Thunderbirds are Go

Roger Ramjet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZIjT3S7wvc

AMF Wen-Mac commercial:

Thunderbirds was a favourite of mine but preceding that (and when TV ownership was rare, black and white and 405 lines - only two channels!) was "Torchy the Battery Boy"



and Supercar!



Being B&W they would probably not have made it to the USA even though this was the very early sixties. My parents didn't get a colour TV until 1970 and, even then, it was rented - they cost a fortune in those days! But 625 lines - none of this pixel digital stuff these days. All analogue.

"The 405-line monochrome analogue television broadcasting system was the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting.

It was introduced with the BBC Television Service in 1936, suspended for the duration of World War II, and remained in operation in the UK until 1985. It was also used between 1961 and 1982 in Ireland, as well as from 1957 to 1973 for the Rediffusion Television cable service in Hong Kong.

Sometimes called the Marconi-EMI system, it was developed in 1934 by the EMI Research Team led by Sir Isaac Shoenberg. The figure of 405 lines had been chosen following discussions over Sunday lunch at the home of Alan Blumlein. The system used interlacing; EMI had been experimenting with a 243 line all-electronic interlaced system since 1933. In the 405 system the scanning lines were broadcast in two complementary fields, 50 times per second, creating 25 frames per second. The actual image was 377 lines high and interlaced, with additional unused lines making the frame up to 405 lines to give the slow circuitry time to prepare for the next frame; in modern terms it would be described as 377i.

At the time of its introduction the 405-line system was referred to as "high definition", which it was compared to earlier systems, although of lower definition than 625-line and later standards.

In November 1969 BBC1 and ITV also started broadcasting in 625-line PAL colour on UHF. As their programming was now entirely produced using the new standard, the 405-line broadcasts served only as a rebroadcast in monochrome for people who did not have the newer receivers. Thereafter, receivers were of a simpler single standard design which could not receive the legacy 405 line transmissions.

One reason for the long switchover period was the difficulty in matching the coverage level of the new UHF 625 line service with the very high level of geographic coverage achieved with the 405-line VHF service.

The last 405-line transmissions were seen on 3 January 1985, in Scotland, having been shut down one day earlier in the rest of the UK. This left only the UHF PAL system in operation in the UK."

I remember the Thunderbirds. I loved that show. I used to watch it every morning before school back in the late 60's. I found a few episodes on DVD at the Dollar store last year and picked them up. Oh to be a kid again!

Flash Gordon!! They were still running tese in the late 50s I was there ..     and Buck Rogers ...     are these Cox or Wen Mac ?// Then Kung Fu Theater !!! The days of NO worrying just FUN!!!

Seeing the Thunderbirds, I remember a very similar format which was Captain Scarlet. I couldn't wait to get home to watch it.

Ok, here's one i used to watch, it was so bad, it was good.

Ken Cook wrote:          Seeing the Thunderbirds, I remember a very similar format which was Captain Scarlet. I couldn't wait to get home to watch it.

Anderson's first television production was the 1957 Roberta Leigh children's series The Adventures of Twizzle. Supercar (1961–62) and Fireball XL5 (1962) followed later, both series breaking into the US television market in the early 1960s. In the mid-1960s Anderson produced his most successful series, Thunderbirds. Other television productions of the 1960s include Stingray and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

Stingray was 1964/65 it was 1968/69 when Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons came out and I was of an age where Monty Python was the thing to watch. I also wouldn't get home in time for childrens TV.

Stingray --- "Anything can happen in the next half hour!" --- has stuck with me all my life.

Loved the old Buck Rogers serials on Saturday mornings. My favorite serial was "Tailspin Tommy" that was set in the 1920's and used many WWI biplanes and he always escaped certain death to fly another week in old ragged stick and canvas aircraft.
The early 50's TV sets were so crude and B&W that you would be happy to get the thing to pick up one of the 3 stations on the air.
The stations all signed off at Midnight with the National Anthem and did test pattern from 6:00AM to 7:00AM with the Indian Chief image to "tune" the set for another day..
Just remembered "Major Domo" in a sci-fi space show but can't remember if it was it's own show or part of "Howdy Doody" and Buffalo Bob ?

This is cool, thanks for the entertainment. Unfortunately this morning I watched the first trailer and got sidetracked by multiple Apollo-fake videos. Made me sick to my stomach and I closed the browser. Our population is completely ate up with stupid. And ignorance.

I plan to get back to the fun stuff later.
Rusty

watertrucker wrote:I remember the Thunderbirds. I loved that show. I used to watch it every morning before school back in the late 60's. I found a few episodes on DVD at the Dollar store last year and picked them up. Oh to be a kid again!

Me too!!!!!!!!! It was a very cool show.. and so different from anything else. It wasn't animation.. but it wasn't real people either. Rod's OP brought back a lot of memories. I wonder if any of the models used, still survive somewhere today?

Coolness..

http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/thunderbirds-are-go-170302502/

Great thread!!. I never saw the series on television in Belgium but I remember the cars as a kid because they were made by Dinky Toys. I still have the Captain Scarlet Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle in the original box with spare missile and also the white Maximum Security Vehicle. Being a kid I didn't know they came from a television series. I thought they just looked cool. I've always fancied the pink Roller but never got it!!

roddie wrote:Me too!!!!!!!!! It was a very cool show.. ............

Really, it was on TV here??? I have no recollection of it. I don't know how I could've missed it. Oh well, thanks to Youtube it's never too late.
Rusty

Man did I miss a LOT
Born 55
No real memory cogent before age 4

In 1959 I distinctly remember helping dad build a McCoy 29/or maybe 35, ignition powered Ring Master and wearing my own Army Fatigues for a family day on White Sands for a Wac Coporal and Nike Hurcules firing

When dad was in Korea early 60s we were staying with grandparents in Oakland CA and NO TV
When we went to Formosa 61~1964 no TV
When we returned and station in Joliet Ill-- B&W TV but really only remember "The Invaders", and maybe "Drag Net" or "twilight Zone" and I am sure after school the Annette Funechelo Show AKA Mickey Mouse Club
18 months Time In IRAN was TV Free

1967~1969 Time in Minnesota was B&W TV still

BUT all of us, including mom and dad, had so many outside activities there was very very little TV watching so 1967 to 1971 is NOT at all memorable to me..much too busy fishing, playing hockey, camping, kissing the occasional HS girl...wonder if I ever would wash my finger...oppps... back to deer and dove hunting... I swear for many many years of my youth there really was not much time to fritter away in front of the boob-tube ... Active army dad.. stay home mom...5 and then 6 kids... church and school activities

If I ever actually watched the loony-toons it was going to or coming in from outside play

Watching these very cheesy cartoon, stop motion puppet, or clay stuff is intellectually/historically interesting but I, at age 62 now, and invested in a Lot of high end video and sound stuff...

Well I Have NO nostalgic frame of reference

So for me...the OLD skool analog music is so much better than today compressed and digitized stuff
Thus, I find it ironic that the Old skool video crap is just that--- for ME...no offense intended

Please Lord can you influence a bit of my tax dollars to eventually bring FIOS at 500GBs to my rural micro ranch

OK oK Boss..I would be happy with just 3Mpbs down... this daily existence at 736Kbps is killing me....