Beloved Cult Sci-Fi Series Film Cans Discovered In Shed

The light-tight cans were sent to Century 21 Films in order to restore them digitally so that they could be viewed.

Most of the cans contained previously aired episodes of Thunderbirds, according to Stephen La Riviére, but one had a version of an episode that never made it to broadcast. The alternative episode had a scene that was cut before the episode aired, making it an incredibly rare if not totally unique find.

Because of the condition of the cans and the painstaking process of scanning them, it took weeks to get through all of the films that had been found. However, it was apparent that most of it was from Thunderbirds.

Little bits of footage were scanned and digitized, allowing Le Riviére to view them until one day, he spotted a section that wasn’t like the existing files. This bit of footage has never been shown and has been waiting for almost 60 years to be found.

The Thunderbirds TV series follows the adventures of the Tracey brothers and their dad in 2060 as they run International Rescue, an operation that saves people from dangerous scenarios.

They use their special aircraft, Thunderbirds to wrangle people out of peril, and are assisted by the staff of International Rescue. The cast of Thunderbirds operates from a secret base and has technology that assists them with stealth and gives them a tactical advantage over their adversaries.

The TV series Thunderbirds aired on ITV from 1965 to 1966 and was subsequently shown in 66 countries, but it didn’t make it to the US at the time. Although it ran for 32 episodes and was considered widely successful, the lack of a sale to the US marked the downfall of the program, which used an innovative type of puppets during filming.

The series gained a cult following, however, and it continued to inspire other projects including movies and a mini-series titled Thunderbirds: The Anniversary Episodes that were adapted from audio plays written in the 1960s.

The method used to make Thunderbirds has been dubbed Supermarionation and involves the use of advanced puppets with an articulated lower lip that could automatically follow pre-recorded dialogue.

The unique method was used for a set of projects that were filmed by AP Films (now known as Century 21 Films) including Four Feather Falls, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, and The Secret Service. While Supermarionation dwindled after the 60s, Thunderbirds continued to have a strong cult following, largely due to the unique puppetry and special effects employed in the making of the series.

Though the recently found footage has mostly turned out to be previously available episodes, the newly discovered film is in the process of being prepared for viewership. Century 21 Film hopes to release the deleted scene as a part of its 60th-anniversary celebration for Thunderbirds next year.

The celebration will likely include a sampling of the broad array of work included in the Thunderbirds legacy.