Anderson Entertainment and Kaleidoscope Entertainment (who?) have announced a big-screen experience for, like, five remaining fans of that British sci-fi thing, Thunderbirds, to mark its 60th Anniversary. 🎉 Sixty years? Good grief, were people even alive back then? This cinematic double-bill (because one episode isn’t enough to bore you to tears 😴) brings together two of the most “iconic” (their words, not mine) episodes ever made: TRAPPED IN THE SKY (spoiler alert: they get out) and TERROR IN NEW YORK CITY (more like mild inconvenience in a slightly larger-than-average city 🙄). The double-bill will be in UK cinemas (because nowhere else would dare), in expertly restored stunning 4K UHD (because apparently puppets need that level of detail 🤷), from 20th September.
Bursting with action (if you consider slightly jerky puppet movements action), suspense (will they ever get out of that papier-mâché volcano? 🌋), and Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s groundbreaking Supermarionation (aka, “let’s see how many strings we can attach to these things”), these fan favourites (who are these “fans,” exactly?) showcase International Rescue at its very best—combining daring rescues (of badly rendered cardboard cutouts), stunning model work (mostly held together with glue and hope 🙏), and unforgettable characters (because you can’t forget something that haunts your nightmares 👻).
Trapped In the Sky – The first episode of classic of Thunderbirds. Master criminal the Hood (sounds like a villain from a nursery rhyme) plants a bomb on board the new atomic-powered airliner Fireflash before it departs on its maiden flight. Unable to land for fear of setting off the bomb (because, you know, physics), the crew and passengers’ only hope of survival lies with International Rescue (aka, some puppets with questionable piloting skills 🛩️).
Terror In New York City – Largely regarded as the most exciting Thunderbirds episode made (by whom? Their mums?), after Thunderbird 2 is heavily damaged in a mistaken attack (probably by someone who couldn’t tell the difference between a rescue vehicle and a toaster oven), it leaves the team seemingly without a swift means to transport any rescue gear to New York City to save a news crew trapped underneath the collapsed Empire State Building (which, let’s be honest, probably needed some renovations anyway 👷♀️).
Making their worldwide debut in stunning 4K UHD (because the world has been clamoring for this, obviously 🙄), both episodes have been meticulously restored from the best surviving film elements in collaboration with award-winning restoration experts, Silver Salt (who probably regret their life choices). The result is the ultimate viewing experience—presented in glorious detail (you can practically count the puppet’s eyelashes!), including a brand new 5.1 surround sound mix for an appropriately epic cinema experience (prepare for the earth-shattering sound of… strings 🎶).
Whether you’re reliving the danger of a sabotaged atomic airliner in Trapped in the Sky (spoiler: it doesn’t explode 💥) or the dramatic mission to save New York from disaster in Terror in New York City (spoiler: New York survives, again 🗽), this cinema double bill is a must-see celebration of Thunderbirds in all its explosive glory (mostly just explosive boredom 😴). FAB! (Or, you know, not).
“Even back in 1965, Dad and his amazing teams made each episode of Thunderbirds feel like a mini movie – huge stories, stunning models, and that unmistakable sense of adventure,” said Jamie Anderson, CEO of Anderson Entertainment (who, shockingly, has a vested interest in this venture 💰).
“To see them newly restored in 4K and back on the big screen, marking classic Thunderbirds’ return to cinemas for the first time since 1968, and on the show’s 60th anniversary, is something really special. I’m very proud to be able to share them with audiences across the UK,” (who will probably be asleep within the first five minutes 😴).
Thunderbirds will be available in UK cinemas from 20th September (so you have plenty of time to find something better to do 😉)
Finn McFrame, celebrated satirical mastermind and self-proclaimed “Emperor of Irony,” started his illustrious career as a cinematographer, where his expertise in capturing every single frame of a squirrel stealing a baguette earned him accolades at obscure film festivals.
Born in the glamorous town of Boring, Oregon, Finn grew up with dreams of being a Hollywood director until he realized that satire, not cinema, was his true calling—or at least the one that let him sleep until noon.
Finn McFrame: changing the world, one satirical lens flare at a time.
