THUNDERBIRDS UNSEEN: Uncovering Lost Thunderbirds Footage (Behind the Scenes Documentary)

[@randlerobbertson8792]

Little did the people know , I.e. those who worked on Thunderbirds, what a truly wonderful legacy they were leaving behind. I and thousands, millions more maybe, of other sixty somethings grew up - influenced by these wonderful adventures in creativity and escapism.

[@charlessampson6426]

As a lifelong fan of all the series, this is fascinating content, may I just say you and your team are doing sterling work and long may you remain staunchly expert in your convictions and maintain this historic Archive for future generations. Congratulations and thank you for sharing.

[@iandeeley9033]

Hopefully, these versions will be released on Blu Ray next year! FAB!

[@F_B19]

I really hope we get these unseen version of these thunderbirds episodes in a 4k bluray collectors edition for the 60th anniversary.

[@alanclarke4646]

You're doing a BRILLIANT job preserving all this footage. ❤

[@Dave_Cymru]

I was there and remember it so vividly! Thank you so much for posting this!

[@nigeldewallens1115]

it never fails to amaze me at what you can find, after all these years! I hope I can say keep looking please! As I, like others, young kids were kids back then! Thank you for what you are doing Now!!

[@Fidd88-mc4sz]

Thankyou, Thunder-nerds!

[@florianfranken]

Thank you for sharing this with us. Loved every minute of this edit, the unseen shots, the music. Amazing!

[@jyvben1520]

yeah the music is fab

[@marcusdirk]

Once again your dedication and attention to detail unearth some true gems!

[@portland-182]

The end of Eddie's puppet size charge is an old style red BIC pen cap, without the safety hole introduced in the late 70s

[@WedgePee]

You can see BIC Cristals in The Perils of Penelope.

[@Heavy-Metal-Spike]

DAMN - you guys are SO gifted. The process of restoration alone shows how capable you are - let alone your research talents and ability to create WILDLY entertaining videos. I wish this "theme" of videos could have gone on forever! Well-done to all of you that worked so hard on this "playlist".

[@jackmessent3490]

Absolutely fascinating!

[@nigelcarren]

Very interesting indeed! All rather wholesome knowing there is still treasure to be found out there. 🚀🇬🇧🎬

[@dcallan812]

Used to have most of the Thunderbird diecast toys and love the show still. Joe 90 was also one I watched all the time. Thanks for bringing back some fond memory's from my childhood in the (born 65)

[@TheDunc1]

Fantastic. Great to know this footage is in safe hands.

[@mikehindson-evans159]

Simply fascinating; having seen the first episode when transmitted originally; thanks for enhancing my lifelong enjoyment of this series.

[@scofair5551]

Amazing. Great work, Steven. Thank you for sharing.

[@highpath4776]

same in the music industry, acetates, demos, studio talkback, copy tapes all show differences of thought to the final product. much has been lost and trashed, even if you have it its having the time and knowledge to present it in a meaningful way

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

Incredible detail anda fascinating forensic journey, great work chaps I look forward to the next report.

[@grimplays3781]

the thing i always wondered about even as a kid from trapped in the sky...... power to fly for another 6 months..... but everyone will be dead in less than 3 hours. they REALLY needed to invest in better radiation shielding lol but seriously i love all the footage you were able to get from these reels and when you consider the age and the cost of film back in the day. imagine if this much film from old Dr who episodes were found in one go, thats the one that normaly gets all the attention.

[@HappyDude1]

And I don't think they have food and drinks for 6 months 😅

[@grimplays3781]

@@HappyDude1 see now that could of been the emergency! 'we have americans onboard and the foods about to run out we need to land now!'

[@HappyDude1]

@grimplays3781 It doesn't sound as exciting as the nuclear reactor shields are going to fail

[@kaitlyn__L]

Yeah that always struck me as silly. It’s probably based on how nuclear subs and icebreakers only needed to be refuelled every few years (and scaled down a bit for the weight of a plane), but given everything else saving even more weight with, say, weekly refuels might be more sensible.

[@grimplays3781]

@@kaitlyn__L yeah that makes sense. i guess it stands out where its 6 months fuel but 3 hours shields. just to big a gap i guess. but hey it made it nice and exciting even if it made less sense.

