Thunderbirds: The Complete Collection

I've read all the negative reviews regarding the cropping of the Blu Ray from the 4:3 ratio, and I have to tell you quite honestly that I don't notice a thing. All I see is an absolutely STUNNING picture of a television series that was one of my favorites as a kid, and as a 51 year old "kid" still is. The machinery that the Tracey's used; the secret entrances and exits on Tracy Island; the constant attempts by the Hood to gain the secrets of International rescue; and wondering what the heck John Tracy does in his spare time when manning the IR Space station (well, brother Alan gets to relieve him from time to time)? I still love the way Thunderbird 2 is the kick butt workhorse of the IR gear, especially when it drops off Thunderbird 4 (who even has its own secret launching bay on the Island). I love the cool way you get into Thunderbird 3 and how it's launched (it's my favorite of the T-Birds for sure) There are some truly excellent stories, and some of the actors who voice multiple roles do a heck of a job, including Sylvia Anderson, who voices Lady Penelope. Yeah, there are some guys who sound the same, but even better is when they are supposed to be playing two different roles and wind up talking with themselves in the same conversation, occasionally losing track of the correct accent, LOL! It may have been considered a children's show, but watching a puppet have a cigarette and a martini still cracks me up every time. Butchered? Not by ANY stretch of the imagination. This picture looks crystal clear, and you can really see the attention to detail that went into the making of this series; every little nut and bolt in Thunderbird 1. Every splash of the pod releasing Thunderbird 4 into the water is incredibly realistic and jumps off the screen at you. I honestly wish they had found a way to take the 4:3 picture of "Space: 1999 Series One" and do as good a job as it's done here. I'm assuming that it is MUCH harder to ensure that human heads are not cut off and important print at the bottom of the picture is not lost. That series also looks spectacular, and we're supposed to get the Second Series sometime this year, but they have said the delay is because they have wanted it to look as great as the first set did (and that too will be in its original 4:3 Aspect Ratio). If you loved this show as a kid or want to turn the next generation of children on to some great action and adventure, then this is the show for you. Having them see it in HD is something that will be truly special for them...and you, as you watch their faces when they see this for the first time (my kids love it; but my youngest daughter loves "Stingray" the best). ALMOST as good as having them watch Doctor Who for the first time and adopt someone as "their Doctor" (mine was Tom Baker and then David Tennent). My youngest likes Eleven the best wile my oldest loved Ten. Such great memories we have been afforded sue to technology; memories that we thought were lost forever, now lovingly preserved...and this Thunderbirds Complete Blu Ray set was crafted with loving care, all if it that it deserves. Thunderbirds are go! F.A.B!

Having watched Thunderbirds as a child in the 1960s, I still think this is a great tv programme. Now that I’m much older I can see the strings on the puppets, but that doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of transporting myself back in time - & still thinking that Alan Tracey is rather handsome 😂

Great from my childhood,

What else can I say but FAB. A very good price too.

Now in my early 30s, I've loved the work of Gerry Anderson since the home video era, and been familiar with THUNDERBIRDS since the heyday of Boomerang. In recent years I've waited for the series to be released on Blu-ray and that time finally came! As high as the quality is, the main downside (as with many films in the remastering process) is the aspect ratio, which has had the top and bottom of the picture cropped to fit the widescreen format. But everything that belongs on the screen is there to see, and the box-set contains FAB bonus material, including the documentary, ALL ABOUT THUNDERBIRDS, featuring many interviews and archive footage and photos. As well as one of the most popular children's programs ever made, THUNDERBIRDS remains one of ITV's biggest productions, and rightly so if you ask me!

Really good its for a Xmas present

Listen up. I can rightly claim to be one of the early adopters in the UK to have owned a widescreen TV (a massive 1990 Philips 32 inch behemoth that you could land a helicopter on) connected to a Laservision player At that time Laserdiscs were the only format that you could enjoy films in their correct shooting ratios. I want my copy of 2001: a space odyssey in full widescreen, and prefer listening to The Beatles in glorious mono. So why am I relaxed about the so-called 'hatchet job' that ITV have done by cropping this beloved TV series into 16:9 ratio widescreen? Because it looks so damn good! In 1964 Lew Grade (whose company financed Gerry Anderson's series) famously watched the first episode of Thunderbirds and exclaimed, "This isn't a TV programme - it's a movie!" And so, dear friends, my critical faculties lay in pieces on the floor because this new Blu-Ray version fulfils Lew Grade's eureka moment of insight - every episode in this set looks like a movie. There's no degradation in quality because it was originally shot on 35mm film (itself a high definition format, though nobody seems to think of it that way), and most of it looks pin-sharp with fabulous colours and picture stability. You don't see yards of puppet strings because they're now cropped out of view - what's not to like? Thunderbird 2 looks amazing in flight within a 16:9 frame. This is Thunderbirds as you saw it in your imagination when you were 5 years old - not as some angry old git moaning about cropped 4:3 ratios in 2014. If you want that 1960's low-fi vibe, play the old VHS tapes on an 4:3 TV switched to black & white. Or you can buy these Blu-Rays, put them on, and imagine what your younger, 5 year-old self would have thought. FAB!

