Alan Tracy

Last updated

Alan Tracy
Thunderbirds character
Alan Tracy.jpg
The classic puppet character
First appearance"Trapped in the Sky"
(30 September 1965)
Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
Designed by Christine Glanville
(puppet sculptor) [1]
Voiced by Ray Barrett ("Trapped in the Sky")
Matt Zimmerman (other episodes)
In-universe information
OccupationPilot of Thunderbird 3
Astronaut
Racing driver
AffiliationInternational Rescue
Family
Significant other Tin-Tin Kyrano
RelativesGrant Tracy (grandfather)
Grandma Tracy
(grandmother)
Home Tracy Island
NationalityAmerican

Alan Tracy is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds , its film sequels Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), as well as the TV remake Thunderbirds Are Go . The character also appeared in the 2004 live-action film adaptation, Thunderbirds .

Contents

Thunderbirds (1965-1966)

Background

The face of the Alan Tracy puppet was modelled on actor Robert Reed. [2] Matt Zimmerman voiced the character for all but one of his 1960s appearances; since Zimmerman was a late addition to the cast, Ray Barrett provided Alan's voice for his debut appearance in the series opener, "Trapped in the Sky". [3]

Zimmerman was recommended to producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson by David Holliday, the voice of Virgil Tracy. [3] In an interview, Zimmerman remembered of his casting: "They were having great difficulty in casting the part of Alan Tracy as they wanted a certain sound for him ...As I walked in [Sylvia Anderson] looked at me and said, 'Don't talk! Oh, my god, you've got those big eyes and the cleft in the chin and the cheek bones, and if you were blond you'd look very much like Alan.' She said, 'Now, sit down. What's your name again?' And I said, 'My name is Matt Zimmerman and I'm from Detroit, Michigan,' and she said, 'That's the voice!' And that's how I got the job." [3]

Character biography

The fifth and youngest son of Jeff Tracy (the founder and financier of International Rescue), Alan is named after American astronaut Alan Shepard. Sources differ on the subject of Alan's age and date of birth; in the Thunderbird Fact File, his birthday is stated to be 12 March 2005 or 2044, making him 21 years old during the events of most of the series (he turns 22 in the episode "Attack of the Alligators!"). An accomplished sportsman and former racing driver, he can at times be bad-tempered and reckless. [4] Alan studied at Colorado University, where his natural impetuousness led to a clash with authorities over the launch (and subsequent crash) of an unsanctioned, self-built rocket. His father took charge of the situation, steering the interest toward more constructive ends, ultimately resulting in Alan's role as astronaut and principal pilot of Thunderbird 3 . [5] [6]

The episode "Move – and You're Dead" reveals that Alan is additionally a skilled racing car driver, but that he gave up this career to assume his responsibilities within International Rescue. In "Atlantic Inferno", Alan pilots Thunderbird 1 , assuming his brother Scott's role of flying to the danger zone and co-ordinating the rescue operation. Alan comments on how different it is from operating Thunderbird 3, prompting Scott to remind him to "bring [Thunderbird 1] back in one piece". In the film Thunderbird 6 , he shoots three hijackers, becoming one of only three members of IR (with Scott and Gordon) to kill an enemy. The most romantic of all the Tracy brothers, Alan is involved with Tin-Tin, the daughter of Kyrano, caretaker of Tracy Island. [4] However, despite his passion for her, he is seen to be attracted to IR's London agent, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, in the episode "The Perils of Penelope" and the film Thunderbirds Are Go . [4]

Reception

Zimmerman has spoken warmly of Alan's conception and development, commenting that "Alan was the one character that showed emotion. He used to get upset if he couldn't go on a mission, he got jealous if Tin-Tin talked to another man, and he was a very real character." [3] Science-fiction writer John Peel considers Alan evidence of the series' aptitude for strong characterisation, summing up his character as "love-struck and annoying", yet simultaneously "so human". [7] Martin Anderson of the entertainment website Den of Geek describes Alan in less enthusiastic terms; according to Anderson, the character "was unfortunately relegated to the role of designated driver" for the purposes of ferrying supplies from Tracy Island to John Tracy on board the Thunderbird 5 space station. [8]

Mark Radcliffe argues that the original series character is overshadowed by Scott and Virgil, who direct most of IR's rescue efforts: "Poor Alan, despite having a rocket with much cooler fins than [ Thunderbird 1 ], would then be dispatched to sort of see that everything was going OK. Pretty demeaning work for a guy who's been to puppet Colorado University." [9] The seeming lack of logic on the part of Jeff Tracy in entrusting Thunderbird 3 (the largest mobile Thunderbird machine) to Alan (the youngest of his five sons) has also been questioned. [10]

Thunderbirds (2004 film)

Alan Tracy
Portrayed by Brady Corbet
In-universe information
OccupationBoarding school student
Significant other Tin-Tin Kyrano

In the live-action Thunderbirds , Alan is again demonstrated to be attracted to Tin-Tin; he was portrayed by Brady Corbet. In this film, Alan is 14 years old and attends a boarding school in the United States.

