Away from the classic TV series, Thunderbirds has enjoyed several avenues of additional adventures through comics, novels, annuals, and beyond. This Thunderbirds Thursday, and in celebration of Anderson Entertainment’s 25th anniversary, we’re looking at our ongoing range of newly produced Thunderbirds audio dramas!
Audible Excitement is Go!
Since 2021, we at Anderson Entertainment have been producing an extensive range of Thunderbirds audio releases. These productions are adapted from stories from Thunderbirds‘ far-reaching collection of spin-off media from the 1960s and utilise narrators and full casts to bring these lesser-known stories to life.
The line-up began in 2021 with the release of Thunderbirds: Terror from the Stars, adapted by Andrew Clements from the first of John Theydon’s series of Thunderbirds novels, originally published in 1966. In Terror from the Stars, both International Rescue and the Hood become embroiled in the plot of an otherworldly menace to cause havoc for the Earth.
Our audio dramas feature a multi-talented cast, often performing multiple roles. In the role of both Jeff Tracy and Parker is Jon Culshaw of Dead Ringers fame, joined by Genevieve Gaunt as Lady Penelope. The cast also includes Justin T. Lee as Scott Tracy, John Tracy, the Hood, and Kyrano, Joe Jameson as Alan and Gordon Tracy, Wayne Forester of New Captain Scarlet fame as Brains and Virgil, and Anna Leong Brophy as Tin-Tin. Forester also enhances these audio dramas further in his additional role as narrator, capturing Theydon’s original narrative descriptions. These classic characters now have new life breathed into them thanks to the cast’s faithful performances.
Since Terror from the Stars, two further adaptations of Theydon’s novels have been produced, with Thunderbirds: Peril in Peru in November 2021 (adapted by Chris Dale) and Thunderbirds: Operation Asteroids (adapted by Ross Arrowsmith) in April 2022. Peril in Peru, adapted from Theydon’s 1966 novel Calling Thunderbirds, thrusts International Rescue into ancient civilisations, hidden treasure, and exotic jungle adventure, while Operation Asteroids blasts off into deep space in an adventure that sees the Hood come dangerously close to defeating International Rescue once and for all. Hardback reprints of the original novels have also formed part of this multimedia venture.
Rather than serve as straight-forward adaptations of their source material, these audio adventures adjust and expand upon the original novels, creating threads of consistency between the adventures and effectively crafting a new timeline of fresh, dynamic adventures for Thunderbirds.
From the Pages of TV Century 21!
Since September 2022, our range of Thunderbirds audios has cast its net wider and turned to the Thunderbirds comic strips from the pages of TV Century 21 for inspiration. Thunderbirds Versus the Hood (September 2022), Thunderbirds: Fire and Fury (November 2022), and Thunderbirds: Danger and Deception (November 2023) all cherry-pick at Thunderbirds‘ eclectic and enthralling adventures in comic book form to continue our range of audio releases.
Thunderbirds Versus the Hood adapts the spy-fi Lady Penelope storyline The Vanishing Ray and the wilder Thunderbirds storyline Brains is Dead. Thunderbirds: Fire and Fury adapts The Space Mirror and Thunderbirds‘ debut TV21 adventure, Blazing Danger. Danger and Deception is the largest release so far, gathering together four of Thunderbirds‘ most riveting TV21 storylines from the comic’s peak creative powers – The Revolution, Mr Steelman, The Trapped Spy, and The Big Freeze.
These TV21 adaptations take an even greater approach to shaping a newly adjusted continuity for Anderson Entertainment’s take on Thunderbirds. For instance, the original comic strip version of The Vanishing Ray was the final adventure in the Lady Penelope strip before that strip’s retirement, and the newly launched Thunderbirds strip would take up residence in the comic. In Thunderbirds Versus the Hood, the story’s events are reimagined into a more traditional Thunderbirds adventure. Likewise, Blazing Danger was Thunderbirds‘ first adventure in TV21 following the end of the Lady Penelope strip, but its adaptation in Fire and Fury reframes the story to slot more comfortably within the audio release’s sequence of events.
Using original Thunderbirds spin-off media as their springboard, all six of these releases present listeners with an authentic and immersive direction for our audio revival of Thunderbirds to embark on. These carefully selected stories bring a compelling set of scenarios that take International Rescue around the world, into the depths of the oceans, and across the stars, all purposefully designed and produced to feel and sound like the authentically retrofuture adventure that Thunderbirds is loved for.
Physical editions of many of these releases have sold out since their original releases, but digital download versions are still widely available from the Official Gerry Anderson store and Big Finish.
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