[@justliam2768]

This is exciting stuff. What a find! You just never know what gems might be lurking in a shed or a loft somewhere, still waiting to be found. Excellent work to all concerned.

[@goldwingman1500]

Greatest Show ever Made.❤

[@DJ-ct6so]

Very interesting background. Many thanks for posting.

[@clivestuarteardley6049]

Fascinating stuff

[@stephenholmes1036]

Thank you , have you anything with Derek Meddings in?

[@quillerpen]

I can only echo the earlier comments - you and your team are doing a brilliant job here

[@johnclay7644]

great documentary.

[@pascallefevre1148]

[insert between "VHS" and "DVD"] ...I've have seen them on Laser Disc (dual language Japanese edition)

[@brianrobinson2962]

Just awesome well done thanks for bringing the missing footage

[@curry1457-d5u]

Bring back the PUPPETS ! So cleaver how these where made, so much detail and preparation. PS Wish there could have been more 😔

[@marksaunderson3042]

TYVM. Worth every second.

[@shamus2503]

Amazing, thank you!

[@cedarcam]

Fantastic work by you guys It must of taken hours to go through all the reels . Looking forward to seeing more.

[@petesmodelcarcustoms584]

That was really interesting 👍thanks👍😎Pete 🤓

[@buttonmoon1099]

This is fasinating stuff. It looks like an awful lot of work that needs doing. But you are all doing a fabulous job of preserving this important piece of history. Judging by what you said about the state of some of the films. It sounds as if you've found them just in time. I dont know how long films can last. But I think they could be in a much worse state after another year. Keep up the good work.👍

[@J_alex_day]

Wow, fantastic!!!!

[@ontheroadaustralia-soleman1911]

Fantastic.

[@highpath4776]

I;m as interested in the cans themselves and the original and covered over and with labels, the print styles can give date clues along with the typescipt - who typed them, would like a full 21 can "box opening" vid showing them in (really any order - along with what was really in them )

[@st0rmforce]

Wow. Twenty toucans had all that film?

[@OranjeBlanjeBlue]

Well, there are some Thunderbird scenes that are “unseen” by me and many other “die-hard” Thunderbird fans, loyal since the 60’s ……and that’s the NEW episodes that were made by Century21 and could only be seen on expensive or “unreachable” foreign channels or can be bought for a small fortune on Ebay……..so how about unlocking those for all those Thunderbird-nerds that are still out there……😢

[@century21films28]

@@OranjeBlanjeBlue They are on ITV X in the UK.

[@redengine4433]

@@century21films28 Fair enough, but me being a man from russia, it is rather troublesome to watch Thunderbirds legally my only option is to watch reuploads from youtube, or worst pirate them

[@markclawrie007]

What on earth are you on about... Even before they were free to view on itvx, have you any idea how expensive it is to make these shows and it's just the same as buying a VHS in the old days and a damned sight cheaper

[@alancrisp1582]

​@@markclawrie007Funny that you should mention the VHS 📼 format. And how expensive to buy when knew. Well to today they are worth absolutely nothing, you can not even give them away !....

[@highpath4776]

@@alancrisp1582 I got a full set of the Carlton branded ones from Sainsburys when they were flogging them off, no idea where I put them , always useful if you have the time for doing fanmade stuff though.

[@martintownley5163]

Loved the unseen Pit of Peril clips. You were quite correct with Perils of Penelope completed second,working on every series CD releases and having all Barry's notes to hand one thing is consistent in every case ie: we never heard a cue in an episode that had been scored later ,Perils of Penelope was indeed the second episode completed and indeed the second episode scored,It could not possibly be Pit Of Peril as part of a Perils of Penelope cue appears in Pit Of Peril.This helped tremendously. Also the conversation of Jeff Tracy in part 1 of Pit of Peril and other take ups were filmed during or after The Impostors. Anyway keep up the good work they are still very interesting.

[@century21films28]

@@martintownley5163 What we’re trying to show is that having made all the individual components is not actually the same as being finished. Terror in New York City has a short piece of music from Desperate Intruder for instance - so alterations were made later.

[@borusa32]

Fab job.

[@fernandocalmet5158]

Thanks all of you. I was 7or 8 years maybe, when i got Thunderbirds first time in an old black and white TV.

