30th September 2019 marks 54 years since Thunderbirds debuted on TV screens in the UK – and the world has never been the same since. To celebrate Thunderbirds Day 2019, Century 21 Films have prepared a FAB feast for Thunderbirds fans everywhere on Twitch and Periscope channels, as fans will be able to watch all three Thunderbirds 1965 stories produced for the series’ 50th Anniversary in 2015 – plus three “new” adaptations of Century 21 Records audio adventures released in the 1960s.

The episodes have been highly requested since the successful completion of their Kickstarter campaign and are not available to buy, so now is the perfect time to watch them if you’ve missed out before.

But that’s not all! Fans will also be able to enjoy brand new Supermarionation puppet goodness too, as Century 21 Films present screen adaptations of the popular 1960’s Mini Albums Trapped in the Sky (AKA Thunderbird 1) narrated by Scott, End of the Road (AKA Thunderbird 2) narrated by Brains and Vault of Death narrated by Lady Penelope.

There’s also a plethora of interviews, an opportunity to watch the super Century 21 Slough documentary and more.

Also that day, The Gerry Anderson Store will also be launching a range of time-limited Thunderbirds day products – only available 28th-30th September 2019.

In the run up to this year’s celebrations, a new toy line based on the Thunderbirds Are Go TV series was launched at the beginning of this month. The Motion-Tech range includes Thunderbird 1, Thunderbird 3 and Thunderbird 2 with Thunderbird 4 inside and is available online in the UK through Argos and Amazon, as well as in independent toy stores. In New Zealand you can find them exclusively at The Warehouse and in Australia they will be available at Mr Toys, Toyworld and independent stores.

• Thunderbirds Day will be streaming on a loop all day from 9.00am UK time on Twitch and Periscope.  (The live stream won’t now be on YouTube thanks to The Hood, apparently…)

THUNDERBIRDS DAY CENTURY 21 SCHEDULE

The schedule will include the following content, on a loop between the times specified above:

• Introducing Thunderbirds (50th anniversary special episode)
• Gerry Anderson Interview (Gerry discusses how Thunderbirds was created)
• NEW: Trapped in the Sky (Scott Tracy narrates International Rescue’s first operation)
• The Abominable Snowman (50th anniversary special episode)
• Century 21 Slough (Documentary: Original crew members visit the old Thunderbirds studios on the eve of their demolition)
• NEW: End of the Road (Brains narrates the story of another International Rescue operation)
• Doug Luke Interview (Century 21 stills photographer Doug Luke discusses his time working on the Supermarionation productions)
• Mike Trim Interview (Mike Trim discusses his time working at Century 21 and on Thunderbirds)
• The Stately Homes Robberies (50th anniversary special episode)
• Thunderbirds 1965 (Documentary: The crew of the 50th anniversary specials discuss the behind the scenes process)
• NEW: Vault of Death (Lady Penelope tells of the time International Rescue was called to rescue a man trapped in the vault of the Bank of England)
• Plus newly produced interstitials and idents featuring the craft and characters from Thunderbirds and rare archive footage.

• Tune in to YouTube on 30th September 2019 – and celebrate Thunderbirds Day 2019 in true International Rescue style | Full Thunderbirds Day 2019 Announcement on the Century 21 Filsm web site

• Check out the Century 21 Films Facebook Page

• Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds items on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

This story was updated on 30th September to note the change in streaming plans

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: downthetubes News, Events, Merchandise, Other Worlds, Television

Tags: Century 21 Films Ltd, downthetubes News, Gerry Anderson, Supermarionation, Thunderbirds, Thunderbirds 1965, Thunderbirds Day, thunderbirdsday, YouTube