Group Dynamics Of The Tracy Family: an article by: GF Willmetts.
An odd thing about the ‘Thunderbirds’ episode ‘Security Hazard’ is how each Tracy brother and their father gave their status in International Rescue but didn’t give the complete story. We’ll overlook the production necessity, which involved showcasing the highlights from the early episodes that were missed, and their need for a budget-friendly show. In some respects, the Tracys are obviously not wishing to divulge too much detail or condensing things, but they raised their own importance in a rescue. You would have thought the first rescue, ‘Trapped in the Sky,’ would have been Virgil’s story. Scott played a more significant role in ‘End of the Road’, using Thunderbird 1 to stabilize Eddie Houseman’s vehicle on the cliff edge, a task that was far more dangerous.
On top of that, from a TV perspective, we aren’t going to see all that is going on. A couple of episodes mention that there are continuous voice-overs as Thunderbirds 1 and 2 take off, indicating their status. However, the only voice-over that is regularly used as an example is from Scott Tracy when he transitions to horizontal flight, a crucial sign that he is over two miles high and likely to be spotted on global radar. We simply presume that there are additional voice-overs, but it’s difficult to determine what Jeff Tracy could do in the event of trouble. In ‘Danger at Ocean Deep’, a communication breakdown due to interference led Scott to believe that the swimming pool entrance would open, allowing him to land. Given the sophistication of their equipment, it’s reasonable to assume that their Thunderbirds could also control the swimming pool and cliff-face entrances.
Any real concern would be visitors while they were gone or other aircraft in the area seeing them land. Considering the likes of Colonel Tim Casey in ‘Edge of Impact’ had to travel below the two-mile height to arrive at Tracy Island, the global radar system isn’t too concerned about any aircraft below that height. I don’t think, at the time, the scriptwriters were worried about connecting details, but it does give examples of underlying information building up a picture without showing all the details. You don’t need to see all the details to understand that normal activities such as toilet breaks, meals, and even sleep are still taking place. One presumes Gordon Tracy had a few hours sleep onboard the Sentinel as it sped to New York in ‘Terror in New York City’ or he wouldn’t have been in a fit state when he took Thunderbird 4 through the underwater tunnels.
While the Thunderbirds are on a mission, we occasionally catch glimpses of Jeff Tracy and his son Gordon reviewing the rescue plans to identify potential issues. A key exception before anyone else reminds me is “Sun Probe,’ where the two-prong approach was taken simply because they had time to plan and Thunderbird 3 would need to wait for the Earth to be in position for the best launch. Even so, in real life, I doubt if Thunderbird 2 would have been launched at the same time based on the two days in flight that TB3 took to get closer to the Sun Probe rocket. The writers must have weighed the necessity of episodic TV against reality, believing it would conclude too swiftly and be less replicable for analysis.
Interestingly, the CGI series ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ (2015-2020) fills in some gaps, such as training, despite having three seasons to do so and over 50 years to consider and incorporate elements from the original series. Viewers’ imaginations often filled in the gaps. Indeed, unlike TV21, the more recent comicbooks were able to add more motion.
If Lew Grade hadn’t extended the original ‘Thunderbirds’ to 50 minutes, the rescues would have been the most prominent feature. That extra 20 minutes allowed more character development. That didn’t mean it didn’t work with the earlier shows and, to some extent, with the later shows; that’s down to experience, and so we need to flesh out the stories. Although the Spectrum organisation, by necessity, needed to show there were a lot more officers on-board outside of four of them, the others were really secondary.
Even so, the same rules still apply. You don’t want to bore the viewer with too much repetition, but there’s also a need to establish things for the new viewers as well. When you watch the Thunderbirds launch, after a few early episodes, they either cut away some of the detail or add more, depending on the amount of time they needed to fill. You knew what was going to happen and didn’t need to always labor for it. The viewer simply accepts what they see on the screen, as it’s an integral part of their acceptance of the content on the box. Back in the day, as I said previously, we didn’t question anything because, if we were lucky, we only saw any show once, so we would have to be lucky to remember the story, let alone look for mistakes in black and white on a 480-line screen. Repetitive viewing of DVDs always draws your attention to mistakes. Take a look at Thunderbird 3 as it takes off. Even though the rocket is ascending, the background sky continues to move sideways. Rest assured, it took me several viewings over the years to notice this. It depends on what you draw your eyes to. Some people focus on inadvertent errors rather than those that could be rectified in a matter of seconds.
A problem with programs like ‘Thunderbirds’ is the expense, so repeat scenes keep the cost down. Despite providing the Tracy brothers with an extensive wardrobe, there was insufficient time to alter the interior launch scenes to accommodate clothing changes. That was always simple to spot. However, the size of the ‘2’ on the Thunderbird 2’s side indicated the specific size model in use. Presumably, there were only a limited number of sizes available for Letterset letter transfers at that time.
All of this is the result of extensive analysis over many years from various perspectives. We don’t look for missing dialogue, mostly because it was never written—just enough to keep the dialogue going and long silences. Many shows prioritize keeping the viewer engaged with the plot over side-issues. The same with written fiction. Meandering just confuses the viewer/reader. It’s an unspoken code between the writer and reader.
Until something else establishes itself, our minds naturally imagine other things happening in stories. The dynamics of the Tracy family suggest that they are thrill-seekers, taking breaks whenever possible. At some point in the future, there is bound to be a desire to start their own families, although how that would work with the rescue business we are never likely to discover. By then, it’s likely that International Rescue will no longer remain a secret. There must be a limit to the number of times International Rescue can avoid having their vehicles and equipment photographed. It must be an open secret among those they’ve rescued, given that some of them know not only their first names but also their surnames, which they are not willing to reveal. Knowing their first names wouldn’t have been difficult, but their surnames would have been a dead giveaway. The original series had a flaw, but how else could it be explained? There can’t be that many rich Tracy families? Who would divulge such information to the military in ‘The Imposters’ when they were tasked with saving your lives? If you set your mind to it, you can rationalize anything instead of blindly accepting or relying solely on what you see.
Any reality and TV series can play with group dynamics. These days, writers often address communication gaps or maintain a casual connection. Most of the time, it’s about understanding reality from both perspectives, as a viewer and a watcher, and not underestimating the level of interest. It tends to work in most situations, provided the writers are fair with the readers/viewers.
We are stepping into a reality that we know we are only seeing a glimpse of and not the full picture. Most of the time, we don’t need it, but the glimpses we do catch reassure us that there are other things happening as well.
© GF Willmetts 2024
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