[@jumpstar9000]

It's amazing what International Rescue had to go through to protect the planet all those years ago. Amazing find this rare footage and amazing restoration!! One day we will know the complete truth! 🚀

[@redengine4433]

Im still waiting for SunProbe

[@SingleRacerSVR]

I can't recall which film it was - but I strongly remember a scene in one of the STAR WARS movies, where a Fleet Carrier came in to land with all the troupes aboard. And even though it was a smaller ship in the scheme of things (enough to carry say 20-50 guards), it seemed very powerful in the way it came in to land. It hit me right then, that I always wished that a director like Peter Jackson (KING KONG) would do a powerful & very serious version with human actors, to create a powerful action movie of The Thunderbirds. But of course - I fully understand that even if they wanted too - getting the rights to the Thunderbirds is probably not a reality?

[@geraintwilliams531]

FAB-ulous!!

[@Cashpots]

I wonder if you know that the audio for Thunderbirds was all made on second hand mag stock from the BBC Ealing studios? I know because I was a junior film recordist and in slack times was responsible for wiping the mag before it went off to Century 21 - in a taxi no less! It was all piled out of doors along with Dr Who outtakes for disposal (but that is another sad story) Just thought you might be interested.

[@century21films28]

@@Cashpots No we didn’t know that! Why couldn’t the BBC reuse it?!

[@macronencer]

All this stuff was being made around the time I was. It was so weird to hear you say "April 1965" and realise that I was born a few weeks later :)

[@JONNOG88]

Just like me when I watch the first series of Red Dwarf. Since it would have been first broadcast. The very week I was born. First week of February 1988🙂

[@williamk3702]

Love this. What's this about an international credit sequence? Please upload!

[@jameslong3509]

Was the Slough Estate building thoroughly cleared out before it was closed? Could there be a vault where things were stored and perhaps left for years? Job for Parker. And/or could someone at ITC have kept copies of rejected prints and possibly stored them in their vaults?

[@Dustypye]

Good to see a Low Band Pye Handy Cambridge radio telephone in the shot of the Director with the aircraft, you can't get any more 1960s than that!

[@highpath4776]

sounds like there may be other export prints about (presumably same as UK broadcast but might have some changes)

[@century21films28]

@@highpath4776 Highly unlikely to be export prints which are in free circulation.

[@gregorydotson6776]

It is smashing !!!

[@masterbondofox8982]

Now if we could find the missing "Twizzle" episodes, and whatever happened to the "Terrahawks" gear sold off or disposed of as unclaimed from the storage locker, that would be amazing!

[@MagnusPaul1976]

How many episodes of Thunderbirds were produced in total ? The reason I am asking is, I bought the Blu-ray Box Set 19 years ago and wondered if I may have episodes missing and or not in order of production and broadcast dates...

[@jameslong3509]

32. 26 in S1 (1965-66) and 6 in S2 (1966).

[@MagnusPaul1976]

@jameslong3509 Thank you. 👍

[@luckykennedy7364]

For film prints that were literally stored in a shed for God knows how many years the audio on them has aged better than the audio tracks on Dragonball's film prints.

[@MirlitronOne]

Wow. Sixty years on, and I have only just noticed that the masks used by The Hood as disguises are circling under the statue of Kyrano! Are there different formats for the optical soundtracks, or are they just differences in how you choose to display them?

[@scottl.1568]

Sweet! 😅

[@GaryB007]

What software do you use to edit and grade the transferred footage?

[@physicswithpark3r-x3x]

the infamous Alan gets lucky scene from Thunderbirds Are Go

[@DJ-ct6so]

