Thunderbirds FAB1
Thunderbirds ( Ford Thunderbird FAB-1 ) 1964
Thunderbirds is a 1960s British science-fiction television series, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, made by their production company AP Films, and distributed by ITC Entertainment. Filmed between 1964 and 1966, it was produced using marionette puppetry interwoven with scale-model special effects sequences, in the form of a mixed technique dubbed ‘Supermarionation’.
Cast
 | Sylvia Anderson | … | Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward / … (32 episodes, 1965-1966) |
 | Peter Dyneley | … | Jeff Tracy / … (32 episodes, 1965-1966) |
 | David Graham | … | Brains / … (32 episodes, 1965-1966) |
 | Shane Rimmer | … | Scott Tracy / … (32 episodes, 1965-1966) |
| Matt Zimmerman | … | Alan Tracy / … (32 episodes, 1965-1966) |
 | Ray Barrett | … | John Tracy / … (32 episodes, 1965-1966) |
 | Christine Finn | … | Tin-Tin Kyrano / … (32 episodes, 1965-1966) |
| David Holliday | … | Virgil Tracy / … (26 episodes, 1965-1966) |
Five-four-three-two-one, Thunderbirds are go
Spring break’s come around and there’s more heroes to be found
There’s something major going down on Tracy island, island
Rockets underground keeping our planet safe and sound
If someone evil’s coming round they should be frightened, frightened
‘Cause now the boys are back in town
No strings to hold them down, down
Don’t be mad please, stop the hating,
Just be glad that they’ll be waiting,
Friends we have are ever changing though,
There’s no need to battle, no, when the thunderbirds are go
Kids are learning fast they know the T-birds kick some ass,
Be sure that there’s no coming last cause you’re on their side, their side
It always looks so cool when spaceships come out of the pool,
You know that you’d just be a fool to be a bad guy, bad guy
‘Cause now the boys are back in town,
No strings to hold them down, down
Don’t be mad please, stop the hating,
Just be glad that they’ll be waiting,
Friends we have are ever changing though,
There’s no need to battle, no, when the thunderbirds are go
Thunderbirds are go
Don’t be mad please, stop the hating,
Just be glad that they’ll be waiting,
Friends we have are ever changing you,
Now the lead’s about to blow, when the thunderbirds are go
Thunderbirds are, thunderbirds are go
Thunderbirds are, thunderbirds are go
Thunderbirds are, Thunderbirds are,
Thunderbirds are, thunderbirds are go
Headed by English aristocrat Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her Cockney butler and chauffeur Aloysius ‘Nosey’ Parker. Based at Creighton-Ward Mansion in Kent, Penelope and Parker’s primary mode of transport is FAB 1 – a pink, amphibious Rolls-Royce.
In the original Supermarionation TV series Thunderbirds (1965–66), as well as the feature films Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), FAB 1 is depicted as a modified Rolls-Royce. Owned by International Rescue agent Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, the car is usually driven by her butler, Parker. The driver sits in a central position at the front of the passenger compartment, which is covered by a bulletproof bubble canopy.
FAB 1 was modified by Brains, the inventor of the Thunderbirds machines, to include weaponry and gadgetry such as front- and rear-mounted machine guns (concealed behind the radiator grille and front and back headlights, although in the episode ‘The Perils of Penelope’, grappling hooks are seen to shoot out of the rear of the car). It is also equipped with a smoke screen canister and oil slick dispenser, extendable tyre-studs (for increased traction), and hydrofoils (or outriggers; for travel on water and snow, respectively).
Rolls-Royce supplied a genuine radiator grille, complete with ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ ornament, for close-up shots of the vehicle.
First episode date: 30 September 1965
Cast: Sylvia Anderson, David Graham, Shane Rimmer, Ray Barrett
Program creators: Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson
Country: UK
Language: English
Release Date: 30 September 1965 (UK)
Also Known As: International Rescue
PARKER :You rang, m’lady?
LADY PENELOPE :Yes Parker. Oh, Parker
PARKER :Yes, m’lady?
LADY PENELOPE: I think I’d like to take a little ride. And Parker
PARKER : Yes, m’lady?
LADY PENELOPE : Somewhere just around the countryside.
Have you prepared the Rolls Royce? Is it ready for a run?
PARKER:Oh yes, m’lady? Quite all ready.Everything’s been done.
I’ve lubricated all the cannon
And I’ve polished up the gun,
Scott, Virgil and Jeff are the only characters to appear in all 32 episodes
Jeff Tracy: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Thunderbirds are go!
The Thunderbirds’ radio code “F-A-B”, meaning “message received and understood”, didn’t stand for anything, it was just supposed to sound “hip”. In fact, when asked what it stood for, Gerry Anderson once replied, with some bemusement, “Fab,” as though it were obvious. Later, due in part to fan-submitted stories, F-A-B came to mean Fully Advised and Briefed, in keeping with P-W-O-R (Proceeding With Orders Received), a similar radio confirmation code in the series Stingray (1964).
In five episodes, there are newspapers with the date Friday, 24 December 1964 on the front cover, and was clearly not intended to be seen by viewers. (Oddly enough, 24 December 1964 was a Thursday)
What is the name of this classic ‘Thunderbirds’ Machine?
QUIZ
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