Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Thunderbird 6 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 12, 2014

Note: This film is available only as part of Thunderbirds Are Go / Thunderbird 6.

Have you seen those fun but silly quizzes that seek to determine what region of the United States you grew up in by how you answer multiple choice questions about what things are called or how words are pronounced? There might be another data point to consider, at least for Baby Boomers, in helping to narrow down what region you hail from—did you watch Thunderbirds growing up? Thunderbirds aired in probably the early seventies on some Seattle station when I was a kid, and I remember watching the show with a combination of fascination (those sets are awesome) and astonishment (those marionettes are really kind of creepy). The brainchild of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, Thunderbirds was supposed to be the world beating follow up to several of the Andersons’ previous “Supermarionation” shows like Fireball XL5 and Stingray, but perhaps unexpectedly the Andersons’ mentor and production whiz Lew Grade (he wasn’t quite a “Sir” yet) wasn’t able to secure a network berth for the series on this side of the pond, and it expired after a disappointing 32 episodes (in its original hour length format —some stations recut the shows to a half hour to have 64 episodes). The series followed the exciting adventures of the International Rescue organization, led by the indomitable Tracy clan (an elderly father and his several sons, evidently modeled on the Cartwrights of Bonanza fame). While Thunderbirds never really matriculated fully to the United States, it did show up in various markets in syndication (which is how I saw it in Seattle). Grade had actually greenlit the first of two feature films based on the series before the series ever aired, and despite Thunderbirds are Go’s less than stellar trek at the box office, two years later Thunderbird 6 came out, to a similarly lukewarm response. The two films offer a great chance to enjoy the Andersons’ frankly slightly cheesy but technically formidable miniature special effects work (something that none other than Stanley Kubrick was evidently interested in pilfering for 2001: A Space Odyssey). While there are unavoidably humorous moments in both films as director David Lane struggles to deal with the fact that his cast is—well, puppets, the two films are just as undeniably charming in their own way and will certainly provide a potent dose of nostalgia for those who were in one of those aforementioned markets where the original Thunderbirds series aired.

While Thunderbird 6 might be thought of as the “kinder, gentler” of the two Thunderbirds feature films, it’s not above cribbing several salient plot points from its progenitor. Chief among these is the return of the nefarious The Hood as the main criminal mastermind, though in this case, he has a coterie of henchmen at his disposal. Also at least somewhat similarly to Thunderbirds Are Go, there’s a super deluxe new aircraft (albeit not extraterrestrial in this instance) that is infiltrated by bad guys pretending to be someone else. Otherwise, though, this is a considerably lighter toned outing for the International Rescue team, one which seems to have taken a cue from the slightly campy, madcap adventures of the Adam West Batman series.

In a nice change of pace from a typical Thunderbirds outing, some of the regular characters are already on hand when bad stuff starts happening aboard the Skyship One, a prototype for a new aircraft which is taking its maiden voyage around the world and aboard which several of the International Rescue crew are flying as guests. The new craft is so self sufficiently run by computers that when The Hood’s gang shows up and kills the actual crew, assuming their identities, no one is the wiser.

Once the subterfuge is uncovered, a series of on board disasters results in a climax which is perhaps not all that suspiciously quite like the one in Thunderbirds Are Go, with a metropolis (or at least an earthbound location) threatened by the impending crash landing of the focal aircraft. But despite its obviously derivative qualities, Thunderbird 6 provides the requisite amount of (yes, peculiar) charm, and it even features a sweet ode to the biplane, certainly light years away from the “high tech” world of International Rescue and the Tracy family.

Thunderbird 6 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aside from a very minor difference in aspect ratio (2.34:1 for Thunderbirds Are Go and 2.35:1 for Thunderbird 6), the AVC encoded 1080p transfers on these two films are similar in appearance and quality. Both feature elements in very good condition, with only a very few signs of age. Colors are really richly saturated, with everything from that garish pink of Lady Penelope's custom Rolls Royce to the crisp blues of the Tracy uniforms popping quite nicely. The image is stable and has a natural looking grain field (at times quite heavily so, in fact). There does appear to have been some very minor sharpening done here, as tiny halos occasionally crop up. Otherwise, though, contrast is great, black levels are nicely deep, and the bizarre textureless heads of all the marionettes have never looked better.

Thunderbird 6 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both of the films offer their original mono mixes courtesy of DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks, but each also has rather well done surround tracks in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. While much of the soundstage still plays out in the front channels, the 5.1 mixes nicely open up a lot of the effects work, whether that be explosions or (more typically) the roar of the Thunderbirds blasting into action. Dialogue is presented very cleanly, and Barry Gray's boisterous music (also nicely splayed through the surrounds) sounds great.

Thunderbird 6 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Lady Penelope (480i; 9:50) takes a look at the development of the character.


• Building Better Puppets (480i; 8:09) focuses on some of the technologies used to both fabricate and bring to life the marionettes.


• Tiger Moth (480i; 6:20) examines the biplane sequence.


• Photo Montage (480i; 2:29)


• A Call From Stanley Kubrick (480i; 00:56) repeats Sylvia Anderson's assertions that she politely told Kubrick that they shouldn't do lunch.


• A Television Tribute (480i; 00:29) has Sylvia Anderson relating an anecdote about Dudley Moore and Peter Cook lampooning the show.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:59)


• Isolated Score Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.


• Audio Commentary by Producer Sylvia Anderson and Director David Lane offers more fun and frolic as the two skewer each other while simultaneously offering lots of memories about the shoot.

Thunderbird 6 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is probably the lesser of the two Thunderbirds films, but it's still a lot of fun, at least for those who grew up with the show, or at least those with either a post-Modernist sense of irony or an openness for the decidedly bizarre sight of marionettes sitting around insanely detailed miniature sets, with occasional rockets thrown into the mix just for good measure. This particular film has just slightly fewer supplements to sweeten the pot, but it features the same excellent technical merits of Thunderbirds Are Go and comes Recommended.