The 1983 English language version of Technoboyager created by ITC America would be rechristened Thunderbirds 2086, and the show's characters would receive various re-namings and personality changes in this new version. The original opening and closing titles were also changed, with the new opening titles featuring narration that explained the purpose of the International Rescue organisation. This narration would sound familiar to anyone who had seen the trailers for the Thunderbirds Super Space Theater compilations, both for sharing the same narrator and the immortal phrase "conceptions in rescue that can challenge the impossible!" You can see/hear the comparisons between 2086 and the compilation films. Variety magazine was the one who promoted ITC to hold Technoboyager, or Thunderbirds 2086.
Several names associated with those can be seen on the end credits of 2086, most notably editor Gunter Glinka, animator David Gregg, and producer Robert Mandell. The episodes were all written by Mandell and Owen Lock. Dialogue dubbing was handled by Peter Fernandez. The voice cast for the dubbed English series is as follows;
Alexander Marshall (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective)
Earl Hammond (Thundercats, Silverhawks)
Eleanor Kearney (Seagull Island, Starla and the Jewel Riders)
Henry & Keith Mandell,
Joan Audiberti
John Bellucci (Unforgettable, Seal Team)
Keith Mandell
Lucy Martin (Law & Order, Kenny the Shark)
Maia Danziger (Strong Medicine, Brothers & Sisters)
Paolo Audiberti
Peter Fernandez (Speed Racer, Star Blazers)
Laura Dean (Friends, My Little Pony).
This new Thunderbirds was made without the knowledge of Gerry Anderson or members of AP Films/Century 21 studios. Although the series featured the adventures of the Thunderbirds machines of International Rescue, it did not make any mention of the Tracy family or any other familiar element of the SUPERMARIONATION original – beyond a very occasional cry of "Thunderbirds are Go!". Instead, the International Rescue of Thunderbirds 2086 was a far larger organisation which operated out of a vast city known as the Arcology, built upon a manmade island.
One additional element that came into play midway through Thunderbirds 2086's run came with the arrival of the mysterious villain Star Crusher and his terrorist group the Shadow Axis, who were behind nefarious plots in several episodes. Although not part of the original Technoboyager series it was nevertheless an interesting attempt to provide a regular villain for 2086 through voiceover alone, since the original animation could not be altered enough to incorporate a new animated character.
The Star Crusher dialogue sequences (usually backed by Barry Gray music traditionally heard in association with the Mysterons) would often play out over the same electronic space footage created by Dolphin Productions for the two Captain Scarlet Super Space Theater compilations, as would sequences involving another 2086 addition; the IRO Datacube. Generally running to around seventy seconds, these 'datacube' segments would feature a briefing from the same voice artist who narrated the show's opening titles in which he explained the plot of that week's episode before it actually started. It's difficult to see what purpose this sequence actually served, beyond possibly padding out the episode for a thirty-minute broadcast slot, and certain episodes currently circulating online can be found both with and without this sequence – but most of them are without!
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The Complete Book Of Thunderbirds 2086
Non-FictionThunderbirds 2086 was originally a Japanese anime series entitled Science Rescue Team Techno Voyager created by Banjiro Uemura. Through his fascination and love for the original Gerry Anderson productions for ITC that he created his own Thunderbirds...