The eps 'Trapped in the Sky' and 'Perils of Penelope' are the only 2 that lack the episode subtitle during the first couple of minutes of the episode. That always made me wonder whether they were the earliest 2 to be produced. At one point I suspected that 'Sun Probe' was made before 'Perils of Penelope', as the latter contains a subset of the footage of the Sun Probe rocket launch. Also, there's a model of TB2 that's used in all of the TB2 launch sequences that has the small '2' (same size as the text 'THUNDERBIRD') displayed up near the craft's nose. This model was used in the destruction of TB2 when it was engulfed by flames upon returning to base during the ep 'Terror in New York City' (the ep's storyline has it accidentally shot down by a missile attack from the US Navy). This episode was supposedly filmed before the large number that (apart from the stock footage of TB2's launch) no longer show this distinctive 'THUNDERBIRD 2' logo. Hence I believe that it's possible to use this info to ascertain which eps were filmed before, and which were filmed after, 'Terror in New York City'. The production order (which differs significantly from the order of transmission) is apparently shown here: www.clivebanks.co.uk/Thunderbirds%20Timeline.htm although I don't know where this site got its information from. The transmission order in New Zealand (where I live) in 1966 was as follows: 1. Trapped in the Sky, 2. Pit of Peril, 3. City of Fire, 4. Sun Probe, 5. The Uninvited, 6. The Mighty Atom, 7. Vault of Death, 8. Operation Crash Dive, 9. Move and You're Dead, 10. Martian Invasion, 11. Brink of Disaster, 12. The Perils of Penelope, 13. Terror in NYC, 14. End of the Road, 15. Day of Disaster, 16. Edge of Impact, 17. Desperate Intruder, 18. Thirty Minutes after Noon, 19. The Impostors, 20. The Man from MI5, 21. Cry Wolf, 22. Danger at Ocean Deep, 23. The Duchess Assignment, 24. Attack of the Alligators, 25. The Cham-cham, 26. Security Hazard And then series 2,screened here during 1968 (when I was 6 years old !!): 27. Atlantic Inferno, 28. Path of Destruction, 29. Alias Mr Hackenbacker, 30. Lord Parker's 'oliday, 31. Ricochet, 32. Give or Take a Million We watched in B&W as we didn't get color TV here until circa 1975 !!

[@century21films28]

We are running a whole KZbin series at the moment about why a ‘production order’ is almost impossible to arrive at. The Perils of Penelope is the second episode to be completed, but was the 12th to enter production. Look up Thunderbirds Unseen and you can see what info exists :)

[@SierraNovemberKilo]

What a cliff hanger......

[@julianwalls1077]

I wonder if here in New Zealand our Tv1 channel originally Nz Broadcasting Corp has old reels of Thunderbirds. I do know they have most of original issues lost in the Uk of DR Who. In uk the reels of episode's were reused because of the expence and many of early episodes are now lost copies of the original reels or print were send to New Zealand and Australia!😮

[@RickVG02]

4:26 Gerry's Birmingham print of the Cham-Cham be like: "Ark at that, those Cass Carnaby muckers be wicked, that's what."

[@zakstarkys5789]

I have a can from Pit Of Peril (empty sadly) but it has information on its labels. Are these empty cans of any use to projects like yours or just pieces of memorabilia which is the reason I bought it? I have mentioned this to others who also have several empty labeled cans. Collectively they may hold vital missing info.

[@century21films28]

We’d be interested in seeing it - but it’s possible it’s a negative can we sold years ago after we liberated it from ITV. Could we see a picture? You can contact us via our website. Now we know of an alternative Pit of Peril, the can might be more interesting than we originally realised!

[@jamescoxall322]

Where can I watch the anniversary thunderbirds episodes you made

[@jamescoxall322]

Fantastic amount of effort you have made on these videos it's amazing

[@highpath4776]

Do you have all of the vinyl records made and all the TV21 comics of the 1960s (and other printed collectibles?) I think you made some new audio series using stills from them but also wondered if other comic strip features were syndicated or mentioned in other books or comics (and annuals - I had a TV21 annual from Fleetway but think I sold it)

[@curry1457-d5u]

I thought there was enough footage to make Pit of Peril ?.

[@Matt571]

What does Sponsors Message mean? I remember episodes of The Secret Service shown in a cinema in Wolverhampton just before the videos came out and they had Sponsors Message as well. They were shown because there was a big Anderson exhibition at Wolverhampton art gallery in the early 90s

[@century21films28]

@@Matt571 It’s where the adverts go.

[@glennqualters7377]

😍

[@northcoastnoise]

I wonder why Scott Tracy didn't pilot Thunderbird 1 in Perils of Penelope. Perhaps a technical problem was behind the decision to put Scott on vacation? Problems with the Marionette while filming the action scenes?

[@AimeeSchwartz-l2c]

Great content, as always! Just a quick off-topic question: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). How can I transfer them to Binance?