Thunderbirds are go!!!!

Agrippa · April 06, 2015, 03:11:44 PM

For a moment I thought Nicola Sturgeon had dyed her hair..............

Ben A · April 06, 2015, 03:24:53 PM

Hello all,

I am quite surprised at the number of people expressing disappointment; I thought they made quite a good fist of it with some knowing nods to the original (and Stingray!) while at the same time updating it to make it fresh, relevant and fast-paced enough for today's kids.

The vehicles are really good - what changes they have made are well thought out and seem justified to me (ie fold down wings on T2 makes it take up a lot less space in the hangar and allows the pods to be closer together, while I love what they do with the three angled "arms" on T3) but they keep all the best features of the originals - not least the fonts used for their names and numbers!

Bearing in mind too that, strictly speaking, I don't think those of us who remembered the original are *quite* the target market!

It's not perfect - realistically, could anything recreate the magic felt by a 6-year-old watching it the first time round? - but I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one.

cheers

Ben A.

scotsoft · April 06, 2015, 07:01:18 PM

I enjoyed it and watched it all the way through

Each to their own

cheers John.

joe cassidy · April 06, 2015, 08:29:57 PM

Who's Nicola Sturgeon ?

Was she a character in Stingray ?

Best regards,

Joe

ChrisWV10 · April 06, 2015, 08:50:24 PM

I thought it was ok, liked the reference to 'my favourite tv show' showing Stingray but it all felt rushed. Everything happened so fast - the launch sequences, the rescues. It was all in, out and no time for shaking about!

The original built the tension, with the soundtrack, the worsening situation and with sweating puppets!

Shan't be watching again (and the Rolls CAN'T fly!

)

surfaceman · April 06, 2015, 09:00:52 PM

Quote from: MalcolmAL on April 05, 2015, 10:25:34 PM
Thort thunderbirds was a load of old ***### back then, still think so now ! Sorry
But it'd be sad if we were all the same so carry on up the thunderbirds if you wish
(My daugter thinks I am mad (prob right) for thinking Fawlty Towers is great !)

Bring back Magic Roundabout is wot I say, atleast ya' couldna' see the strings in that
boinng,

No, but you could see the springs!

Alex

Pengi · May 16, 2015, 12:23:56 PM

I have watched the last few episodes of this series and I think it is fab! Good storylines and the CGI is good too. I now think it is better than the original

Newportnobby · May 16, 2015, 01:32:35 PM

Sadly I haven't caught any further episodes after the first one

zwilnik · May 16, 2015, 01:52:14 PM

Quote from: newportnobby on May 16, 2015, 01:32:35 PM
Sadly I haven't caught any further episodes after the first one

Most of them are still on ITV Player fortunately

Karhedron · May 17, 2015, 12:43:13 AM

Rather entertained by today's episode. I enjoyed spotting the 2001 references.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you do that John".

Chetcombe · May 17, 2015, 01:20:53 AM

All today's posts moved me to try and find a way of watching an episode here in the U.S. ITV Player a no-go as I am not in the UK and I don't have one of those apps that disguises my IP address. But success on YouTube, episode 5 'Fireflash' is to be found inside its entirety!

Verdict (from a huge fan of the original series) was a thumbs up. The pace is much quicker than the original, which I guess is a sign of the times. The producers clearly believe that today's kids have a minuscule attention span! Not always a bad thing, but this episode lacked the build up of intensity that the Fireflash' episode had, albeit in a much longer episode.

In summary, I loved the characters, loved the modern interpretation of the classic boarding and take off sequences, loved the CGi, but it was all a bit rushed.

So a big thumbs up. The only negative was that this episode did not feature Parker or Lady Penelope. My research shows that Rosamund Pike is the voice behind a younger version of Lady Penelope. Now that, I am 100% sure, would be F.A.B.

Are all the episodes based on stories from the original series?

Bealman · May 17, 2015, 02:57:11 AM

I managed to get a few segments up on YouTube too, and didn't much like what I saw. Mind you, they were only little snippets. I'm not a great fan of CGI cartoons, even though all the 'real life' movies that I really like employ it heavily.

The 4th Mad Max movie by Aussie director George Miller was released here last week, and, according to him, all of the stunts are real - supposedly the only CGI is Charlize Theron's prosthetic arm. So I might just go and have a look at that.

Bealman · May 17, 2015, 05:46:07 AM

Actually, since I posted this, and thinking about Chetcombe's post, I investigated YouTube a little more carefully and found all the episodes to date. I watched half of the space one and all of the Fireflash one.

While I found the Fireflash episode watchable, and could see the similarity to the original, they all seem too rushed (which I guess says something about the attention span of today's kids). There are aspects of the animation which I also found annoying. Their feet all seem huge, and when they walk away from that airliner at the end of the Fireflash one, they seemed to be towering above the thing like giants!

Not as bad as I initially thought, but I certainly won't be jumping through hoops to watch it.

George

Karhedron · May 17, 2015, 08:30:09 PM

Quote from: Chetcombe on May 17, 2015, 01:20:53 AM
Verdict (from a huge fan of the original series) was a thumbs up. The pace is much quicker than the original, which I guess is a sign of the times.

Not entirely. Jerry Anderson normally worked with roughly 22 minute episodes. If you look at the other shows he did such as Captain Scarlet, Terrhawks, Stingray etc, they were around the same length. The original Thunderbirds was an exception and was deliberately made to be twice the length of his normal episodes at the request of the commisioner. That is why the launch sequences look they are happening in slow motion. You can also see that the episodes often follow a pattern with an initial rescue attempt that fails necessitating the use of a back-up plan.

It is sometimes joked that the Thunderbirds should have learned to just use Plan B the first time.

Quote from: Chetcombe on May 17, 2015, 01:20:53 AM
So a big thumbs up. The only negative was that this episode did not feature Parker or Lady Penelope. My research shows that Rosamund Pike is the voice behind a younger version of Lady Penelope. Now that, I am 100% sure, would be F.A.B.

Yes, Rosamund Pike does a good Lady P and they still have the original voice of Parker after all these years.

Quote from: Chetcombe on May 17, 2015, 01:20:53 AM
Are all the episodes based on stories from the original series?

No, most are original although Fireflash was a indeed a direct homage. You can see the 21st century flavour as Kayo is a much more proactive heroine than Tintin's damsel in distress.

NeMo · May 17, 2015, 08:40:36 PM

Quote from: Karhedron on May 17, 2015, 12:43:13 AM
Rather entertained by today's episode. I enjoyed spotting the 2001 references.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you do that John".

Absolutely! Watched for the first time this evening, and really enjoyed it. Obviously still a kids programme, but lots of nice touches that made it feel very much a homage to 2001. The quote mentioned, the spinning space station, the getting-locked-outside scene, the "eye" of the computer, and of course being Thunderbirds there was the more positive and upbeat ending.

So far as pacing went, it felt about right to me. It wasn't hurried at all, but at the same time, there was very little filler, just the odd jokey moment or background scenery shot. Compared to a lot of children's TV these days, this show seems positively Oscar-worthy!

Cheers, NeMo