I’ve only reviewed a couple of series of Thunderbirds Are Go, despite having watched them all. It felt wrong reviewing it: I’m a die-hard fan of the originals and when I’ve mentioned fanfiction in previous posts, well… this is my fandom. A reboot of the show, specifically aimed at a much younger audience, was frustrating more often than not.
With the show coming to an end, however, I wanted to do a wrap-up of my thoughts.
It seems putting this post in my planner is the only way I persuade myself to watch films these days. Which makes the ex-film-student in me feel very ashamed! I used to be really consistent with watching new things, but since Lovefilm finished, I’ve been rubbish.
I have Netflix, I have Sky, I have Amazon Prime…but there was something about the disc landing on the doormat that made me watch it. I guess being at uni rather than working full time probably has more to do with it…
Synopsis: Prepare as Thunderbirds are Go returns as international Rescue again answers the call. This series picks up a few months after Kayo’s secret was revealed and the notorious Hood was brought to justice.
Plot: International Rescue are fully operational, saving the world on a regular basis with their advanced machinery. But in this second half of the series, not everyone is as keen to have them in business. With the Hood organising chaos from behind the scenes, the Tracy boys must deal with both natural disasters and human-made ones as they are forced to prove themselves more than once.
But with the GDF and Lady Penelope on their side, there is not a lot that can stand in their way. The only thing that can stop them comes from within their own family.
Plot: A remake of the original 1960’s puppet version, Thunderbirds are Go modernises the boys in blue as they fly to the rescue.
There are significant changes from the original. Tin-Tin is now known as Kayo. A mystery surrounding Jeff Tracy is introduced in the first episode – he is missing, presumed dead and not involved with the rest of the series. Braman has had a make-over and is now known as Max. And Grandma Tracy can no longer cook.
Each episode focuses on a rescue and a particular brother as they battle to save people from one disaster or another.
It’s hard accepting when a beloved show is being given a remake, especially when there is so much charm and love for the original. But, like Postman Pat and Fireman Sam, the Thunderbirds is being given the CGI treatment and the first images have been released.
It doesn’t look that positive.
Scott is okay. He looks like the Scott we know and love. But as a die-hard fan (and not being ashamed to admit it), that is about as good as it gets. John has the wrong hair colour, so does Virgil. Gordon has the wrong eye colour.
And the whole lot of them look like they are the poster to some new boyband, new the heroes that are supposed to be saving the world.
But saving the world looks to be a lot harder when one looks at the new uniform. Lycra, for one thing. And huge bulky sashes that must be against some sort of health and safety considering the work they do – they might have the tools with them but it would be a touch embarrassing not saving someone because they couldn’t crawl through a gap.
Maybe this is all taking it a bit literal. There is no way you could modernise a show without updating things like the uniform. The trouble here is lying in the fact that it looks utterly ridiculous. It’s not even as if they have actors in that could explain the hair colour difference, it is just someone coloured it in wrong. If they play this right, they could keep the original fans on board while introducing a new generation to the much loved Gerry Anderson creation.
However, making errors like that at the beginning is already seeming to get people’s backs up. No one I know has had anything positive to say about the new look of the character. It is all now based on what they do with the actual plot-lines to the stories. If they keep these well, not necessarily true to the old ones but continuing the same themes, then they might just pull it off. If they take the route of the 2004 film, however, and focus only on one character or introduce new ones for no reason, then again it is going to be creating resistance.
I want the show to work. I’m a huge fan of the original despite it being after my time and to have it brought back into the spotlight is of course what every fan wants for their show. But when the film was released, it was a complete disaster. Naturally meaning there is a worry the same thing is going to happen with the show. Modernising something works if the themes of the original are a key factor in the decisions being made and the story being told. It has to be a show about all of them, about family and wanting to save the world, not a teenage boy being a whiny brat and not knowing how to grow up.
Does anyone else have thoughts on the new series?
A Rambling Reviewer 