Thunderbirds 1x1 First Time Watching Reaction & Review - Should I Watch This? 

Glad you found this, I can't believe you hadn't see Thunderbirds. Can't believe everyone hasn't seen Thunderbirds! I grew up with it and all the rest of the Anderson's productions. This was their best hit so far and, after this they'd pretty well done what there was to do with marionettes, didn't like being "locked in" to them and were ready for live action, which brought about UFO 🛸. NO thumbs down!! 😆 I promise that if you keep watching this show, It grows on you and it's common to have that initial reaction to the marionettes, you *do* get used to them. It's definitely action/adventure and tends to be a little more "guy" oriented in that sense but all of the attention to detail, sets, clothing and variety of characters (Like Lady Penelope) Letcher girls in on it, too, that's how it got such a cult following, as did the original Star Trek. Often it's people's second time around that makes them say "how did I not love this back then!?" Enjoy and welcome to the club! First off, not every episode dealt with the same bad guys, they had to figure things out, like anyone else. Remember, this was a different age the world was still freshly out of WWII and many viewers were part of it. The attitudes and sensibilities of the world were different. It was part of societal evolution and some things, from many shows of the age, need to be put into perspective and not dwelled upon, knowing that things have grown and changed and accepting that, not let it be a bother. They needed a villain who decidedly *wasn't* north American or British in nature so an accent and facial traights needed to be "foreign" and straight up Russian was out of the question. Johnny Quest was in the same boat so, they tended to use "indeterminate Asian" characters because it was much more broad an influence in the world. Plus, there was a lot of "bad doings" by some Asian and Eastern influences (couldn't just out and out say "commies," either). So, it was the telling of the times and didn't imply any friendly nations of the time or create an air of direct conflict with the Russians. Also remember they were going for a world market and had to be neutral in areas that could actually want and buy their show. Geopolitics was a very sensitive time then and this was something everyone had to deal with, not just a writer here making "an unfortunate choice." As for the room for passengers, this was the age of the "Jet Setters" who could afford this type of travel and the shift to "everyone can fly" wasn't in full swing, yet. Who and how many should fly for what price was a thing not yet worked out, just like all "first adapters" who always pay more for things not everyone has, in order to have that "first user" privilege. And, when you're 10, the glowing eyes were cool. 😉

In a movie draft, the Tracy family was enjpying an exotic vacation when a natural disaster took place. Among the casualties was Tracy's wjfe. A survivor was heard lamenting that many more might have been saved were there some type of organization with the means to quickly respond to cataxlysmic events. BillionaireTracy took this to heart and with his sons formed International Resue in memory of their lost mother and wife.

Dear Alexa, you would have fit right in during the 60s and early 70s. A golden period filled with hope and a sense of freedom. I so happy that I spent the best years of my life from 64 to around 79 After that everything changed and now here we are with a surveillance state. So glad I won't have to live long under it.

Fun fact Derek Maddings (the speacial Effects director) after working with Gerry Anderson, would later work on the later Connory Bond movies and the first three Superman films.

Is Star Trek Generations a Christmas movie? Finally, we're asking the important questions!

Enjoyed the reaction. An amusing element of Gerry Anderson's puppet series is how influential they were on some Japanese anime creators. If you've ever seen the opening credits of Gerry Anderson marionette show Stingray (sister show to Thunderbirds), then take a look at the opening of anime Evangelion...

Yes! A kid's adventure brought to you by the same people who brought you UFO and space 1999! Another show made in a similar fashion by the same group that was my favorite was called Stingray. It was basically the same thing only underwater, fighting evil fishman each week!

If you think the way Scott and Virgil get to their ships is crazy, Alan uses the couch to get to Thunderbird 3! (Gordon and Thunderbird 4 are carried by Thunderbird 2)

I think you should check out other episodes in the series. Thunderbirds was produced to a very high standard. It was very popular in Japan. There were also two feature films produced in the 60's. Even though the series and films were produced in the U.K., the two films were financed/commissioned by American studio United Artists (now owned by MGM). There was also a popular CGI reboot called "Thunderbirds Are Go." Also, there was a 1982 Japanese anime series loosely based on Thunderbirds (the English language title of it is "Thunderbirds 2086"). Yes, Brains invented all of the Thunderbird craft. Other vehicle includes FAB-1 (Lady Penelope's Roll Royce) and FAB-2 (Lady Penelope's yacht).

