# Thunderbirds (1965)

> A secret international rescue organisation uses advanced land, sea, air and space craft from a hidden Pacific island base to save people in mortal danger.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/840

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 32
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: science fiction
- Created by: Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson
- Network: Associated Television
- Cast: David Holliday, David Graham, Shane Rimmer, Peter Dyneley, Christine Finn, Jeremy Wilkin, Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057790/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: wholesome, optimistic, brisk, adventurous

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate Thunderbirds as a positive, charming piece of 1960s puppet-based science fiction adventure, valued for its ingenious Supermarionation craft and gadget-driven rescues.

## Synopsis

Thunderbirds (1965-1966) is a British science fiction series created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson and broadcast by Associated Television. Its two seasons of puppet-driven adventure follow International Rescue, a secret organisation run by the Tracy family from a hidden base on Tracy Island in the South Pacific. Jeff Tracy (Peter Dyneley) leads five sons who pilot the rescue craft, with Scott Tracy (Shane Rimmer), Virgil Tracy (David Holliday) and Tin-Tin Kyrano (Christine Finn) among the principal voices, while Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward (Sylvia Anderson) joins missions with her chauffeur. Each episode is a self-contained emergency in which the team races to save people in mortal danger using land, sea, air and space vehicles. The show is a supermarionation production, with marionette puppets and scale-model effects giving it a distinctive handmade look. Its tone is wholesome, brisk and optimistic, with a retro vision of the 21st century full of gadgets and heroic teamwork. Fans of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Stingray and Doctor Who will find a similar appeal in its family-friendly science fiction and ingenious machinery.

## Shows like Thunderbirds

- [Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1989)](https://ember.film/tv/1844)
- [The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)](https://ember.film/tv/193)
- [Lost in Space (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/65677)
- [The Prisoner (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/843)
- [Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967)](https://ember.film/tv/456)
- [Lost in Space (1965)](https://ember.film/tv/2902)
- [Mighty Max (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/1606)
- [The Avengers (1961)](https://ember.film/tv/2347)
- [Mission: Impossible (1966)](https://ember.film/tv/4141)
- [The Champions (1968)](https://ember.film/tv/4358)

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