In 1999, Calton Media in the UK bought the worldwide rights to Thunderbirds. Determined to "do right", they set forth on an ambitious plan to digitally restore the TV show for subsequent broadcast and release on video. This is a review of the Thunderbirds boxed set that was finally released in November 2000.

I put the first disc in my DVD player and sat in amazement as Thunderbird 1 ripped up through the menu and Jeff Tracy called out the countdown "5,4,3,2,1 - Thunderbirds are Go!". The roar of the rocket engine from my sound system brought a whole new dimension to Thunderbirds. This was going to be quite an experience.

I have been waiting for this release for 20 years. I know that DVDs have not been around for 20 years, but VHS tapes are not exactly known for their high quality or longevity and I have been patiently waiting for something better, and affordable. Here it is.

The release of Thunderbirds on DVD comes at a time when the quality of laserdisc meets with the affordability of VHS tapes. Typically, laserdisc releases also contained a number of extras not available on VHS editions. This would include stills and scripts and additional audio tracks. It is becoming increasingly common for DVDs to include additional material and luckily this set is no exception.

A History lesson

In 1999, Carlton media bought the entire ITC library from Polygram. The ITC library contains a vast amount of "cult" TV shows from the UK in the 1960s. This includes all of the Gerry Anderson productions from Supercar in 1960 to Space:1999 in 1976. The ITC library also contains such cult favourites as The Prisoner, The Saint and The Champions. Many of these shows have been released by Carlton on DVD. The Prisoner was released with a few extras such as stills and production notes. Although the picture quality on these DVDs is quite acceptable, it is clear that little additional work was done to improve the picture or sound quality of the shows. Until now that is.

Restoration is Go!

Fairly early on, Carlton made a decision to digitally restore Thunderbirds so that it could be re-aired on TV and released on video. This decision resulted in a large number of rumours so let's clear those up right now.

Truth: The picture has been digitally enhanced to remove dirt and fading. Each episode was painstakingly restored from original negatives and digitally enhanced to colour-correct the images. Dirt specs and other irregularities were also removed during this process.

Truth: The audio track has been enhanced and is now a Dolby 5.1 surround signal. The audio has been augmented with additional effects to make the most of the surround sound capability.

Incorrect rumour: The strings were digitally removed from the puppets and models. This was never really on option as the cost of modifying all 32 episodes would be extremely prohibitive. Besides, isn't that really part of the magic?

Picture Quality

The detail and clarity of the image is remarkable. It is like wiping the filth from a neglected and dusty TV screen. Everything is crystal clear and items that were barely distinguishable blobs are now being seen for the first time.

There is not much to be said here, the picture is clearer and sharper than ever seen before. People are already starting to report seeing previously unclear items and even bloopers such as a hand in one shot!

The colours are consistent and look fresh. It actually looks like the show was just made. Quite an accomplishment for a TV show which is 35 years old!

Audio Quality

You are probably wondering "is there anything bad about these DVDs?". Well, if there is one point of contention, it would be the audio. To start with, I think that the Dolby 5.1 surround sound really adds an exciting dimension to a viewing of the shows. When the vehicles take off or land, you can hear, almost feel the thundering from the sound system. Explosions are usually augmented with additional booms. Of course, you need a system capable of reproducing the sound, but when you have it, it sounds pretty good!

So why the complaint? Well, the main complaint from many people, including myself is that the new augmented audio is the only version on the DVDs. Technically, there are two audio selections, but these are for "Dolby 5.1" or "stereo", both have identical sound content. Now, of course a commentary by a member of the production staff would be superb, but let's be reasonable here. A more realistic option for audio tracks would have been to include the "original" mono audio track with none of the added sound effects. Of course, we are heading seriously into anorak territory here, but the fact remains that the added sound effects have a noticeably different sound "colour" to them. This can be distracting in parts, for example, in the interior of Tracy Island where the main room now has an annoying echo. I think on the whole, they tried to show restraint in terms of the effects, but on occasion, you need to hit the volume to prevent the windows from shaking!

Of course, having said this, I seriously doubt that I would ever actually use the mono track, especially when I have a 5.1 audio track to listen to. My guess is that Carlton had to make a decision about this and the additional track may have used up too much space on the discs. I'm curious to see how the audio is done for the region 1 DVD release in the US.

The discs

All 32 episodes are presented in this boxed set, 4 per disc. The first thing that I noticed was that the usual sequence of "Trapped in the Sky", "Pit of Peril" and "City of Fire" was not the case. I had to go to disc 4 in order to locate "City of Fire". This was very strange until I realised that finally, the episodes had been presented in the original intended order, and not the original broadcast order, which introduced a number of continuity errors. Seems reasonable to me. Each disc opens up with thunderbird 1 taking off into the screen followed by a list of the episodes. Clips from each episode cycle through in a window to the right while the Thunderbirds music plays.