Reception

Graeme Clark, in a negative review of the 2004 film for the website The Spinning Image, writes that Brady Corbet's Alan is the only Tracy brother to be given a distinct personality; by contrast, his siblings are "totally interchangeable". [11] A retrospective on Den of Geek draws parallels between the new Alan and the protagonist of the Harry Potter novel and film series, alluding to a reversal of the story concept "of a boy at home thrust into an adventurous world". [12]

Thunderbirds Are Go (2015-2020)

Alan Tracy
Voiced by Rasmus Hardiker
In-universe information
OccupationPilot of Thunderbird 3

Like previous series, Alan is still the pilot of Thunderbird 3. Similar to his 2004 counterpart, he is once again a teenager and is sometimes treated like a kid by his brothers. On some occasions, he, is joined on board Thunderbird 3 by Scott or Kayo (the series' counterpart of Tin-Tin). Alan's equipment includes an orbital conveyance platform which lets him get closer to things such as the Sat-Mine machine in episode 3 "Space Race".

Alan's immaturity is shown by his near-constant need to play some sort of zombie apocalypse computer game (shown in the episode "Slingshot") in Thunderbird 3, and a constant addiction to sleep. However, he appears younger than Kayo and as such does not show a lot of attraction to her, in fact he sees her more as a sister. It appears as though Scott may have some attraction to her, though this is debatable as Kayo and Alan gave each other looks in the episode "Home on the Range". Over the course of the series he becomes more mature on missions and continue being help for his brothers and allies.

Related Research Articles

<i>Thunderbirds</i> (2004 film) 2004 science fiction action-adventure film

Thunderbirds is a 2004 British-American science fiction action-adventure film directed by Jonathan Frakes, written by William Osborne and Michael McCullers, and based on the 1960s TV series Thunderbirds created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

<i>Thunderbirds Are Go</i> 1966 film directed by David Lane

Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction puppet film based on Thunderbirds, a Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their company Century 21 Productions. Written by the Andersons and directed by David Lane, Thunderbirds Are Go concerns spacecraft Zero-X and its human mission to Mars. When Zero-X suffers a malfunction during re-entry, it is up to life-saving organisation International Rescue, supported by its technologically-advanced Thunderbird machines, to activate the trapped crew's escape pod before the spacecraft hits the ground.

<i>Thunderbird 6</i> 1968 British science fiction puppet film

Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 British science fiction puppet film based on Thunderbirds, a Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions. Written by the Andersons and directed by David Lane, it is the sequel to Thunderbirds Are Go (1966).

"Move – and You're Dead" is an episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films for ITC Entertainment. Written and directed by Alan Pattillo, it was first broadcast on 10 February 1966 on ATV Midlands as the 20th episode of Series One. It is the ninth episode in the official running order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Tracy</span> Character from the Thunderbirds franchise

Scott Tracy is a fictional character in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's 1960s Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968) and the TV remake Thunderbirds Are Go!. He is the pilot of the primary vehicle of the Thunderbird fleet, Thunderbird 1. His specialist training is as a First Responder and Team Leader.

"The Cham-Cham" is the 25th episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF). The penultimate episode of Thunderbirds Series One, it was written and directed by Alan Pattillo and first broadcast on 24 March 1966 on ATV Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Tracy</span> Fictional character

Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley. The character also appeared in the live-action movie Thunderbirds, played by actor Bill Paxton.

"Security Hazard" is the 26th episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. The final episode of Series One, it was written by Alan Pattillo, directed by Desmond Saunders, and first broadcast on 31 March 1966 on ATV Midlands. It had its first UK‑wide network transmission on 10 April 1992 on BBC2.

"The Impostors" is an episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films for ITC Entertainment. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Desmond Saunders, it was first broadcast on 13 January 1966 on ATV Midlands as the 16th episode of Series One. In the official running order, it is the 19th episode.

"Sun Probe" is an episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. Written by Alan Fennell and directed by David Lane, it was first broadcast on 9 December 1965 on ATV Midlands as the 11th episode of Series One. It is the fourth episode in the official running order.

