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Jeff Tracy | |
---|---|
Thunderbirds character | |
First appearance | "Trapped in the Sky" (30 September 1965) |
Created by | Gerry and Sylvia Anderson |
Designed by | John Brown (puppet sculptor) [1] |
Portrayed by | Bill Paxton (2004 live-action film) |
Voiced by | Peter Dyneley (original series) Lee Majors (remake series) Jon Culshaw (2021 audio series) [2] |
In-universe information | |
Occupation | Head of International Rescue Business executive Colonel, US Air Force Astronaut (formerly) |
Family | Grant Tracy (father) Grandma Tracy (mother) Lucille Tracy (wife) |
Children | |
Home | Tracy Island |
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.
The series was first broadcast in 1965 and was set in the then future, in 2026 or 2065, [Note 1] when Jeff was (or will be) 56. According to his backstory "bio", Jeff was born 2 January, [3] the son of a combine harvester driver on a Kansas wheat farm. [4] [5]
As the Tracy family patriarch, he spends most of his time on Tracy Island, situated somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, from where he co-ordinates rescue missions.
It has been suggested that the Tracy family are based on the Cartwrights from the TV series Bonanza , and that the Jeff Tracy puppet is based on the actor who played Ben Cartwright, Lorne Greene. [3]
Along with his sons, Scott and Virgil, Jeff is the only other Tracy to appear in all 32 episodes of Thunderbirds. [12]
In an interview, Bill Paxton, who played the live-action version of Jeff, described the character as "a kind of teacher, this father figure who has to teach his sons, particularly his youngest son Alan, these basic lessons of ethics and integrity, about doing the right thing." [13]
In the 2015 'reboot' of the series, Jeff vanished six years previous to the start of the series for which the Hood is shown to be responsible. [14] Scott appears to have assumed control of International Rescue in his father's place as he is the oldest of the Tracy brothers, while Grandma Tracy, who has herself changed from the classic series, has taken over his role as head of the family.
The origins for International Rescue are also explained gradually throughout the series. Jeff originally was the only member with one ship: the TV-21, an ultra-high speed rocket and a vehicle by Brains' own admission that was faster than any Thunderbird, with his ultimate objective to be the first one to the rescue. However when he lost the TV-21, he instead created the 5 Thunderbirds to be there for any emergency.
Jeff finally appears in season 3, initially in recordings in the two-part episode "Signals", which reveals that he was last seen trying to stop the Hood stealing the Zero-X spaceship; when the Hood's actions nearly caused the Zero-X's engine to overload and cause an extinction-level event, Jeff took the ship into space, with the apparent detonation believed to be the ship's engine overloading and exploding. However at the end of "SOS", Brains discovered that rescued robot Braman was not sending a distress call, but was actually acting as a relay to send the message to Earth, and discovers a coded message within the distress call that could only have come from Jeff. After recovering the escape pod that the Hood made his escape in, Brains realizes that the explosion was a shockwave created as a result of the ship's faster-than-light engine working, which propelled Jeff into deep space. At the end of the episode "The Long Reach - Part One", Scott, while trying to make his way back to Thunderbird 1, almost falls into the reaches of space after two asteroids collide with each other. Scott is caught by a mysterious figure's hand; he looks up and realizes that it is his father, Jeff Tracy. In the episode "The Long Reach - Part Two", Jeff reunites with his sons after Scott brings him home. After defeating The Hood, Jeff reunites with the rest of the team on Tracy Island. Lee Majors provided the voice of Jeff in the revival series.
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.
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.
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.
"Trapped in the Sky" is the first 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 the Andersons, it was first broadcast on ATV Midlands on 30 September 1965.
"Cry Wolf" 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 27 January 1966 on ATV Midlands as the 18th episode of Series One. In the official running order, it is the 21st episode. The episode had its first UK‑wide network broadcast on 31 January 1992 on BBC2.
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.
Virgil Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds, the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 as well as the TV remake Thunderbirds Are Go!. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds. Virgil's specialist expertise is in demolition, heavy lifting and logistics.
John Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are Go, Thunderbird 6 and the live-action film Thunderbirds.
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.
"Desperate Intruder" 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 Donald Robertson and directed by David Lane, it was first broadcast on 18 November 1965 on ATV Midlands as the eighth episode of Series One. In the official running order, it is the 17th episode.
"Atlantic Inferno" is the 27th 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 Alan Fennell and directed by Desmond Saunders, it was first broadcast on 2 October 1966 on ATV London and Anglia Television as the first episode of Series Two. It had its first UK-wide network broadcast on 17 April 1992 on BBC2.
"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.
"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.
"Edge of Impact" is the 16th 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 Donald Robertson and directed by Desmond Saunders, it was first broadcast on 28 October 1965 on ATV Midlands as the fifth episode of Series One. It had its first UK‑wide network broadcast on 29 November 1991 on BBC2.
"Martian Invasion" 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 Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. Written by Alan Fennell and directed by David Elliott, it was first broadcast on 17 March 1966 on ATV Midlands as the 24th episode of Series One. It is the tenth episode in the official running order.
"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.
"Give or Take a Million" is the 32nd and final 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 Alan Pattillo and directed by Desmond Saunders, it was first broadcast on 25 December 1966 on ATV London and Anglia Television as the sixth and final episode of Series Two. It had its first UK-wide network broadcast on 20 December 1991 on BBC2.
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.
"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.