It’s not the same without you. We really miss your comments. :-( In the meantime we’ve been forced to ponder an even more profound question: what happens when a strain of fandom simply dies out?
Imagine the death of a language…or a tribe or species. An entire mode of thought, a way of life, a strand of DNA…gone forever. Such was the idea that came over us yesterday when we were desperately Googling to find a picture of the Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds.
Thunderbirds are Go. You know, the wacky puppets. JEFF TRACY AND HIS FIVE SONS. According to Wikipedia:
Set in the 21st century … the show depicts the adventures of the Tracy family, which consists of millionaire former astronaut Jeff Tracy and his five sons: Scott (pilot of Thunderbird 1 and principal rescue co-ordinator), Virgil (pilot of Thunderbird 2), Alan (astronaut in Thunderbird 3), Gordon (aquanaut in Thunderbird 4) and John (principal duty astronaut on the space station Thunderbird 5) – each named after a Mercury astronaut – Scott Carpenter, Virgil Grissom, Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper and John Glenn, respectively. Together with Jeff’s elderly mother called Grandma, the scientific genius and engineer “Brains”, the family’s manservant Kyrano and his daughter Tin-Tin, the Tracy family live on a remote, uncharted Pacific island. They are, in secret, the members of International Rescue, a private and highly-advanced emergency response organisation, which covers the globe and even reaches into space, rescuing people with their futuristic vehicles, the Thunderbirds.
Thunderbirds was an example of “supermarionation” — a technique pioneered by producer Gerry Anderson, which meant shooting puppets in front of miniatures. Anderson and wife Sylvia would go on to make CAPTAIN SCARLET and the “live” action : 1999 (above) which substituted Martin Landau and Barbara Bain for puppets in a very convincing fashion.
The spirit of the Thunderbirds lives on with music like The Go Team and perhaps even The Klaxons, but it’s actually the vehicles from Thunderbirds which are most admired by nerds — the models were very detailed and the curvy shapes seem to have a kind of timeless appeal to toy techies. We are old enough to have seen the show during its actual tv airings: the stilted puppets and resulting British boy’s own adventure aura was a bit off putting, but we were both disturbed and attracted by the freaky big eyed puppets. It was never a favorite like SPEED RACER, but it had its moment.
So yesterday, there we are trying to find a picture of the THUNDERBIRDS to illustrate our “tech team” post because nothing says “tech team” like Thunderbirds — TEAM AMERICA was a full-on take off on supermarionation and that “America Fuck Yeah” vibe is very much part of the original, which, coupled with these awkward dorky looking puppets just says…humor.
So there we are. It’s the internet. We’re used to finding what we want within about ten search results. But a Google image search turns up lots of pictures of aeroplanes and some stills from the horrible live action Thunderbirds movie…but very very little from the show.
Now this is odd. Normally anything even vaguely Nerd-centric, the internet is all over. Nerd knowledge is in very real danger of overcoming actual knowledge. For the nerd proof of this check out the article Wikigroaning on somethingawful.com which compares the entries on say, “lizards” with the one on “dragons” and finds out which Wikiers are more interested in. A more scholarly variation of this can be found here: What is Popular on Wikipedia and Why? Or put it this way: the average Radiohead album gets as much analysis on Wikipedia as something like, say, the Yalta conferenceand way more than the SALT Treaty. So sci-fi puppets, a slam dunk, yes?
But as we’re searching, the Thunderbirds are proving to be…obscure. The top-ranked pages are hosted on Geocities, a sure sign of cobwebsites, and link after link comes up dead. We’re looking at ancient pages in futura bold with that starry background. It’s like we took a step back in time to 1997 when fanatics were just coming out of the woodwork and enshrining their obsessions for the very first time.
Maybe we just weren’t looking in the right place, but it was like the whole race of Thunderbirds fans had…died out. Like the Shakers or something. It was scary! Were there no DVDs? No revivals?
Or perhaps even more sinisterly…are Thunderbirds fans just not internet savvy? Could that even be possible????
