Thunderbirds are Go

by **Skybase Girl** » Thu May 07, 2015 11:14 pm

She did look a bit like NCS Ochre. I liked the fact they gave her a regional accent, too. It made her sound more down to earth.

Yes..... Landing TB2 on the only London street that wasn't gridlocked was reminiscent of the bloopers in the original series; and hey, barely a (model) car was even dented!

In the original Capt Scarlet, there were a couple of episodes where you'd think there was some sort of curfew on because the streets were deserted after 9pm.

I thought this episode was inventive and the dialogue is getting better. And yes, Grandma Tracy is set to be a favourite, I think. We do have to ask ourselves why Virgil needed to take TB2 out when he was on a jaunt with his granny to take tea with Lady P. (but what a good thing he did, eh? :wink:

)

Only criticism is that while I admire and endorse the idea that heroism involves doing the "right" thing, both for the planet and its people, I rather think the scriptwriters overplay their hand. I don't want to have good old fashioned values rammed down my throat in every sentence. But then I'm not in the age group the message is aimed at and I suppose it could be argued that in today's society, it would be impossible to overstate the importance of a positive influence on an up and coming generation.

But, a request, please? Could we have a villain apart from The Hood? :cry:

by **Matt Crowther** » Sun May 10, 2015 2:18 am

Thought Thunderbird 2 looked quite lightweight haring down Whitehall but a minor quibble.

Was tickled at the end with the "Home, m'lady?"/"Home, Parker."

As for TB2 being used for a jaunt with Grandma, Scott did take Thunderbird 1 on leave in Edge of Impact. TB2 would be handy for London shopping

Wasn't too mad on the runaway train episode though.

by **Isabelle** » Sun May 10, 2015 4:40 am

Well, Skybase Girl, your wish for a non-Hood episode was granted...

I agree with Matt, the train episode was a little disappointing. And not because the Hood wasn't there. There was material to do something good, but the guys almost sounded casual about the train. Hey, look, a runaway train, let's take our sweet time getting there... :->

Scott was at the bottom of TB1, right there in the room, then has to go all the way back up into the house to go through the tunnel/slide/elevator thing to get ready!! Couldn't he just get to his seat from the hangar somehow?

:lol:

Grandma Tracy and the chaise lounges! :lol:

by **Matt Crowther** » Fri May 15, 2015 12:23 am

the best bit of the train episode might've been Scott's face when Brains was chucking up just after take-off.

At the risk of sounding a broken record, they're too short to build up much but then it's no surprise nowadays. At least John has a bit more to do in this series.

by **Isabelle** » Sun May 17, 2015 7:38 pm

We got to see more of John in the newest episode. I like the character. Not so sure about the HAL wannabe however, but it was nice to see that they have some sort of continuity between the episodes.

I always thought TB5 was much bigger though, bigger than TB3.

The episode made me question the actual benefit of TB5, though, considering grandma Tracy seemed to be able to dispatch the emergencies from the desk right there in the room. ;-$

by **Matt Crowther** » Sat May 23, 2015 12:56 am

Indeed, TB5 seemed to have bigger benefit in the original such as the episode where there's a communications blackout (I forget which, tempted to say Lord Parker's 'Olliday). But more John isn't a bad thing, poor man wasn't Gerry Anderson's favourite in the original and yet as a kid I had always hoped to see more of him on missions.

According to my DVR (and maybe TV guides if I looked) there's two episodes this weekend, Saturday and then Sunday afternoon. The Sunday episode is at a decent time. Maybe ITV are trying to hurry it through or drum up ratings.

by **Isabelle** » Mon May 25, 2015 5:34 am

Indeed, there were two episodes... I only got to watch the one on Saturday, because the ITV site now asks for a registration!!! :cry:

Guess this Canadian is going to find another way to watch the episodes... what a disappointment!

On Saturday we got to see Alan, minus his surf board (space board?)... How old is Alan supposed to be? I get that he's the youngest and all that, but shouldn't he be as tall as his brothers, even if he's a teen? And if he's too young to have had his growth spurt yet, what is he doing piloting a rocket!!!!

by **Skybase Girl** » Mon May 25, 2015 8:10 am

The episode shown on Sunday is a repeat of Saturday's episode. It's repeated twice more during the week. So you haven't missed anything, Isabelle!

by **chrisbishop** » Mon May 25, 2015 2:53 pm

Matt seems to have been right. The episode is not the same. Episode 9 on Saturday is listed as "Slingshot". Episode 10 on Sunday is listed as "Tunnels of Time".

