I’m another one of the “First Generation” fans, I was captivated with Thunderbirds when I saw them for the very first time growing up. I will however confess that at the time, I had NO idea they were marionettes. That’s because loyal viewers like myself, will attest to the fact that you very quickly forget that they really are just…..puppets, as they looked and sounded too real!!

Thunderbirds has also fueled my fascination with other Supermarionation programs, such as ‘STINGRAY’ and ‘CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS’.

Incidently, my older brother still vividly remembers ‘FIREBALL XL5′ when it aired on NBC in the early 60s.

There is an old southern saying…”Once a man and woman and twice a child.” I’m riding Thunderbird 1 straight into my second childhood! FAB!

One other thing about your postscript, Heidi: Here in the States, “Thunderbirds” fell through the cracks for lack of one thing we love to complain of: reruns. Unlike the bulk of 1960s “junk food TV shows” generations of kids have now seen over and over, “Thunderbirds” disappeared from TV screens in the US for 25 years following its 2-3 year run on syndicated television at the end of the 1960s. It didn’t return until two hacked up (and totally ignored) versions showed up in 1995 and, thankfully, quickly vanished. The resurgence finally came in 2002 when TechTV ran a captioned “Pop-Up Video” style version (of which I was one of the trivia contributors); the show became quite popular…for those who happened to subscribe to a TV service which featured it and were able to keep up with the changing timeslot. Additionally, a HDTV version of the series has been screening successfully on VOOM for the last two years. Meanwhile, “Thunderbirds” has aired repeatedly in Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa for decades, with a major resurgence in 1992 in the UK. That particular growth in popularity caused Cabbage Patch Doll styled riots in toy stores when parents couldn’t get their frantic hands on the Tracy Island Playset that Christmas. Creator (and voice of Lady Penelope) Sylvia Anderson once said that she was accosted by angry shoppers who wanted to know why there weren’t enough Tracy Island toys to go around…! Anyway, the point is that here in the US, I’m afraid that one has to be primarily of “that certain age group” to harbor this sort of passion for “Thunderbirds” because it was absent from our screens for so long. Just catch someone who was there “back in the day” as a child glued to the TV for each episode and you’ll see what I mean. I once gave copies of the “Best Of Thunderbirds” DVD to the members of the band Cheap Trick; I’ve never seen grown men so giddy in my life! Hey, we may be getting on in age, but we “grown up kids” will never forget the joys of that series: it STILL rocks!

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