Grandma Tracy
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Grandma Tracy is a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
in the puppet television series '' Thunderbirds'' and its animated remake '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. She is the mother of
Jeff Tracy Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show '' Thunderbirds'' and the subsequent films '' Thunderbirds Are GO'' and ''Thunderbird 6''. The voice for the character in these shows was suppl ...
and the paternal grandmother of the Tracy brothers: Scott,
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
,
Virgil 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: t ...
,
Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...
and
Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...
. The character was voiced by
Christine Finn Christine L. T. Finn (1929 – 5 December 2007) was an English actress, known primarily for her role in the 1950s TV serial ''Quatermass and the Pit'', and, after that, her voice work for the 1960s '' Thunderbirds'' television series. She also ...
in the original series and
Sandra Dickinson Sandra Dickinson (née Searles) is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played characters who fell into the trope of a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice. Early life Di ...
in the remake.


Depiction in ''Thunderbirds''

Little is known about Grandma Tracy's past, and her real name is never mentioned on screen with all the characters, sometimes even her son
Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...
, calling her "Grandma". As a young girl, her grandmother took her round London and she travelled on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
, a fact that would prove useful later for International Rescue (" Vault of Death"). She was married to a
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
wheat farmer but was widowed some time before International Rescue began and helped Jeff bring up his five sons after the untimely death of his wife. During International Rescue's early days she lived alone near San Miguel, somewhere in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
. However, she began to miss feeling useful, so decided to move to
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 th ...
. Shortly after winning the Parola Sands Race, her youngest grandson
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 '' Thunde ...
picks her up so she can move to Tracy Island. Unfortunately, a racing competitor of Alan's takes revenge and Alan and Grandma find themselves having to sit still on a bridge spanning the San Miguel River due to a bomb that the enemy has placed under it – should either of them move, the bomb will detonate and the bridge will be destroyed. They are rescued by Alan's brothers, allowing Grandma to see her family's work first hand (" Moveand You're Dead"). She then moves into the Tracy household. As the Tracy matriarch, Grandma keeps her family together, offering wisdom and advice for them and the others in the household, like Alan's love
Tin-Tin Kyrano Tin-Tin Kyrano is a fictional character introduced in the 1960s British Supermarionation puppet television series '' Thunderbirds''. In the original TV series and its film sequels, the voice of Tin-Tin was provided by actress Christine Finn. In ...
. It is Grandma who keeps Alan and Tin-Tin together when one of Tin-Tin's old flames pays a visit (" End of the Road"). Along with
Kyrano Kyrano is a fictional character featured in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'' and its 2004 live-action film adaptation. Depiction Original series Kyrano is the father of Tin-Tin and half-brother of The H ...
and Tin-Tin, Grandma takes care of domestic chores in the Tracy household, though she can sometimes be confused by all the technological gadgetry – at one point getting tracking bugs mixed into her apple pie ("Day of Disaster") but later being able to work a nuclear oven ("
Give or Take a Million "Give or Take a Million" is the 32nd and final episode of '' Thunderbirds'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films for ITC Entertainment. Written by Alan Pa ...
"). Although not an active part of International Rescue, Grandma still plays a role when needed. She has been known to help her grandsons put together equipment they need ("
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 ...
") and it is she who comes up with a solution for a rescue mission at the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
when everyone else is stuck ("Vault of Death"). She also attends the filming of an edition of the ''Ned Cook Show'' in which the host thanks International Rescue for saving his life ("
Terror in New York City "Terror in New York City" 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, later Century 21 Productions) for ITC Entertai ...
"). Grandma has never visited a stately home but hopes to do so one day, especially after meeting
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 seque ...
(" The Mighty Atom"). Grandma's chronology is unclear in that she does not move to Tracy Island until "Moveand You're Dead" (production number 9), despite being mentioned in "Sun Probe" (production number 4) and appearing in all four episodes filmed in between. In the original broadcast order, Grandma appears in even more episodes prior to "Moveand You're Dead". While the character was intended to debut in that episode and originally did not appear in any of the previous eight, she was added in when the runtime for each episode was unexpectedly doubled from 25 to 50 minutes by order of
Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...
, owner of the series' production company
AP Films AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...
, forcing the writers to devise extra scenes and subplots to pad out the 25-minute episodes that had already been filmed. The puppet character was sculpted by either John Blundall or Carolyn Turner.


Appearances

*" The Uninvited" *" The Mighty Atom" *" Vault of Death" *"
Operation Crash-Dive "Operation Crash-Dive" 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 a ...
" *" Moveand You're Dead" *"
Terror in New York City "Terror in New York City" 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, later Century 21 Productions) for ITC Entertai ...
" *" End of the Road" *"Day of Disaster" *"Desperate Intruder" *"
The Man from MI.5 "The Man from MI.5" is an episode of ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry Anderson, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Enter ...
" *"Cry Wolf" *"
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 ...
" *"
Attack of the Alligators! "Attack of the Alligators!" 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 Patti ...
" *"
The Cham-Cham "The Cham-Cham" is the 25th episode of '' Thunderbirds'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF). The penultimate episode of ''Thunderbirds'' Seri ...
" *" Lord Parker's 'Oliday" *"
Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
" *"
Give or Take a Million "Give or Take a Million" is the 32nd and final episode of '' Thunderbirds'', a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films for ITC Entertainment. Written by Alan Pa ...
"


Other appearances

Grandma briefly appears in the film ''
Thunderbird 6 ''Thunderbird 6'' is a 1968 British Science fiction film, science fiction puppet film based on ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'', a Supermarionation television series created by Gerry Anderson, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by ...
'' but has no dialogue. The character is absent from the 2004 live-action film, in which she is replaced by a new character called Onaha, who is shown to be
Kyrano Kyrano is a fictional character featured in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'' and its 2004 live-action film adaptation. Depiction Original series Kyrano is the father of Tin-Tin and half-brother of The H ...
's wife and Tin-Tin's mother. Grandma returns in the 2015 remake series '' Thunderbirds Are Go'', for which she is voiced by
Sandra Dickinson Sandra Dickinson (née Searles) is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played characters who fell into the trope of a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice. Early life Di ...
. In the remake, she is one of only three people who know of Kayo's relation with
The Hood The Hood (Parker Robbins) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan, and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell (comics), Eric Powell, the character was introduced in his own sel ...
(the others being Jeff and Kayo). She has a noticeably different personality: she is tougher than the original puppet character, has taken over the role of head of the family following Jeff's disappearance, and is a very poor cook. In series 2, her first name is revealed to be Sally. Carolyn Percy of the ''
Wales Arts Review ''Wales Arts Review'' is a critical writing hub for Wales. Originally published fortnightly, the site has published daily since 2016. It offers a critique, by Welsh and Wales-based writers, of various social and cultural aspects of Wales. Histor ...
'' comments that the remake character's "loving but no-nonsense" personality is in contrast with the original puppet character, who was played as more of a "stereotypical sweet little old lady".


References


External links


Fab1.co.nz - ''Thunderbirds'' Characters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy, Grandma American female characters in television Female characters in animated series Fictional characters from Kansas Television characters introduced in 1965 Thunderbirds (TV series) characters