Works based on Thunderbirds

Film sequels and adaptations

The popularity of Thunderbirds gave rise to two full-length film sequels with financial backing by United Artists. They premiered on 12 December 1966 and 29 July 1968. Both were written and produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and directed by David Lane, and neither was a critical or commercial success. During the early 1980s, several Thunderbirds episodes were combined to create three compilation TV films, and in 2004, nearly 40 years after the original TV series was first broadcast, a live-action film adaptation was released.

Compilation films

In the early 1980s, episodes from a number of the Andersons' 1960s Supermarionation series were re-edited and combined into made-for-TV compilation films by ITC's New York offices, supervised by producer Robert Mandell and writer David Hirsch. Intended to be broadcast in a two-hour family timeslot (including advertisement breaks), and branded "Super Space Theater", this new format was sold to cable networks and into syndication in United States. Three Thunderbirds compilations, all one-and-a-half hours in length and re-edited with new, animated title sequences, were made: Thunderbirds To The Rescue (1980) is a combination of "Trapped in the Sky" and "Operation Crash-Dive", Thunderbirds In Outer Space (1981) of "Sun Probe" and "Ricochet", and Countdown to Disaster (1982) of "Terror in New York City" and "Atlantic Inferno". Although rights issues entailed by the 1980s home video releases of the "Super Space Theater" compilations delayed VHS releases of individual Thunderbirds episodes (in their un-cut form) until the early 1990s, the UK versions proved to be a major commercial success for the distributor, Channel 5 Video.

Live-action film

A live-action film adaptation – Thunderbirds, directed by Jonathan Frakes and produced by StudioCanal, Universal Pictures and Working Title Films – premiered on 24 July 2004. All the Thunderbird machines seen in the film are based on the original designs, albeit with modern refinements. Since BMW, current owners of Rolls-Royce, refused its permission for use of the brand, a modified Ford Thunderbird appears as FAB 1. The plot of the film concentrates mostly on Alan Tracy, Tin-Tin and a newcomer – Brains' son, Fermat – who must rescue their families, Lady Penelope and Parker while the Hood plots a gold bullion raid on the Bank of England.

The film was poorly received both critically and commercially, opening in 11th place at the North American box office, grossing only £1.3 million in the UK on its opening weekend, and drawing a negative response from fans of the TV series. Sylvia Anderson, who served as an unofficial production consultant, endorsed the adaptation; in her memoirs, she expresses regret for the "negative vibes that were already being circulated before even a foot of film was being shot. But I suppose there was bound to be a backlash from genuinely passionate fans who jealously guarded the Thunderbirds legacy." According to Anderson, series cinematographer John Read responded positively at a test screening. By contrast, Gerry Anderson denounced the film as "the biggest load of crap I have ever seen in my life" and an "absolute, unmitigated disaster". Like Sylvia, he had been contacted as a possible consultant, but declined the studio's offer after rejecting the concepts for the re-imagined Thunderbirds machines; additionally, he declined an offer of £750,000 to attend the film's premiere. He received no on-screen credit for his role in co-creating the TV series.

Plans for a live-action film had first been announced by ITC's Los Angeles offices in 1993. Originally expected to be released in time for Christmas 1995, the film was to have been directed by Renny Harlin, with Tom Cruise a possibility for the role of Scott Tracy. Other actors under consideration included Bob Hoskins (as Parker) and Patsy Kensit, Joanna Lumley and Emma Thompson (as Lady Penelope). Following PolyGram's acquisition of ITC in 1995, its subsidiary Working Title (represented by Tim Bevan) resumed the development of the abortive project, with filming now scheduled to commence in August 1998. By 1997, Peter Hewitt had been hired to direct on the basis of Karey Kirkpatrick's script. Kristin Scott Thomas had been contracted to play Lady Penelope, while Pete Postlethwaite had yet to accept an offer to appear as Parker. The Baldwin brothers – Alec, Daniel, William and Stephen – had been suggested for the roles of the Tracy sons, with Sean Connery a candidate for Jeff Tracy. Other filming techniques were briefly considered, including computer and stop-motion animation. As he would in subsequent years, Anderson was offered a consultant post; he was dropped from the production when Working Title determined that it already had sufficient numbers of creative staff attached to the project.

