Captain Scarlet.

[Al R]

I don't suppose that anyone saw it this morning? If I might then, a summary.

Captain Scarlet and the Angels were attending an airshow, where the latest Spectrum jet was being put through its paces. Cut away to a CGI of a Lancaster hauling itself into the air and many admiring comments from the Angels and Col White.

Next.. the evil Captain Black almost causes one of the Angel Interceptors to crash, because the Mysterons have the ability to interupt all digital signals worldwide. Faced with the potential calamity, Capt Scarlet requisitions the non digital Lanc and bombs the Mysteron base from low level with iron bombs.

Episode closes with a signal form 'RAF High Command'; "If you've finished with it, can we please have our Lancaster back and we hope you haven't pranged it.".

The new series isn't a patch on the old one, but great fun none the less. Always thought Thunderbirds was overated myself.. and as for that Joe 90. :rolleyes:

[samuraimatt]

I hope that they were all up to date with their fitness tests.

[Roadster280]

Indestructible :ouch:

[ORAC]

Wot channel's it on then, and wot time? :}

[tucumseh]

Puppets. They could get a job working for the Broons.

[ExRAFRadar]

Dun Dun Dun DUN DUN Dun

"This is the Voice of the Mysterons"

Starter for 10 - name all the Angels (dont google)

[dangermouse]

symphony
harmony
rhapsody
melody
destiny
:ok:

[Not_a_boffin]

They never had an Angel called Easy.......

Would have made for a more interesting show though!

[Al R]

Wot channel's it on then, and wot time?

It is on Childrens ITV each morning. I watch it of course, to maintain currency with the young generation. The Episode is #10, Circles of Doom. There's a small clip of the Lancaster at the beginning of this segment;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxIr-sBrIgs

[621andy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxIr-sBrIgs
Pah, nuthin I haven't seen the Patrouille de France do before:rolleyes:

note to self: don tin 'at and start diggin' that fox'ole, and watch out for incoming;)

[AR1]

Come on - What was his real (?) name and where was he from - dont google. his house was probably flooded recently.

Scarlet is the dogs bollox, and thats the truth. - I had a dinky - the SPC Spectrum Patrol Car in red.

[AR1]

B*stard...he got it... Stratford upon Avon was his Birthplace.

[Tiger_mate]

I still have my Spectrum Pursuit Car! ...and wasnt one of them called Adam?

AL1 Just checked, its a 'patrol' car

[f4aviation]

:ooh: I bet the CAA man had apoplexy...

[moggiee]

...and wasnt one of them called Adam?

Captain Blue's real name was Adam - he was voiced by Ed Bishop who played Commander Ed Straker in the brilliant "UFO".

(My daughters, aged 10 and 5, love UFO - good girls!)

[AR1]

Yes it was SPC or SPV. - What was the white one called, I always liked that cargo carrying vehicle. - a perversion that later manifests itself as a desire to join the C130 fleet.

Didnt it come with its own box of nuclear waste to slot into it. The great unwashed would have a field day with that today.

[Double Zero]

Well Thunderbird 2 had ( has ?! ) nuclear engines, which may have been a snag when the US friendly fire - ahead of their time or what ? - shot it down...

So, all together, what does F.A.B. stand for, and what was Brain's real name ?

Had an SPV - probably still in the loft - and was a UFO fan, though reckon it was a great idea with lousy scripts - a modern remake a la Independence Day would be more like it.

Most of the Test Pilots I knew who expressed a preference were big Thunderbirds fans.

Happened to notice a local shop selling die-cast models of all the Gerry Anderson craft, including Skydiver - would have given anything for that as a lad - in fact might just nip along...

PS I once touched the real Thunderbird 1 ( one of them ) - didn't go aboard, security was a bit tight.

[Kitbag]

So, all together, what does F.A.B. stand for, and what was Brain's real name ?

Nothing

Hiram Hackenbacker III

Most (but not all) Anderson fare IMHO was excellent and well ahead of its time in terms of technology and story ideas. And he used to be in the mob!

