History Series / Thunderbirds

[[caption-width-right:336:5... 4... 3... 2... 1! '''''Thunderbirds are go!''''']]

A revival is currently in the works, titled ''Thunderbirds are Go!'' and scheduled for release in 2015.

* CoolPlane: ''Fireflash'', a futuristic supersonic jetliner [[http://members.fortunecity.com/wendhausen/BRStarshipsv3/profile/thunderbirds/ships/fireflash/fire11.jpg just look at it]] Here's a modern [[http://coreldraw.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/675x550/__key/CommunityServer.Components.PostAttachments/00.00.07.54.81/Fireflash.jpg 3D render.]] Undeniably cool.

* CoolPlane: ''Fireflash'', a futuristic supersonic jetliner [[http://members.fortunecity.com/wendhausen/BRStarshipsv3/profile/thunderbirds/ships/fireflash/fire11.jpg just look at it]] Here's a modern [[http://coreldraw.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/675x550/__key/CommunityServer.Components.PostAttachments/00.00.07.54.81/Fireflash.jpg 3D render]] undeniably cool.

An unsuccessful trip made by Lew Grade to try and sell the show to American networks ensured the second season would be the series' last; further, amid corporate fears that the bubble had burst, Gerry Anderson was instructed that said second season be cut back to just six episodes. United Artists, surprised at the failure of the first movie, subsequently commissioned another -- ''Thunderbird 6'', where designing a new Thunderbird vehicle is put on hold when a state-of-the-art luxury airship is in danger -- and this also flopped. But by then Anderson was already at work on new Supermarionation projects with a new generation on puppets.

-->-- '''Kate Kestrel''', "[=SOS=]", ''{{Terrahawks}}''

* {{Bowdlerise}}: In latter-day airings of "Day Of Disaster" (at least on TheBBC) when Brains dances for joy following the successful rescue of the rocket the line "You... er... don't suppose he escaped from somewhere, do you?" (said by one supervisor to another) is cut out.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Given this was made in the 60s, this was going to be inevitable. Modern British viewers may be a little miffed at the main airport being called "London Airport", unaware that back in the day, this was actually the name for Heathrow Airport before Stansted and Gatwick acquired "London" status. There are also several references to Cape Kennedy.

* ClipShow: "Security Hazard" -- a surprisingly good one at that centering around a boy who snuck onboard ''Thunderbird 2'' after a rescue. Done well because the clips are cut and edited to put spins on the previous episodes so the IR team can impress the boy. For example, the "Sun Probe" episode clip is edited to suggest ''Thunderbird 3'' never got into a bit of a pickle after rescuing the probe. This also averts one of the cliché standbys of Anderson series -- [[spoiler:many of them are prone to "it was all a dream" episodes (especially ''Stingray'', which had '''three'''), but here it's averted by the boy himself, after they've returned him home and he's gone to sleep, waking up and ''thinking'' that it was all a dream.]]

80s band {{Fuzzbox}} released a single "International Rescue" as an affectionate [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG4wdAVltmE tribute/parody of the series]] that made it to number 11 in the charts in the UK.

Created by pre-eminent British producer GerryAnderson (1929-[[http://news.sky.com/story/1030371/thunderbirds-creator-gerry-anderson-dies 2012]]), ''Thunderbirds'' is the story of the Tracy family, a wealthy clan who embarks on a unique philanthropic venture.

* ElaborateUndergroundBase: The Tracy Island.

* ExcessiveSteamSyndrome: It made extensive use of steam, smoke, and zero-thrust rocket motors to depict takeoffs and landings in miniature. Rockets in flight were filmed inverted, so the smoke would rise ''away'' from the rocket instead of climbing after it.
* ExpansionPackPast: Nearly all of the Tracy Brothers (who range in age from late to early 20's) had quite interesting careers before retiring from them to join IR full time. Scott served in the U.S. Airforce where he got decorated for bravery, John published four textbooks on astronomy and is known as the discoverer of the Tracy quasar system, Gordon used to be a Olympic champion at the butterfly stroke and served at the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (from ''Series/{{Stingray|1964}}''), and Alan was a succesful racecar driver. (His career was briefly revived in the episode "Move and You're Dead".) Jeff also counts; he was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, astronaut for the Space Agency and the first man on the moon, and finally started his own company.

* NoAntagonist: There's the Hood and some one-shot villains, but there are also many episodes where the accident is down to pure bad luck or innocent mistakes.

* NoOSHACompliance: Pretty much the raison d'être of many episodes, like the Fireflash in "Trapped in the Sky", an atomic-powered aeroplane which would have killed all of its passengers by radiation poisoning if it didn't land within 2 '''hours''', and the Crablogger in "Path of Destruction", an atomic-powered logging machine which was going to '''blow up''' if not shut down properly, a complicated process that took upwards of five minutes. We guess a red "emergency stop" button was too simple, then anyone could have stopped it should it have been about to smash through a village or destroy a dam.

