains. The use of ...
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David Holliday
David Holliday (August 4, 1937March 26, 1999) was an American Broadway actor and television voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Virgil Tracy, pilot of ''Thunderbird 2'', in the first series (26 episodes) of '' Thunderbirds'' (1965–66). Career Stage Holliday's longest-running role on Broadway was that of Richard Kiley's alternate as Don Quixote in ''Man of La Mancha'', playing Don Quixote in matinees and Dr Carrasco in the evening performances, from 1965 to 1971 (and later took on the role of the innkeeper in the 1992 revival). His next performance, as Georges in '' Coco'', (1969 – 1970) earned him a Theatre World Award. He also appeared in the musicals ''Nevertheless They Laugh'' (Off Broadway 1971), ''Music Is'' (1976) and ''Perfectly Frank'' (1980). In 1956 Holliday went to New York and auditioned for a part in ''West Side Story''; he was given the minor role of Glad Hand, and to understudy Tony, in the London production. He then went on to play the lead ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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St Christopher
Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively under the emperor Maximinus Daia (reigned 308–313). There appears to be confusion due to the similarity in names "Decius" and "Daia". Churches and monasteries were named after him by the 7th century. One day he carried a child, who was unknown to him, across a river before the child revealed himself as Christ. Therefore, he is the patron saint of travelers, and small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket, or placed in vehicles by Christians. Historicity Probably the most important source of the historicity of Christophorus is a stone inscription published by Louis Duchesne in 1878. The copy of the stone inscription and the first publication took place on 7 April 1877 by Matthieu Paranikas in ...
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Homing Device
In the distribution and logistics of many types of products, track and trace or tracking and tracing concerns a process of determining the current and past locations (and other information) of a unique item or property. This concept can be supported by means of reckoning and reporting of the position of vehicles and containers with the property of concern, stored, for example, in a real-time database. This approach leaves the task to compose a coherent depiction of the subsequent status reports. Another approach is to report the arrival or departure of the object and recording the identification of the object, the location where observed, the time, and the status. This approach leaves the task to verify the reports regarding consistency and completeness. An example of this method might be the package tracking provided by shippers, such as the United States Postal Service, Deutsche Post, Royal Mail, United Parcel Service, AirRoad, or FedEx. Technology The international s ...
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FAB 1
FAB 1 is a pink, six-wheeled car seen in the 1960s British science-fiction television series '' Thunderbirds'', its three film adaptations and its reboot, '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. Depiction 1960s TV series and films In the original '' Thunderbirds'' (1965–66), as well as the feature films '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966) and ''Thunderbird 6'' (1968), FAB 1 is depicted as a modified Rolls-Royce. Owned by International Rescue agent Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, the car is usually driven by her butler, Aloysius Parker. The driver sits in a central position at the front of the passenger compartment, which is covered by a bulletproof bubble canopy. FAB 1 was modified by Brains, the inventor of the ''Thunderbirds'' machines, to include weaponry and gadgetry such as front- and rear-mounted machine guns (although grappling hooks are seen to shoot out of the rear in the episode "The Perils of Penelope"). The car is also equipped with a smoke screen canister and oil slick dispenser ...
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