[Al R]

Gerry Anderson has said that it was simply short for 'fabulous', but of course, in ye olde days of short wave rebro, it also meant 'Fully Acknowledged Broadcast'. I suppose everyone knows that they were named after 5 of the original Mercury 7 (Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, Gordo Cooper, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter and Alan Shepherd).

I had the entire Captain Scarlet lot. I always felt a little sorry for Captain Blue.. no secondary duties, never had a good tour, not indestructable.. no wonder Col White only ever trusted Scarlet.

[Double Zero]

F.A.B. = short for Fabulous i.e.'60's , correct as is Hiram Hackenbacker.

Don't worry about Captain Blue, it's John in TB5 to feel sorry for, as someone once said, " the unpopular one, stuck in space on his own for months with nothing but a sackload of puppet porn ".

I couldn't help thinking someone was deliberately taking the P' ( maybe of certain projects of the day & before ) in the 1st Thunderbirds episode, when the Fireflash hypersonic airliner couldn't land due to a bomb in the gear...

" Fireflash, what is your endurance ? "

" Well, with our atomic motors we could stay up for 6 months - but the radiation shields will give up 2 hours from now..."

[Al R]

Here's a thing, if Tb5 was so ahead of its time, why did it need a bloke in it in the first place? Having John on the ground would have allowed Brains more flex with the rostering, tasking, leave, and gym tests of course. I can't help thinking that John knew he was onto a cushy number and as a consequence, mission effectiveness suffered. The swine.

[Double Zero]

I knew a Flight Test guy who not only looked like Alan Tracy, he walked like him too...

When being briefed on the radio kit before his first Harrier flight, after a fair bit of info' had been discussed, he paused - " and remind me, what is the O.F.F. Mode ? "...

Maybe John Tracy in TB5 had a pervy way of listening in to naughty phone lines, and obviously O bin liner learned all he knows from watching The Hood.

Seems to me someone with a fair bit of aircraft knowledge was involved in Thunderbird vehicle design - is it just me, or does TB1 bear a close resemblance to a cross between the Miles M.52 & the Lightning - and for instance Fireflash I think I'm right in saying is close to some late Barnes Wallis designs - not too sure about the the thrust line with the engines high up on the tail in the Fireflash I grant you.

It did have the advantage of having the crew safely by the tail, letting the punters arrive first !

[moggiee]

Here's a thing, if Tb5 was so ahead of its time, why did it need a bloke in it in the first place?

That's why SID (Space Intruder Detector) in UFO was so much more sensible - a fully automated, talking AWACS!

One of the most noticeable aspects of Anderson productions is that they take time to build a story - many are really quite slow moving and rather cerebral. The fact that they are still appreciated by 21st century kids shows that a good story never goes out of fashion.

Now, who's up for a few hours of Space 1999 courtesy of ITV 3 or 4 (forget which)?

[Strictly Jungly]

Ahhhhh Moonbase with the lovely Gabriella Drake (caused many a pre-pubescent stirring).........she appeared later in Crossroads......Ed Bishop as the Top Man............great memories.
What an excellent thread...........
Gerry should have been knighted.............we could do with International Rescue now!

Of course the Moonbase Interceptors were quite limited in their response.......i.e. One Shot only........

[splitbrain]

Thunderbird 2 must have had a lift body design, there is no way those stubby little wings would have kept that lump in the air. It would have been like a c130 with the wings of an F104 :eek:
And the propulsion system always fascinated me. Virgil brings her into the hover and THEN fires the lift engines to descend. They can be heard winding down BEFORE T2 actually touches down..incredible :}

I'll get my coat...

[Dysonsphere]

Ever noticed how TB1 looks a lot like a Lighting but with 10 times the range

[High_lander]

Or how in the new Doctor Who, the 'air base' at the end was similar to the one in Captain Scarlet?

[Al R]

I thought the same thing.

