Thunderbirds (series): Difference between revisions

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|release date      = [[30 September (releases)|30 September]] [[1965 (releases)|1965]]
|release date      = [[30 September (releases)|30 September]] [[1965 (releases)|1965]]
}}'''''Thunderbirds''''' was a science fiction series created by [[Gerry Anderson|Gerry]] and [[Sylvia Anderson (actor)|Sylvia Anderson]]. Originally running as an animated puppet series, ''Thunderbirds'' was also spun off into spin-off comics published in ''[[TV Century 21]]'' alongside ''[[The Daleks (series)|The Daleks]]''. ''TV Century 21'' also published comics and short stories starring ''Thunderbirds'' character [[Penelope Creighton-Ward|Lady Penelope]].
}}'''''Thunderbirds''''' was a science fiction series created by [[Gerry Anderson|Gerry]] and [[Sylvia Anderson (actor)|Sylvia Anderson]]. Originally running as an animated puppet series, ''Thunderbirds'' was also spun off into comics published in ''[[TV Century 21]]'' alongside ''[[The Daleks (series)|The Daleks]]''. ''TV Century 21'' also published comics and short stories starring ''Thunderbirds'' character [[Penelope Creighton-Ward|Lady Penelope]].


== Crossovers with the DWU ==
== Crossovers with the DWU ==
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In [[1966 (releases)|1966]], the television series of ''Thunderbirds'' briefly crossed over with ''[[Doctor Who]]''. In ''[[The Man from MI.5 (TV story)|The Man from MI.5]]'', the [[Dalek]]s made a licensed appearance in the form of a report from the [[Solturian News Agency]], the final page of ''[[The Penta Ray Factor (comic story)|The Penta Ray Factor]]'' in [[TV21 32]] in the real world. Not only did this mark the first time the Daleks appeared outside of ''Doctor Who'', ironically on the [[BBC]]'s main competitor [[ITV]], but it also constituted the televised debuts of the [[Dalek Prime]] and the rank of [[Dalek Emperor]], predating their ''Who'' debuts in ''[[The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)|The Evil of the Daleks]]'' by over a year.
In [[1966 (releases)|1966]], the television series of ''Thunderbirds'' briefly crossed over with ''[[Doctor Who]]''. In ''[[The Man from MI.5 (TV story)|The Man from MI.5]]'', the [[Dalek]]s made a licensed appearance in the form of a report from the [[Solturian News Agency]], the final page of ''[[The Penta Ray Factor (comic story)|The Penta Ray Factor]]'' in [[TV21 32]] in the real world. Not only did this mark the first time the Daleks appeared outside of ''Doctor Who'', ironically on the [[BBC]]'s main competitor [[ITV]], but it also constituted the televised debuts of the [[Dalek Prime]] and the rank of [[Dalek Emperor]], predating their ''Who'' debuts in ''[[The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)|The Evil of the Daleks]]'' by over a year.


In addition to these "one-off" crossovers, ''Thunderbirds'' stories featured concepts which debuted in ''[[The Daleks (series|The Daleks]]'' on a semi-regular basis. The final panel of ''The Daleks'' strip was usually one or two "Stop Press" [[news]] stories, continuing the idea that the entire contents of ''TV21'' was part of [[TV 21|a fictionalised newspaper from the future]] and offering readers a teaser of the events of the next issue. As well as often referencing future Dalek comic stories, it also regularly referred to the other strips in the magazine. This meant, for example, that the [[invisible ray torch]] seen in ''[[The Vanishing Ray (comic story)|The Vanishing Ray]]'' actually made its debut in ''[[The Menace of the Monstrons (comic story)|The Menace of the Monstrons]]''. Direct sequels or continuations to crossover stories printed in ''TV21'' also occassionally appeared in its sister magazine, ''[[Lady Penelope (magazine)|Lady Penelope]]''.
In addition to these "one-off" crossovers, ''Thunderbirds'' stories featured concepts which debuted in ''[[The Daleks (series|The Daleks]]'' on a semi-regular basis. The final panel of ''The Daleks'' strip was usually one or two "Stop Press" [[news]] stories, continuing the idea that the entire contents of ''TV21'' was part of [[TV 21|a fictionalised newspaper from the future]] and offering readers a teaser of the events of the next issue. As well as often referencing future Dalek comic stories, it also regularly referred to the other strips in the magazine. This meant, for example, that the [[invisible ray torch]] seen in ''[[The Vanishing Ray (comic story)|The Vanishing Ray]]'' actually made its debut in ''[[The Menace of the Monstrons (comic story)|The Menace of the Monstrons]]''. Direct sequels or continuations to crossover stories printed in ''TV21'' also occasionally appeared in its sister magazine, ''[[Lady Penelope (magazine)|Lady Penelope]]''.


The following ''Thunderbirds'' stories involved DWU elements and are thus covered on this Wiki:
The following ''Thunderbirds'' stories involved DWU elements and are thus covered on this Wiki:

Revision as of 19:06, 30 September 2021

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Thunderbirds was a science fiction series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Originally running as an animated puppet series, Thunderbirds was also spun off into comics published in TV Century 21 alongside The Daleks. TV Century 21 also published comics and short stories starring Thunderbirds character Lady Penelope.

