'Thunderbirds' is one of those rare television programmes that, rather like 'Star Trek' and 'Dr.Who', seems so ingrained in the public consciousness that it is possible to have never watched a single episode, and yet, have a clear idea what it is about, identify its characters, and recite its catchphrases ( in this case, 'F.A.B.!' and, of course, 'Thunderbirds are GO!". The adventures of 'Jeff Tracy' and his family ( and Lady Penelope and Parker ) enthralled young and old audiences alike for two years on I.T.V. in 1965-66. So popular was it that a feature film was made despite the show not having reached America ( Lew Grade foolishly kept jacking up the asking price to the point where the U.S. networks finally gave up ). The head of United Artists was confidant that it would be a hit, and possibly bigger than the same company's 'James Bond' franchise! The story was certainly grand enough - a manned expedition to Mars gets underway, but crashes as the result of sabotage ( its our old friend 'The Hood' up to its tricks again ). Once the saboteurs are dealt with, the expedition is re-staged twenty-four months later, and the crew of Zero X encounter hideous monsters - rock 'snakes' that spit balls of fire! The journey back to Earth goes wrong, and International Rescue are called upon to save the day...It is an entertaining picture on the whole, though not as good as it could be - there's no 'Thunderbird 4', for example, 'Brains' is hardly featured, and 'Kyrano' and 'Grandma' nowhere to be seen. The Tracys take an awfully long time to enter the plot ( for the first fifteen minutes it looks as if we're watching 'Zero X - The Movie'. International Rescue doesn't have much to do. Perhaps it would have been better to have opened the picture with an unrelated prologue featuring I.R. in action before moving onto the main story.But the good points outweigh the bad - the special effects are marvellous ( several of the crew went on to work on the 'Superman' and 007 movies ), and there's a delightful sequence where Alan Tracy dreams he is having a night out at the 'Swinging Star' club with Lady Penelope, and the cabaret turns out to be none other than - wait for it - Cliff Richard Junior! ( The Shadows also appear in puppet form ). Gerry Anderson later recounted that, at the premiere, a girl in the audience shrieked with excitement when the Cliff puppet appeared on screen! Lady Penelope's Rolls - 'F.A.B.-1' - preempts James Bond's Lotus Esprit in 'The Spy Who Loved Me' by a decade by converting into an amphibious vehicle, the M.E.V.'s journey across the Martian landscape is genuinely eerie, and the rock snakes are indeed nightmarish. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's script ingeniously combines elements of spy thrillers, science fiction, and disaster movies. Among the voice artists is a familiar name - Bob Monkhouse! Barry Gray's music is awesome - the theme that accompanies the assembling of the Zero X at the start of the movie is worthy of Elmer Bernstein.So, with all these things going for it, why wasn't it a hit on its initial release? Anderson thinks it was because not enough was done to promote the fact that it was an original story, and not a compilation of television episodes ( like the 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' pictures ). Perhaps the Thunderbirds phenomenon had peaked, and interest was on the wane when it opened. Whatever the reason, it is a shame as it deserved greater success ( the crew of the 'Zero X' went on to feature regularly in the pages of 'T.V. Century 21' comic ). Nevertheless, a sequel - 'Thunderbird 6' - appeared two years later, to be met with a equally lukewarm response. More recently, in 2004, there was the ill-fated live-action movie starring Bill Paxton and directed by Jonathan Frakes ( of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' fame ). It was not all bad ( Sophia Myles was a terrific 'Lady Penelope' ) but Anderson's lack of involvement doomed the project from the start.Things To Look Out For - it is 2066, and yet Jeff can be seen reading 'The News Of The World', a tabloid rag that folded last year ( not before time either! ). Perhaps Rupert Murdoch Junior is in charge of News Intergalactic?And where else would you see a pink Rolls Royce orbiting Mars? F.A.B.!