This then, for jungly..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB1k02yh43A

She was a few years before my time I'm afraid. If it had been Gabrielle Anwar on the other hand..

[Double Zero]

Splitbrain,

I always preferred to gloss over the timing of TB2's lift engines ( maybe just the high power bit in the pure hover makes the noise & flame etc ? sadly more likely that's how long the effects flares lasted...)

When a lad, my cynical father always pointed at TB2 " they put the wings on the wrong way !" - so many years later I took great delight pushing pics of the X-29 under his nose.

Dyonsphere,

It seems TB1 has considerably more than 10 times Lighning range as it trundles across the Pacific / anywhere without refuelling - does 25,000mph too according to the 1st episode, which even some ex-Lightning types would hesitate to claim.

Is it me or are the episodes of most G.Anderson series where it all goes wrong - TB2 shot at & crash landing, Cloudbase under mass attack & going down in C.Scarlet, Mass Attack in UFO, or the one in space 1999 where Alpha & it's Eagles are picked off by Hawks & giant bomber etc; A, a staple fall-back, B, the most exciting !

Having said that, I still think the 1st episode of Thunderbirds ( 'Stranded in The Sky ' ) is a classic at any level, landing the Fireflash wheels-up on 3 high speed trucks...

BTW A friend once saw a soft porn film with G.Drake :E

[Blacksheep]

And the propulsion system always fascinated me. Virgil brings her into the hover and THEN fires the lift engines to descend. They can be heard winding down BEFORE T2 actually touches down..incredible
Brought into the hover on the main nuclear drive, conventional lift engines started to hold her there and the main drive is shut down - that's what you can hear winding down...

I often wonder how you pilots manage these days without a F/E to manage the power plant for you. :rolleyes:

"Retard! Retard!" as the Airbus yells at the crew when they touch down. :}

[AR1]

Female aircrew in front line combat duty too, while all the men have admin jobs! I would wager Sylvia had a say in that..

[Al R]

Bigbluecar,

Sorry, just getting a thumbnail image there.

[Kitbag]

Al R

Right click on the link and copy the shortcut- it is worthwhile, I'd forgotten about the other two ladies at Moonbase :E

[rats404]

Top thread chaps.

here you go...

http://ufoseries.com/newPhotos/ellisClothesChange.jpg

[Kitbag]

I think I'd better go and lie down for a while after that pic :8

[aviate1138]

Well I can honestly claim to have actually flown/steered/dived All the original Thunderbirds machines. So there! But then in my callow youth I worked for Mr G Anderson. On Slough Trading Estate. I will never forget......the smell of warm Mars Bars, almost every day for 2 years! :)
Aviate 1138

[Al R]

Thanks Kitbag.

God yes. I wouldn't mind any one of those ripe young fillys engaging intercontinental drive mode (nappy wearing or not) for me.

Avlate,

How fascinating, you worked on the set then? Do you have any fots?

[Akrotiri bad boy]

Surely that means "Fire All Boosters"?

And remember..... Spectrum Is Green:ok:

[AR1]

Holy Moly! - Desktop bound. - Till my boss sees it, I had to remove a wallpaper with Alan Partridge in his shorts with the slogan 'Do you want me to lapdance for you' as it was deemed offensive!

[621andy]

if you have a look at this you can see moving pics of the clothes change:}

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uah-H5uxWnw&mode=related&search=

complete with soft porn sound track and technical talk:}:}

[AR1]

God Cod almighty! She would have been able to hang that stuff on the front of my jumpsuit.:D

[F34NZ]

Pierced nipples, then AR1, or are you a 46DD ?

[AR1]

Pierced nipples, then AR1, or are you a 46DD ?

48FF - since I left, and theres no fitness requirement, its just piled on...

[LowObservable]

http://thunderbirds.sfdaydreams.com/toys/kfelevcars2.jpg

http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/FRheft/FRHeft04/FRH0412/FR0412c1.JPG

[nosefirsteverytime]

Must return to this thread when I have a compurer with sound....

