Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds was a popular British TV show from the mid-1960s. The show utilized a type of marionette puppetry known as "Supermarionation." The series follows ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy and his five sons, Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon and John. Characters in the show, particularly the Tracy children, were named for popular astronauts of the day and modeled to look like popular actors. The Tracy family piloted the Thunderbird machines, which were comprised of varying forms of aircraft, rocket ships, space planes and submersibles. The Tracys and their advanced machines comprised International Rescue, which was formed to help people in extreme peril. Many of the incidents the Thunderbirds responded to were accidents, but others were the intentional acts of "The Hood." The Hood's goal always seemed to be to cause an accident to draw out The Thunderbirds and either steal one of their vehicles or otherwise spy on them to gain information. The show began airing on British TV in September, 1965 and continues to be shown today. MORE