Thunderbirds Are GO! - the reboot

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Okay, I just found out from a fellow fan of this classic show that it has returned as a reboot. I watched this show religiously for many years while it was on TV new and in reruns. It was the coolest because of "Marionation" (the entiire show's cast were puppets). These puppets were not muppets or hand puppets, but actual string puppets old style. Even the ships and animals and anything which moved was a puppet. But what COOL puppets! Miniature high tech puppets of flying ships and submariunes and the coolest equipment you ever saw.

The Original:


So, how did they reboot it? No more puppets. :( It isn't live action either. And it isn't a "cartoon", It's now 100% CGI done like Rebels and The Clone Wars and most of the Pixar stuff that is out. They have kept the characters and vehicles and equipment true to form, but they are not puppets anymore and now their movements and the action is much more realistic and able to do many more things...because CGI.

The New:


So as reboots go, this one is a winner. Puppeteering at it's very very best is still quite limited. Today, it is laughable by standards set by millennials and anyone younger than age 40. They are even soooo done with muppets and a live action Yoda. In this Thunderbirds reboot, it works better than the original. As a kid, I used to make fun of the original's puppet movements. I used to have fun spotting the clear puppet wires (you could still see them if you looked). The character lost by going CGI is no big deal in this, because the stories are still so true to the original style.

They have fixed many things wrong with the original. Lady Penelope is magically 20 years younger, TinTin and the family butler have changed quite a bit (like, they are GONE because they are not politically correct). There is not a lot of smoke when the Thunderbird vehicles take off or fly (but the way they each took off from the island is exactly the same). There are now heads-up displays and holograms in the ships and all the tech has been upgraded, even if the outside of the ships look almost exactly the same.

All in all, worth a look!
 
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Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Oh my, DailyMotion has published both episodes 1 and 2 of this, and if you are a fan of the original, you will LOVE the update. I notice that many of the sets are actual miniature sets with the CGI characters put in later. You can really see this with Tracy Island.
These are full episodes. Enjoy!


NOTE: Episodes are 20 min each, so this is two.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
This show is a real treat! After watching 5 episodes, I can say without a doubt that this is better than the original. They are actually still using miniature sets in lots of it. But the characters are all CGI as are the ships. The difference between the actual sets and characters is almost undetectable. And the stories are so true to the original style, that if you are a fan of the show then you can't help but smile.

There are two seasons of Thunderbirds are Go.

 
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