Thunderbirds, the complete collection - not the abysmal children's movie from a few summers ago. Rather this is a collection of the Thunderbirds action-adventure television show. It ostensibly starred a family of puppets who went on rescues missions all around the world, but the real stars were the family of vehicles that thundered into action every week. Nothing could make me get up at six in the morning, but as a kid Thunderbirds rousted me out of bed every weekday to check out the spooky emotionless adventures of puppets who shot guns, smoked cigars, and bled a lot. -bohus

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7235 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-07-30
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 12
• Running time: 1728 minutes

Amazon.com
"Filmed in VIDECOLOR [explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax] and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a master class in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a) the show is in color and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, predating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armageddon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishizing gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here.

As for the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audiences' affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (license plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catchphrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood.

The Thunderbirds Mega Set contains 32 complete, uncut, and digitally remastered episodes on 12 DVDs. Bonus features include production stills photo galleries, two original 1965 "The Making of Thunderbirds" featurettes, the History of Thunderbirds, character biographies, and a Gerry Anderson biography/filmography. --Mark Walker

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Customer Reviews

A well earned reputation
Imagine James Bond and Mission Impossible performed by marionettes. Throw in some eye opening and lavish (miniature 1/3 scale puppets) sets, special effects, and a "gee whiz!" attention to detail, and you begin to get an idea of why "Thunderbirds" has such a cult following. The scripts are involving and could just as easily have been performed by live actors with good results. There are enough cool gadgets in this series to please the ten year old boy in every grown up man (I suspect this series is more of a guy thing because relationships take second place to action). There is something else fascinating about this series and that is how seriously the producers, directors, designers took what was essentially a children's puppet show and kept to such high (and unnecessary) standards. This may be partly due to producer Gerry Anderson's frustrated desire to work as a mainstream film director/producer with live actors (he eventually got his wish years later). Seeing marionettes perform in realistic sets, with sophisticated action scripts, and good voice acting is a novel experience that appeals to everyone who has ever had a train set and tried to build a miniature town or city.
I bought this series for my mindless summer vacation viewing and it has been great fun. The DVD transfers are very clean.
This is great family entertainment, summer viewing, father and son get together material. Way to go, Thunderbirds!

...5, 4, 3, 2, 1...the Thunderbirds are go!!!
Wow!...I've just bought this set and I am really thrilled about it!
I've just seen the first DVD and I relived my whole childhood! I remembered lots of details about these first episodes and to be able to watch them again, some 30 (or so) years later is quite an experience!!!
As a kid I was really impressed by all the gadgets in this series: I loved the airplanes, the spaceships, the cars, the architecture. No wonder why I ended up being a car designer! I remember that all of the first ideas for futuristic automobiles that I drew as a kid had double front axles, just like Lady Penelope's Rolls-Royce!
It's amazing that many of the sci-fi ideas displayed in this series still seem fresh after all these years. A lot of effort and creativity went into producing these episodes!
If you were a fan of the Thunderbirds back in the 60's you'll enjoy this set! Buy it, don't hesitate, it's worth every single dollar!
My only dissappointment is that this set comes in only one language: english. Back in the sixties I watched the series translated into spanish since I live and grew up in Mexico, and I miss hearing the voices that I remembered!...

Excellent DVD set, but pricing is all wonky
I can't add to the other excellent reviews by others, but I need to comment on Amazon's pricing of $162 which is only $18 less the Suggested Retail Price. Instead, there are other reputable places where you can buy this must-have DVD set for a more reasonable price. Costco, for instance, lists this set at $90, a far cry from Amazon's $162.