''Thunderbirds Are Go'' is a computer-animated

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

programme produced by

ITV Studios ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...

and Pukeko Pictures. It is a reboot of the series '' Thunderbirds'' created by

Gerry Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice pre ...

and Sylvia Anderson which follows the exploits of International Rescue (IR), a rescue organisation run by the Tracy family out of their secret island base in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. They use technologically-advanced craft for land, sea, air and space rescues in their operations, the most important of which are a set of vehicles called the '' Thunderbirds'', piloted by the five Tracy brothers. The programme premiered on 4 April 2015 and concluded on 22 February 2020, running for 78 episodes across three series. It was well-received by critics and fans of the original series, and has spawned several branches of merchandising since its broadcast.

Background

A revival of the 1960s science fiction Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'' was approved by co-creator

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

when Richard Taylor, the founder of Weta Workshop, visited him at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

while he was working on ''

New Captain Scarlet ''Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet'' (more commonly ''New Captain Scarlet'' or ''NCS'') is a British computer generated action-adventure reboot of the 1967 Supermarionation series, ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons''. Both series wer ...

''. On 4 February 2013, ITV Global Entertainment and Pukeko Pictures officially announced the revival under the title ''Thunderbirds Are Go!'' Production began in June 2013 at Weta Workshop, while the principal voice cast was announced on 30 September 2014. Each series consists of 26 episodes with transmission split into multiple parts. Series 1 was broadcast between 4 April–20 June 2015 and 31 October 2015–23 January 2016. A second series was green-lit on 18 December 2014 and aired between 22 October 2016 – 7 January 2017 and 30 September–16 December 2017. A third and final series was confirmed on 5 May 2016 and was broadcast between 31 March–26 May 2018, 18 May–13 July 2019 and 4 January–22 February 2020.

Premise

Set in the year 2060, ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' follows the exploits of the Tracy brothers -

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...

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: th ...

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.'' * ...

, Gordon, and

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 * Secon ...

- who form the backbone of International Rescue (IR): a life-saving organisation that operates from a hidden base in the Southern

, and who save people from disasters and dangerous situations using technologically advanced crafts for land, sea, air and space rescue, the most prominent of these being five vehicles called " Thunderbirds", each one operated by one of the brothers. In addition to the brothers, IR also includes additional members who offer assistance and support: Chief of Security Tanusha "Kayo" Kyrano, who conducts covert and security operations through the use of a specialised Thunderbird with stealth capabilities; engineer

Brains A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ i ...

, who provides technological and mechanical support both at the base and in the field;

Grandma Tracy Grandma Tracy is a fictional character in the puppet television series '' Thunderbirds'' and its animated remake '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. She is the mother of Jeff Tracy and the paternal grandmother of the Tracy brothers: Scott, John, Virgil, ...

, the brothers' maternal support who tends to their home needs; and London operatives Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, an English aristocrat, and Aloysius "Nosey" Parker, a chauffeur and former thief, who conduct investigative and espionage work when required. Although most rescues involve contending with disaster caused by unforeseen incidents or the actions of criminals, a number are orchestrated by IR's main adversary known only as "The Hood" - a British criminal mastermind who despises the organisation and seeks to often steal their technology while conducting crimes to make him wealthy. Prior to the premiere episode of the programme, the Hood is known to IR and is responsible for the loss of the brothers' father, Jeff Tracy, the founder of IR and a close friend of Colonel Casey, the head of the Global Defence Force (GDF). In the second series, the programme introduced a second villain called "The Mechanic," who causes havoc and eventually helps to break out the Hood, after he is arrested by the GDF at the end of the first series, only to later turn on him in order to break free from his control, whereupon he later surrenders, on condition that Brains helps him secure his freedom. In the third series, a pair of villains called the "Chaos Crew" - formed of siblings Havoc and Fuse - join with the Hood to cause world-wide chaos, and become a considerable problem for both the GDF and IR. Much of the episodes focus on rescue operations, many of which include elements from the original series - an example includes a remake of the original series premiere episode with a modern take on its plot. Although all episodes mainly include unique characters who have only one appearance, several created for ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' make reoccurring appearances, often with them being put into new situations they need rescuing from, though overarching storylines for each series focused mainly on the prominent villains for that series and the actions they undertake. Throughout the programme, the loss of Jeff to his sons plays a key element in a number of stories, both in relics found by the brothers, the various lessons they recall him teaching them, and the people who knew him best. The third and final series eventually included a final story arc focused on Jeff, in which IR discover him to be alive, rather than dead as presumed, but trapped in deep space. Amid a few standard rescues, the next few episodes focused on the Tracy family developing the means to reach and rescue him, culminating in the brothers eventually bringing him home in the 'Zero-XL', a spacecraft literally assembled around the five main Thunderbirds.

