News

International Rescue, we have a situation! Amazon has ordered four 13-episode seasons of the animated Thunderbirds Are Go TV series, starring Rosamund Pike as Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. This UK-New Zealand sci-fi series is a reboot of the 1960s Thunderbirds TV show, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Watch the official trailer, below.

The voice cast of Thunderbirds Are Go also includes: Rasmus Hardiker as Scott and Alan Tracy; David Menkin as Virgil and Gordon Tracy; Thomas Brodie-Sangster as John Tracy; Angel Coulby as Tanusha "Kayo" Kyrano; Kayvan Novak as Brains; and David Graham as Aloysius Parker.

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"In space no one can hear you scream." . The tagline for Alien, and the sad truth for anyone who's crying out for company in the wider cosmos beyond our stratosphere.

The following is a true story - many winters ago I decided that it'd be a good idea to leave behind my loved ones and wider society and go into solitary exile. I made an agreement with a stranger online and said I would spend the whole of that December looking after her two cats while she was away in Australia.

I then headed off to a cottage in the Welsh Valleys to fulfil this responsibility and, aside from those two indifferent kitties, I had no company at all. In my mind I'd envisioned this as a perfect retreat from a Christmas season I couldn't be mithered...

It's always a big risk tinkering with a much-loved classic - particularly something that was a big part of people's childhoods - but the creative forces behind Thunderbirds Are Go! have promised that this 2015 revamp of the '60s Supermarionation series retains all that made the original so great.

Indeed, die-hard fans will be happy to hear that a good deal remains unchanged - from the off, Peter Dyneley's stirring countdown-to-launch and the subsequent swell of that classic theme tune deliver a rush of glorious nostalgia.

But it's also more than a mere nostalgia trip, with enough changes put into place to ensure that the show works as colourful, engaging fodder for the 6-11 year-olds of today.

As befits a modern series, and one intended primarily for children, the pace is utterly relentless throughout - a lack of incident is certainly not a problem that Thunderbirds Are Go! suffers from.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Over the years, there have been several - mostly unsuccessful - attempts to bring back Thunderbirds.

However, where others failed, Thunderbirds Are Go! looks set to succeed.

Debuting 50 years after the original series first aired, Digital Spy sat down with the cast to talk comparisons to 24, why the show is "the opposite of naff" - and why fans of the original will be happy to see this incarnation of International Rescue back at work.

Lady Penelope - Rosamund Pike

"It was an easy 'yes' as soon as ITV asked me to voice Lady Penelope. It was a huge compliment and I knew it would be a very exciting adventure.

"Exploring the scenes with David Graham has been an absolute delight. The scripts are very modern, very fresh and very funny. I love working with him, and the bond between Parker and Penelope and the humour that is batted between them is really fun to play.

Thunderbirds

The Tracy brothers are set for a spectacular return to ITV in the much anticipated Thunderbirds Are Go. Based on Gerry Anderson’s marionette masterpiece, the new series uses a combination of models and CGI. Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) voices Lady Penelope while veteran actor David Graham (Doctor Who) resumes his role as the every faithful Parker. Other star voices will include Kayvan Novak (Fonejacker, Facejacker) as inventor Brains and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Game of Thrones, Love Actually) voicing John Tracy. The new series will debut around the world this Spring.

N Conrad

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Given their status as childhood icons for many people, any attempt to reimagine the Thunderbirds characters for a newer generation was always going to be divisive. So have a look at the Tracy brothers in the new show Thunderbirds Are Go! and figure out if your reaction falls into “interesting new versions!” or somewhere along the lines of this.The new series, from the ITV Studios, Pukeko Pictures and the Weta team in New Zealand, blends regular model work with CG, anime-inflected versions of the characters in the hopes of smoothing out some of the weird transitions that used to occur between Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation – which had puppets for most of the shots, then used real hands for close-ups.Rosamund Pike is providing the voice for Lady Penelope, while Kayvan Novak steps in as Brains and The Maze Runner's Thomas Brodie-Sangster lends his vocal tones to John Tracy.

Thunderbirds Are Go has been renewed for a second series.

ITV has ordered a 26-episode second series of the reboot for Citv, which will air across 2016 and 2017.