Perhaps they were all rendered sterile in some kind of radioactive explosion??? Or was the show just unavilable on DVD? But…NO! There’s a 12-dvd complete set available. That isn’t the answer. So why? WHY?
WHY ARE THE THUNDERBIRDS DYING OUT ON THE INTERNET????
Maybe it’s just because the show is old. Or perhaps….it is an evolutionary dead end, an appendix, a Neanderthal, a Commodore 64. Perhaps there is something that the vast hive mind of the Internet is just not interested in despite its nerdy basis. Perhaps… not… all… knowledge… is… equal.
Maybe that thing is…puppets. When did The Go Team last put out an album, anyway?
We don’t know.
But we are frightened.
Hold us.
Geeks and the Shakers share a common problem: lack of procreation.
I haven’t seen an episode of Thunderbirds in decades, but I remember Barbara Bain’s acting as being sorta ……. wooden.
I think Thunderbirds is just too old.
Even Team America bombed. I don’t think most of Parker and Stone’s audience knew what exactly they were parodying, other than “R-rated puppets.”
Adult Swim is just getting around to Sid and Marty Krofft style televsion (Saul of the Mole Men).
I think there’s just some aspects of geek culture that are too old to revel in nostalgia, and there fan base just doesn’t care or know about new technology (namely the internet and DVD restoration).
There are television programs from the 50s, hell the 70s, that just sit in a vault, never to be re-released because no one thinks they have the potential to find a new audience, or that the original audience might actually be dying off.
Hell, there’s shows from the late ’80’s thru the mid-’90’s that haven’t yet got the DVD treatment, like Time Trax, Sam & Max, Superforce, Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot, Dead At 21 and Sifl ‘n’ Olly. If that’s not obscure enough, I would LOVE to see all the old FTL Newsfeeds from the early days of the SciFi Channel; they were great. And CHRIST, where’s my goddamn Max Headroom sets, hah? Is that too much to ask?? I shouldn’t have needed to explain to a 20 year old lately what that was.
In answer to your question, “Thunderbirds” fandom is alive and well on the ‘Net, but many of the fansites have died out since the release of the live action film of 2004. Following TechTV’s captioned version of the series in 2002 and the “Thunderbirds” film’s release, the fandom actually grew but took on a whole new factionalism, with most of the fans of the original series left furious about the mistreatment of their favorite heroes by Working Title Films and, surprisingly, the addition of thousands of female fans worldwide who had fallen in love with those rather dishy young actors who portrayed the Tracy brothers. While the “classic” version websites began to fade, Thunderbirds fan fiction sites have taken off like mad. If your Internet search didn’t include a look at fan fiction sites such as FanFiction.net or the multiple MSN fan fic locales, you’ve missed some of the biggest gatherings of Thunderbirds fans around. (And, of course, there’s always my Yahoo Groups list, “Thunderbirds Are Go” which has been going strong since 2000 and is home to nearly 500 rabid fans, most of whom find there way there from my fansite “thunderbirdsarego.net”). Surprise: don’t worry about us: our fandom is alive and well and living on Tracy Island…and, in a bigger surprise, poor space-marooned John Tracy has replaced Scott, Alan and Virgil as fan favorite. Eat your heart out, Gerry Anderson)!
You can’t find us? Huh. Allow me to assure you, the Thunderbirds fandom is alive and well, and prospering on the internet. I personally belong to a couple of Thunderbirds related Yahoo lists, and I have from friends around the world through those lists.
While it is true that the 2004 movie had a tremendous impact on the fandom, opening it up to a whole different legion of fans, the old warhorses of the fandom have not slunk away by any means.
Most of my friends are into the fan fiction end of it, but the techno geeks are still out there, making models and discussing the relative merits of the designs of the original and movie versions of the ‘birds.
Don’t write the obit yet. We are still here, and we aren’t going anywhere.
Oh, and for the record? Gordon rocks!
