John Tracy (Thunderbirds)

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John Tracy
Thunderbirds character
John Tracy.jpg
The original puppet character
First appearance"Trapped in the Sky"
(30 September 1965)
Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
Designed byMary Turner (sculptor) [1]
Portrayed by Lex Shrapnel (2004 film)
Voiced by
In-universe information
Occupation
Family
Home Tracy Island
NationalityAmerican

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 . In the original series, the character was voiced by Ray Barrett. [2]

Contents

Original series depiction

Background

John was originally intended to play a larger role in Thunderbirds . However, co-creator Gerry Anderson took a dislike to the character, [3] who ended up appearing less often than planned. [4] [5] He was the first of the Tracy brothers to be voice-cast. Actor Ray Barrett was so impressed with the marionette, whose face was modelled on singer Adam Faith and actor Charlton Heston, that he immediately told co-producer Sylvia Anderson that he wanted to play the studious young astronaut with the boyish quiff. [6]

Character biography

John is the third son of Jeff Tracy, the founder and financier of International Rescue. (In the 1965 Thunderbirds novel Operation: Asteroids, it is stated that Scott and Virgil are "Jeff's eldest sons".) [7] He was named after astronaut John Glenn. [4]

John is a noted scholar of astronomy, and has authored several popular astronomy textbooks. He is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in advanced telecommunications. [8] John's quiet intellectual nature and interest in astronomy make him the natural choice for the solitary life as the occupant of space station Thunderbird 5 , monitoring for distress calls from around the world. He is seen to be physically involved in a rescue in only one episode, "Danger at Ocean Deep", although he remarks in that episode that he has already been on a "dozen" rescues. According to Carlton Books' Lady Penelope's Secrets, John is known to be exceedingly patient, kindly and gracious and possessed of both great intelligence and poise as gifts inherited from his talented mother. [9]

2004 film

In the 2004 live-action film, John is played by Lex Shrapnel. [10] As the film focuses on Alan Tracy, little is known about this version of John; according to Alex Pang's Thunderbirds: X-Ray Cross Sections, he is 22 years old and a "computer whizz kid".

John's tours of duty on Thunderbird 5 last for three weeks at a time, after which he gets a week's rest and relaxation on Tracy Island. [11] Over the course of the film, John is nearly killed by The Hood, who launches a missile at the space station to lure International Rescue away from Tracy Island and enable him to steal their equipment.

Remake series

In the 2015 series, John is still "pilot" of Thunderbird 5, but his role is expanded beyond receiving calls for help; he often helps to coordinate rescue missions via long-distance communication. He is voiced by Thomas Brodie-Sangster and is now a redhead instead of a blond. [12]

John is shown to be an emotional introvert who prefers spending his spare time eating bagels, watching TV (his favourite show is Stingray ) and stargazing. He is generally a loner and dislikes spending more time on Earth than he has to. He is the sole operator of Thunderbird 5 until the arrival of EOS, an AI program that he designed himself.

Carolyn Percy of the Wales Arts Review writes that the original John was the least developed Tracy brother because he was disliked by Gerry Anderson. She comments that with his "deeper characterisation", the remake version of John has "evolved into something of a breakout character", also noting that he is cast as a "slightly anti-social loner". [5]

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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. ↑ Bergan, Ronald (9 September 2009). "Ray Barrett | Actor | Obituary". The Guardian– via www.theguardian.com.
  3. ↑ FAB Facts: Why John Tracy Was Relegated to Thunderbird 5 in Thunderbirds. 20 March 2019 – via YouTube.
  4. 1 2 "Thunderbirds - The Characters". www.fab1.co.nz.
  5. 1 2 Percy, Carolyn (13 October 2017). "Thunderbirds Are Go: A Fan's Comparison". Wales Arts Review . Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  6. ↑ Barrett, Ray (1995). Ray Barrett: An Autobiography. Milsons Point: Random House. ISBN   0-09-183074-5.
  7. ↑ Thunderbirds Legends: The Tracy Sons & The Disaster. 21 March 2020 – via YouTube.
  8. ↑ Marriot, John; Anderson, Gerry (foreword) (1992). "29". Thunderbirds ARE GO!. London: Boxtree. p. 21. ISBN   978-1-85283-164-6.
  9. ↑ Thunderbird 5: Century 21 Tech Talk. 11 May 2019 – via YouTube.
  10. ↑ Ebert, Roger (5 February 2013). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN   9780740792199 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Pang, Alex (2004). Thunderbird : The Movie : X-Ray Cross-Sections. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 27. ISBN   0-19-911249-5. OCLC   56436621.
  12. ↑ "Thomas Brodie-Sangster: "Thunderbirds Promotes Simple Values Based on Family"". The Big Issue. 21 September 2017.
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