“Thunderbirds” only ran for 32 episodes across two seasons. American audiences first saw the show on NBC, but those people are old. Most of my readers might remember the live-action take on the material, so this show will be new to me. The best way to describe it is “Team America” taken seriously. It’s an international rescue team that plays up the mid 1960s Pop Art soap opera.
Gerry Anderson stumbled upon something with this series. It’s the first time I can remember seeing Eastern Animation Action influence starting to blend into Western Spy Fiction. While the stories aren’t going to wow modern audiences that are too cool for school, the series matters to history. Comparing this Blu-Ray release to the old A&E DVDs, the restoration work is out of this world. I hope that Timeless is willing to go back and revisit the other Anderson works in HD.
The Blu-Ray comes with a documentary and a PDF printable publicity brochure as the special features. The A/V Quality is stunning for a show of its age. The 1080p transfer is clean to the point that it shows off the production shortcuts. The DTS-HD master audio track is a mean mono mix. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
Release Date: 6/9/15