I grew up on Thunderbirds. And for reasons that aren’t exactly clear to me at the moment I have been thinking about it again recently. This was a great series and having seen something of the knew CGI series I think that, on balance, the puppets were better.
As an early sign that writing was the thing for me I played Thunderbirds too. Except it wasn’t called International Rescue it was called Great Rescuers. Essentially it was the same story only with my Duplo.
One idea I do remember was that the people, I don’t think I got as far as character names, didn’t have quite such a specific idea of who’s craft was who’s. Everyone was expected to be proficient in the operation of every craft so, in cases of illness, a rescue operation would still be possible.
A work friend of my dad’s presented this general idea to their boss. Apparently he, the boss, didn’t quite see the merit in making sure all staff were proficient in all areas. Dad’s friend wondered why I, remember we’re talking when I was 5, was able to understand this concept but the boss was not.
Maybe I have a narcissist personality but making changes to existent things has always been something I have done. Back then I watched Thunderbirds and invented my own rescuers. Today, when watching a TV show or film, there is always a little voice saying how I might have shot a scene differently or played them in a different order.
This doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of watching something it just adds an extra dimension.
The original Thunderbirds still stands up pretty well. The puppets look a little silly but the model work is excellent. And of course it has the classic 60s imagination of future technology which was so cool and completely missed the invention of digital recordings. So yes it’s goofy but I like it.
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I just wanted to say that I have checked this post. I really have. Unfortunately my particular combination of dyslexia and dyspraxia makes it really hard for me to spot typos. Please enjoy and I’ll try not to make too many errors.
Unstable Orbit 