This article discusses tie-ins for Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films (later Century 21 Productions).
Since its first broadcast in 1965, Thunderbirds has generated more than 3,000 tie-in products. These include episode novelisations, children's toys and video games. By 1966, Century 21 had granted merchandise licences to over 120 companies and turnover from these licensees was roughly £6 million (or £ million in ). In 1995, sales in Japan totalled approximately £60 million a year (or £ million in ).
For a discussion of screen and audio adaptations of Thunderbirds, as well as imitations and references in various media, see Works based on Thunderbirds.
Audio plays
From 1965 to 1967, Century 21 Records released 19 Thunderbirds audio plays on 7-inch, 33 RPM, vinyl EP records (promoted as "mini-albums").Bentley 2008, p. 100.Bentley 2008, p. 349.
Books Between 1966 and 1967, eight original Thunderbirds novels were written by John William Jennison (four under the pseudonym "John Theydon") and Kevin McGarry. Three of the novels focus on the character of Lady Penelope. In 1992, Corgi Books published four children's novelisations by Dave Morris.
Joan Marie Verba
In 2008, Minnesota-based FTL Publications, in association with Diamond Comic Distributors, launched a new series of original novels by Joan Marie Verba. Verba had attempted to obtain the licence as early as 2004, while Carlton Television was in the process of merging with ITV Granada. After waiting several months, she contacted Granada, and after three years of discussions FTL Publications was finally granted the licence in 2007. It was the first licence for Thunderbirds titles to be given to an American publisher, and the books constitute the first new, official series of Thunderbirds novels to be written since the 1960s. Countdown to Action, published in June 2008, reveals the founding of International Rescue, exploring the establishment of the organisation and the construction of its machines. The other books highlight the individual Tracy brothers, as well as Brains.
List of novels and novelisations Year published Title Author Publisher ISBN Plot / Notes 1966 Thunderbirds "John Theydon"(John W. Jennison) Armada Books Unknown When a mysterious meteorite lands in the Gobi Desert, Scott Tracy and the Hood are overpowered by an extraterrestrial intelligence. Reprinted as Thunderbirds 1: Thunderbirds in 1989 (Titan Books, ).Bentley 2005, p. 109. Reprinted as Thunderbirds: Terror from the Stars in 2021. 1966 Calling Thunderbirds "John Theydon" Armada Books Unknown Lady Penelope and her cousin are kidnapped by a Peruvian explorer and the Hood, who are both seeking to recover ancient Inca treasure. Reprinted as Thunderbirds 2: Calling Thunderbirds in 1990 (Titan Books, ).Bentley 2005, p. 110. 1966 Thunderbirds: Operation Asteroids John W. Jennison World Distributors Unknown A rescue mission to the Moon is hi-jacked by the Hood; he returns to Earth in Thunderbird 3, holding Lady Penelope, Brains and Tin-Tin hostage and plotting to attack major cities from orbit with nuclear devices.Bentley 2005, p. 111. 1966 Thunderbirds: Lost World John W. Jennison World Distributors Unknown On New Guinea, Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Tin-Tin are abducted by descendants of a lost but scientifically advanced tribe allied with the Hood, who intends to wreak havoc with the natives' anti-gravity technology.Bentley 2005, p. 112. 1966 Lady Penelope: Cool for Danger Kevin McGarry World Distributors Unknown Lady Penelope and Parker are embroiled in the initial stages of a coup in the European state of Revonia, in part triggered by Penelope's arch-enemy Mr Steelman's desire for world domination.Bentley 2005, p. 113. 1966 Lady Penelope: A Gallery of Thieves Kevin McGarry World Distributors Unknown Mr Steelman's latest scheme is to hold the galleries of the world to ransom by stealing unique works of art and replacing them with counterfeits. 1966 Thunderbirds: Ring of Fire "John Theydon" Armada Books Unknown Following a rescue at a disintegrating nuclear power station, Thunderbird 1 is caught in a volcanic eruption; the nuclear explosion has furthermore opened a fissure in the Earth's crust, threatening widespread destruction.Bentley 2005, p. 114. 1966 Thunderbirds Are Go Angus P. Allan Armada Books Unknown Novelisation of the film Thunderbirds Are GoBentley 2005, p. 97. 1967 Lady Penelope: The Albanian Affair "John Theydon" Armada BooksCentury 21 Publishing Unknown Lady Penelope's mission to pursue a reporter who has photographed the Thunderbirds machines is complicated by the involvement of a criminal organisation intent on selling the images to a rogue Balkan state.Bentley 2005, p. 115. 1992 Sun Probe Dave Morris Young Corgi Novelisation of the TV episode "Sun Probe" 1992 The Uninvited Dave Morris Young Corgi Novelisation of the TV episode "The Uninvited" 1992 Brink of Disaster Dave Morris Young Corgi Novelisation of the TV episode "Brink of Disaster" 1992 Atlantic Inferno Dave Morris Young Corgi Novelisation of the TV episode "Atlantic Inferno" 2008 Countdown To Action! Joan Marie Verba FTL Publications The origins of International Rescue. Central character: Jeff Tracy. 2008 Action Alert! Joan Marie Verba FTL Publications Central character: Scott Tracy 2009 Deadly Danger! Joan Marie Verba FTL Publications Central character: Virgil Tracy 2010 Situation: Critical! Joan Marie Verba FTL Publications Central character: John Tracy 2011 Extreme Hazard! Joan Marie Verba FTL Publications Central character: Gordon Tracy 2012 Danger Zone! Joan Marie Verba FTL Publications Central character: Alan Tracy 2012 Arctic Adventure Anthony Taylor FTL Publications Central character: Brains
Comics
A comic strip featuring the characters of Lady Penelope and Parker, set prior to their joining International Rescue, debuted in the first weekly issues of AP Films Publishing's children's title TV Century 21 in early 1965, several months prior to the first broadcast of "Trapped in the Sky".Bentley 2005, p. 104. A full-length "Thunderbirds" strip debuted in the comic's 51st issue, published in January 1966.Archer and Hearn, p. 135. Originally written by editor and Thunderbirds TV scriptwriter Alan Fennell, this mostly replaced the "Lady Penelope" strip, which moved to a sister comic of the same name. The "Thunderbirds" strip, illustrated by Frank Bellamy, was the centrepiece of TV Century 21 (re-branded TV 21 in January 1968) for 186 issues and 30 serials, until October 1969. At their peak, combined weekly sales of TV Century 21 and Lady Penelope in the 1960s numbered 1.3 million. In 1966, Thunderbirds featured as a strip in the Daily Mail.Archer, p. 21.