That Superthunderstingcar looks good!

[KeefBeer]

Who would have guessed that my cherry busting post on this site after years of lurking around would concern the programme U.F.O. As a fan of this show the first time around my friends and I got to sit in the cars that are featured in the show, there where only ever two of them and they where kit cars based on an American Ford of the time. They toured the UK visiting Ford main dealers and where to be honest a bit disappointing, the body work being fibre glass was well knackered and held together by gaffer tape, the insides where basic and one of them needed to be pushed into the showroom!
It put me off Fords and intergalactic war for years.

[barnstormer1968]

I have several vhs tapes of UFO, and watch them regularly, as for Lt Ellis (Gabrielle Drake), she just got better and better with age. I remember seeing her at the theatre royal in Bath, while in her forties. She was still stunning in a white Basque and suspenders!
I have just noticed that there appears to be a world outside my window...Maybe I should get out more!

Oh, have any Ppruner's noticed that Commander Straker (Ed Bishop) provides the narration for lots of aviation video's.

[Al R]

Keef,

Welcome.

I sat in the latest Thunderbirds Ford thing a couple of years ago, and was amazed at the quality of workmanship. But don't get me going on kit cars, some of them, frankly, should only come out at night. Awful things, some of 'em.

Aaaw, what the heck.. why not.

http://www.priceofhistoys.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/ugly3.jpg

[F34NZ]

AR1 - I suggest sumo as a second career : all the food you can eat and some lower ranking bloke to wipe your ar$e (similar to the Household Division, with the advantages of more stimulating conversation and a less maintenance intensive uniform.)

[TMJ]

Or how in the new Doctor Who, the 'air base' at the end was similar to the one in Captain Scarlet?

I was imediately reminded of the SHIELD Helicarier, but that's my Marvel bias.

[Zero feet, decending]

Aviate 1138- I'm as jealous as hell. I grew up with T'birds, Scarlet et al.
:-)

AR1 - Dont tease me ;-)

As for the cars, didn't "The Hair Cornflake" AKA DLT attend Radio 1 roadshows with Ed Straker's car? I understand he (allegedly) used to have it transported on a trailer to within the last mile or so, then drive the last bit in the car and open the gull wing door, which took a huge amount of engine/hydraulic pump power to operate. Poser. :}

[Double Zero]

It's an urban myth that F.A.B. stands for 'forward / fire all boosters' - it doesn't, it's short for Fabulous, as in the Beatles being the FAB FIVE ( not in my book ) etc.

I thought I saw long ago that Ed Straker's 'jet car' was very conventional Rover based ? No, not confusing it with the real jet Rover project.

[BeefyBoy]

I believe 'F.A.B.' stands for "Follow as briefed" :ok:

[Al R]

Nah, thats just what all those smooth 1960s gits thought. It was an urbane myth.

[f4aviation]

"Fully Acknowledged Broadcast" is the popular myth. I prefer "Funderbirds Are Brilliant" myself.

[BeefyBoy]

What about that age old 'Liney' pastime "F4rting and Belching" :E

[BEagle]

The Beatles were the 'Fab FOUR'!

'FAB' had no meaning; 'SIG' meant 'Spectrum is Green'.

Gabrielle Drake is still looking good at the age of 63! As for how she looked in the '70s, have a look at the movie 'Au Pair Girls' with Richard O'Sullivan in which, as 'Rani Lindstrom' for much of the time she wore just a smile.........:ok: There is a tenuous aviation link - in the opening credits at Heathrow (so I'm told :hmm:), you can just see the tail of the ill-fated Trident G-ARPI being removed following a ground accident. An Airspeed Ambassador went out of control when a flap actuating rod failed on final approach, it then collided with 2 Tridents and the terminal building.