I do feel like that the technical aspects may be a little jarring but they do ground the show in reality. Reaheating the jets. They are using technology. Aking them to be less technical would be like Star Trek not having an engeneer constantly talking about Warp fields and Graviton pulses. In the end, I think has to be the best Scifi show of the 60s. It has great music, great special effects and also the voice acting is very thrilling. The story of a billionaire spending his money to save lives because its the humane thing to do is very important. We don't often think of billionaires as good people.

The show was originally shot to be a half-hour series, and a number of episodes were finished in that format. When Lew Grade, the show's financier, saw the first episodes, he asked that the show be expanded to an hour. So the producers shot new footage to bring the first batch up to an hour...sometimes it matched, but other times there were some continuity errors, probably like the one you pointed out Alexa. You know, you might want to try the next Anderson series, Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons. It's shorter at a half-hour, and the marionettes have normal human proportions. It's also more adult, with a large number of character meeting VERY inventive demises. And yes, Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie! I always that John and Holly ought to watch theirs backs when Easter rolls around ...

Thanks for reacting to Thunderbirds. It’s more of a children’s show but now you know a bit more about it. My favourite episode is City of Fire, but if you were going to watch another one then I would recommend Terror in New York City. It’s the second most popular episode after the pilot. Hopefully you’ll get through to you more Anderson shows like Stingray and Captain Scarlet.

Absolutely loved this as a kid and I still watch it from time to time now in adulthood. Adventure, danger, gadgets, heroism and explosions - what's not to like!? :) Apart from the stories themselves and the tremendous work they did with the puppets and set design, it's interesting to see, even through the lens of fantasy, a 1960s perspective on the future potential and power of technology.

My dad turned me on to this series when I was little and I still adore it today, and a lot of the other Gerry Anderson stuff like Joe 90, The Mysterians, Supercar, etc. Interesting observation about aviation people probably liking this. I come from an aviation family going back to the early 1900s. It probably IS more interesting to those with an interest in that subject.

as a kid I always wanted my own Thunderbird 2 with Thunderbird 4 inside for when I want to go for a swim :)

Voltron totally stole the elaborate vehicle boarding procedures from Thunderbirds.

🙂 Thunderbirds, was first released on television in the UK, in 1965. 🙂 I wasn't around back then. ☺️ I, however, was growing up in the 90's when the company decided to re-release the series on television. 😁 After that, a lot of 90's kids including my self, loved watching Thunderbirds, which made the series, a massive hit.

YES!!! Alexa reacting to Thunderbirds! The Christmas present I thought I'd never get! It's classic television, along with the two Thunderbird feature films, and still well-loved the world over (STILL big in Japan!). 'd love it if you could someday fit it into your reacting schedule. In the meantime, thanks for this!

Especially the first episode of Thunderbirds is a sword with two edges in my opinion. The producers obviously wanted to show off what they were capable off and what the style of the show would be like, but I think they forgot to add a "soul" to the show in this first episode, if you understand what I am trying to say. For a show aimed towards children of that era that is absolutely fine, but I don't think adults, especially nowadays' adults would be easily attracted to something like this for a longer period of time. Now, over the course of the show it gains a lot more personality as do its' characters. Is it worth watching? Sure, if you watched it as a kid and thusly grew into it or if you can appreciate the technical level of the show and that is enough for you you will have fun with it. So, pretty much as you concluded yourself. Now, what I can recommend though which may be way more interesting for you is the remake show "Thunderbirds are Go". It keeps the basic structure of the show but shifts the focus on the characters plus it takes away the things that wouldn't work nowadays. Also the episodes are way shorter, meaning the episode never overstays its' welcome. Maybe you want to give that version of Thunderbirds a try instead of the original. Fun fact for the remake, the voice actor of Parker is still the same person. He is now 96 years old.

Just stumbled upon this 😊 The show is basically for kids and represented the futuristic optimism of the space race of the 60s. In fact the brothers are all named after the original Mercury 7 astronauts (Virgil Grissom, Alan Sheppard, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter). I think I read somewhere that Jeff Tracy was supposed to be an ex astronaut/genius aerospace engineer who made a fortune from some inventions and that financed everything on Tracy island. Also I wished I had the Tracy island playset! Supposedly it's worth alot of money today!