A Thunderbirds Annual was published by Century 21 Publishing from 1966 to 1968, and a Lady Penelope version until 1969.Bentley 2005, p. 108. Thunderbirds also appeared in the parent TV Century 21/TV 21 annual until 1969; the same year, a joint Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds annual was released. Starting in October 1991, the Bellamy-illustrated strips, as well as some that had first appeared in Lady Penelope, were reprinted in Fleetway Publications' fortnightly Thunderbirds: The Comic.Archer and Hearn, p. 260. Again edited by Fennell, this new title had a 30-month publication run and achieved peak sales of 90,000 or 100,000 copies. Reprints had previously appeared in Polystyle Publications' Countdown and Thunderbirds Holiday Special series in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1992, Ravette Books reprinted 13 strips in a graphic album series.
Games In 1985, the first Thunderbirds video game was released for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. The player pilots Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 2 to explore an Egyptian-style labyrinth. In 1989, Grandslam Entertainment released a game for the Commodore 64 and Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, MSX, and ZX Spectrum. A NES version was released by Activision the following year. In 1993, a game for Super Famicom, subtitled Kokusou Kyuujotai Shutsudou Seyo!, was released in Japan. SCi Games published a Game Boy Color title in 2000. The following year, it released a collection of Microsoft Windows themes and screensavers titled "F.A.B Action Pack", as well as Thunderbirds: International Rescue for the Game Boy Advance. In 2004, a second Game Boy Advance title was released by Vivendi Universal Games. A new Thunderbirds video game was released in Europe for the PlayStation 2 in July 2007; the North American release was cancelled.
In 2015, a co-operative Thunderbirds board game, designed by Matt Leacock, was released to coincide with the series' 50th anniversary. The game was published by Modiphius Entertainment and three expansion sets were released in 2016.
Home video The 1980s and 1990s saw a number of Thunderbirds VHS releases by PolyGram and its subsidiary, Channel 5 Video Distribution. These proved to be a significant commercial success for Channel 5.Bentley 2005, p. 117. Due to rights concerns, not all episodes were released unedited; some were issued in the "Super Space Theater" format, for which pairs of thematically similar episodes had been combined to create double-length compilation films for US broadcast syndication. The compilations were: Thunderbirds to the Rescue (combining "Trapped in the Sky" and "Operation Crash-Dive"), Thunderbirds in Outer Space ("Sun Probe" and "Ricochet") and Countdown to Disaster ("Terror in New York City" and "Atlantic Inferno"). The videos opened with a brief introduction by Parker, informing the viewer of other Gerry Anderson video releases. Volume 12 contained a selection of Lyons Maid advertisements featuring characters from the Anderson productions, and Volume 14 a "Making of Thunderbirds" featurette.
Upon its acquisition of the brand in 1999, Carlton International Media commenced work on remastering Thunderbirds for the first Region 2 DVD releases.Bentley 2008, p. 117. Dolby 5.1 surround sound was added, and the existing picture and mono sound cleaned up with the aid of digital restoration and noise reduction technology. In addition, the original soundtrack was enhanced with the insertion of new sound effects and background foley (mainly explosions, aircraft and other mechanical noise, and vocal echo).
Region 1 DVDs were released by North American distributor A&E Home Video in 2001, with a "Complete Series" box set following in 2002; it was re-released in slimmer packaging in 2008. The same year, Thunderbirds was released, both in instalments and as a box set, on Blu-ray Disc in the UK. The region-free version distributed in Region B presents episodes in a vertically panned and scanned, 16:9 aspect ratio; a Japanese set, released by Geneon Universal in 2013, restores the original 4:3 picture. In 2015, Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory (through their deal with ITV) released the complete series on DVD and Blu-ray in the US with the episodes in their original full-screen ratio).
UK releases The following is not an exhaustive list.