The first series of Thunderbirds Are Go is set to debut in 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of the classic show.

Jamila Metran, Head of Programming for Citv, said: "I am delighted to confirm that a second series of Thunderbirds Are Go has been commissioned for Citv.

"We are so excited for the launch of our reboot of the iconic children's show and look forward to bringing the adventures of the five Tracy brothers to our audiences in 2015."

Gone Girl's Rosamund Pike is playing Lady Penelope in the new series, with her employee Parker being voiced by original actor David Graham.

The cast also includes Fonejacker's Kayvan Novak (Brains), David Menkin (Virgil and Gordon Tracy), Rasmus Hardiker (Alan and Scott Tracy...

News Louisa Mellor 1 Oct 2013 - 07:40

Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds is returning to television in 2015, and here's who's voicing the characters...

Earlier this year came news that Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds is returning to ITV with Thunderbirds Are Go!, which prompted us to scribble a wish-list of what we'd like to see in the new series. A role for Grandma Tracy (tick!) and the return of the original series' Parker (sort of tick! Close enough anyway) were two such items.

Here are the actors announced as voicing Anderson's well-loved characters in this modern update...

David Graham as Parker

Bringing continuity from the original series to the new is David Graham, the voice of Brains, Gordon Tracy and more in the sixties Thunderbirds. Graham is to bring Lady Penelope's chauffeur Parker to life in this iteration of the series.

Rosamund Pike as Lady Penelope

There's no prerequisite for voice actors to...

ITV is developing a reinvention of the 1960s series "Thunderbirds," and it's going to star a lot of familiar faces. Called "Thunderbirds Are Go!," the new show will feature Rosamund Pike and "Game of Thrones" star Thomas Brodie-Sangster.

Pike will play secret agent Lady P, while Brodie-Sangster will portray both International Rescue brothers Gordon and John Tracy. Also in the cast are Kayvan Novak as Brains, Rasus Hardiker as both Alan and Scott Tracy, Sandra Dickinson as Grandma Tracy, David Menkin as Virgil and Andres Williams as The Hood, the show's villain. Original voice actor David Graham will reprise his role as Lady P's chauffeur Parker, while new characters will be voiced by Angel Coulby and Adjoa Andoh.

"Thunderbirds" creator Gerry Anderson passed away in December at age 83 after a two-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. His original series ran from 1965 to 1966. This new show will air on ITV in 2015.

"I'm...

ITV's new series brings in Rosamund Pike as voice of Lady Penelope, with David Graham returning as chauffeur Parker

Rosamund Pike will provide the voice of Lady Penelope in the new ITV version of Thunderbirds in a cast that also includes Fonejacker's Kayvan Novak.

However, some things remain the same: David Graham, who provided the distinctive nasal tones of Lady Penelope's chauffeur, Parker, in the original 1960s children's series, is to reprise the role.

Pike, the actor best known for her role as a double agent opposite Pierce Brosnan in James Bond film Die Another Die, said she was "very excited to bring Lady Penelope's wry wit and taste for adventure to a new generation".

The new series, which will be called Thunderbirds are Go!, also sees the return of Graham as the voice of Parker. Graham voiced Parker, along with three other puppet characters, in the original series...

Feature Andrew Blair Jan 23, 2013

Andrew salutes the barnstorming matinee adventure that was Gerry Anderson's Stingray...

"In all the shows I've made, I've always tried to make the opening titles exciting." - Gerry Anderson.

Has there ever been a more barnstorming title sequence than Stingray's?

When I told people I was going to do a retrospective on the show, they practically recited it verbatim, musical cue dialogue, or sang 'Mariiiiiiiinaaa, aqua Mariiiiiiiinaaa' at me (I felt so beautiful). The title sequences are fantastic, distinctive and memorable.

The tribal drums (a deliriously urgent cacophony); the crash-zoom on Commander Shaw's ambiguous growl; if these weren’t exciting enough they are followed by Explosions! Planes! An entire city becoming subterranean! A leaping submarine! A big...fish...thing, also leaping! Everything is being thrown at the screen in an attempt to get the viewer to sit down and watch for half an hour. It succeeds at the latter,...