"End of the Road" is an episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films for ITC Entertainment. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by David Lane, it was first broadcast on 25 November 1965 on ATV Midlands as the ninth episode of Series One. It is the 14th episode in the official running order.

"Day of Disaster" is an episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films for ITC Entertainment. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by David Elliott, it was first broadcast on 4 November 1965 on ATV Midlands as the sixth episode of Series One. In the official running order, it is the 15th episode.

"Ricochet" is the 31st episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films for ITC Entertainment. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by Brian Burgess, it was first broadcast on 6 November 1966 on ATV London and Anglia Television as the fifth episode of Series Two. It had its first UK-wide network transmission on 15 May 1992 on BBC2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attack of the Alligators!</span> 24th episode of the 1st series of Thunderbirds

"Attack of the Alligators!" is an episode of Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. Written by Alan Pattillo and directed by David Lane, it was first broadcast on 10 March 1966 on ATV Midlands as the 23rd episode of Series One. It is the 24th episode in the official running order.

Hood (<i>Thunderbirds</i>) The main villain in the Thunderbirds TV series

The Hood is a fictional criminal and terrorist and the recurring villain of the 1960s puppet television series Thunderbirds and its adaptations. He is the primary antagonist of the International Rescue organisation, founded by Jeff Tracy. In the original series, the character possesses powers of hypnosis and telepathy and uses an array of disguises to carry out his activities undetected. He operates from a temple in the Malaysian jungle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tin-Tin Kyrano</span> Fictional character in Thunderbirds television show

Tin-Tin Kyrano is a fictional character introduced in the 1960s British Supermarionation puppet television series Thunderbirds. In the original TV series and its film sequels, the voice of Tin-Tin was provided by actress Christine Finn. In the live-action film adaptation, the character was played by Vanessa Hudgens, while in the remake series, she was voiced by Angel Coulby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grandma Tracy</span> Fictional character

Grandma Tracy is a fictional character in the puppet television series Thunderbirds and its animated remake Thunderbirds Are Go. She is the mother of Jeff Tracy and the paternal grandmother of the Tracy brothers: Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan. The character was voiced by Christine Finn in the original series and Sandra Dickinson in the remake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyrano</span> Fictional character

Kyrano is a fictional character featured in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds and its 2004 live-action film adaptation.

<i>Thunderbirds</i> (TV series) British science-fiction TV series

Thunderbirds is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It was made between 1964 and 1966 using a form of electronic marionette puppetry combined with scale model special effects sequences. Two series, totalling thirty-two 50-minute episodes, were filmed; production ended with the completion of the sixth episode of the second series after Lew Grade, the Andersons' financial backer, failed in his bid to sell the programme to American network television.

"The Uninvited" is an episode of Thunderbirds, a British 1960s Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. Written by Alan Fennell and directed by Desmond Saunders, it was first broadcast on ATV Midlands on 2 December 1965 as the tenth episode of Series One. It is the fifth episode in the official running order.

References

  1. ↑ La Rivière, Stephen (2014) [2009]. Filmed in Supermarionation (2nd ed.). London, UK: Network Distributing. p. 172. ISBN   978-0-992-9766-0-6.
  2. ↑ Thunderbirds characters
  3. 1 2 3 4 Marcus, Laurence; Webb, Paul; Hulse, Stephen R. (2001). "Interview: Matt Zimmerman". televisionheaven.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Peel 1993, p. 154.
  5. ↑ Thunderbird 3: Century 21 Tech Talk. 6 April 2019 – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ Thunderbirds Legends: The Tracy Sons & The Disaster. 21 March 2020 – via YouTube.
  7. ↑ Peel 1993, p. 245.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Martin (15 July 2009). "Top 75 Spaceships in Movies and TV: Part 2". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Radcliffe, Mark (2011). Reelin' In The Years: The Soundtrack of a Northern Life . Simon & Schuster. ISBN   978-0-857200-51-8.
  10. ↑ Hagerty, Jack; Rogers, Jon C. (2001). Spaceship Handbook: Rocket and Spacecraft Designs of the 20th Century: Fictional, Factual and Fantasy. Livermore, California: ARA Press. p. 312. ISBN   978-0-970760-40-1.
  11. ↑ Clark, Graeme. "Thunderbirds Review (2004)". The Spinning Image. Archived from the original on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Tibbetts, Philip (10 October 2013). "Looking Back at the 2004 Thunderbirds Movie". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.