Very good fun to watch

Excellent series... brings back great memories from decades ago.. I am really glad to see these old videos come into the Market Place!

Buen artículo

Retour en enfance….

Wel jammer van het breedbeeld, er valt iets weg van het oorspronkelijke beeld maar dat kan de 'pret' niet echt drukken. Topserie.

9枚入のDVDを送料込で1998円、10枚入のDVDを送料込で2548円で買った。 9枚入も10枚入も実質的な内容は8枚で、1枚のディスクに4話も入っており、それが8枚で全32話が収録されている。 残りはおまけ的なボーナスディスクではないかともう。 9枚入のほうはディスクが1枚ずつケースに入っていて、4つのケースが一体化し、それが2つ入っている。 ボーナスディスクはどうでもいい感じの不織布に入れられ、居場所がない存在として箱の隙間に突っ込まれている。 10枚入のほうは1つのケースに強引に10枚ものディスクがはめ込まれ、ばらばらになりやすい上に取りずらい。 こちらも残り2枚はボーナスディスクのようだ。 中身はまったく同じ、ディスクケースで云えば9枚入のほうがいいな。 でもディスクそのものへの印刷デザインは、10枚入のほうが全部違ったデザインで良い。 226ものレビューがありながら、本当に知りたいことを誰も書いてないので、みんなが知りたがってることを俺がズバリ答えてやろう。 ほかの人のレビューによると12枚組のDVDでは英語字幕が入ってないようだが、9枚入と10枚入のバージョンでは英語字幕が入っている。 だが、あまり期待しないほうがいい。 問題が二つある。 一つは、完全な字幕ではなく、ある程度端折った字幕であることだ。 以前に米国版バイオニックジェミーのDVDを格安で全巻買ったことがあるが、そちらの英語字幕は一言一句全て登場人物が喋った通りの丁寧な英語字幕となっており、英語学習には非常に役立つ。 ところがサンダーバードのほうは、そのような丁寧さがない。 喋ってる通りではなく、ある程度要約した字幕だということを覚悟しよう。 ただ、まったくの無駄ではない。 二つ目は、リージョンコードの問題だ。 確かヨーロッパと日本はリージョンコードが同じはずだともうだろう。 ところがどっこい、このDVDは日本のデッキでは再生できないのだ。 「非対応」と表示されてしまう。 ビデオではこんな問題はなかったが、DVDというデジタル映像になってからこんな問題ばっかでウンザリする。 文明は進歩してるのか退歩してるのかわからない。 そこで視聴する為には、DVD Decrypterというソフトを使ってコピーしなければならない。 複製したDVDなら日本のデッキでも再生できる。 9枚入も10枚入も無事に全部コピーできた。 DVDFabでもコピーできるかは試してないのでわからない。 とにかく、視聴できるのはコピーした複製のほうで、元々買ったDVDのほうは見れない。 ただ、一般のデッキでは視聴できなくても、パソコンなら視聴できるかもしれない。 ちなみにバイオニックジェミーの場合、DVD Decrypterではコピーできないディスクが何枚かあった。 全部で3シーズンあって、それぞれに1枚ずつコピーできないディスクがランダムに混ざっていたのかもしれない。 DVD Decrypterでコピーできなかったディスクは、DVDFabを使うと難なくコピーできた。 ここまでの苦労をして、それでもサンダーバードを英語字幕で見たいと云う人なら、私の購入費を目安に安価で買うことをお勧めする。 アマゾンの検索は、検索ワードに対して総ての商品が引っかかるようにはできてないので、隠れたクソ安い商品が見つかるはずだ。 すぐに購入せず、少なくとも一週間以上は探し続けよう。 最後になるが、見ていて非常に映像が古臭い。 円谷プロのDVDのようなクリアーな映像ではない。 HDリマスターとかの処理をなぜ施さなかったのかと残念に思うが、このへんが杜撰なイギリス人の性格なのだろう。 イギリス製の車が年中故障するように、細かいことにはこだらないいい加減な国民性なのだともわれる。 経年劣化したフィルム映像をそのままDVDにした丈という感じで、明らかに色が変色している。 昔俺のビデオに録画したサンダーバードのほうが色はましだ。 これに関しては日本版DVDのほうが当時の綺麗なままの映像だともう（でも高いし、英語字幕もないよ）。 それと、全話通して見れないのも苦痛だ。 点けっ放しにできず、一話ごとにメニュー画面に戻ってしまう。 さらに次の話をクリックしても、今度は場面選択に行く。 キャプチャーはキャプチャーで別メニューにしとけよ。 ビデオのような感覚で連続して最後まで見れないのは面倒くさい。