Customer Reviews

Thunderbirds - Set 2

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have just watched the whole Thunderbirds re-run on the TV over here in England. Once again, I still find myself dropping everything to sit and watch this fabulous show 35 years after it was originally broadcast (I was 5 yrs old at the time). When I was a kid, you either wanted to be Scott Tracy who piloted Thunderbird 1 (fast rocket, first vehicle to the disaster area), or Virgil Tracy who piloted Thunderbird 2 (fairly fast carrier with some cool rescue stuff stashed away in the pods), or Alan who piloted Thunderbird 3 (space rocket). I don't ever remember any of my friends wanting to pilot Thunderbird 4 (small yellow submarine that didn't do that much) or Thunderbird 5 (space station). My best friend Peter wanted to be Lady Penelope with the Pink Rolls Royce, but that's another story! Buy the DVD, the picture and sound quality are F.A.B. These discs are considerably better value than the ones released in the UK. This is for all you grown up 'boys' out there - If you're going to buy one action packed DVD this month, buy this one, I promise you you won't be disappointed!

Though I as born fully one decade after the series was originally shown, my brother and I still have fond memories of watching this show as children. And though many of the details of the show were for so long shrouded in the faint rememberings of this true classic, I still did not hesitate to purchase set two the instant I saw it. And I was not disappointed.

First of all, the effects are truelly breathtaking in their cheesiness. But that is absolutely the charm of the show. Never mind that you can see the damn strings sticking out of them. Additionally the remastering is first rate. Sound and picture quality are tip top. Possibly better than back in '65, when you consider that they had to watch it sans digital home theater systems! Every episode brings a new, thrilling, and death defying challenge to the indomitable crew that are the Thunderbirds. They're rolling XXX large in their incredible machines that defy the laws of physics, and the limits of the human imagination.

Whats more is that they smoke! Cigars, cigarettes, and who knows what else? You will also notice that they not only sweat, constantly; but that mysteriously, they always manage to some how get filthy. It is obvious that the budget was of little issue in the making of this truelly original sci-fi masterpiece, as every special effect will get your heart racing with uncontrolable laughter. I especially liked that from time to time, real human hands and other limbs are used to give some continuity to the story line. Bravo! If you loved this show as a kid, which most of us, of a certain age did... you should also not hesitate a moment in purchasing either, or both sets. It's approx. 312 minutes for both discs, so you will be getting your moneys worth.

This should be the 2nd set of the classic Gerry Anderson TV series, The Thunderbirds. I don't know what episodes are going to be on it, but my understanding is that it should be the remastered (video and sound) version recently broadcast in England. The show is popular worldwide, but seems to lack any kind of following here in the U.S. Filmed in Supermarionation (ie., puppets), this is unlike anything seen before to the unitiated. The production values, f/x and model work are all top notch. Amazon needs to label this for what it is too. FAB!

My husband loved this show and now my 4 year old is hooked. Great for space loving kids.

A fun blast from the past. as a kid, I always found Thunderbirds fascinating but also a little creepy. Here they are in gorgeous DVD with excellent remastered sound. As an adult, you realize that many of the episodes drag a bit through their 50-minute length, but that doesnŐt affect the sheer fun-factor of watching these classic episodes! Thunderbirds Are Go!

The second half-dozen episodes of Thunderbirds are available on DVD and they encompass several of the series' best moments.

Vault of Death - A more comedic-oriented episode than usual, it details Lady Penelope and Parker's break-in at the Bank of England - designed to prove to the bank's officials the need for more modern vaults - but the ensuing change may kill an absent-minded employee, who becomes trapped in a high-tech vault programmed to purge out all the air inside.

The strongest aspect of this episode is that it delves into Parker's past and gives the viewer a look at the man and helps explain how he became who he presently is.

Operation Crashdive - A sequel to the series pilot, to which there is a reference in a newscast about the crash of a Fireflash airliner. Additional such craft are mysteriously crashing, and IR must deduce the reason why - to the point that Scott must fly a Fireflash craft with Captain Hanson, the pilot of the first Fireflash. This episode also features one of the best "intro" shots of the series as Fireflash taxis out of its form-fitting hangar in Act IV underscored by one of Barry Gray's most powerful cues.

Move And You're Dead - This episode is told almost entirely in flashback, and the use of the technique by writer-director Alan Patillo is strikingly effective. Alan and Grandma are kidnapped by a jealous racecar driver and left on a bridge with a bomb and motion detector - the motion detector will detonate the bomb if the two prisoners try to escape. Jeff and tinTin must talk Alan through retelling his story while Scott and Virgil fly to the area.

Martian Invasion - The Hood uses his hypnotic power over the Tracys' manservant Kyrano to shut off camera detectors about Thunderbird One, and then uses a sci-fi movie as cover to lure IR to the Nevada desert, where he films them in action for a mysterious international general. The premise is good and well presented, especially the chase in the third and fourth acts, but there are some plot holes and the denoument of the chase is too comedic, an uncharacteristic failing of the show's best writer, Alan Fennell.

Brink of Disaster - Basically two unrelated plots in this Fennell script are tied together by the central premise of Warren Grafton, a monorail executive in need of a big infusion of quick cash to finance his US-based monorail system, a system overly dependent on automated train systems and a fleet of patrolling hoverjets, one of which crashes and severs an overhanging section of track. The episode's subplot involves thieves with Grafton's company who break into Penelope's home to steal her valuable collection of jewels to finance Grafton's business. This aspect appears more an effort to kill time than a believeable subplot, as the train-crash angle does not contain enough screentime to fill out an hour-long format.

The Perils Of Penelope - Penny gets involved with the kidnapping of a famed scientist, and it is up to IR to find them amid the blackness of a monorail tunnel in Switzerland. The episode used two directors, Alan Patillo and Desmond Saunders, perhaps because of the extensive use of footage from the Saunders-directed episode Sunprobe at the beginning - which suggests Sunprobe and Perils were filmed simultaneously.

Not just this set of episodes, but the Thunderbirds saga as a whole. Now there's tremendous news that Volumes 3 and 4 will be coming out for Thanksgiving. No details yet on the episodes or whatever extras may be included, but figure 6 more episodes in each set. So that's 24 of the 32 episodes which will be seen. It still holds up well, even 35 years later. I'm glad A&E has seen fit to release two excellent Gerry Anderson series, two of his best.

I can't tell you how many school chairs were broken in the mid-60's because boys like me were "switching to horizontal flight" like Scott Tracy in Thunderbird 1! In Britain and Japan, Thunderbirds is a 35 year-old fascination. They now enjoy cult status and, as far as this reviewer is concerned, the American Invasion is about to begin! Okay, it's a puppet show - and they're heads aren't quite in proportion to the rest of their body but - man - dig those crazy gadgets! The first batch of James Bond movies were at their zenith at the time that Gerry and Sylvia Anderson produced this series, and it shows (Scott Tracy's head was rumored to have been modelled on Sean Connery's!). The scripts and situations are fantastic, the action thrilling and, like one of Jeff Tracy's cigars, they've matured with age. For those who prefer something more realistic, check out the reissue of "Space 1999." THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

I haven't watch it as yet waiting for the special time just to sit back and watch them all!
I bought the set 1 and watched repeatedly until I received the set 2
I'm sure I will not be disappionted

A lot of Fun!. I remembered when I was a kid, and spent a lot of time enjoying the series. Very good.