Crossovers with the DWU

1960s

As the conceit of TV Century 21 was that all its series took place in a single universe, several Thunderbirds stories from its pages crossed over freely with the DWU. This mostly included allusions to Lady Penelope or International Rescue's activities in the prose "cover stories", but also Lady Penelope being the narrator and main protagonist of a short story tying in with the release of Dr. Who and the Daleks in 1965.

One two-page comic story also involved Penelope in a multi-series crossover story arc with Fireball XL5 and Stingray centering on the DWU planet of Astra. Another Thunderbirds comic story crossed over both with the DWU and with Fireball XL5 by featuring Nikita Bandranaik and Wilbur Zero.

In 1966, the television series of Thunderbirds briefly crossed over with Doctor Who. In The Man from MI.5, the Daleks made a licensed appearance in the form of a report from the Solturian News Agency, the final page of The Penta Ray Factor in TV21 32 in the real world. Not only did this mark the first time the Daleks appeared outside of Doctor Who, ironically on the BBC's main competitor ITV, but it also constituted the televised debuts of the Dalek Prime and the rank of Dalek Emperor, predating their Who debuts in The Evil of the Daleks by over a year.

In addition to these "one-off" crossovers, Thunderbirds stories featured concepts which debuted in The Daleks on a semi-regular basis. The final panel of The Daleks strip was usually one or two "Stop Press" news stories, continuing the idea that the entire contents of TV21 was part of a fictionalised newspaper from the future and offering readers a teaser of the events of the next issue. As well as often referencing future Dalek comic stories, it also regularly referred to the other strips in the magazine. This meant, for example, that the invisible ray torch seen in The Vanishing Ray actually made its debut in The Menace of the Monstrons. Direct sequels or continuations to crossover stories printed in TV21 also occasionally appeared in its sister magazine, Lady Penelope.

The following Thunderbirds stories involved DWU elements and are thus covered on this Wiki:

Title Issue Featuring Released
Mr. Steelman TV21 1-11 Lady Penelope, Parker, Roger, Mr Steelman 23 January - 3 April 1965
Lady Penelope TV21 19 Lady Penelope, Parker, Zodiac, Zero, Lugosti 29 May 1965
The Return of Mr. Steelman TV21 20-34 Lady Penelope, Parker, Mr Steelman 5 June - 11 September 1965
Lady Penelope Investigates the stars of the Sensational new film Dr. Who and the Daleks! TV21 28 Lady Penelope, Parker 31 July 1965
The Vanishing Ray TV21 44-51 Lady Penelope, Parker, Jeff, Brains, the Hood 20 November 1965 - 8 January 1966
The Man from MI.5 N/A (ITV) Lady Penelope, Parker, Jeff, Brains, Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, John, Tin-Tin, Grandma, Bondson 20 January 1966
The Great Silver Robbery! LP 17-28 Lady Penelope, Parker, Mr Steelman 14 May - 30 July 1966
The Assassination Threat LP 29-35 Lady Penelope, Parker, Roger 6 August - 17 September 1966
Solar Danger TV21 83-98 Jeff, Brains, Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon, John, Tin-Tin, Zero, Bandranaik 20 August - 3 December 1966
Desert Drama LP 43-52 Lady Penelope, Parker, Bondson, Mr Steelman 12 November 1966 - 14 January 1967

Later crossovers

In the Doctor Who Magazine comic story Party Animals, Thunderbird 3 can be seen docked at Maruthea for Bonjaxx's birthday party. Although a plethora of BBC owned and non-BBC owned characters are seen at the party including Captain Scarlet from the Gerry Anderson-produced Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, the ship's main pilot, Alan Tracy, does not appear.

Lady Penelope later made one last cameo in the DWU in the Virgin New Adventures novel The Dying Days. It was stated that Bernice Summerfield had often seen her being driven around the Kent countryside and identified her readily among the celebrities observing the Mars 97 mission at the National Space Museum.

In The Lodger, the Eleventh Doctor also namedrops International Rescue as part of the line "I'm Captain Troy Handsome of International Rescue". In Resurrection of the Daleks, the guards on the Prison Station wear uniforms similar to those worn by the main characters in Thunderbirds.

Additionally, the Second Doctor novel The Indestructible Man features many elements that were borrowed from three of Anderson's series: Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, and UFO, although under thin aliases rather than an explicit crossover.

Cast and crew connections

The original Thunderbirds TV series from 1965-1966 featured the voices of a number of actors who also played roles on Doctor Who, such as Shane Rimmer, Jeremy Wilkin, David Graham and Ray Barrett. Cliff Richard and John Carson were involved in the feature-lengths films Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968) respectively.

Sophia Myles, Ron Cook, Lex Shrapnel, Bhasker Patel and Nicola Walker all appeared in the 2004 live-action Thunderbirds film, adapted from the series, and the 2015 TV reboot, Thunderbirds Are Go, also included several actors involved in Doctor Who and its spin-off materials, such as David Tennant, David Menkin, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Angel Coulby, Kayvan Novak, David Graham, Reggie Yates, Sandra Dickinson, Adjoa Andoh and Teresa Gallagher. Crew members Derek Meddings, Ian Scoones, and Michael Wilson also worked on both shows, as did writer Dennis Spooner. John Peel is the author of Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet: The Authorized Programme Guide, as noted on the back of his Virgin Missing Adventures novel Evolution.

Christopher Fowler, writing the foreword for Simon Clark's Telos novella The Dalek Factor, compares the Daleks to Thunderbird 2 in how familiar and iconic they are.