Cast

Main

* Rasmus Hardiker as Scott Tracy and Alan Tracy * David Menkin as

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: th ...

and

Gordon Tracy Gordon Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show '' Thunderbirds'', the subsequent films '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' and '' Thunderbird 6'' as well as the remake TV series '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. The c ...

* Thomas Brodie-Sangster as John Tracy * Angel Coulby as Kayo Kyrano * Kayvan Novak as

Rosamund Pike Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike (born 1979) is a British actress. She began her acting career by appearing in stage productions such as ''Romeo and Juliet'' and ''Gas Light''. After her screen debut in the television film ''A Rather English Marriage'' ...

as Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward *

David Graham David Graham may refer to: Authors and intellectuals * David Graham (American poet), American writer and poet *David Graham (author) (1919–1994), pen name of British writer Robert Hale * David Graham (Canadian academic), Canadian academic admini ...

as Parker

Recurring

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 D ...

* Andres Williams as The Hood *

Adjoa Andoh Adjoa Andoh Hon. FRSL (born 14 January 1963) is a British actress. On stage, she has played lead roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre. On television, she appeared in ...

as Colonel Casey * Teresa Gallagher as EOS *

Chris Jarman Chris Jarman is a British stage and television actor. He is the voice-over for E4's Tattoo Fixers. He is also known for providing the voice of The Mechanic in '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. Jarman played Doctor Dillamond, and understudied the role of ...

as The Mechanic *

Aimee-Ffion Edwards Aimee-Ffion Edwards (born 21 November 1987) is a Welsh actress and singer. She is known for playing Sketch in '' Skins'', Esme Shelby in ''Peaky Blinders'', Sophie in '' Detectorists'' and Abi in '' Loaded''. She also had a starring voice role ...

as Havoc * Craig Stein as Fuse *

Marc Silk Marc Silk is a British voice actor. His character vocal work includes Aks Moe in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'', '' Danger Mouse'', '' The Pingu Show'', ''Go Jetters'', ''Strange Hill High'', ''Chicken Run'' and US voice of ...

as Captain Wayne Rigby * Kayvan Novak as Ned Tedford * Rhys Darby as Langstrom Fishler *

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series '' Bad Education'' (2012–2014, 20 ...

as Francois Lemaire *

Taj Atwal Taj Atwal (born in December 1987) is a British actress from Norwich, who has appeared in ''Stella'', '' In the Club'', ''Line of Duty'', TV drama ''The Syndicate'' and comedy '' Hullraisers''. Biography Atwal was born in Norwich to an Indian f ...

as Madeline Lemaire * Teresa Gallagher as Professor Moffat *

Rich Hall Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954) is an American comedian, writer, documentary maker and musician, first coming to prominence as a sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of American networks, in series such as ...

as Captain Lee Taylor ;Notes *Kayvan Novak, Rosamund Pike and Teresa Gallagher also voice various guest characters. *Archive audio of

Peter Dyneley Peter Dyneley (13 April 1921 – 19 August 1977) was a British actor. Although he appeared in many smaller roles in both film and television, he is best remembered for supplying the voice of Jeff Tracy for the 1960s " Supermarionation" TV serie ...

(voice actor of Jeff Tracy in the original ''Thunderbirds'' series) announcing the 5–1 countdown from the programme's title sequence is featured in the remake's titles and during the ''Thunderbirds launch sequences. *David Graham also voiced Parker in the original ''Thunderbirds'' series.

Production

By 2000, Jem Roberts held an interview with Gerry Anderson about an potential upcoming revival of the Thunderbirds series. Anderson anticipated that computer graphics would better capture realism. Around this time, a video game adaptation for

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

was in development. All

scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...

miniature effects and CGI for the series was produced at Weta Workshop in New Zealand. The series was executive produced by Estelle Hughes, Giles Ridge, Richard Taylor and Andrew Smith, while David Scott and Theo Baynton act as series director and episode director, respectively. The head writer is Rob Hoegee, while Anthony Cox serves as a film editor and Ben Milsom a production designer. The production of each episode started with a physical set creation. The sets were created using methods similar to those used in the original series, including the use of household objects as components. A film crew would devise camera setups for scenes to match with the movement and positions of CGI-created characters and crafts that were to be imposed later upon the footage. This also included special effects used on set, such as smoke and air. All CGI sequences were storyboarded before being superimposed onto the live-action footage of the miniatures. Each set was then individually scanned as a 3D print to provide reference for the CGI elements so they could be accurately registered in the environments. Details were then introduced, including textures, craft setup, atmospheric particles and flying debris. The UK-based company Milk VFX was responsible for the final composition. The music score was composed by brothers

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( h ...

and

Nick Foster Nick Foster is a British composer and music producer based in London. He is best-known for his work as a composer for television, commercials and film. Career Foster’s recent work includes Jack Whitehall & Freddy Syborn’s comedy-drama for ...

