Bring The Magic Home!: The Story Of ITC's Carlton Video Home Entertainment

6 - THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

I know many people who cite Thunderbirds are the greatest television series of all time. Indeed, Thunderbirds stands as a timeless masterpiece that has been able to thrill audiences for over 50 years - and it's pretty clear, or those who already know, that Thunderbirds is my favourite TV series ever except for Doctor Who. My love and passion for the show is pretty obvious, and have already expressed my deepest passion towards the show (and many other ITC series). Of all the ITC series from Carlton, Thunderbirds was the best treated out of all of the shows. Carlton had begun to remaster the series in 1999, with Gerry Anderson as restoration consultant. The picture quality had been cleaned up by a team by BBC Resources as Chris Bentley described in The Complete Book Of Thunderbirds, "Thunderbirds had never looked or sounded so good!", and Carlton improved the sound quality of the mono soundtrack. A new Dolby 5.1 Surround sound mix was added, enhancing the music and sound effects such as explosions and aircraft sounds. This would be the first series from Carlton to have been digitally remastered by the company for release. By late 2000, Carlton would have released the entire series on video and DVD.

This would be accompanied by a new wave of Thunderbirds mania once again, as BBC2 would begin to air the series once more. Starting with the first episode on Sunday 3rd September at 17:25. The airing of the episodes would mainly follow the ITC Recommended broadcast order and original production order. Attack Of The Alligators! and Path Of Destruction aired much earlier in the run following a train disaster that meant The Perils Of Penelope and Brink Of Disaster had to be held back for a few weeks. The repeat run would last well into 2001, and these prints would air again on BBC2 in 2003, 2005, and 2006. To accompany this new wave of Thunderbirds mania, a whole new set of merchandise from Carlton became available. From annuals, sticker books,  jigsaw puzzles and storybooks to reference books like the excellent The Complete Book Of Thunderbirds, Cross-sections books, soundtrack releases, calendars, colouring books, and a new Thunderbirds video game in the form of GameBoy Colour, released December 2000. The Carlton website even launched its own Thunderbirds site, as it would do for many other ITC series, particularly the Gerry Anderson ones.

Some of my favourite pieces of merchandise of Thunderbirds, the Carlton era, and some of my favourite toys ever are the Thunderbirds toys from the early 2000s.