Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds is a mid-1960s Sylvia and Gerry Anderson television show which used a form of puppetry called "Supermarionation". Two seasons were produced, comprising thirty-two episodes in total. Production commenced in 1964 and the series premiered on British television in September 1965.

Series One

Trapped in the Sky [1.1]

Commander Norman: International Rescue, please give me information about your organization. We cannot grant facilities without knowing more details.

Scott: (with some impatience) Look, there are 600 people up there with less than 40 minutes to live! Now you can't help them but I believe we can! Now what's it gonna be?

Commander Norman: (realizing he has no choice but to trust this mysterious International Rescue) All right, International Rescue, but I just hope you know what you're doing.

---

[International Rescue has succeeded in saving the Fireflash aircraft via emergency elevator cars, but one driven by Virgil has crashed off the runway and is upside down]

Scott: Are you okay, Virgil?

[Virgil is trying to crawl right side up within his elevator car]

Virgil: Okay, Scott. Made good timing.

Scott: Great, Virgil! Just great.

---

Jeff: Well, I guess that handshake was for all of us. Boys, I think we're in business!

Terror In New York City

Scott: [speaking via broadcast speaker after activating a beam transmitter toward the telebroadcast truck of Ned Cook and his cameraman Joe] I've electromagnetically wiped the videotape, Cook. The entire recording is blank. Sorry about this but we have to protect ourselves. So long.

[Thunderbird One pulls away and gains altitude as Cook stops the truck]

Ned Cook: He's just bluffing! It's not possible!

Joe: [with the ruined tape] He wasn't bluffing, and it IS possible. There goes your story, Ned.

---

[Scott and Jeff look over a damaged Thunderbird 2]

Scott: Boy, what a mess.

Jeff: Once those replacement parts arrive we're gonna have to work round the clock to get her running again.

Scott: This is the trickiest part of our operation: Keeping our secret organisation secret.

Jeff: Look, Scott, we order each component from different aircraft manufacturers. None of them know what they're making. It's only when they arrive here that the jigsaw puzzle starts to be put together.

Scott: I guess I worry too much...

Sun Probe [1.11]

Brains: [On finding they've brought Braman, Brains' chess-playing robot, with them on a voyage to save Thunderbird 3] Oh no! Virgil, we've brought the wrong box!

Virgil: Base from Thunderbird 2, calling base from Thunderbird 2!

Security Hazard [1.26]

[Last Line]

Chip Morrison: "Mr. Tracy? Oh, it's you, Dad."

Mr. Morrison: "Aye, son. I've just come in from the mine. That International Rescue team were fantastic!"

Chip Morrison: "Yeah! I know, Dad. You should see their base and the Thunderbird machines! Wow!"

Mr. Morrison: "Have you been dreaming again, Chip?"

Chip Morrison: "I suppose so, Dad. But it seemed so real."

Mr. Morrison: "Yeah, dreams often seem just like the real thing."

[Cuts to Virgil and Scott on board Thunderbird 2. Scott is talking into the radio.]

Scott: "Thunderbird 2 to base. Mission successfully completed. Security hazard negative."

Series Two

Alias Mr. Hackenbacker [2.3]

[Brains is driving into the London Airport under the pseudonym of Mr. Hackenbacker]

Brains: This is Hiram K. Hackenbacker calling Jeff Tracy. Come in, Jeff Tracy.

Jeff: Go ahead, er... Mr... Hackenbacker.

Brains: I am now entering the London Airport.

Jeff: Good luck Br- I mean Mr. Hackenbacker.

Recurring quotes

Jeff Tracy: Thunderbirds are go!

External links

• "Thunderbirds" (1965) quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Thunderbirds at BFI Screenonline
• The Thunderbirds at TV.com
• Thunderbirds are GO (film) quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Thunderbird 6 (film) quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Thunderbirds at BBCi

About

• I started to think that there really ought to be dumps around the world with rescue gear standing by, so that when a disaster happened, all these items of rescue equipment could be rushed to the disaster zone and used to help to get people out of trouble ... I was thinking, 'Rescue, yes, rescue, but how to make it science fiction? What about an international rescue organisation?

• Gerry Anderson on the premise as quoted in Bentley, Chris (2005) [2000]. The Complete Book of Thunderbirds (2nd ed.). o. 8-9

• Lew watched ["Trapped in the Sky"] and at the end he jumped up shouting, 'Fantastic, absolutely fantastic! This isn't a television series – this is a feature film! You've got to make this as an hour!' ... I'm glad we did it, because it made the series much bigger and much more important. But it was still a very, very difficult job.

• Gerry Anderson on the premise as quoted in Bentley, Chris (2005) [2000]. The Complete Book of Thunderbirds (2nd ed.). p.26

• Since we always tried to minimise walking, we'd show the puppets taking one step only, then promptly cut. Through interspersing the programmes with "meanwhile" scenes – that is, showing what else was going on in the story at the same time – we would then cut back to the puppet who was now already in his craft.

• Alan Pattillo on puppet movement Marriott, as quoted in John (1993). Supermarionation Classics: Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons p.179