Back Thunderbirds German Thunderbirds (serie de televisión) Spanish Trumoitxoriak Basque Myrskylinnut Finnish Les Sentinelles de l'air French כנפי הרעם HE Thunderbirds (televizijska serija) Croatian Thunderbirds Hungarian Thunderbirds (seri televisi) ID Thunderbirds Italian
| Thunderbirds | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Gerry & Sylvia Anderson |
| Voices of | |
| Opening theme | "The Thunderbirds March" |
| Composer | Barry Gray |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 32 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Gerry Anderson (Series 2) |
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | John Read |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production companies | AP Films ATV |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 30 September 1965 – 25 December 1966 |
| Related | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
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 called "Supermarionation", combined with scale model special effects sequences. Two series, totalling 32 fifty-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 efforts 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 concerns 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 named the Thunderbirds and are launched from the organisation's secret base of operations in the Pacific Ocean. The main characters are ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, the leader of International Rescue, and his five adult sons, who pilot the Thunderbird machines.
Thunderbirds debuted in September 1965 on the ITV network. The series was exported to around 30 countries during the 1960s. Along with tie-in merchandise, the series was followed by two feature films: Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6. Widely regarded as the Andersons' most popular and commercially successful series, Thunderbirds has been praised for its special effects, directed by Derek Meddings, and its musical score by Barry Gray.[2][3][4][5] It is also remembered for its title sequence, which begins with an oft-quoted countdown by Jeff Tracy voice actor Peter Dyneley: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1: Thunderbirds Are Go!"[6][7] Periodically repeated, it was adapted for radio in the 1990s and has influenced many TV programmes and other media. It was followed by an anime adaptation, a mime theatre show, a live-action film and a part-CGI remake series. Three supplementary episodes, based on tie-in audio plays and made using the same techniques as the original series, have also been produced.
- ^ "Thunderbirds [TV Series] (1965)". AllMovie. 2015. Archived from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
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