As Lt Gay Ellis, Gabrielle Drake certainly improved the quality of 'UFO':

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/LtEllis.jpg

[chiglet]

I thought I saw long ago that Ed Straker's 'jet car' was very conventional Rover based ?
And I always thought that it was a Ford Cortina base.....:confused:
watp,iktch

[BEagle]

Actually, they were based on the Zephyr Mk IV chassis and were built by Alan Mann racing.

[BEagle]

...and the lovely Gabrielle Drake wasn't the only one:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/string.jpg

They simply wouldn't be allowed to get away with such delights these days! And more's the pity!

[MG]

The green version of the string vest never looked nearly so good when RAF firemen wore them!

[RAF_Techie101]

And of course the new export variant of the MRA4.....

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/Penfold101/MRA4Export.jpg

[Double Zero]

Techie 101, love it !

Beagle, by Fab Five I was 'of course' including the poor sod who was chucked just before they went global - :bored: though one is either a Stones or Beatles type, and my money's on Jagger & co as serious musicians rather than 'Frog Chorus' Macartney...

I stand corrected re.Ed Straker's car ( used to have a dinky model of that ) - I did read that the full size replica of Lady Penelope's FAB 1 caused much gnashing of teeth by Rolls Royce - they tried to buy it just so as to crush it !

Pretty rich from a company now marketing a German brick on wheels...

Also note, in the UFO episode 'Subsmash', only the female ( wasn't Anouska Hempel another attraction ? ) string vest gets torn & tattered !:E

[Al R]

If you think that things at Rolls Royce are bad, count yourself lucky you haven't bought a Bentley recently. The new VW ownership dusted off an old design from another acquisition of the time, and hey presto..

http://www.autonetplus.com/autonetpluscom/noticias/fotos/skoda_tudor.jpg

http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/geneva_2006/0603_geneva_01+2007_bentley_continental_gt_diamond_series+fr ont_side_view.jpg

They could at least, have used a different designer.

[RAF_Techie101]

That's a good spot actually - and rather shocking too...

[Al R]

I wonder what Victoria Beckham would do if she knew that she was driving around in a Skoda :E? The Bentley platform by the way, is the same as the VW Phaeton; in itself, a tarted up Passat. Nothing against the Phaeton mind, buy second hand now for 15-16k, and it'll last you a lifetime.

When the Phaeton production line ground to a halt in Dresden because no one was buying the things, rumours circulated that VW was assembling Continental GTs there too, and marking them 'Made in the EU'. Fashion is cyclic; just as Bentley was the marque to own (instead of Rolls Royce), say 15 years ago, now Rolls Royce holds the cachet as being the brand to have, and Bentley the gauche one.

[talk_shy_tall_knight]

Those with Flight sims can fly all of your favourites here.

http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~bat/ga/ga-fs.html

Not usually my cup of char but purely for research purposes I might give one or two a go.:8

[moggiee]

Top thread chaps.

here you go...

http://ufoseries.com/newPhotos/ellisClothesChange.jpg
DVD gives crystal clear pause function!

[Double Zero]

Talk Shy,

thanks for that !

This is proving the most informative / useful thread I've seen in ages !

What with Simulators for the machines, and those images of G.Drake, I may be some time in my room ...:E

[teeteringhead]

And ISTR that this film (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068235/)if notable for little else, featured the delectable Ms Drake :O ahem ... I believe the phrase then was "full frontal" but nothing was purple I'm afraid....:E

[27mm]

Wait a minute, what about the baddies, the Mysterons?

[Dop]

The Mysterons are catching benefit fraudsters now. I mean, did you not see that ad. with the ring of light following people around?

[Double Zero]

I think I'm right in saying that before their work for the Benefits people, the Mysterons first appeared in the feature film 'Thunderbirds Are Go' where a rather tactless crew of the Zero-X spacecraft ( a forerunner of the runway / hypersonic / to orbit idea, on a grand scale ) spoiled their day.

They could presumably see into the Angels' locker room too ...

Can't wait to try those simulations of the G.Anderson craft, someone's obviously been to a lot of trouble ( or like me needs to get out more ) - be interesting to see how Fireflash is at rotate...