You can’t find us? Huh. Allow me to assure you, the Thunderbirds fandom is alive and well, and prospering on the internet. I personally belong to a couple of Thunderbirds related Yahoo lists, and I have from friends around the world through those lists.
While it is true that the 2004 movie had a tremendous impact on the fandom, opening it up to a whole different legion of fans, the old warhorses of the fandom have not slunk away by any means.
Most of my friends are into the fan fiction end of it, but the techno geeks are still out there, making models and discussing the relative merits of the designs of the original and movie versions of the ‘birds.
Don’t write the obit yet. We are still here, and we aren’t going anywhere.
Oh, and for the record? Gordon rocks!
I’ll second both Daria and middier’s comments. We’re out here, alive and kicking. And y’know, we defy the “geek” stereotype as well. A lot of us are women, well over the age of 20, raising families, working at fulfilling jobs, definitely internet and computer savvy, and still in love with the show. We write fanfiction, create fanvids (did you look at YouTube?), draw fanart, argue on messageboards about the minutia surrounding the show, buy memorabilia on eBay… the list of fannish activities goes on and on.
The 2004 movie brought in a lot of young fangirls – and is still bringing them in; just check out the new authors that pop up almost daily at fanfiction.net. Most of them have had to learn the ins and outs of the TV show as there’s little or no information on or characterization for the majority of the Tracy clan in the movie. Some of them have even been converted to becoming fans of both – even as a few of us “Classic Thunderbirds” fans have found things to love in the movie.
It’s true that a lot of sites have been abandoned, but as Daria said, you’re not looking in the right places for the active ones – and they’re the ones who have the pictures. And do you know what’s really interesting? All three of us who have answered your question so far are Americans. In England, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, Thunderbirds has reached the status of cultural icon. There are far, far more fans over in these countries than here in the States, but still, there’s a healthy group over here and more are added all the time. Hopefully a few of our fellow fans from across the ponds come and comment on your article as well.
We’re out here, and, as you can see, we’re paying attention to what’s said about our fandom.
I have to speak up with Daria and Tikatu: We are very definitely out here. You can’t have been looking very hard – when I finally got the internet a couple of years back, it took me about ten minutes to find both Daria’a and Tikatu’s lists and a whole wealth of people as nutty about the original shows as I am. Just to help Tik out there, I’m British – so we exist here too!
Well When I was a new member or the fandom back in 2002 I noticed that the fandom was split into two groups first generation, and the second generation. The first generation tended to be the older, more experianced viewers of the great show. The second generation seemed to be the newer more younger viewers.
What Im getting at is the fact that the second generation tends to set there sights on trends. Once one thing is gotten tired of they cast it asside like an old broken toy, or a video game that had just been finished.
The older generations know what they like and tend to stay with the series more solidly. More loyally.
In part I think thats whats happened to most of the Thunderbirds fandom. Its not totally gone. Its still here, it might take a longer time to find some of us, but we’re still around.
Will
I have to reiterate everything that Daria, Willow Tracy, Harpo’s Horn and Tikatu has said, Thunderbirds are alive and kicking. In fact repeats of the classic puppet series are still being shown here in the UK. There is a tremendous following worldwide.
And Alan Coil just for the record Barbara Bain was in ‘Space 1999’ and she was far from wooden.
If you care to look carefully you’ll see there is a great interest in classic thunderbirds, from DVD’s of the episodes, to books, comics, commemorative plates and models of the Thunderbird crafts and characters. There are also Thunderbirds Conventions held over here in the UK each year. So Thunderbird are not a dying series.
I have to reiterate everything that Daria, Willow Tracy, Harpo’s Horn and Tikatu has said, Thunderbirds are alive and kicking. In fact repeats of the classic puppet series are still being shown here in the UK. There is a tremendous following worldwide.
And Alan Coil just for the record Barbara Bain was in ‘Space 1999’ and she was far from wooden.
If you care to look carefully you’ll see there is a great interest in classic thunderbirds, from DVD’s of the episodes, to books, comics, commemorative plates and models of the Thunderbird crafts and characters. There are also Thunderbirds Conventions held over here in the UK each year. So Thunderbird are not a dying series.
