Tracy Island
Encyclopedia
Tracy Island is the home of the Tracy family in the Gerry
and Sylvia Anderson
1960s television series Thunderbirds
. Located in the South Pacific Ocean
, the island's true function as the secret base of the International Rescue
organisation is heavily camouflage
d.
Thunderbird 1 launches from a hangar underneath the island's retractable swimming pool, at the foot of the main house. Features such as the outside staircase descending to water, the large windows, and the prominent stone chimney suggest the design was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright
's Fallingwater
. The entrance to Thunderbird 2's hangar is concealed by a fake rock-face and leads onto the island's runway. On exiting the hangar, the palm trees lining the runway swing outwards to accommodate Thunderbird 2's wingspan. After taxiing along the runway, Thunderbird 2 takes off from a hydraulic launch platform. Thunderbird 3 launches from underneath the 'Round House'.
While secure jamming equipment preserve the island's security, it proves to be somewhat vulnerable in the pages of TV Century 21
due to the machinations of The Hood
. Learning everything about the island by brainwashing the technically-minded Brains character and extracting all of his knowledge regarding the island, the Hood launches his greatest attack, destroying several Thunderbird craft and many of their hangars, with the exception of Thunderbirds One and Four. The canonicity of this storyline remains uncertain due to its roots in publication form only.
In the 2004 live action movie
, North Island in the Seychelles
island group (Indian Ocean) was the stand-in for Tracy island, with the buildings added using computer-generated imagery
. In the film, the displayed plotted route from Tracy Island to London clearly shows the island as being located in the Atlantic Ocean
, whereas in the original series it was located in the Pacific Ocean.
in the run-up to Christmas
. it became headline news and the example cited as the archetypal mistake to be avoided for the whole toy industry every Christmas since. At the time the British
children's programme Blue Peter
responded by demonstrating how to build a home-made version. The BBC was then, in its turn, overwhelmed by requests for copies of the instructions for making the model.
album Plastic Beach
is said to be based on Tracy Island in a 'making of' documentary.
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
and Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
1960s television series Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
. Located in the South Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, the island's true function as the secret base of the International Rescue
International Rescue
International Rescue can refer to*International Rescue Corps, the UK rescue organisation*A fictional rescue organization seen in Thunderbirds *The original name of UK indie band The June Brides*A hit 1989 song by Fuzzbox...
organisation is heavily camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
d.
Thunderbird 1 launches from a hangar underneath the island's retractable swimming pool, at the foot of the main house. Features such as the outside staircase descending to water, the large windows, and the prominent stone chimney suggest the design was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
's Fallingwater
Fallingwater
Fallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh...
. The entrance to Thunderbird 2's hangar is concealed by a fake rock-face and leads onto the island's runway. On exiting the hangar, the palm trees lining the runway swing outwards to accommodate Thunderbird 2's wingspan. After taxiing along the runway, Thunderbird 2 takes off from a hydraulic launch platform. Thunderbird 3 launches from underneath the 'Round House'.
While secure jamming equipment preserve the island's security, it proves to be somewhat vulnerable in the pages of TV Century 21
TV Century 21
TV Century 21, also known as TV 21, was a weekly British children's comic of the 1960s and early 1970s. It promoted the many television science-fiction puppet series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Century 21 Productions...
due to the machinations of The Hood
The Hood (Thunderbirds)
The Hood is the main villain and adversary of International Rescue in the Thunderbirds TV series.-TV series:The Hood's precise origins are unknown but it is thought to have been based loosely on Wayne Pembridge...
. Learning everything about the island by brainwashing the technically-minded Brains character and extracting all of his knowledge regarding the island, the Hood launches his greatest attack, destroying several Thunderbird craft and many of their hangars, with the exception of Thunderbirds One and Four. The canonicity of this storyline remains uncertain due to its roots in publication form only.
In the 2004 live action movie
Thunderbirds (film)
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
, North Island in the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
island group (Indian Ocean) was the stand-in for Tracy island, with the buildings added using computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. In the film, the displayed plotted route from Tracy Island to London clearly shows the island as being located in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, whereas in the original series it was located in the Pacific Ocean.
Merchandise and Blue Peter
A re-run of the show on BBC2 in 1992 led to a shortage of Tracy Island modelsModel (physical)
A physical model is a smaller or larger physical copy of an object...
in the run-up to Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. it became headline news and the example cited as the archetypal mistake to be avoided for the whole toy industry every Christmas since. At the time the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
children's programme Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
responded by demonstrating how to build a home-made version. The BBC was then, in its turn, overwhelmed by requests for copies of the instructions for making the model.
Popular culture
The titular island of the GorillazGorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
album Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach is the third studio album by British virtual band and alternative hip hop supergroup Gorillaz, released 3 March 2010 on Parlophone and Virgin Records. Conceived from an unfinished Gorillaz project called Carousel, the album was recorded during June 2008 to November 2009 and produced...
is said to be based on Tracy Island in a 'making of' documentary.