International Rescue boasts the world’s most advanced rescue technology and therefore exists under a strict cover of top security. As Jeff Tracy explains in Thunderbirds‘ debut episode, Trapped in the Sky, the organisation’s technology must be kept secure in case it should ever fall into the wrong hands. Enemy forces may use these fantastic machines to destroy life. As such, Jeff ensures that a web of secrecy is enwrapped about the Thunderbird machines, but just how much of this secrecy do we come to learn of throughout the classic series?
This Thunderbirds Thursday, we’re examining how Thunderbirds showcases its network of secrecy and how much of it is left unspoken!
The Jigsaw Fits Together
We’ve previously explored how Thunderbirds tackles the secret nature of International Rescue and how the series showcases the outfit’s covert capabilities. But how does that secrecy play out? Where does I.R. come from and how does it maintain its operational status? Intriguingly, there’s no outright or direct explanation given for how Jeff Tracy and his five sons established the International Rescue organisation. The series spends little time divulging how this secretive family set up this outfit amidst their seemingly luxurious lifestyle, but when it does so, we’re given fascinating morsels of information.
It’s intriguing to comb through key episodes that offer up suggestions as to how International Rescue maintains its secrecy and how they coalesce together to paint a backstory for International Rescue’s genesis… of sorts. Thinking generally, most Thunderbirds fans are likely aware of general details regarding Jeff’s backstory – his combined experiences and interests in civil construction, engineering, and space travel all helped him to become inspired to create an organisation that could help people in distress. But how do specific episodes hint at these details?
Trapped in the Sky offers us our starting points. We have the acknowledgement of Jeff’s career in space exploration as one of the world’s first men to land on the moon. The magnificent painting of a rocket in Tracy Lounge, which changes between the two seasons, serves as a constant visual reminder of Jeff’s roots, even though Trapped in the Sky is the only reference to explicitly highlight its significance.
More intel is drip-fed to us in further episodes. The Imposters and The Perils of Penelope show that Jeff had gathered skilled individuals in his professional life to help realise his dream of forming I.R. In The Imposters, unsuspecting hillbilly Jeremiah Tuttle is, in fact, a former military colleague of Jeff’s who Jeff convinced to become part of International Rescue’s network of secret operatives. In The Perils of Penelope, we learn that Sir Jeremy Hodge was instrumental in acquiring and developing engineering technology for the construction of the Thunderbird machines.
In Jeremiah, International Rescue has an unconventional colleague experienced in combat and espionage, and in Sir Jeremy, the outfit has a trusted person with scientific knowhow who shares in wanting to use it to benefit mankind’s safety. The Imposters in particular is a rare example of Jeff’s military career, described as simply being “the service.” Just how many jobs did Jeff have prior to becoming the head of International Rescue? Edge of Impact offers another insight into Jeff’s military service with the arrival of another military colleague, World Space Control’s Tim Casey. However, unlike Jeremiah, Colonel Casey is left in the dark as to how his former military friend keeps himself and his five sons busy.
Nevertheless, indirect hints are still given that Jeff’s running of International Rescue isn’t done entirely remotely. We’re given a few nudges that he has friends in higher places. In Terror in New York City and The Cham Cham, it’s discreetly shown that Jeff has some kind of direct line to, presumably, the US President. Once again, another element of Jeff Tracy’s network of secrecy that isn’t explicitly explained is presented to us. It’s merely mentioned that Jeff has contacts in Washington. Terror in New York City also provides us with a key insight into how the International Rescue machines are maintained. In the wake of Thunderbird 2’s unforeseen attack by the US Navy, Jeff explains to Scott that the craft’s repairs will necessitate different components being ordered from different aircraft corporations, all of them deliberately kept in the dark as to what these pieces are being used for.
All of these seemingly disparate details come together to paint a compellingly subtle backstory of International Rescue. The subdued nature of these moments from these episodes, seemingly at random, play into our imaginations, with nothing outright explained in an overwrought manner. We’re left to piece these clues together for ourselves, which in turn encourages the idea that this is still only scratching the surface for how I.R. was formed and how it maintains itself. What other secrets does this elusive humanitarian organisation withhold from us? It adds a delightful sense of playful mystery to the series, where we can’t fully be certain of the facts. It’s an aspect of the series that toys with us while still serving as subtle foundations of worldbuilding for the series.
Civil & Construction Engineering
Thunderbirds‘ lack of definitive explanations for precisely where, how, or why International Rescue came into existence isn’t an isolated case. Most of the other Supermarionation series of the 1960s spend little time diving into the various pre-lives of each series’ respective organisations – W.A.S.P., World Space Patrol, Spectrum, W.I.N. There’s no grandiose emphasis placed on where these outfits come from. They simply… exist. In today’s current climate of exhaustive origin stories for other science fiction and pop culture series, there’s something refreshingly basic in this earlier approach.
It’s a similar story when it comes to characterisation. It simply wasn’t a major concern for these series to linger on backstories. However, this would generally be where the spin-off media comes to the rescue. Where the TV series chose to focus on Jeff’s careers in the military and space exploration, it would fall to the series’ accompanying spin-off media to highlight Jeff’s keen interest in civil and construction engineering. The 1967 Thunderbirds annual, the first of five to be produced throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, clarifies that following Jeff’s preceding careers, he then pursued a successful new line of work in construction, quickly making him one of the richest men in the world. This additional detail of how Jeff’s financial situation spectacularly ballooned serves as a final piece of the puzzle in International Rescue’s genesis.
Jeff Tracy’s deceptive cloak of security used to maintain the secrecy of International Rescue remains one of Thunderbirds‘ most delightful mysteries to pour over. How far does Jeff’s influence over his espionage agents and scientific advisors reach? How many contacts does he have in various global governments? There’s a thrill in not fully knowing all of the facts. International Rescue is, after all, a top secret outfit, whereby not even Thunderbirds‘ audiences can truly be sure of how deeply rooted its secrets are!
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