From the comments on the articles, I gather a couple of things. There is a very good possibility that you know a Thunderbird fan and knew the article was going to set off a whole bunch of fireworks within the Thunderbird communities as well as others. And I will admit to the fact that Thunderbirds came out around the same time as Star Trek and Dr. Who. (Would you really dare to tell this to those who love those shows? We’d better alert Dr. McCoy you’re on your way.) The second point I noticed is that the reason Thunderbirds doesn’t seem popular to alot of people is because Thunderbirds requires imagination. As time and technology has grown we have come to rely more and more on multimedia to do the imagining for us. I introduced my girlfriend’s kids to the Anderson show and at first all they saw were puppets and strings. Once I explained how to watch it and use their imaginations, they caught on right away.
I’m thinking of all those kids out there who take PC’s, Blackberries, and laptops for granted. You wouldn’t have all those neat little gadgets if it wasn’t for the earliest computers. Univac comes to mind. The New Math! The only math I understood….lol. The reason I bring that up is that the shows you’re watching now, will be treated with the same respect in years to come. The kids in the next 20 years are going to be laughing at the gadgets, gizmos and shows you hold dearly now.
You’re welcome to join us any time.
I’m joining Daria, Willow Tracy, Tikatu, Harpo’s Horn, and TawnyAngel22 when I say we Thunderbirds fans haven’t disappeared from the Earth just yet. I’ve only been a fan since the mid 1990s, and the show started about 9 years before I was even born! I appreciate the past very much, considering many of the kids’ shows today have no meaning and a lot more violence than ever before. The really ridiculous shows like Ed, Edd, and Eddy; Camp Lazlo; and Spongebob Squarepants (Yes, I despise that sponge!) will never achieve the cult status Thunderbirds has had for the 40+ years in existence!
Again, I’m another one joining in with Daria, Willow Tracy, Tikatu, and the others to proclaim PROUDLY that the Thunderbird fandom is still alive and kicking. The original series aired three years before I was even born but I was introduced to it through my Aunt who just loved all of Gerry Anderson’s work. Now that I am a mother of my own, I have introduced my children to the fandom. My son who is fifteen just absolutely loves it. For further information, YES, the original Thunderbirds series IS on DVD. I happen to have the set. It was done through the A&E DVD series. I also have many memorabilia items that I have purchased in just the past few years. So, for anyone who thinks this is a dead fandom…you are sorely mistaken, just check out the over 1,000 fan fiction stories that are on fanfiction.net or ebay to see all the various items up for sale. The fans are still here and we intend to remain. THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO.
Wow—a big ‘high five’ to all of the above! These wonderful ladies represent thousands upon thousands of Thunderbirds fans in the States and the many millions around the world. I often receive letters addressed to the various members of the Tracy family from places as far away as Australia and New Zealand, The Netherlands, Chile, Japan and various parts of the US and Canada, from fans as young as 4 and as old as 65 or more. They all have their favorite characters and episodes (with scripts they know by heart) and, what’s even better, they really believe in International Rescue and the dangerous but life-saving work which those characters perform. Many of the kids that I hear from want to grow up and be like the Tracy family: they want to do good deeds and help people who are in dire need. How many other fandoms can you name which inspire the best in the human spirit and cause fans to want to become rescue workers or designers of high-tech rescue and/or aeronautics equipment?
As for the fandom, despite the fact that licensing seems to all but have dried up since Granada/ITV bought Carlton, there are still millions-worth of BPS, dollars and Yen being put into and spent on Thunderbirds memorabilia each year, with recent collections such as the excellent Robert Harrop porcelain figurines, signed portraits of the Tracy brothers straight from the lounge at Tracy Villa, yet another full-series DVD set for both the Region 1 and Region 2 markets and the Konami Ultimate Thunderbirds sets hitting the market to enthusiastic receptions. Some smart marketing folks definitely know that we’re out here: fans around the globe with both a mania for Thunderbirds and deep-pocket disposable income. Additionally, I’m willing to bet that there hasn’t been one year since 1966 wherein there were no Thunderbirds-related toys issued, particularly in Australia and Japan; the franchise has been THAT important to retailers over the years. 2010 will mark the series’ 45th anniversary and you can be sure there will be more merchandising, more media exposure and, yes, more fans joining the fold. Welcome!