As I say I haven't tried these yet, but a critique of TB1 & 2 by Mr Farley would be fascinating - somehow I don't think it's going to happen !

[MoateAir]

Great programmes - all of 'em.

Does anyone remember what 'Thunderbird 6' was? This is one beast that is still in use today. ;)

[diginagain]

Wasn't T6 the tunnel boring machine?

Or am I thinking of the submersible that bore an uncanny resemblence to a Reliant Regal?

[west lakes]

There was a Thunderbird 6 film made (still got it at home on video) It was a





Bi-Plane used to rescue Lady P and others off an atomic powered anti-gravity flying machine when it crashed into a TV/radio mast in Europe




But can't remember what type







But I can check tonight:}






Yes I know - sad git

[AR1]

Boring machine was 'the mole' - no number. T6 was..... an honourary Tbird. Tiger Moth!

[RAF_Techie101]

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u8/Penfold101/27.jpg

Ta Da.....

[diginagain]

:(

Should have paid more attention, instead of swotting.

[Double Zero]

Completely right of course, but it's taken me this long to realise, after a joy-ride a couple of years ago - I can honestly say I've flown in a Thunderbirds aircraft !!!

[Al R]

Star Trek on BBC2 <<early o clock>> came to an end last week, which was a shame. Now we have Jean Luc, or something. (Space and) time though, have allowed us the chance to consider James T's leadership style. I'm not altogether sure it was a good idea to deploy forward onto a barren and uncharted planet with the 2ic, the Execs, no FP AND leaving one's starship in the hands of a Flt Lt nav either. Saturday mornings with the hard drive and watching some great TV will never be the same though.

[BEagle]

But the folks in red shirts were the Enterprise's Rock Apes....

Always a doomed character, a red shirt on Star Trek - they always got taken out by some wily alien.

And being a black guy in a red shirt meant you probably wouldn't make the first advert break on American TV.

[Al R]

Thats very true. The only difference being, the redshirts all seemed to have blank expressions.

[Double Zero]

I think it was an episode of 'Futurama' ( recommended to anyone unfamiliar ) " OK we'll beam down to the surface - you over there, you wear the red shirt "... " Oh, Crap..."

If being seriously nerdy, while not that keen on most later derivatives ( Next Generation was very stilted ) I think the last lot, 'Enterprise' was great with some classic plots + effects ; sod's law they bin it just when they get it right...

[rockridge]

Can anyone explain why the new series of captain scarlet on itv2 in the morning says in the credits at the end "with thanks to Royal Air Force".My son watches it every morning and he would like to know?..cheers.

[SRENNAPS]

Just a possibility:

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafwaddington/aboutus/23squadron.cfm

Read the paragraph about charity

Probably no link what so ever.
Maybe somebody from 23 Sqn could comment.

[wz662]

Another clue might be that in one of the episodes the captain borrows the BBMF Lanc to defeat the Mysterons.

[Al R]

Rock,

Somewhere in this, is a clip of the Lanc.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=287902&highlight=lancaster

edit: 9th post.

[Dan D'air]

Innit tho! Surely that's against your human rights and sh*t, blood. Random.

[thunderbird7]

This Is The Voice Of The Mysterons! Angels Love Honkers Stew!

[aviate1138]

Gerry Anderson's older brother Lionel was in the RAF, a wartime Mosquito pilot. 515 Sqdn - I think part of 100 Group. Clandestine stuff - countermeasures......

Died on active service over Europe. GA was also in the RAF - National Service 1947

[rockridge]

Blimey!,did not realize there was so many possible connections..cheers.Tried explaining to my five year old,but he just stared at me...kids eh!!

[Beatriz Fontana]

Awww, that Lancaster fly past was good, but the Angels air display was better! Thanks for posting that, Al R :)

[Navaleye]

moggie,

That was my kinda prog. Sadly, Ed Bishop, Michael Billington, George Sewell are no longer with us. Straker and Foster died the same week.