More bigger-on-the-inside (not to mention transdimensional portal) Clangers weirdness can be found in the episode "The Top Hat" - here's a synopsis (take from this site):
The Clangers: The Top Hat wrote:
We see Small Clanger fishing in the sky in his musical boat. He casts his line and catches a grey top-hat. He takes it down to the planet where Major Clanger is waiting. Out of the top-hat hop three two-eyed froglets who hop away across the planet. Mother Clanger is laying the tablecloth and the three froglets appear from under the cloth. Mother Clanger is cross and the froglets tease her by hopping in and out of the bed-caves. When Major Clanger and Small Clanger appear the froglets hop away again. Then Tiny Clanger turns up, very agitated: the froglets have collapsed in the music quarry. They take the inert froglets to the soup-wells and administer soup. This revives them but only for a moment. They try to put them back in the top-hat but they won't fit. The soup-dragon comes up with some very special blue and white pudding-soup. This revives the froglets and they demand more. The soup-dragon has no more and Small Clanger goes to the deep caves to fetch some more. On the way he comes to a flat pink wall which is a sideways lake. He throws a stone into it to make a sideways splash and out pops a creature. It is a two-eyed froglet. This froglet comes up and greets the three others and welcomes them. All the froglets retire to the sideways lake in the deep caves.
I finally got around to watching this the other evening, and on balance I quite enjoyed it. I grew up with the original series, and it was probably one of the most influential elements in nurturing my love of all things Sci-Fi, so I was a bit apprehensive particularly after that abomination of a movie from a few years ago. But overall I was pleasantly surprised.
ffutures points (above) are all valid, but this did not detract too much from the experience, partly because I felt that with things like the hair and 'ships looking small' aspect the makers were trying to re-create some of the 'feel' of the original series. Maybe it didn't work perfectly, but it does add something in terms of 'nostalgia' even if realism suffered as a consequence.
With the exception of TB5 the Thunderbirds are all instantly recognisable although TB2 seems to have put on some weight. The new TB5 is quite a good design, although despite having a rotating torus (for artificial gravity?) John seems to be weightless as he floats around.
Most of the characters are familiar (Parker is still very much Parker) although Brains was slightly disappointing as he now has an accent but no stammer.
The background for this series is that these tales are set a few years after the original series.
Jeff Tracy is (presumed) dead after a plane crash at sea so the Boys are now running the show. Grandma is still present (with an atrocious fashion sense!) but Kyrano is gone. The new Kayo character seems to be a development of TinTin and it was implied that this is the same character, but with a wider and much more hands-on role (and a rather tasty new Thunderbird as well).
The action is more fast-paced than the originals, and has a much more modern feel as you would expect as it has to appeal to a modern audience.
So, early days, but a promising start. I'll certainly be watching the rest and hope it doesn't disappoint as the series plays out.
Commander Smivs, the friendliest Gourd this side of Riedquat.
Jeff Tracy is (presumed) dead after a plane crash at sea so the Boys are now running the show. Grandma is still present (with an atrocious fashion sense!) but Kyrano is gone. The new Kayo character seems to be a development of TinTin and it was implied that this is the same character, but with a wider and much more hands-on role (and a rather tasty new Thunderbird as well).
Thunderbirds without Tit-Tin Kyrano? That would be like Speed without Sandra Bullock.
More bigger-on-the-inside (not to mention transdimensional portal) Clangers weirdness can be found in the episode "The Top Hat" - here's a synopsis (take from this site):
The Clangers: The Top Hat wrote:
We see Small Clanger fishing in the sky in his musical boat. He casts his line and catches a grey top-hat. He takes it down to the planet where Major Clanger is waiting. Out of the top-hat hop three two-eyed froglets who hop away across the planet. Mother Clanger is laying the tablecloth and the three froglets appear from under the cloth. Mother Clanger is cross and the froglets tease her by hopping in and out of the bed-caves. When Major Clanger and Small Clanger appear the froglets hop away again. Then Tiny Clanger turns up, very agitated: the froglets have collapsed in the music quarry. They take the inert froglets to the soup-wells and administer soup. This revives them but only for a moment. They try to put them back in the top-hat but they won't fit. The soup-dragon comes up with some very special blue and white pudding-soup. This revives the froglets and they demand more. The soup-dragon has no more and Small Clanger goes to the deep caves to fetch some more. On the way he comes to a flat pink wall which is a sideways lake. He throws a stone into it to make a sideways splash and out pops a creature. It is a two-eyed froglet. This froglet comes up and greets the three others and welcomes them. All the froglets retire to the sideways lake in the deep caves.
