Thunderbirds Are Go - 2015 Series

I wasn't sure if this had been brought up here, as a search didn't reveal another topic started.

The series uses CGI characters and vehicles with live action sets, and has already been commissioned for a second series/season already. Not much else has been revealed right now, other than a few videos and character profiles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUY53m2LTRk

http://40.media.tumblr.com/361b7ff851ca6fba87896a7e5aeee2e9/tumblr_njpu9wqoqw1u0mvyro1_1280.png

Scot: http://40.media.tumblr.com/173362e8018bb9a0f8a94a223a1cd7dd/tumblr_njpu9wqoqw1u0mvyro6_1280.jpg

Virgil: http://41.media.tumblr.com/b439cc4e2b2b12f5585f66e1bc407fdc/tumblr_njpu9wqoqw1u0mvyro7_1280.jpg

Alan: http://41.media.tumblr.com/560af68a0d44fb45581217cda4ac7aa3/tumblr_njpu9wqoqw1u0mvyro2_1280.jpg

Gordon: http://40.media.tumblr.com/baf1b666c2d6001e3748f31dd9db2f40/tumblr_njpu9wqoqw1u0mvyro3_1280.jpg

John: http://41.media.tumblr.com/18ba19c26e8c000f7df9d2bc4d3c5af8/tumblr_njpu9wqoqw1u0mvyro4_1280.jpg

Kayo: http://40.media.tumblr.com/9da98ca9d85fd00b9cc755c5165e54b8/tumblr_njpu9wqoqw1u0mvyro5_1280.jpg

Kayo apparently has her own vehicle; the Thunderbird Shadow: http://www.screenrelish.com/wp-cont...62_1554719174799086_7236046195489309447_n.jpg

http://www.screenrelish.com/wp-cont...294_1554718878132449_617587307455868441_n.jpg

Live Action Sets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDKP_N37OAE

Vehicles Animated GIFs: http://downthetubes.net/?p=16240

The website for this new series is up here: http://www.thunderbirds.com/

 

Their heads are too small.

 

Based on external appearances, looks like the most radically altered Thunderbird is Thunderbird 5, followed by Thunderbird 2.

It's a foregone conclusion that I'll at least try this out. F-A-B!

Seriously, I was thinking the same thing. I'll have to rewire my head to fix that for the first episode.

 

It looks okay though I don't see the need to change Thunderbird 2 quite so much. Reading the info on the new series I can't seem to see a reference to Jeff Tracey or Tin Tin. Instead they talk about a Colonel Casey and the female character is Kayo. I'll give it a go as I'm a big fan of the original but I don't see why they need to change characters when Jeff Tracey and Tin Tin are perfectly fine. I wonder if they'll keep the iconic theme?

 

Kayo is tintin renamed due to legal reasons. But she's basically the same character with a different first name

 

I'm going to hazard a guess that some of the design changes were influenced by the requirements of the inevitable toy line.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V684woQveg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWfkX4HH2WY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_LMgABEmP4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjBt7rdaPnM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e36CCw44fyQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io2Vbh8wm9c

 

Well the cgi will solve on problem from the original. They were never able to duplicate the original colour for TB2 so as it would go in for repaints due to filming wear and tear it would come back a slightly different shade of green.

Hopefully the new series will live upto to the original.

 

I'm really excited about this. If the producers are as keen as they seem to be on reproducing the mid-century aesthetic of the original show, it could be the best addition to that particular field of design in animation since the Incredibles.

 

Well it would have to work hard to be worse than the live-action film from last decade.

 

^True.

 

Penelope, Parker and Brains

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/26/thunderbirds-remake-lady-penelope-brains

 

As long as they keep the original opening theme music, I can live with any changes. It would be nice if there was a cut every time a character had to walk through a doorway.

 

I don't care for any of the redesigned Thunderbirds except for TB-4. They look more like blocky prototypes developed before the classic designs.
It also looks like they have forgotten they could control gravity since TB-5 has to rotate now and all the craft need active thrusters to land. The originals would just use the thrusters for part of the landing but could hover without them.

 

And of course Parker is voiced by the original voice.

 

First trailer has been released:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y2hFqgtjLk[/yt]

 

That looks awesome. Not the biggest fan of the blocky TB-2, but then again stuff isn't ALWAYS more curvy in the future. I almost thought the TB-2 model had bad antialiasing problems in those clips.

Still, this reboot (?) will be a great way to introduce the fun to a new generation (sorry Mr. Frakes, E for effort on your part). I hope they will take it seriously enough to get kids of all ages involved. Treating it like an all-ages drama is one of the best things about Thunderbirds.

I did love the original series as a kid, though my fanboy days kicked in with the (not really related but criminally overlooked IMO) Thunderbirds 2086 / Technoboyager anime adaptation. That one also had a very serious bent to it, and I hope that we see the new Tracy team as professionals while on the job. No "Rescue Heroes", please.

Mark

PS - The "shadow" looked better when it was the YF-21 on Macross Plus.

PPS - That underwater crab robot thing looks like it borrowed teh nose section of an Eagle from Space 1999. Nice.

 

I'm wondering if the underwater thing is either;

A crashed ship (referencing Day of Disaster)
An underwater Sidewinder (referencing Pit of Peril)
Something else

I'm excited for this series. I don't think it'll be as bad as the 2004 movie. Hope they do something with Thunderbird 3. Gerry Anderson was right in saying he should've made TB3 something other than a rocket.

 

Yep. Glad to see this moving forward. As of this point, it looks remarkably faithful to the original. Just have to wait and see.

I don't get that. At all. It takes the team to and from Thunderbird 5, and it works for space rescue. Plus, it's got a really cool look.

 

Interesting interview here, mostly the bit about Jeff Tracy: https://m.soundcloud.com/rossironfield/vfx-producer-sharon-lark-talks-about-thunderbirds-are-go