* OneWorldOrder: Possibly. The government is never really explored, but there is seemingly a "World Navy", though whether it represents the entire world is unclear, as it seems to enjoy testing nuclear weapons for no apparent reason.
** Tie in material places it in the same universe as Stingray and Captain Scarlet, and it's made clear there is a world government.

* BrokenAesop: "Atlantic Inferno". Supposedly Scott learns that being in charge is harder than it looks. In reality, Scott is a good leader -- his only problem is that his father doesn't back him up.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: A given in the Gerry Anderson shows. You have space stations, hypersonic rocket planes, and a mobile computer the size of a grand piano!

Created by pre-eminent British producer GerryAnderson (1929-[[http://news.sky.com/story/1030371/thunderbirds-creator-gerry-anderson-dies 2012]]), '''''Thunderbirds''''' is the story of the Tracy family, a wealthy clan who embarks on a unique philanthropic venture.

Every week, some monstrous disaster would occur, and the boys (primarily Scott and Virgil) would pilot their awesome Thunderbird aerospace craft to the scene, moving at speeds that would make an aeronautical engineer drool. Scott would get there first, survey the situation, and call back to Virgil, who would then arrive at the scene with the right equipment loaded into the cavernous interior of Thunderbird 2's "pod". Amongst other things, a drilling vehicle (Mole) or an underwater rover (Thunderbird 4) could be loaded into 2. In fact, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbirds_machines the other wiki]] has a list of the ''many'' bizarre vehicles deployed.

* Thunderbird 1: Was the most used. Looks like a missile, moves like a jet fighter. Takes off from base vertically using rockets then switches to horizontal jet propulsion and lands horizontally.
* Thunderbird 2: A ginormous plane that incorporates equipment pods into its fuselage. A selection of pods is available, each pre-loaded with specialist rescue equipment. The heavy lifter of the fleet (and the most frequently seen, turning up in all but one of the episodes and both movies).
* Thunderbird 3: An actual rocketship. Mostly used to get to Thunderbird 5, but also used on a number of space rescue missions.
* Thunderbird 4: A small submarine/underwater rover, usually carried by Thunderbird 2 in pod #4.
* Thunderbird 5: A Space Station, capable of receiving transmissions from all over the globe and automatically detecting and translating distress calls.

* AbsenteeActor: The only human characters to turn up in all 32 episodes are Scott, Virgil and Jeff. As far as the show's stars go, "The Mighty Atom" is the only episode where all five Thunderbirds appear and "The Imposters" is the only episode where Thunderbird 2 ''doesn't'' appear (although a fake Thunderbird 2 does).

* AllThereInTheManual: The recurring villain, The Hood, was never named in dialogue or credits in the original TV episodes, only in publicity materials. Many things about the main character's history, like the Tracy boys' ExpansionPackPast, Jeff's late wife, and the founding of International Rescue, are also never mentioned on the series, and their headquarters was never actually referred to as "Tracy Island." The same goes for specific details surrounding the Thunderbirdvehicles and other machines, like their dimensions, speed and other technical data.

* ClipShow: "Security Hazard" -- a surprisingly good one at that centering around a boy who snuck onboard Thunderbird 2 after a rescue. Done well because the clips are cut and edited to put spins on the previous episodes so the IR team can impress the boy. For example, the "Sun Probe" episode clip is edited to suggest Thunderbird 3 never got into a bit of a pickle after rescuing the probe. This also averts one of the cliché standbys of Anderson series -- [[spoiler:many of them are prone to "it was all a dream" episodes (especially ''Stingray'', which had '''three'''), but here it's averted by the boy himself, after they've returned him home and he's gone to sleep, waking up and ''thinking'' that it was all a dream.]]

** Thunderbird 1: silver
** Thunderbird 2: green
** Thunderbird 3: red
** Thunderbird 4: yellow
** Thunderbird 5: gold and silver

** Thunderbird 1, piloted by Scott, is a hypersonic aircraft powered by a nuclear thermal engine, designed for getting to the crisis scene as fast as possible to gather intel.
** Thunderbird 2, piloted by Virgil, is a giant less-hypersonic-but-still-fast lifting-body transport for moving the gear that Thunderbird 1 called for. (This one is unsurprisingly the most frequently seen of the lot, appearing in both (all right, all three) movies and all but one episode of the TV show.)
** Thunderbird 3, piloted by Alan, is an SSTO rocket used for space rescues and reaching Thunderbird 5.
** Thunderbird 4, piloted by Gordon, is a submarine for underwater rescues. Often transported in Thunderbird 2's pod 4.
** Thunderbird 5, manned by John, is a space station capable of monitoring all radio frequencies world wide to listen for distress calls.

* HowWeGotHere: The episode "Move - And You're Dead" begins with Alan and grandma stranded on a bridge with a bomb. While Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are on their way to save them, Alan recalls how they got into this situation in the first place (which takes up most of the episodes time). [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because Jeff is asking him how he got there in full detail to keep him concentrating, so he doesn't fall unconscious from heat exhaustion and fall to his death, if not triggering the bomb's motion sensor.