A combination of budgeting concerns, disagreements over the writing and characterisation, and the poor commercial reception to films such as Lost in Space and The Avengers (both adaptations of older TV series), caused the development of the film to stall for a second time. In 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram and merged with Universal – an acquisition that Sylvia Anderson, who had given Hewitt's version her endorsement, believes impacted negatively on the production: "It seemed Seagram ... cared nothing for this 'work in progress' and the whole Thunderbirds saga fell between the cracks." Frakes' version, co-produced by Bevan, did not enter production until 2003. Anderson adds that the many delays experienced in adapting Thunderbirds for live-action cinema may be partly attributable to her divorce: "[Gerry's and my] parting broke up a winning combination ... The two creators [of Thunderbirds] were going in different directions – the winning team was no more. How to entrust millions of dollars to only one of the duo? Which one? The name above the title or the character creator?"

TV adaptations and revival attempts

In the 1970s, the Andersons sold what remained of their intellectual and profit participation rights to many of the Supermarionation productions, including Thunderbirds. Consequently, neither was able to assert creative control over the various Thunderbirds updatings that appeared in the 1980s and 1990s. Of her attempt to continue the adventures of Lady Penelope and Parker as an American-produced TV spin-off series, Sylvia Anderson remembers that ITC "dismissed [the idea] out of hand." TV presenter Mike Smith, then a DJ for Capital Radio, started a campaign to revive Thunderbirds at the start of the 1980s.

After Lew Grade resigned from ITC Entertainment|ITC, the ownership of the company changed hands three times (first to Robert Holmes à Court, then Alan Bond, and finally ITC's New York offices) before both the company and the rights to its film and TV catalogue were acquired by PolyGram, based in Los Angeles, in 1995. They subsequently passed to Carlton International Media in 1999, and then Granada plc between 2003 and 2004 (following a merger with Carlton). The current rights holder of the Thunderbirds TV series and brand is ITV Studios, the distributor of the 2015 remake.

Japanese remake

Kagaku Kyuujo-Tai TechnoVoyager (Scientific Rescue Team TechnoVoyager) – a 1982 Japanese anime series dubbed for, and exported to, Anglophone countries as Thunderbirds 2086 – is based on Thunderbirds but written with a stronger emphasis on futuristic technology. In this re-imagining, developed from a concept by Anderson titled Thunderhawks (but without his knowledge, involvement or approval), International Rescue is stationed within an arcology, operates 17 Thunderbird vehicles, and employs personnel from a diverse range of backgrounds. Distributed by ITC under the supervision of Robert Mandell, Thunderbirds 2086 comprised 24 episodes, but was cancelled in Japan after the first 18 had been broadcast. In the UK, 13 episodes aired on BBC1 in 1986.

US re-edits

From 5 February 1994, the Fox Broadcasting Company broadcast Thunderbirds (re-styled Thunderbirds USA or Thunderbirds Are Go!) on its Fox Kids programming block. In response to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and other successful, contemporary children's programmes, and to acquaint American audiences with the series' premise before the release of a film version (then expected to appear in 1995), ITC edited 13 of the original episodes to fill a half-hour timeslot, also overlaying new opening titles, synthesised theme and incidental music, character voices and dialogue (provided by American actors). The series was not renewed for a second season and, to date, has never been transmitted in the UK.

Thunderbirds was syndicated in a brand-new format as Turbocharged Thunderbirds, a PolyGram-Bohbot co-production, on the United Paramount Network (UPN) from 18 December 1994. Conceived as a comedy, this second re-edit preserved most of Fox's alterations, although a number of episode titles were changed. Fox additionally inserted live-action footage of a pair of Californian teenagers from the year 2096 – Tripp (Travis Wester) and Roxette (Johna Stewart), nicknamed the "Hack Masters" – who are pulled into the parallel universe of the planet "Thunder-World". There, they ally themselves with "simulated lifeforms" of International Rescue (the 1960s puppet characters) against the evil "Atrocimator" (voiced by Tim Curry) and his "head-honcho", the Hood (Malachi Throne), serving Jeff Tracy (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) from the orbital listening platform Hackmaster Command.

A single series of 13 episodes was transmitted in the United States; as with its antecedent, Turbocharged Thunderbirds has never received a UK broadcast. Cull describes the series as a "grotesque hybrid show", while Archer and Hearn consider it "risible". After viewing a sample of footage, Anderson judged Turbocharged Thunderbirds to be "the most diabolical thing I had ever seen in my life ... absolutely appalling". He held the acting, dialogue, and "gaudily painted set" of Hackmaster Command in especially low regard and was prepared to initiate legal action against the producers until his name was removed from the credits.

Revival attempts

Prior to the 2013 announcement of an official remake, Gerry Anderson made a number of attempts to resurrect Thunderbirds. In 1976, in association with Star Trek and Space: 1999 producer Fred Freiberger, he developed Inter-Galactic Rescue 4 for the American NBC network as an updating of both Thunderbirds and Supercar. The series was to have been filmed in live action and to have followed the adventures of the variable-configuration land-, sea-, air- and space-rescue vehicle of the title, Rescue 4, patrolling the "north-west quadrant of space". Century 21 designers Reg Hill, Brian Johnson and Martin Bower contributed pre-production concept art, but the 13-episode proposal was ultimately rejected by NBC in favour of rival story ideas.

