Thunderbirds (film) - Differences From The Original

Differences From The Original

There are notable changes from the original series. The most obvious difference is the updated effects and new designs of the Thunderbird craft. The majority were given a sleeker and modern look; however, they were still based on their original designs, with Thunderbirds 2 & 4 deviating the most from their original look. The layout of Tracy Island, as well as the inside of the house, had also been overhauled. The way in which the Tracy Brothers make their descent to the hangers changed, with them now all standing in front of their pictures on the wall, instead of there being a specific place for them stand in the lounge to get to a specific craft. Additionally the couch loading mechanism is now used in Thunderbird 2 as well, rather than just being for Thunderbird 3, but uses a robotic arm instead of the system of rails. Lady Penelope's FAB 1 vehicle is was changed to being a Ford Thunderbird instead of a Rolls-Royce and can now only seat two people as well as being able to turn into a Jet plane. Thunderbird 3 was also shown to dock with Thunderbird 5 differently, in the film it docks side on instead of the rocket head going into the space station

The organisation is also referred to more commonly as “Thunderbirds” than International Rescue; although on their induction at the end of the film Alan, Tin-Tin and Fermat receive badges that are designed with the "IR" logo on them as per the original TV series intimating that the team are still officially called this. Though it seems the media's common parlance of "Thunderbirds" has become the norm, and been adopted amongst the family members themselves for everyday use.

Also, the plot was changed dramatically by making the younger Tin-Tin, Alan Tracy and Fermat Hackenbacker, who is depicted as being Brains’ son, the main characters. In the original, however, Alan Tracy does sometimes tend to have a larger role than the others and certainly a more emotional storyline (especially in the Thunderbirds Are Go! movie), but he has never been the main character. In the original series, Alan and Tin-Tin were much closer to the age of the rest of the Tracy brothers; with Alan being captain of Thunderbird 3 which can be seen from the opening title sequence of the very first episode. Fermat Hackenbacker was only seen in this movie, because there is no mention of Brains ever being married, least of all having had a son. In the original series, Brains' name was never officially revealed, with "Hiram Hackenbacker" merely an alias (as seen in the episode "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker"); in the film it appears to be his actual name. Also Jeff Tracy never flew any of the Thunderbirds craft, and there has never been an instance where he went off to the danger zone (with the exception of the episode "Brink of Disaster," as he was caught in the accident).

Like Fermat, the character of Onaha is not from the original TV series, where Kyrano was a single parent and presumably, like Jeff Tracy, a widower. In addition, the TV series has "Kyrano" as the family name, with Kyrano's first name never being revealed. Jeff's mother (known simply as Grandma in the TV series) does not feature or get mentioned during the film. Tin-Tin and Kyrano change nationality in the as well; they had been Malaysian throughout the TV series but were depicted as being from India in the film.

Another difference is that the age order of the boys' changes. In the original, the order of age was Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and finally Alan, but in the film, John was the oldest, followed by presumably Virgil, then Scott, then Gordon and finally Alan.

Other changes are more canonical. The feature film is set in 2020, while the original is set in 2026 (if you accept the date on the calendar seen in the TV episode 'Give or Take a Million') or 2065 (ie the date now accepted by many fans in Thunderbirds canon as the year of International Rescue's first mission). In the feature film, the Hood said that he was left for dead in one of International Rescue's earlier missions, but in "Trapped in the Sky"--which was stated as International Rescue's first mission—he was already trying to get their technology, of whose existence he knew via Kyrano.

A huge difference in the movie is the Tracy Brother's uniforms. The movie had dropped the original and recognisable concept of the Blue uniform with coloured sashes and hat. In the movie they were now wearing white modern astronaut uniforms having absolutely no similarities to the original design.

Another notable difference between the 2004 film and the original TV series is that International Rescue now allows itself to be filmed and photographed on missions. One of the recurring "rules" in the original TV series was that under NO circumstances was anything related to International Rescue—be it the pilots or the craft themselves—permitted to be photographed. In the episode "Terror in New York City," Scott Tracy electromagnetically wipes a recording of Thunderbird 1 when News Crew starts filming.

Another difference is that The Hood's powers seem to make him weaker when he uses them and his eyes are red, whereas in the original series they were always a bright yellow. Also contrasting the TV series, Tin-Tin actually shares the same powers as her uncle, the Hood, as seen in the movie's finale.

In the TV series, Gordon Tracy was the pilot of Thunderbird 4 and Alan was the pilot of Thunderbird 3, with John Tracy subbing on occasion. In the film, the roles are reversed. However, as Alan only uses Thunderbird 4 during the climax when Gordon is unavailable, it may be that Gordon is trained to pilot both craft in the film's continuity, since they are unlikely to be required for the same mission.