* ILoveNuclearPower: Atomic Power won't grant you superpowers, but it'll do just about anything else in this show. Including allowing something as unlikely to so much as bump two inches off the ground as Thunderbird 2 to fly in three dimensions like a helicopter. Also, StuffBlowingUp.\\\

* IsThisThingStillOn: in "Cry Wolf", while Alan gives the two boys a tour around Tracy Island, he greatly brags about his own role in piloting Thunderbird 3, and describes Scott (who always comes along as co-astronaut) as being merely his subordinate. Unfortunately for him, the intercom on the cart they are in is still on and Scott hears everything Alan says. However, he plays the game along and promptly starts addressing Alan as "sir".

* InstantEmergencyResponse: Surprisingly averted most of the time. The Thunderbirds are incredibly fast, but it still takes some time to get to the scene of emergencies, which of course makes their operations once there races against time with only minutes left.

* RetroRocket: Thunderbirds 1 and 3, as well as some other vehicles.

** Poor Gordon, and his favored ride, Thunderbird 4. His skills as a diver and submersible pilot were not useful as often as he might have liked. Most of the times he was called out on a rescue he was riding shotgun with Scott or Virgil as generic backup, and despite being a Tracy brother he was less important to the plot than Tin-Tin, Brains, or Penny almost all the time. TB 4, despite being a main-line vehicle, was the size of a van next to a fleet of giants, and was overshadowed in importance by many barely-seen robotic pod vehicles, like the Mole. On the few occasions when there was danger at sea, he really did shine. Gordon was recognised as the best marksman on the team, though, and was often utilised when something needed aiming, eg. firing the cable from Thunderbird 2 into the Zero X in the first movie.
** And he did have more to do than John Tracy, who was stuck on Thunderbird 5 just about all the time. (In part because Gerry Anderson didn't like how the puppet looked -- to the extent that "Operation Crash Dive", the only episode in which Thunderbird 5 actually does something other than relay the mission of the week, coincides with Alan being on duty relieving John!)

* TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: Thunderbirds 1, 2, and 3 are all ridiculously fast, moving anywhere around the globe (or Earth orbit) inside of a few hours. For example, Thunderbird 1 once flew from Tracy Island (somewhere in the Pacific Ocean) to London, England at a quoted speed of ''at least'' 7500 mph, which is just shy of ''mach 10''. Tie-in media establishes [=TB1=]'s top speed as 15,000 mph, and [=TB2=]'s as 5,000 mph. [=TB1=]'s speed was given in the original script for the pilot episode ("Trapped in the Sky"); [=TB2=]'s is quoted on-screen in "Terror in New York City".

* {{Zeerust}}: Kind of inevitable, considering the show was made in the 1960's. The Thunderbirds themselves, particularly 1 and 2, were based on aircraft and prototypes that were state-of-the-art at the time; TB 1 on the [=MiG=] 19 and 21, along with a series of X-planes, and 2 on experimental lifting-body aircraft. All other kinds of high-tech machines have clicky panels, big shiny microphones and chrome-plated-chrome. And not to mention; reel-to-reel tapes are still fully in use in the the futuristic world of the Thunderbirds, while things like the internet, mobile phones, tablets, pocket calculators etc. are not present at all.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: International Rescue is altruistic and will stop at ''nothing'' to get you to safety. However if you take pictures of their technology they will have Lady Penelope ''shoot you off the road''.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Pretty much everything, but the Crablogger and Sidewinder get special mentions.

* HowWeGotHere: The episode "Move - And You're Dead" begins with Alan and grandma stranded on a bridge with a bomb. While Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are on their way to save them, Alan recalls how they got into this situation in the first place (which takes up most of the episodes time).

* InstantEmergencyResponse: Surprisingly averted most of the time. The Thunderbirds are incredibly fast, but it still takes some time to get to the scene of emergencies, which of course makes their operations once there races against time with only minutes left.

80s band {{Fuzzbox}} released a single "International Rescue" as an affectionate tribute/parody of the series [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG4wdAVltmE]] that made it to number 11 in the charts in the UK.

* Raygun: Used by the Tracy boys a couple of times and on one occasion the baddy.

* FauxActionGirl: Tin-Tin actually does have an IR uniform and occasionally joins the boys on a rescue mission... but stands as the person who ended up in need of rescue the most.

There is a [[Recap/{{Thunderbirds}} Recap]] in desperate need of assistance! Thundernerds are go! Tropes applying to theh movies can be found there as well.

* AbsenteeActor: The only human characters to turn up in all 32 episodes are Scott, Virgil and Jeff. As far as the show's stars go, "The Mighty Atom" is the only episode where all five Thunderbirds appear and "The Impostors" is the only episode where Thunderbird 2 ''doesn't'' appear (although a fake Thunderbird 2 does).

* Thunderbird 2: A ginormous plane that incorporates equipment pods into its fuselage. A selection of pods is available, each pre-loaded with specialist rescue equipment. The heavy lifter of the fleet.