Thanks! I've added a link to that web site in the afterword of the "article".
Episode 3, (counting the initial two part episode as 1-2) was actually surprisingly good.
It focused almost exclusively on Alan aboard Thunderbird 3, Lady Penelope and Parker, and was funny despite Alan's life being in danger for much of the story. There were a few problems, most notably their sheer inability to depict space manoeuvering convincingly, but even so it was an improvement on the opening episodes and worked well enough that I wasn't too bothered by the implausibilities of the animation. I'll watch at least one more episode on the strength of it.
Most games have some sort of paddling-pool-and-water-wings beginning to ease you in: Oolite takes the rather more Darwinian approach of heaving you straight into the ocean, often with a brick or two in your pockets for luck. ~ Disembodied
(um.. I think I reached the practical 'quote' limit )
"Diziet Sma" - Awesome! Hope it makes its' way Down Under soon.
"Wildeblood" - 6:30 Sunday on GO!
"Wildeblood" - Bugger. Forgot to watch it.
"Diziet Sma" - Ditto.
Me Too
The good thing about Go!9 (here in Oz) is they've scattered the episodes through the week (maybe because it's school hols, at least here in WA), so eps1&2 are being repeated - See your local tv guides.
I'll be setting up the recorder for the first two, then a weekly recording for the Sunday show. I'm prepared to be a kid again and overlook any shortfalls - that way I don't have to think too much and just enjoy it, afterall, it's just a cartoon
Well, I embraced my inner boy and caught up on the first few eps. I like the retro feel of the animation, just clunky enough to believe there're still strings attached. As mentioned above, the space-mine ep was a bit of fun, just enough of a dig at the public service for a few chuckles. Glad to see that Parker's still got it
A bit disappointed that it's only 1/2hr episodes, maybe that's why they speeded up the TB launch sequences . I guess that's the way of the (tv) world, Dr Who saves the universe in under an hour now, so why not TB saving the planet in 1/2hr slots. The upside - that's an extra 1/2hr I can fly the space lanes
I miss the Barry Gray score, but that's just a nostalgia thing for me.
Well, I embraced my inner boy and caught up on the first few eps. I like the retro feel of the animation, just clunky enough to believe there're still strings attached. As mentioned above, the space-mine ep was a bit of fun, just enough of a dig at the public service for a few chuckles. Glad to see that Parker's still got it
Same here - just caught it last night on TVNZ Channel 2 for the first time. And I didn't feel they'd abandoned too much of the old characters and stuff from the original series, Brains as Indian seemed to fit somehow.
Apparently good ol' Weta Workshop in Wellington (down the road from where I live) had a big hand in this CGI remake. They did good
Commander Ranthe: Flying the Anaconda-class transport Atomic Annie through Galaxy 2. Combat Ranking: Dangerous
"Big ships take more booty on your interstellar flights..."
Don't know if anyone remembers some of the episodes of the old series, but I do remember the couple that featured Fireflash, the super-supersonic futuristic jet. I thought the model was cool.
A...nyway, the (new) episode on last night had Fireflash again, and I was struck by such a strong sense of de ja vu - all the action could've come straight from the old series, apart from maybe the cloaking device (good to see that foreign electronic devices can still be ripped from under the control panel and be destroyed by tossing them in the corner). Not that the Tracys made reference to rescuing it before, but I guess they knew the drill
Yes, that opening scene panning around the airport was wonderful - it really did look just like the 'old' Thunderbirds.
I have been enjoying these more than I would have thought...pity they are just 1/2 hour long.
Commander Smivs, the friendliest Gourd this side of Riedquat.
Don't know if anyone remembers some of the episodes of the old series, but I do remember the couple that featured Fireflash, the super-supersonic futuristic jet. I thought the model was cool.
I remember all 32 episodes, thanks. "Trapped in the Sky" was the pilot episode. It was also the source of the first hour of the Sandra Bullock movie Speed. The biggest difference in the scripts being that in Trapped in the Sky Tin-Tin is on her way home from uni, but in Speed Bullock's character is on her way to uni.
(F****** new Opera's spell-checker thinks movie isn't a proper word. Gimme a break! I hope Vivaldi gets finished soon.)
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