. The revived series's opening theme and certain cues remained faithful to Barry Gray's score for the original series, albeit with a contemporary orchestral style.

Episodes

Reception

Fans and critics reacted very positively to the new series. ITV started to air episodes at 8 am (other than the pilot, which aired at 5 pm). Series 2, however, has been airing the show at 4pm on ITV and repeat it the following day at 8:30am on CITV. From the episode Volcano on 30 September 2017, it aired on CITV's Scrambled on Saturday at 8:30am, with it being repeated on ITV the same day at 3:30pm, although this varied throughout the run, with the repeat often airing as early as 12pm. The afternoon repeat was dropped for Series 3.

Accolades

International broadcasts

On 16 June 2014, ITV Studios Global Entertainment sold the rights in a deal with Australia's free-to-air

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

(

9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, ani ...

), who broadcast both the first series, and the second series. The third series was bought by ABC, who premiered it on ABC Me from 2 June 2018. On 28 April 2015, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation acquired the television and licensing rights for ''Thunderbirds Are Go''. The Japan broadcast for the first series was premiered on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

(

NHK General TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK G, is the main television service of NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster. Its programming includes news, drama, quiz/variety shows, music, sports, anime, and specials which compete directly with the output of i ...

) on 2016-08-05 (as ''サンダーバード ARE GO''), and all three series were premiered on Super! drama TV later. French broadcasts were premiered in September 2015 on Canal J (as ''Thunderbirds''), followed by Gulli later this year (as ''Thunderbirds''), with

Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

as French licensing agent. On 10 February 2016, ITV Studios Global Entertainment announced 13 episodes of ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' (series 1, split up) would premiere in the United States on

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

on 22 April 2016. The premiere of the second series at Prime Video was also announced. Currently, Series 3 has yet to debut on the service as of 2021. Canadian broadcasts premiered on

CHRGD WildBrainTV is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by WildBrain. WildBrainTV broadcasts live-action and animated children's programming aimed towards audiences ages 6–15. The channel first launched on June 1, 2011, under the o ...

and Family Channel in April 2016. Taiwan broadcast was premiered in PTS Taiwan on 14 September 2016 (as ''新雷鳥神機隊''). In Brazil, the show has broadcast on

Gloob Gloob (Portuguese pronunciation: "Glubi"), also known as Mundo Gloob, is a Brazilian pay television children's channel that was launched on 15 June 2012, aimed at children 6 to 12 years old. Owned, operated and part of Canais Globo, a televi ...

since 4 July 2016. The Nordic broadcasts were premiered in SVT ( SVT Barnkanalen) in Sweden (as ''Thunderbirds'') since 2015,

NRK Super NRK Super is a Norwegian TV & radio channel aimed at children, run by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. The TV channel is broadcast on the digital terrestrial network, on the same frequency as NRK3 from 7am to 7pm, and was launched 1 Decem ...

in Norway (as ''Thunderbirds'') since 2015, DR (Ramasjang and Ultra) in Denmark (as ''Thunderbirds Are Go'') since 2015,

MTV Juniori C More Juniori (formerly ''Subtv Juniori'', ''Sub Juniori'', ''MTV3 Juniori'' and ''MTV Juniori'') is a Finnish television channel targeting children owned and operated by MTV Oy. The channel is part of the C More channels package and broadcasts ...

in Finland (as ''Thunderbirds'') since 2016, with Alicom appointed as the Nordic licensing agent. The series was also premiered in

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the ...

( TVNZ 2) in New Zealand, Noga in Israel (with LDI as the agent), MBC (

MBC3 MBC 3 is a free-to-air children's channel launched on 8 December 2004, and appeals to children under the age of 15. All foreign television animated programs have been dubbed into Arabic. The channel also produces its own original programmes. It ...

) in pan-Arab (as ''ثندربيردز انطلق''),,

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

in Poland, NPO Zapp in Netherlands,

teleTOON+ Teletoon+ (stylised as teleToON+; formerly Minimax and ZigZap) is a Polish television channel owned and operated by the Canal+ Group through ITI Neovision SA, available on Platforma Canal+. The channel aims at young people in the age group of 1 ...