Looking forward to you continuing this. One of the great British sci-fi series of the 1970s, written by none other than the inestimable Terry Nation, one of the major writers for Doctor Who during the 60s and 70s, and creator of the Daleks. He’s always done a great line in dystopian futures with facial dictatorships. Also a great cast of characters throughout.

Good reaction, but remember it was a children's show and made in the mid 1960's, a product of it's era and a follow on from earlier Supermarionation TV series by Gerry ('Jerry') and Silvia Anderson, who would next do 'Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'.

See, if I built a timeship, and brought Alexa along, I'd drive her nuts. I'd have all kinds of wasted space like the Enterprise-D, and she'd be like "you could have a luxury dining area in this spot!" and I'd make a confused head tilt like Data, and be like "...yes....I...suppose you could..". And then walk off to go push some more buttons. Mmmm, buttons.

Yes! Definately!

Mine and my best friend Nawar's favorite TV show, we both prefer the 2015 CGI version called 'Thunderbirds Are Go' plz do a reaction to it!!!

Thunderbirds are Go!

Thunderbirds filmed in stunning Supermarionation! This show was lampooned with gusto in the mid-1980's by Australian comedy team The D-Generation. I'll never forget their spot-on interpretation of the marionette's walk! 🤣

Try this episode of Thunderbirds, "Attack of the Alligators."

Everyone should watch Thunderbirds.

Merry Christmas

awwww, was hoping this was the 2015 remake lol Still, its interesting to see what Gerry and Sylvia Anderson was doing before they would create Space 1999.

The rescue was ridiculous.

did they cg erase the strings? or am i (not) seeing things.

Re: Exhaust in the pool. Well...depends what the fuel is. If they're burning solid hydrogen, then the exhaust is just more water.

Hi ..just watched ur review of the Time Machine😍checked out ur site saw words ..Star Trek , Derry Girls ..then my fav in the world "Supernatural'..yep, sisters in arms over TV & movies. Seriously you seem pretty cool so had 2 subscribe. I was 4 years old when this show's predecessor came out.. "Fireball XL5" (1963) don't remember watching Thunderbirds(1965) but i did watch "The Outer Limits" so..you know..i was two years older probably thought it was too childish..eh..em. BUT what i remember is the theme song 'Fireball XL5 ' swear over 6 decades & still love the song. so i don't recommend watching the show maybe just peeking at the original puppets but the song ..please check out the song. You said you're into Book-reading( from Time Machine) so 4 kicks u could lookup 'Neil Gaiman 'singing the song with his wife's band its pretty cute. Thank you again 4 ur content, makes me very happy.✌

Thunderbird rules !

Wow. Afterwards watch the old Australian Late Show sketch parodies or if you’re feeling extra brave, the full feature movie made by the South Park guys, Team America: World Police.

oh yes !!!! one of the best Gerry Anderson show with puppets !!!

Well, with this one I don't think there are many episodes anyway.

The thunderbirds have around 50billion US dolars

Great 60s tv show😇

Hilarious. :)

Team America World Police may have taken quite a bit from this show.

As much as there is to like about "Thunderbirds" (which as I kinda did as a kid), there is much to dislike. The original hour-long format moves very slowly episode to episode. The main characters are really given no back story, except for being a super-rich family of Father and Sons. The arch-villain, The Hood (???really??? That's the best name they could come up with?) is VERY one-dimensional as well as being horribly stereotypical. They do a better job with this character in later versions when they stereotype is dropped and give him an actual backstory. It's never explained in this series WHY he wants to stop International Rescue, or how he's able to use the magic (hypnotic power) he has. It plays a little better in the US Version where the episodes were split into 2 parts so it could be run 5 days a week. In the 1980's a few episodes were combined to make a handful of watchable TV Movies. Overall, I agree, the OG show in the OG format is not very bingeable. Fun fact: The voice of Lady Penelope is Sylvia Anderson, the co-creator of Space: 1999!

This series is really kind of a one trick pony. The models and sets etc are amazing but in the end by itself is just not enough to carry the show in my opinion.