Rating: 
Summary: If you liked Gerry Anderson, you've got to get this!!
Review: I grew up on Thunderbirds and loved every minute of it. To see the shows rendered in DVD quality picture and sound provides an awesome viewing experience, especially if you have surround sound with a good sub-woofer! The explosions and the Thunderbird launches sound incredible. Highly recommended as are all the other Thunderbirds DVDs in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: THUNDERBIRDS to the RESCUE!
Review: I have been a big fan of this U.K. television series from the 1960's for years, and I spent a considerable sum of money just to get the original episodes on VHS imported to the U.S. Some of the prints used for these videos were in bad shape, but I didn't care since this was the only way for me to see them. Not anymore! I got this set (along with a DVD player) as a gift and I must say that I am impressed with the quality of these DVDs (two in the set). The image quality is very crisp and clear and the colors are very vibrant. I have read some reviews where people wished they had digitally removed the puppet strings but I didn't find this to be a major issue. The special features such as the "Making of Thunderbirds" featurette and the gallery of productions stills are great, but I wish there had been some audio commentary and/or video interviews with Gerry Anderson, whom I consider to be the British version of George Lucas. As for the re-mastered soundtrack, you definitely feel the effect of the explosions, but they stand out too much from the rest of the audio (i.e. the volume is really LOUD compared to the other audio elements). I would have preferred hearing the original sound mix, or at least having the option to choose the original sound or the remastered version. Overall, I think Thunderbirds fans will be happy with this set. Hopefully, all of the episodes will be released on DVD in the near future. THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!
Rating:
Summary: THUNDERBIRDS to the RESCUE!
Review: I have been a big fan of this U.K. television series from the 1960's for years, and I spent a considerable sum of money just to get the original episodes on VHS imported to the U.S. Some of the prints used for these videos were in bad shape, but I didn't care since this was the only way for me to see them. Not anymore! I got this set (along with a DVD player) as a gift and I must say that I am impressed with the quality of these DVDs (two in the set). The image quality is very crisp and clear and the colors are very vibrant. I have read some reviews where people wished they had digitally removed the puppet strings but I didn't find this to be a major issue. The special features such as the "Making of Thunderbirds" featurette and the gallery of productions stills are great, but I wish there had been some audio commentary and/or video interviews with Gerry Anderson, whom I consider to be the British version of George Lucas. As for the re-mastered soundtrack, you definitely feel the effect of the explosions, but they stand out too much from the rest of the audio (i.e. the volume is really LOUD compared to the other audio elements). I would have preferred hearing the original sound mix, or at least having the option to choose the original sound or the remastered version. Overall, I think Thunderbirds fans will be happy with this set. Hopefully, all of the episodes will be released on DVD in the near future. THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!
Rating:
Summary: F.A.B!!!
Review: I have been waiting for the American market to get with it and realize what the Brits have known all along -- this show rocks! All right, so our heroes display occasional moral lapses in killing villains (shouldn't Scott be a little bothered with what happens to the Zombites in "The Uninvited," even if they did shoot down TB1?). Still, the subtext of slow-paced geeky technology used pretty methodically to save people's lives is great. And everything looks and sounds wonderful with the new remastering. This show was certainly ahead of its time and absolutely indispensible to those of us who grew up with it. In addition to all of the fun of seeing these episodes again, it's pretty interesting to see where technology has advanced farther than in the Thunderbirds' world and where it still lags far behind. Keep releasing these sets, Carlton and A&E. They're FAB!
Rating:
Summary: Nostalgia is what it used to be
Review: I loved these shows as a kid, so seeing them again thirty years later is very interesting. How much of my values were unconsciously picked up from these shows? (Lady Penelope operating as an independent women, with a male servant no less; the belief that superior technology can get you out of the tightest scrapes, and so on...). As a child the shows seemed perfect, so as I inserted the first disk I wondered how they would look now. I was surprised that the model making and puppet characters still look great. The strings weren't as intrusive as I had feared. The technological forecast was off the mark in some respects, of course. (Tin-Tin is seen using a typewriter, not an iMac!). Some things I appreciate even more now than then. (Barry Gary's music, the Frank Lloyd Wright-esque architecture of Tracy Island.) Equally surprising is that the plots seemed so logical then, but were in fact so full of holes. Why send The Mole down to retrieve Virgil from the Pit of Peril when the helicopter winch would have done? (To show off The Mole, of course!) How could two tiny tracked vehicles pull the 500 ton Sidewinder out of said pit? (They couldn't.) No matter. The shows were and are one of the twin peaks of the Andersons' genius. (UFO was the other.) I hope children a thousand years hence (and adults who loved them when they were children) can watch them and smile too.