Both episode are available in streaming at Toonova.com... amongst other places.

Isabelle, that's where you might want to go. You might need to update your Flash Player if it doesn't work on the first try.

Perhaps the Sunday episode is the one on repeat on the next Saturday?

Very few episodes to go, before the DVD is available! Watch this space for a link to buy your own copy of the 13 first episodes of the series!

by **Skybase Girl** » Mon May 25, 2015 5:05 pm

Chris, that's correct. I hadn't picked up on the fact that the repeats of the Saturday morning episode are on Citv at 3pm on Sundays, but because it's Bank Holiday, Itv decided to show a new episode at 5.15pm on the main channel. Confused the TV listings guides as well!

Well done to sharp-eyed people!

by **Isabelle** » Mon May 25, 2015 10:47 pm

Yes, I got it at Toonova.com, and it was a different episode. Much more interesting than the one on Saturday, in my opinion. :wink:

Didn't I see somewhere that the first 13 episodes are on pre-order on Amazon.uk? They come out very quickly (at the end of June?) considering the series is only at episode 10. Guess they want to make sure everyone is still on a TB buzz and buys the DVD!

by **Matt Crowther** » Tue May 26, 2015 12:27 am

Isabelle wrote:Yes, I got it at Toonova.com, and it was a different episode. Much more interesting than the one on Saturday, in my opinion.

Didn't I see somewhere that the first 13 episodes are on pre-order on Amazon.uk? They come out very quickly (at the end of June?) considering the series is only at episode 10. Guess they want to make sure everyone is still on a TB buzz and buys the DVD!

from what I've read over the weekend the season could be shown in two bits as it says about a Thunderbird app launching to coincide with "the second half of season 1" in October 2015.

You know I've read about how they don't use guns as it's focusing on saving lives but I don't recall the original being 'bloodthirsty'. I'm reworking the original via the DVDs and the most you could say was The Uninvited (a childhood favourite being one of four episodes I had on VHS) when Scott shoots a technician and maybe a couple of others in the pyramid.
Thunderbird 6 had a body count or at least puppets seemed to be flying about.

My critique of the latest remains Thunderbird 2. The argument is that these are rescue vehicles and so move quicker but TB1 and TB3 I can appreciate (good to see that TB3 in Slingshot seems to have some kind of FTL drive) but in Tunnels of Time TB2 comes down, raises up off the pod (as well as coming down on the pod at Tracy Island) sharpish. My love for TB2 was how it always seemed majestic, sure she lumbered down the runway or might've taken a minute to raise up over a pod at the Danger Zone but she was this big green lady.

And part of me misses the bits of dialogue that I always seemed to quote as a kid: "Changing to horizontal flight", "losing height now", "Now arriving at danger zone" or...from the Uninvited: "What the!?"

by **Isabelle** » Tue May 26, 2015 2:17 am

I think Scott might have said "Changing to horizontal flight" in one of the new episodes, but I don't remember which...

Loved his reaction when he arrived at the temple site, even if it's not politically correct. :lol:

Lady Penelope is a member of the World Heritage Society...? I know that technically, it's not the same as the Global Heritage Foundation, but was it intentional?

by **Matt Crowther** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 11:37 pm

Might've been intentional. Hard to say with the new writers.

The recent episode involving the weather thing was good, if to see all the Thunderbirds (well...TB4 substituted by Gordon's Pod thing) in action. Thunderbird 5 has a lot more going for it this time round. I guess in the original it's job is to relay messages whereas here, it does that but John has more to do and can even contribute to missions which I'd imagine the original TB5 could've.

As I delve into TB fanfic, tentatively (as I'm working on something non-fanfic), I think about the comics and how until now they were the closest I ever got to seeing the guys in action. Also made them more 'real' somehow. Even as a kid of 8 or 9 (being reprinted when Thunderbirds kicked off in 1993) they seemed darker often (Scott running this wall of fire to get to safety, the island attacked by the Hood and some of the boys knocked out etc).

Anyway, I digress.

by **Marion** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 8:11 am

Very true, Matt; I guess comics were the closest we got to the wonders of CGI mobility back in the heyday. :grin:

I loved the comic stories in TV21 and Lady Penelope as they allowed more 'action' and variety of expression from the characters than the puppets. In that way, I think we got more character development than NCS, for example. I seem to recall the short-lived 'comic' for that series merely reproduced stills from the CGI episodes.