ITV offers sneak peek of new Thunderbird 2

By John Freeman on May 2, 2014

Nestling behind this new ITV Studios advertisement for the upcoming Thunderbirds Are Go on various web sites is a link to a mysterious web site – www.hi-secure.net

The site plays a short looped video of a video camera trained on two steel shutter doors… and behind it, briefly, are revealed two men working one some equipment in front of Thunderbird 2…

This is one of the first official ” sneak peeks” at a new Thunderbird from the show which have been few and far between so far, other than the tantalising Thunderbird 1 design that featured in a MIPCOM brochure last year, which was quickly followed by details of the voice cast for the new series , a re-invention of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s much-loved series will be produced using an innovative mix of CGI animation and live-action miniature sets.

The domain that hosts the short, tantalising video is owned by London-based marketing firm Grid Creative, whose clients include Clarks Shoes and the Heal’s store.

ITV Studios has begun preparing in earnest for its new Thunderbirds are Go! series in 2015, having already announced the launch of its Classic Thunderbirds 50th anniversary plans and commenced the countdown to the new TV series, both set to premiere in 2015. We reported on some of their merchandise plans – no comic news yet! – back in January.

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.