The final 3 episodes of the popular '60s show "Thunderbirds" from A&E Home Video are found in Set 6, along with 2 special featurettes. This review will look quite a bit like the review for sets 1-4 since A&E has kept the quality of the release the same.
Gerry Anderson was known for his shows "Supercar," "Fireball XL5" and "Stingray" featuring "Supermarionation" which used marionettes instead of actors. In 1963 he was coming to the end of production on "Stingray" and needed an idea for a new show. While listening to radio reports about a mine disaster in Germany he got the idea for a show about a group of people working as an international rescue organization. Since villains would be after their amazing equipment, the organization was hidden in a secret location on an island in the Pacific ocean. In 1965 "Thunderbirds" premiered and lasted 32 episodes. The show has aired somewhere in the world since it's first episode.
Sure the show can drag on and the dialog is cheesy, but it comes from the wonderful 60's where a 60 min show was almost that long. It's still enjoyable for adults and kids.
Menu Design
The menus on the disc are quite nice and reflect the feel of the show and the look of the artwork on the cases.
This set features the following episodes:
Lord Parker's 'Oliday
On holiday in Italy, Lady Penelope and Parker find themselves in a hot spot. The solar dish that provides Monte Bianco with electricity is toppled in an electrical sotrm, and its powerful reflector ends up aimed directly at the town. If it can't be moved before sunrise, Monte Bianco will burn down.
Ricochet
When a rogue missle is exploded in space, the detonation damanges KLA, a pirate television station. As KLA's orbit deteriorates, its staff broadcasts a plea for help. Unfortunately, Thunderbird 5's sensors are temporarily disabled. Will International Rescue be able to respond in time?
Give or Take a Million
International Rescue is working with the Coralville Children's Hospital to raise money for the hospital's new solartherapy wing. Meanwhile, a pair of bank robbers have decided taking is better than giving or receiving, and Brains is working on a way to give Tracy Island a white Christmas...
Brains Behind Thunderbirds
Get the inside scoop on Thunderbirds from the ultimate authority - Brains. Filled with classic clips and unforgettable moments, this brand-new program introduces the incredible Thunderbirds vehicles, the Tracy family, the other members of the International Rescue team and their nemesis - the evil hood.
The Making of Thunderbirds
Filmed in 1965, this rearely-seen black and white documentary goes behind the scenes with Gerry Anderson, exposing the secrets of Super-Mationation, getting a close-up look at the mighty Thunderbirds machines and showing how the sensational special effects were accomplished. Exclusive clips and interviws with the production crew make this a fascinating treat for Thunderbirds fans.
Video
Okay, I'll admit that I wasn't expecting much from a show that's over 35 years old, so what's on this disc blew me away. Many of the elements in the show are meant to be brightly colored, from the character's uniforms to the Thunderbird ships and background sets. I was expecting the picture to be washed out but was surprised by nice, bright colors. It's obvious that A&E Home Video did a lot of work to the print for this DVD release. Sure there are some dust specs, and the "outdoor" shots show some grain and look a little poorer compared to the "inside" shots, but overall this is a nice picture. A few shots suffer from minor shimmering, but nothing that's too distracting. Most of the show features the marionettes, but every once and awhile they'll insert a human hand because they can't do the shot with a marionette.
Audio
While the video quality was a surprise, the audio was even better. The soundtrack has been completely redone in Dolby Digital 5.1 and it sounds great. There's excellent use of panning between the front speakers and from the front to the rears. The rears feature some nice ambient effects while most of the dialog and music comes from the front 3 speakers. Explosions really rocked! I couldn't believe I was watching a show from the 60's that sounded this good. Excellent audio work!
I was a little surprised that the Dolby Digital 5.1 track wasn't the default track used for this release but I guess they wanted to set the original mix as the default.
Photo Galleries
There are 25 photos on the first disc featuring scenes from each of the episodes
Character Biographies
Character biographies on all the main characters found in the series. Jeff Tracy, Scott Tracy, John Tracy, Virgil Tracy, Gordon Tracy, Alan Tracy, Brains, Lady Penelope, Parker, Tin-Tin, Kyrano and The Hood each have one screen of text containing their character bio.
Gerry Anderson Biography and Filmography
Text information about Gerry Anderson and the TV/Movies he's been involved in.
History of Thunderbirds
8 screens of text on the history of the show.
Thunderbird Stats
Each vehicle has a single screen with the machine stats.
The Making of Thunderbirds
This 9:10 featurette gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the Thunderbirds production.
Production Credits
Not really an extra, but this is a still with the people responsible for the DVD.
Summary
The "Thunderbirds" is one of those shows that you can enjoy no matter what your age. A&E Home Video didn't let anything slide from the first two sets, and I expect the others to be of the same quality. It's nice to see a company spending the time to restore old shows for DVD release.
I loved seeing Derek Meddings name in the credits as the Special Effects Director. I'm a big fan of the Bond movies and Derek Meddings did special effects work on 5 of them.