HBO GO HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital medi ...

, and

in Poland,

Télé-Québec The Société de télédiffusion du Québec (; en, Quebec Television Broadcasting Corporation), branded as Télé-Québec (), is a Canadian French-language public educational television network in the province of Quebec. It is a provincial Cro ...

in Canada (as ''Thunderbirds : Les sentinelles de l'air''), ABC in Australia, Ketnet in Flemish Belgium (with License Connection appointed as the agent for Benelux) (as ''Thunderbirds''), Minika TV in Turkey,

in Brazil. The Noga premiere began in summer 2015 on Kids Channel. The TVNZ premiere began on 12 April 2015 on TV2. China's broadcast was premiered on

CCTV-14 CCTV-14 is a Chinese free-to-air television channel that was launched on 28 December 2003 and is owned by the China Central Television. It airs animated films and series as well as kids game shows and other young-oriented programmes, including ' ...

, starting with the first series on 15 May 2017.

Marketing

Since 2016, ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) is launching consumer products programs for ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' at France, Benelux and the Nordics. Since 2016, Bernard Matthews has released a range of Thunderbird craft shaped turkey. As part of the second series launch in the UK, a fleet of five ThunderCabs taxis with Thunderbirds vehicle themes (including Thunderbirds 1-4, FAB 1) could be booked between 22 and 23 October 2016 between 9am and 5pm via the now-defunct Karhoo app, with rides costing a flat rate of £1 for any journey within central London. All proceeds were donated to The Children's Trust, the UK's leading charity for children with brain injury.

Toys

On 13 May 2015, ITV Studios Global Entertainment announced its appointment of Vivid as its master toy partner in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. As of Licensing Expo 2014, Vivid Imaginations had master toy licensee with worldwide rights, excluding US and Asia. There are many toys available in the range, including villains, heroes and the mighty Thunderbirds themselves. On 24 April 2015, ITV Studios Global Entertainment announced that Global Licensing (NZ) Ltd had been appointed as licensing agent for ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' in New Zealand. As part of the new deal, Global worked with Vivid Imaginations, the master toy partner for ''Thunderbirds Are Go'', to appoint Planet Fun as the local distributor in New Zealand, which was expected to see toys roll out across the territory from S/S 2015. The ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' master toy line from Vivid Imaginations and distributed by HeadStart was launched in Australia in June 2015. Additional toy rights went to Vivid France and Vivid Holland in respective regions, with Takara Tomy as Japan distributor. The toy launches in France, Benelux and the Nordics began in September 2016, with TOPTOY as pan-Nordic distributor from late summer 2016.

App

An official ''Thunderbirds'' app was launched in October 2015 to accompany the second half of season 1. An official app was also released on 20 May 2015 as an add-on to the features on the website. This free app is available on both Google Play and Apple's App Store. Behind the Story developed the app. As of 2015, ITV Studios Global Entertainment and Miniclip planned the release of a ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' mobile game(as ''Thunderbirds Are Go: Team Rush'').

Magazine

An official magazine was published by D. C. Thomson & Co. on 15 October 2015. It features comics, facts, puzzles and more. Each issue includes a free gift. The first six issues had small plastic replicas of Thunderbirds 1–5 and Thunderbird S. After that the gifts were generic front-of-magazine gifts with ''Thunderbirds Are Go'' branding, such as notebooks and 'invisible ink' pens. License Connection became a representative for the brand in the Benelux territories and signed Meis & Maas as master publishing partner to launch a range of books and magazine formats in 2017.

Home media

Digital releases

All episodes are available to purchase digitally in full 1080p HD on Amazon Video and iTunes.

DVD releases

Blu-ray releases

Soundtrack releases

References

External links

*ITV Studios Limited page
EnglishJapaneseNHK page
*
Official YouTube channelWeta Workshop pageMilk VFX page

Thunderbirds Are Go Series 1
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Amazon
{{Thunderbirds 2015 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings 2015 New Zealand television series debuts 2020 New Zealand television series endings 2010s British animated television series 2020s British animated television series Amazon Prime Video children's programming Amazon Prime Video original programming Animated television series about brothers Animated television series reboots Aviation television series British children's animated action television series British children's animated adventure television series British children's animated science fiction television series British computer-animated television series British television series with live action and animation English-language television shows ITV children's television shows New Zealand children's animated action television series New Zealand children's animated adventure television series New Zealand children's animated science fiction television series Television series by ITV Studios Works based on Thunderbirds (TV series)