Rating:
Summary: It's a pupper thing....
Review: I never realized that my favorite kiddie shows were all done by the same person - T-birds, Fireball XL5, Stingray, etc. This first set is great. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the episodes held up - and how often the ideas have been copied. Yea, the effects are cheesy, the "acting" over the top, and the overall effect campy, but it's 60's TV. It was in COLOR. It was in Supermarionation. It even had sound. And strings. And plenty of fire. What else could a kid ask for? If you even liked the series, you'll enjoy this memory-trip.
Rating:
Summary: Childhood wonder
Review: I received this yesterday and watched episode 1; what a trip. I got set 1 and 2 for my kids to get into. Of course there's no TV during school nights, but I put on the opening credits to episode 2 for my six year old son to sting him for the weekend; the expression on his face when he saw Thunderbird 2 made him forget that there is anything called Digimon..... Saturday morning cannot come fast enough for him. If that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is! Ten out of ten. Keep them coming A and E and thanks for the memories!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: I wish I had children of my own to watch this with
Review: I was so apprehensive about getting this DVD. Childhood memories tend to exagerate things. Adult eyes often strip away the sense of wonder our young eyes used when we saw things at an impresionable age. With that in mind, let me say that I was even more impressed, entertained, and enthralled with these episodes than I had remembered them from back in the '60s. For those who have heard of faulty A&E efforts of the past -- forget it here. These discs are top notch. As one reviewer stated, the sound is so good that it literally had us jump a few times. The video quality makes it look brand new. The strings have been thankfully left in (news from England is that the DVD releases of the two TBird feature films will have the strings removed ---shame!). Please, please, support these releases. Stingray (which I have never seen) is being released on DVD in Europe later this spring....if it follows like the TBirds, we may see them here in a year or so. I imagine sales of these DVDs will help determine that. The only other Anderson shows I have seen were UFO (which I would surely snap up if they were on DVD), and Space:1999, which I never warmed up to because of Laundau and Bain. Two Thunderbird newbies have watched this DVD with me: my 43-year old girlfriend, a VERY jaded TV/movie watcher who loved it (and, in fact, demanded to go through the episodes faster than I preferred); and her 7-year old nephew, who now thinks my place is the coolest spot on Earth....we'll be starting Set #2 this weekend. Seeing this show made me realize why I became an engineer. (P.S. My recommendations to buy do not come easily -- this and set #2 are only the fifth and sixth DVDs I have purchased in over a year of DVD-player ownership).
Rating:
Summary: Campy Fun
Review: In terms of fun, I really love it. The puppet animimation does not distract from the stories, which are in fact, pretty cool. As a 34 year old boy, these stories hearken me back to when I was a 12 year old boy. It is a little bit like the ABC cartoon Reboot, in that you can tell the characters aren't real, but a few minutes after you forget about the drawing or puppets, and start to believe that these people exist. My 11 year old daughter however finds them quit boring, and would rather clean her room that watch them.
Rating:
Summary: Thunderbirds are GO!
Review: It was the 1960s-- Stereotypes still existed, bad guys were obviously bad, good guys were obviously good. The Thunderbirds were obviously good guys, and obviously marionettes. The Anderson special effects are very good, even if some of the underwater scenes were obviously shot through an aquarium! The DVD captures all the nuances of the show, including the strings! (: The plots are at least as good as a James Bond flick. Remember that the Andersons and ITC went on to do UFO and SPACE:1999. The special effects on these live action shows were of the same style as on the Thunderbirds (except the strings were easier to hide in space!). I kept thinking that UFO and SPACE:1999 ought to have splashed the "SUPERMARIONATION" logo on the screen!
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