In 1961, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson introduced the world to an animation process known as “supermarionation” with Supercar. With Stingray, Fireball XL5 and their most-lauded creation, Thunderbirds, the team captured the imagination of children in the 1960s.

Now Amazon seeks to rekindle that magic with Thunderbirds Are Go. I caught up with showrunner Rob Hoegee (Generator Rex) and Anderson vet David Graham, who has voiced Aloysius Parker since 1965 and was one of the original Dalek voices in the classic Doctor Who series.

So, David, it’s been a long journey with this character.

Graham: Only 60 years about.

Did you have any idea that’s what you were signing up for?

Graham: No, not at the time.

How has the character changed over the years?

Graham: Well, it’s kind of in my vocal DNA. With Rob’s writings, there are always new avenues to explore. But the basic character of the ex-con going straight, and devoted servant to Lady Penelope, hasn’t changed. Only the plots have changed.

What about Thunderbirds makes it so special? Why has it lasted?

Hoegee: When I first got involved, I watched a lot of the original show, which I had only seen a few of, and it was surprising to me how well it stood up. While there were a lot of 1960s trappings and some things were very quaint, but I was so blown away by the boundless imagination that was built into the show. If you think about where the world was then, right in the middle of the space age, nothing was impossible. Just that sense of wow. You really could feel that. People just gravitate towards worlds and stories that explore the fantastic but in a way that’s grounded. This is a show that’s about family. This is a show that’s about selfless heroes. These universal values never go out of style.

If anything, they’re more refreshing now. We need those values.

Hoegee: They hired me for this job because I’m a capes and explosions kind of guy. That was the type of animated shows that I do. I was really excited going into this. We’re not going to have gratuitous violence. We’re not going to have any guns, any weapons. There’s not going to be any fighting in the same way; no punching, no physical violence. We’re going to focus on selfless heroism. We’re going to focus on rescues. Those kind of classic values are in short supply right now if you look at the landscape of family programming.

I heard that you made a mandate that there are no explicit character ages in the show.

Hoegee: I’ve never mentioned it in dialogue. When we were first developing it, there was sort of a need for concrete ages. But my feeling was that these characters can be as old and as young as the individual viewer needs them to be. It’s pretty clear that Alan is a teenager. Is he 14, is he 16? Yeah, maybe. How old is Scott, the oldest? 25? 29? There’s sort of a range that they can easily fit within. It also keeps us out of trouble, in terms of writing ourselves into a corner about ages and birthdays and that kind of thing. It’s easier just to ignore it.

If you could pilot any of the Thunderbirds, which ship would you choose?

Graham: Very hard. I would choose the Rolls Royce, I think.

Hoegee: I would say Thunderbird Shadow. Just because it’s small, it’s fast, it’s stealthy. It turns into a motorcycle. That would probably be my favorite to pilot. I think Thunderbird 2 is my favorite of the ships, but not necessarily to pilot.

Graham: The great thing about the original series, which has been carried on to the new series, is the special effects. We had a great guy named Derek Meddings, who sadly died. He went on to Star Wars. It was all done in tiny little sets, which were made to look vast. The special FX and high speed cameras, it was all brilliant and added to the overall originality of the show.

You guys have recaptured that, for sure. I love the animation style, and the music.

Hoegee: That’s one of the highlights of the show, for me, is the music. The guys, Dominic Foster, are really capturing the essence.

Graham: They’ve been true to Barry Gray, who did all the music on all the shows I did. The new guys are equally as good.

If you could choose any of the four other Anderson shows you worked on to bring back, what would it be?

Graham: When you’ve done Thunderbirds, it’s in a class of its own. It’s a culmination of all Gerry and Sylvia’s work. Each show progressed in imagination and special FX. You can’t better the best.

I love bringing back the use of “FAB” in the pilot. Did you guys think about creating your own?

Hoegee: A little spoiler for season 2, but Brains has decided to come up with his own catchphrase. So I’ll just leave it dangling there.

At the end of the two-part pilot, there’s a meatloaf joke. I’m a huge meatloaf guy. What’s in the Meatloaf Surprise?

Hoegee: Ohh. Well gosh, I hate to spoil Grandma Tracy’s recipe. Let’s leave it at that. I don’t think even she knows what’s in it.

To solve the meatloaf mystery or learn Brains’ new catchphrase, check out the special one-hour sneak peek of Thunderbirds Are Go on April 15, with the rest of the series swooping in on Amazon Prime on April 22.

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