Ah, the Thunderbirds! One of the greatest shows EVER!
The brainchild of Supermarionation master, Gerry Anderson and his wife Sylvia, THE THUNDERBIRDS debuted in 1964 in Europe to great response. After the success of the underwater, puppet adventure series, STINGRAY, the Andersons were requested to create a new show, and THE THUNDERBIRDS were born.
Set in the year 2026, the show centers around International Rescue, an organization formed by millionaire ex-astronaut, Jeff Tracy. Jeff dedicated his life to helping others after the death of his wife which left him in sole charge of his five sons; Scott, Virgil, Gordon, John, and Alan. With the aid of undercover agents and teen scientific genius, Brains, the organization runs under a veil of secrecy, using the the most advanced machinery known to man.
Following is a brief description of the main characters and their hi-tech machines.
Jeff Tracy is the founder of International Rescue. He is a 56 y.o.
former Colonel in the US Air Force, ex-astronaut and one of the first men
to walk on the moon! After his wifeís death during childbirth, he gave up
his space career to look after his sons while becoming a consultant engineer.
This brought him wealth and many useful friends to help with the start of
IR.
Scott Tracy is, at 30 y.o., the eldest of the Tracy boys. Named after
astronaut Scott Carpenter, he served in the US Air Force and was often decorated
for bravery. He is fast-talking and quick-thinking, making him the obvious
choice to pilot Thunderbird 1, the IR scout craft..
Virgil Tracy (named after astronaut Virgil Grissom) is 27 y.o. and
the most serious of all the characters. He studied at Denver Polytechnic,
his education making him the ideal pilot for Thunderbird 2. He plays the
piano, and even composed the Thunderbirds theme!
John Tracy takes his name from John Glenn, the first American to orbit
the earth. He is 25 y.o. and studied electronics at Harvard University,
specializing in laser communications. He has full training as an astronaut
and enjoys astronomy as a hobby. This made him the best choice to become
controller of IRís space satellite, Thunderbird 5.
Gordon Tracy is 22 y.o. and named after astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper.
He loves swimming and won an Olympic medal for the butterfly stroke. He
lived on a submarine for a year studying the agriculture of the sea-bed.
he now serves as aquanaut aboard IRís submarine, Thunderbird 4.
Alan Tracy is the youngest of the clan and was named after Alan Shepard,
the first man to play golf on the moon! He is 19 y.o. and studied at Harvard
University, where he developed a rocket and actually launched it. No wonder
he is the pilot of Thunderbird 3. He also rotates duties on Thunderbird
5 with his brother John. he is the only brother in love with another character,
Tin-Tin - the daughter of Kyrano.
Lady Penelope is an aristocratic 27 y.o. lady of the Creighton-Ward
family. She owns a large mansion in the country and teams up with her chauffeur,
Parker, to act as agent for the organization. She travels the world for
IR and shares her love of electronic gadgets with Parker. Together, they
tour the countryside in her pink Rolls Royce with the famous license plate,
FAB1.
Parker is the most dedicated servant a Lady could have. Being an ex-convict,
Parkerís old friends can sometimes give valuable information. his age is
uncertain, though guessed to be around 52.
Brains, otherwise known as Hiram Hackenbacker, is the teen super-genius
who invented all the Thunderbird machines. When not designing rescue equipment,
he spends his time improving Brainman, a robot who once beat his creator
at chess.
Tin-Tin is Brain's assistant and the daughter of Jeff's servant, Kyrano.
She is of a mysterious far-eastern origin and is in love with Alan. Acting
as engineer, she helps Brains build all the Thunderbird machines.
Kyrano is Jeff's manservant. Often hypnotized, impersonated and used
by his half brother, the Hood, for evil purposes, he still remains a faithful
member of the Thunderbirds team.
The Hood, master of disguise, is always after the secrets of the Thunderbird
machines. Sometimes he manages to lure IR into a trap, using his special
voodoo hypnotic powers over his half brother, Kyrano.
Thunderbird 1 is always the first rescue craft to be launched from
Tracy Island. It is the fastest of all the IR machines - speed which is
needed to get it to the rescue zone fast, so crucial decisions on rescue
methods can be made.
Thunderbird 2 is, perhaps, the most important of IR's five main machines
as it acts not only as the main rescue machine, but also the transporter
of all the auxiliary rescue equipment.
Thunderbird 3 is a huge rocket with three distinctive side fins supporting
the three main rocket engines at the base. Used as a shuttle to Thunderbird
5 and as a space rescue vehicle.
Thunderbird 4 is utilized for all underwater rescue work. The smallest
of the Thunderbird machines, it has a powerful lighting trough mounted at
the front which can drop down to reveal an array of extendible equipment
and weaponry.
Thunderbird 5 is IR's circular space station and world monitoring center.
Mounted with receiving equipment, it has a docking hatch and platform at
the rear for Thunderbird 3.
FAB 1 is Lady Penelope's distinctive six wheeled, pink Rolls Royce. Along
with a clear roof and centered driving wheel, it has an impressive array
of weaponry and gadgets; a machine gun that pops out from behind the radiator
grille and rear-firing grappling hooks to name a few. FAB 1 also acts as
a hydrofoil, although her Ladyship prefers a more conventional means of
water transport, her glamorous yacht - FAB 2.