Legendary producers and writers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and special effects genius Derek Meddings who also created the classic television series, Thunderbirds 1965-66, Captain Scarlett 1967-68, Joe 90 1968-69, UFO 1970-71 and the classic flick Doppelganger 1969 and Gerry and Sylvia Anderson who also created the classic television series, Space 1999 1975-77 have created another gem in Thunderbirds are GO.I enjoyed the crash at the beginning of the film plus the characters and machines from the television series.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic puppet and doll flicks, Meet the Feebles 1989, Puppet Master 1989, Puppet Master 3: Toulon's Revenge 1991, Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter 1994, Demonic Toys 1992, Disaster 2006, Childs Play 1988, Bride of Chucky 1998, PIN 1988, Love Object 2003, Lars and the Real Girl 2007, May 2002, Z.P.G. 1972, Ted 2012, Dead Silence 2007 and Tourist Trap 1979.

I wasn't an avid viewer of the Gerry Anderson television series when I was younger, I may have watched a few episodes, I just found myself drawn more to Stingray and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, nevertheless I watched this movie. Basically it is the year 2065, and Glenn Field are constructing and preparing to launch the manned Zero-X spacecraft mission to land on Mars, but something goes wrong and it crashes during lift-off. Two years later investigations conclude that it was sabotage, so to make sure it doesn't happen again, they decide to call International Rescue to secure and oversee the mission on the second launch. Father Jeff Tracy (Peter Dyneley) is dubious that the Thunderbirds should be used for more serious emergencies, but he allows them to be launched and helped. So his three sons, Scott (Shane Rimmer) in Thunderbird 1 (mostly on ground), Virgil (Jeremy Wilkin) in Thunderbird 2 in air and Alan (Matt Zimmerman) in Thunderdird 3 in space, get going, while Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward (Sylvia Anderson) with driver Aloysius Parker (David Graham) investigates the sabotage threat. They all watch over as the second Zero-X successfully lands on Mars, but there is an appearance by villain The Hood (Ray Barrett) trying to ruin things, and worse some Martians attack the craft and force it leave with damages. Returning to Earth, the Zero-X now does have a serious emergency and need International Rescue, so with Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon (also Graham) and Brains (Graham again), they do everything to save the lives of the four men. Also, in a subplot, Alan feels unappreciated, and has a dream sequence going to "The Swinging Star" nightclub with Lady Penelope, watching Cliff Richard Jr. and the Shadows (as themselves), and this comes true at the end. Also starring Christine Finn as Tin-Tin Kyrano, Ray Barrett as John Tracy, Paul Maxwell as Captain Paul Travers and Bob Monkhouse as Space Navigator Brad Newman / Swinging Star Compere. The puppetry has a charm, the camp music video appearance by Sir Cliff and the group is good fun with their song "Shooting Star", and when it happened there were some alright action moments. My only criticism is that with the spacecraft called Zero-X and Martians attacking, it was too much like the first episode of Captain Scarlet, and it is felt more kiddie than what I remember in the past, but not a bad family science-fiction adventure. The TV programme was number 60 on The 100 Greatest TV Shows, and it was number 24 on The 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows. Worth watching!

Gerry Anderson is one of the very few stellar heroes of British TV production, and this classic THUNDERBIRDS offering is an absolute delight. Such a shame that folks in the USA and other countries didn't have the opportunity to grow up with Gerry Anderson's weekly TV shows the way two decades of children throughout the 1960s and 70s did in the UK - we were so privileged. His production values and characterisations are always consistently exceptional, and his work has surely influenced the creativity of virtually everyone above the age of 35 working in the British film and TV industry. THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO like all his other work is so much more than just a puppet show - the characters and their interactions have depth, the action, the angles, the voice acting talents, the tension are all filmic and it's so easy to imagine these are real people not plastic toys. Please watch it and anything else he's done. For me one of the greatest things about THUNDERBIRDS and most other Gerry Anderson shows is the MUSIC, which is simply thrilling. The THUNDERBIRDS theme tune is an absolute undeniable classic, and the greatest joy of this particular production is that it concludes with an actual outdoor performance of the theme tune by Her Majesty's Royal Marine Band playing their chops while marching on the parade ground - UTTERLY FABULOUS - made my scalp go all tingly to hear it! Watch THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO for the music alone, but also enjoy the story, which I'm not going to spoil for you. This is great fun TV viewing for all the family.