Each episode is broken up into 8 chapters and as each chapter includes a small window which shows a looping clip to remind you of that part. The menu system itself is very much derivative of the overall look of the series, with large, flashing buttons and so forth. Looks like Brains designed the DVD menu!

Each episode plays through flawlessly and when complete, brings you back to the main menu. This does irritate some people, but I am not one of them.

Extras

Carlton worked with Fanderson, the Gerry Anderson appreciation society, to incorporate a number of interesting extras. These extras include a view of some 1960s era collectables such as the EPs. Other extras include some period TV commercials and a "making of" documentary. Sadly, the documentary is somewhat grainy and in black and white, but does provide a rare glimpse behind the scenes. There is also an extremely short colour documentary piece.

The black and white documentary was edited to remove all contributions by Sylvia Anderson, no other features including Sylvia could be added as bonus material. Reliable sources say this was on instruction of Gerry Anderson himself, how sad. Each DVD also contains some images which can be accessed via a PC with a DVD-ROM.

Admittedly, the extras are a little sparse, and I know that much more material could have been included, but these are essentially freebies. It should also be noted that the first 4 DVDs were released in August 2000 and had noticeably fewer extras on them. The second half of the set is richer in extras content primarily due to the contributions of Fanderson.

The boxed set contains 9 DVDs in total. The first 8 contain the 32 episodes, and the last DVD contains "The Thunderbirds Companion", aka "The Brains behind Thunderbirds". This is newly produced material featuring Brains, who introduces various aspects of the show, such as the characters and the hardware. Sections from this programme can be found on a number of the earlier DVDs.

Volume contents

Volume 1

• Trapped in the Sky
• Pit of Peril
• The perils of Penelope
• Terror in New York City
• Quiz with "making of" feature as prize
• TB1 cross-section

Volume 2

• Edge of Impact
• Day of Disaster
• 30 Minutes After Noon
• Desperate Intruder
• TB2 cross-section
• "Machines" section from "Companion"

Volume 3

• End of the Road
• The Uninvited
• Sun Probe
• Operation Crash-Dive
• Tracy Island illustration
• "Characters" section from "Companion"

Volume 4

• Vault of Death
• The Mighty Atom
• City of Fire
• The Imposters
• FAB1 and FAB2 illustrations
• "Lady Penelope and Parker" section from "Companion"

Volume 5

• The Man from M.I.5
• Cry Wolf
• Danger at Ocean Deep
• Move and you're Dead
• FAB fact file
• 3 minute "making of"
• TB3 cross-section
• original brochure artwork
• original memorabilia section

Volume 6

• The Duchess Assignment
• Brink of Disaster
• Attack of the Alligators!
• Martian Invasion
• FAB fact file
• 2 original TV commercials
• TB4 cross-section
• original memorabilia section

Volume 7

• The Cham Cham
• Security Hazard
• Atlantic Inferno
• Path of Destruction
• FAB fact file
• 2 original TV commercials
• original spec sheets artwork
• TB5 cross-section
• original memorabilia section

Volume 8

• Alias Mr Hackenbacker
• Lord Parker's 'Oliday
• Ricochet
• Give or Take a Million
• FAB fact file
• "Secrets" section from "Companion"
• FAB mansion cross-section

Volume 9

• The Thunderbirds Companion
  

Note: Those wondering about the US A&E Thunderbirds DVDs compared to these need worry no more. The US DVDs appear to use the same episode source material including identical enhanced sound. Sadly, there are only 3 episodes per disc instead of 4 with the Carlton ones and the extras are sparse.

Bottom Line

This is a superb collection and well worth the money. Let's face facts, it is amazing that Thunderbirds is even being released on video any more, let alone on DVD. The rest of it, such as the digital restoration and 5.1 surround sound is far more than anyone would ever seriously hope for. With this in mind, I think that Carlton did a wonderful job with a cult favourite. The inclusion of the extras only serves to make a compelling buy into a really compelling buy. 32 episodes of one of the all time cult TV favourites in a format that will endure for decades for around £100! ...any questions?

• Picture quality: 5
• Audio quality 4.5
• Extras 4
• Value 5
• Overall: 4 1/2 pods

If you are a fan of Thunderbirds and have a compatible DVD player, there is nothing to consider. Buy it. Now. Or as the Hood would say: "Excellent!".