Thunderbirds (TV Series) - References, Parodies and Imitations

References, Parodies and Imitations

In Not Only... But Also a highly popular 1960s BBC British television comedy series starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore a sketch called "Superthunderstingcar" was performed (which was a parody of Thunderbirds and other Sylvia and Gerry Anderson puppet shows such as Supercar and Stingray)

In the 1981 episode of The Young Ones, Jersey Balowsky greeted Mike with "Hello my little Thunderbird puppet? Thunderbirds are go". He then mocked a marionette puppet walking whilst saying, "Come on, let's twist again, like we did last summer, yeah yeah yeah! Let's twist again, like we didn't do in Moscow 'caus I've never been there. I am English person".

In 1984 mime artists Andrew Dawson and Gavin Robertson (co-founders of and performers in The Mime Theatre Project) devised and presented a hit mime stage show called Thunderbirds FAB at the Apollo Theatre in London. The show was very popular and was still occasionally being revived for the next 20 years (possibly longer). The show also featured Captain Scarlet. From a 2001 tour flyer, Andrew Dawson is quoted as saying "Every time Thunderbirds returns people call us up and ask us if we are still doing the show. We try to recreate everything that everyone loves about Thunderbirds in a live show – the noises, the funny puppet walk. Anyone who has ever seen Thunderbirds – and there can't be many people who haven't – will enjoy the show"

The pilot program for the 1980s Australian TV sketch comedy show The D-Generation featured a Thunderbirds sketch with live actors pretending to be on strings ala marionettes. This sketch was performed multiple times throughout the series with different storylines, including "Thunderbirds Pizza" where the crew operate an international pizza delivery business.

In the late 1980s Exchange & Mart made a Thunderbirds advert featuring the guys from 'The Mime Theatre Project'. A life size marionette of Scott tries to sell a futuristic car with the number plate 'FAB 2'. The human protagonist has read 'Exchange and Mart', and is well informed about car prices, and haggles Scott's price down until it's reasonable. They then shake hands and the human walks off in the 'Thunderbirds puppet mime style'.

In 1990, Swinton Car Insurance made a Thunderbirds advert called Parker's Day Off, where Lady Penelope drives recklessly in FAB1 before Parker comes to her rescue in Thunderbird 2.

In 1991, Gerry Anderson directed the video for the Dire Straits single Calling Elvis, which features a mix of new footage of Thunderbirds puppets and old material from the 1960s.

In 1994, the second series of the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous series (episode "Hospital") featured the marionette of Lady Penelope in a dream sequence, when Edina undergoes surgery. Lady Penelope informs Edina that she was dying but that Brains (another character from the series) was working on a formula to save her life.

In 1993 a Thunderbirds-themed advertisement for the Kit Kat chocolate bar was broadcast. It features the original 5–4–3–2–1 countdown (re-recorded by a new voice actor) and all ships taking off, except Thunderbird 1. Scott, who pilots the ship, is seen relaxing and " a break", as the commercial encourages. Meanwhile, a frantic Jeff Tracy tries to coerce Scott into launching the ship: "Thunderbirds! GO!"

In 1995, The Wallace and Gromit film A Close Shave by Aardman Animations includes an homage to the series. When Wallace receives a call for window-cleaning services, his method of getting to his motorbike and out onto the road is very similar indeed to the method used by Virgil Tracy to enter Thunderbird 2 and take off.

In 1998, MTV aired the adult-situation parody Super Adventure Team.

In 2001, the DVLA used Thunderbirds in one of their commercials reminding people to pay their road tax where Lady Penelope cuts Parker's strings for accidentally allowing FAB1 to be clamped.

In 2001 'Travelcare' had advert with the tag line 'We'll tell you what the brochures wont'. In the advert 2 girls are on an idyllic holiday. They slip into the pool on a beautiful day. Suddenly they get slapped by a wave, as the pool begins to slide sideways. It is revealed that they are in the Tracy Island pool as Thunderbird 1 begins to blast off,and the girls run for their lives to avoid being burned by the rocket exhaust.

2002-2003's comic, Global Frequency by Warren Ellis is inspired by Thunderbirds;

In 2003, the Orbitz airline company aired a series of commercials with Supermarionation puppets, not unlike those used on Thunderbirds. The commercials even continued the practice of using real human hands in close-up shots.

In 2004, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker produced the full length feature film Team America: World Police (2004). Team America's marionette humour drew heavily for its inspiration on the quirks and foibles of Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation techniques, whilst managing the significant task of paying respect to the original. Stone and Parker have stated whilst they were not particularly fans of the show, having grown up after its heyday, they nonetheless expressed admiration for the visual style and puppetry: "what’s made it last is the time and care that the people who did that show put into the marionettes".

In 2005, the 10th anniversary special of the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley featured a drunk Geraldine lapsing into the opening countdown while drunk in the pulpit, then shouting "Thunderbirds are GO!" as part of her homily.

Australian band TISM released a single called "Thunderbirds Are Coming Out". The lyrics with a troubled teenager who rebels against his (or her) parents and "sit for hours all alone, without an opinion to call my own". Eventually the teenager sees The Thunderbirds on television and is impressed. The teen is inspired by their appearance, stating "there's less to them than meets the eye" and from there joins various social cliques and adheres to norms of teenage life – in a sense giving up individuality, but yet transcending to the next level of teenage life.

The episode "Reverse Explosion" of the 2006 anime series 009-1 features the crash of a spacecraft resembling Thunderbird 5. The series also includes cameos of craft from other Gerry Anderson series including a helijet, an Eagle Transporter and a SHADO Interceptor.

In 2008, UK retailer Specsavers released an advertisement utilising Virgil Tracy and The Hood to promote their Reaction lenses. It was produced by Tandem Films in London using the same production techniques used by the original series. The video was published on the official Specsavers YouTube web site and screened on commercial TV networks in the UK. The mini adventure sees Virgil pursued by his archenemy, the villainous Hood, through snow-capped mountains. Virgil comes out of a tunnel into the glare of the sun and his Specsavers lenses immediately darken to protect his vision. The Hood is not so lucky and, blinded by the bright light, he crashes into a mountain. The chase is over and Virgil escapes again, thanks to modern technology, and to the relief of his father, Jeff.

Another recent advert, released by Britvic to advertise their line of 'Drench' water, features Brains dancing to the 1990s hit "Rhythm Is a Dancer". Halfway through, he takes a seat and drinks some Drench before resuming the dance. The advert ends with the slogan "Brains perform best when they're hydrated". The official Stay Drenched website featured a making of video which revealed Brains' moves were a combination of live action puppeteering, motion capture and CGI.

In the last episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced, Mike convinces Brian to help him convince Marsha not to sell the house by playing a cassette tape with the Thunderbirds theme.

UK train operator Virgin Trains employs a set of 16 class 57/3 diesel locomotives primarily for 'rescue' duties, towing its electric Pendolino trains in the event of breakdowns or unexpected detours to non-electrified lines. All 16 are named after Thunderbirds characters or machines.

The ongoing Star Wars: The Clone Wars series took inspiration from Thunderbirds when creating the stylised looks of its characters.