Although the movie whichis now three years old…wow its been that long…we wouldn’t say no to a new series as long as Mr. Gerry Anderson was involved. I don’t really care if they use Marionettes (Not to be confused with puppets. Marionettes have strings, puppets are fitted onto the hand.) or CGI (Computer Generated Images) Just resently a trailer for a new Thunderbirds series had popped up. However terrible lookin in origin, I’m not totally sure if it was fan based or not. I’d really like to see more. 32 episodes isn’t enough to show the spinder of the Tracy Family.
I will add my bit, though I’ve little right to, as my take on the boys and the team is different from both series and movie. I also am female, and something of a gee-whiz science nerd. I write at FFN, as do many of the posters above. As a child I grew up with the show, fell in love with half of the characters and wanted to fly most of the ‘Birds. It influenced me then and continues to be a warming obsession now. I, too, would argue that the Thunderbirds Fandom is far from dead. What it has done is evolve, and that, as any biologist will tell you, is a sign of life and vigor.
It’s a fun show. The puppets are cute, the machines are very 60’s modish, and the rescues inventive. The fact that there was very little backstory and characterization (what 60s- 70s era kid would want it?) created a big canvas upon which fan-writers could apply their own brush. Canon and Fanon are alive and well, and so is the show, and its legion of fans. And, um, yeah… for the record John and Gordon are extremely fascinating, both of them.
C.
Its funny though. You sit here and watch the show thinking that all these gadgets are so inventive, and well imagined…and we’re watching it in the 21st century…only to say that those little imagined gagets are real. Not imagined at all. Sometimes I wonder if the person that created those gagets watched the show just like us.
Small hiden cameras, comunicators in watches, imprent pens, a fabric that can fit into the smallest of spaces…all of it and more are real now. That really feeds the imagination. Makes me wonder if a imaginary rescue team can turn real. Although the team wouldn’t be the Tracy family like my imagination wants to lead me to believe…but I’m hoping that the guys are cute too. ;)
Will
Its funny though. You sit here and watch the show thinking that all these gadgets are so inventive, and well imagined…and we’re watching it in the 21st century…only to say that those little imagined gagets are real. Not imagined at all. Sometimes I wonder if the person that created those gagets watched the show just like us.
Small hiden cameras, comunicators in watches, imprent pens, a fabric that can fit into the smallest of spaces…all of it and more are real now. That really feeds the imagination. Makes me wonder if a imaginary rescue team can turn real. Although the team wouldn’t be the Tracy family like my imagination wants to lead me to believe…but I’m hoping that the guys are cute too. ;)
Will
Thunderbirds fandom, dying?? Oh no-no-no-no-no-no, we’re still out there!!
I very strongly agree with what Daria, Tikatu, Willow, Amanda, TracyFan, Math Girl & Tawnyangel have said. Thunderbirds as well as the other Gerry & Sylvia Anderson Supermarionation, is VERY MUCH alive & well.
For instance, let us not forget Mike Mercury and the adventures of ‘Supercar’ (1961-62) which began the era of Supermarionation. Or, ‘Fireball XL5’ (1962-63) which introduced us to Steve Zodiac and the World Space Patrol.
And then there’s the ultimate prelude to Thunderbirds, Stingray (1964-65) which featured the valiant Troy Tempest and the crew of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, who kept the world safe from evil forces beneath the sea.
Last but not least, the indestructible Captain Scarlet (1967-68) who with Spectrum, defended mankind from the menace of the Martian Mysterons.
So don’t count us out any time soon, we’re a force to be reckoned with!!
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