In 1984, following the completion of Terrahawks, Anderson conceived T-Force, which would have transferred International Rescue's base of operations to a giant submarine, re-imagined FAB 1 as a custom-built Porsche, and eliminated Brains' short-sightedness and stutter. Although Anderson was unable to secure the funding necessary to develop the series further, some of the plot devices originally intended for T-Force eventually surfaced in Firestorm (2003), a Japanese anime series based on an idea by Anderson and John Needham.

In 1993, the concept for T-Force was re-developed under the title G-Force, and later as GFI – an abbreviation of Gee Force Intergalactic, the rescue organisation that was to have featured in lieu of International Rescue. The flagship of the G-Force fleet, the colossal spaceship Galaxy, was to have housed a factory capable of manufacturing vehicles and equipment specialised to fulfil the requirements of any rescue mission. Only one of the 13 scripted or partially scripted episodes of GFI – "Warming Warning", written by Tony Barwick – was filmed; it combined traditional cel animation (for sequences featuring the characters) and computer animation (for vehicle sequences). The former, which was provided by a Russian studio, was judged to be of poor quality; when it was determined that re-creating and upgrading this material would render the series cost-prohibitive, production on GFI was abandoned. According to Anderson, "the studio in Moscow was, in my opinion, ill-equipped. After some six months of desperately trying to make this co-production work, I finally had no option but to call it off."

In September 2005, a QuickTime video clip titled Thunderbirds IR was published on online P2P networks; it included a trailer of a proposed Thunderbirds remake, to be produced by Carlton Television. Made using a combination of CGI and puppetry, the clip included footage of a re-designed Thunderbird 1, the characters of Scott Tracy and the Hood, and the rescue of a falling lighthousekeeper; Scott was seen to walk, and perform a backflip with the tongue-in-cheek quip "Look, no strings!". Visual effects company The Mill had been contracted to provide computer animation. Although Anderson endorsed the project after meeting the Carlton staff in the early stages of development, production of the new series was postponed indefinitely when Carlton merged with Granada plc.

Writing in 2005, following the completion of New Captain Scarlet, Anderson stated that he had been unable to secure Thunderbirds remake rights from Granada. By July 2008, he was still in negotiations with ITV, but promised a new version of Thunderbirds that would be "updated for the 21st-century audience" and which would, he hoped, be filmed in CGI. He added, "This is very much a pet ambition of mine, and I am putting everything into what I consider would be ITV's answer to Doctor Who. Although Anderson continued to express his belief that such a series would finally be produced with his involvement, ITV continued to withhold the rights into late 2008 and early 2009.

2015 remake

On 11 January 2011, a new series of Thunderbirds was announced by Anderson during an interview for BBC Radio 5 Live. Anderson stated that he was unable to reveal many details because he had signed a non-disclosure agreement, but that the production of the series was assured and that it would indeed be made in CGI, with modernised characters and vehicles. In the 15 January edition of The Sun, he said that he had yet to script the first episode, but that he had "fleshed it out" in his mind.

Anderson died in December 2012, initially leaving the future of the new series uncertain. However, in February 2013, a ITV press release confirmed that ITV Studios and New Zealand-based Pukeko Pictures were planning to re-invent Thunderbirds as a series of twenty-six 30-minute episodes, to be filmed using a mixture of computer animation and live-action model sets and broadcast on the CITV channel. The remake was expected to appear in 2015, the original series' semi-centennial year.

In September 2013, the 2015 transmission year of the remake, now titled Thunderbirds Are Go, was confirmed. It was revealed that the character of Lady Penelope will be voiced by Rosamund Pike, while David Graham will reprise the role of Parker. The regular voice cast also includes Rasmus Hardiker (as Scott and Alan Tracy), David Menkin (Virgil and Gordon), Thomas Sangster (John), Kayvan Novak (Brains), Sandra Dickinson (Grandma), and Andres Williams (the Hood). Two new characters were also announced: Kayo, a friend of the Tracy brothers, is to be voiced by Angel Coulby, while Adjoa Andoh will provide the voice of Colonel Casey. The head writer, Rob Hoegee, previously scripted Generator Rex (2010) and Slugterra (2012–13). Comedian David Baddiel announced on Twitter that he had been commissioned to write one episode. Weta Workshop, whose previous commissions include the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will contribute special effects to the series.