They use technologically-advanced craft for land, sea, air and space rescues in their operations, the most important of which are a set of vehicles called the Thunderbirds, piloted by the five Tracy brothers.
A revival of the 1960s science fiction Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds was approved by co-creator Gerry Anderson when Richard Taylor, the founder of Weta Workshop, visited him at Pinewood Studios while he was working on New Captain Scarlet.
[1] On 4 February 2013, ITV Global Entertainment and Pukeko Pictures officially announced the revival under the title Thunderbirds Are Go!
Set in the year 2060, Thunderbirds Are Go follows the exploits of the Tracy brothers - Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, and John - who form the backbone of International Rescue (IR): a life-saving organisation that operates from a hidden base in the Southern Pacific Ocean, and who save people from disasters and dangerous situations using technologically advanced crafts for land, sea, air and space rescue, the most prominent of these being five vehicles called "Thunderbirds", each one operated by one of the brothers.
In addition to the brothers, IR also includes additional members who offer assistance and support: Chief of Security Tanusha "Kayo" Kyrano, who conducts covert and security operations through the use of a specialised Thunderbird with stealth capabilities; engineer Brains, who provides technological and mechanical support both at the base and in the field; Grandma Tracy, the brothers' maternal support who tends to their home needs; and London operatives Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, an English aristocrat, and Aloysius "Nosey" Parker, a chauffeur and former thief, who conduct investigative and espionage work when required.
In the second series, the programme introduced a second villain called "The Mechanic," who causes havoc and eventually helps to break out the Hood, after he is arrested by the GDF at the end of the first series, only to later turn on him in order to break free from his control, whereupon he later surrenders, on condition that Brains helps him secure his freedom.
Throughout the programme, the loss of Jeff to his sons plays a key element in a number of stories, both in relics found by the brothers, the various lessons they recall him teaching them, and the people who knew him best.
[9] The head writer is Rob Hoegee, while Anthony Cox serves as a film editor[10] and Ben Milsom a production designer.
A film crew would devise camera setups for scenes to match with the movement and positions of CGI-created characters and crafts that were to be imposed later upon the footage.
Each set was then individually scanned as a 3D print to provide reference for the CGI elements so they could be accurately registered in the environments.
On 16 June 2014, ITV Studios Global Entertainment sold the rights in a deal with Australia's free-to-air Nine Network (9Go!
[29] On 10 February 2016, ITV Studios Global Entertainment announced 13 episodes of Thunderbirds Are Go (series 1, split up) would premiere in the United States on Amazon Video on 22 April 2016.
[29][40] The series was also premiered in TVNZ (TVNZ 2) in New Zealand, Noga in Israel (with LDI as the agent), MBC (MBC3) in pan-Arab (as ثندربيردز انطلق),[5][41] Amazon Prime in Poland, NPO Zapp in Netherlands, teleTOON+, HBO GO, and Amazon Prime in Poland, Télé-Québec in Canada (as Thunderbirds : Les sentinelles de l'air[42]),[34] ABC in Australia,[30] Ketnet in Flemish Belgium (with License Connection appointed as the agent for Benelux) (as Thunderbirds[43]), Minika TV in Turkey, Gloob in Brazil.
[51] On 13 May 2015, ITV Studios Global Entertainment announced its appointment of Vivid as its master toy partner in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
[46] The Thunderbirds Are Go master toy line from Vivid Imaginations and distributed by HeadStart was launched in Australia in June 2015.
[29] The toy launches in France, Benelux and the Nordics began in September 2016, with TOPTOY as pan-Nordic distributor from late summer 2016.
[59] License Connection became a representative for the brand in the Benelux territories and signed Meis & Maas as master publishing partner to launch a range of books and magazine formats in 2017.