The brave marionettes of International Rescue are flailing back into action as a new 4K restoration of two classic episodes is to be released in cinemas this Saturday. The classic British TV show features the Tracy family as they pilot five unique rescue craft to respond to disasters around the world. In series pilot “Trapped in the Sky” the family respond to the sabotage of a new test aircraft, whilst in “Terror in New York” two reporters become trapped beneath a collapsing Empire State Building. With help from their industrialist father Jeff, scientist Brains, field agent Lady Penelope and her faithful butler Parker, the Tracy brothers race against the clock to save the day and the odd reporter.
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s beloved sci-fi show was originally broadcast in the mid-60s and has since become a cult classic. Much of the charm of the show came from the Anderson’s ambitious use of a diverse array of special effects. Bringing Tracy Island and the world of disasters the boys inhabit to life involved puppets, miniatures, pyrotechnics and some carefully placed insert shots of full scale subjects (the puppet character’s occasionally human hands are always unsettling). The amount of work undertaken to realise each episode is staggering and a great pleasure of Thunderbirds has always been that you can see the strings, both figuratively and literally. The behind the scenes work of the show looks just as thrilling as the disaster and rescue sequences being portrayed, and it’s joyful to experience both at once. The show-makers knew to savour slower effects sequences like the launching of the required thunderbirds to give them the required weight.
Beyond the show’s charming effects, the episodes are brilliant exercises in pacing. Though the premises are contrived and the characters almost indistinguishable (except for the always wonderful Lady Penelope and Parker, of course) the disasters are carefully plotted and beautifully tense. Both of the restored episodes have ingenious ticking clocks, imbued with a great sense of peril. Naturally, akin to Batman’s utility belt, there will always be a new vehicle or gadget to save the day, but up until the moment of relief the show does a wonderful job of building suspense, and does so without traditional violence. Although the events of the first episode are instigated by a villainous plot by the eastern coded villain “The Hood”, the majority of the episode plays like a disaster film in which the enemy is time and circumstance.
There’s something of the Star Trek about this utopian view of a private American rescue force. None of the thunderbirds have offensive capabilities, there are no guns or fist fights (though Lady Penelope was a little more dangerous than the brothers). The blandness of the five brothers and their heroic, ex-astronaut father recalls Gene Rodenberry’s belief that in the future the good guys will have evolved past inter-personal drama. That we’re seeing this through a British lens adds an element of irony that’s deeply enjoyable. It’s a pleasant escape from the current state of the nation, and indeed the current state of billionaires, to imagine a wealthy American family dedicated solely to rescuing as many people as possible, by perhaps the most overly elaborate means possible.
Thunderbirds remains as enjoyable as ever and these stunningly realised 4K restorations shall be a joy to see on the big screen. The double feature will please old fans of the show and hopefully win young hearts all over again.
Five Stars