Thunderbirds Are Go

Thunderbirds Are Go is the 1966 Supermarionation feature film, the first cinema adventure for the original Thunderbirds team. It is separate from the later television series that uses the same title.

International Rescue becomes involved in the security of Zero X, an ambitious manned mission to Mars. Sabotage and mechanical danger turn that expedition into a challenge for the Tracy family, while Alan’s place in the organisation gives the film a more personal thread.

The multi-part Zero X spacecraft is the film’s major addition to the Anderson world. Its lifting bodies, main spacecraft and Martian exploration vehicle make assembly, launch and return into elaborate sequences, extending the pleasure of the television series’ rescue machinery to the cinema screen.

Derek Meddings and the effects team created the models and large-scale action, with David Lane directing the film. The familiar Thunderbirds remain vital to the story, but the mission allows the production to explore another kind of space vehicle and the hazards of a long expedition.

The film also makes room for Alan’s imagined evening out and a performance by puppet versions of Cliff Richard and the Shadows. Their song Shooting Star gives the production a direct connection with the popular music of its period.

Surviving live-action test footage shows the real musicians performing for the camera. The archive’s interpretation is that the recording may have helped the puppeteers study their movements, although its precise original purpose has not been established.

See the story behind the recovered test footage.

Zero X continued into the pages of TV Century 21, where Mike Noble’s artwork and further stories expanded its adventures. A version of its Martian exploration vehicle also appears at the beginning of Captain Scarlet.

The Zero X guide explores its screen and comic appearances. It distinguishes what is shown from attempts to connect the different versions into a single sequence.

The original Thunderbirds television series introduces the Tracy family and International Rescue, but the film also offers a self-contained adventure. After it, continue to Thunderbird 6, the second feature, for a very different journey built around Brains, Lady Penelope and a new airship.

The Thunderbirds hub is the wider gateway to the characters, rescue craft, episode guides and later adventures. This page concentrates on the 1966 film and the production history unique to it.

Century 21 Cinema / United Artists. Released in 1966. Approximately 89 minutes. Written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson; directed by David Lane.

Executive Producer: Gerry Anderson
Producer: Sylvia Anderson
Associate Producer: John Read
Director: David Lane
Lighting Cameraman: Paddy Seale
Supervising Art Director: Bob Bell
Art Director: Grenville Nott
Supervising Visual Effects Director: Derek Meddings
Visual Effects Directors: Shaun Whittacker-Cook & Peter Wragg
Music Composed, Arranged and Directed by Barry Gray
Additional Music by The Shadows

Voice Cast:
Peter Dyneley, David Graham, Bob Monkhouse,
Shane Rimmer, Ray Barrett, Neil McCallum,
Sylvia Anderson, Christine Finn, Charles Tingwell,
Jeremy Wilkin,Paul Maxwell,
Matt Zimmerman, Alexander Davion