"Thunderbirds": Who's Who Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jeff Tracy

Jeff is the father of five sons Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan. Their mother died many years before. Nothing officially is ever said about this but there is a great deal of speculation. Jeff is also a former astronaut who walked on the moon. The show was filmed in 1964 and the space program was in its infancy so the future was a bit hazy.

There is also some confusion regarding the time line of the show. Some sources say it takes place in 2026 and others say it is 2065. Oddly, newspapers shown on the show usually have the date 24 Dec, 1964 on them.

Answer: Lady Penelope

Lady Penelope Creigton-Ward lives in a large house in Kent. She is assisted by Butler/Chauffer Parker. Parker is an ex-con but his background is often helpful. Penny, as she is referred to often, is 26. I always thought of her as being somewhat older but perhaps that is due to her maturity which is probably a necessity to being British aristocracy.

It appears that Virgil has the hots for her but that idea never really plays out.

Answer: Scott

Named after astronaut Scott Carpenter, he is first on the scene and mans the commucations center which can either be in the cockpit of Thunderbird 1 or the mobile communications command center stored on board. Ideally, he evaluates the situation and then determines what equipment is needed. Scott is very level headed and calculating making him ideal for this responsibility.

However, most of the time, they have a pretty good idea what equipment will be needed before Scott lands and is sent in the heavy transport craft Thunderbird 2. Scott is the one in charge in the event that Jeff is for some reason unable to lead from the base. Scott also goes in Thunderbird 3 to assist with space rescues.

Answer: John

Thunderbird 5 is manned by John in most of the episodes although he and Alan rotate monthly. Named after astronaut John Glenn, creator Gerry Anderson said he hated John and therefore decided to relegate him to Thunderbird 5 most of the time. I wasn't overly fond of John either as his voice bothered me. John was purported to be a loner anyway and was interested in astronomy. Since there was an observation deck with a telescope on Thunderbird 5, John was probably better suited for that duty anyway.

Answer: Thunderbird 4

This is the underwater-craft. It is normally transported in Pod 4 with Thunderbird 2 but it can launch on its own in an emergency as we saw in the episode "Terror in New York" when Thunderbird 2 was damaged. In "Attack of the Alligators" it was inexplicably transported in Pod 6.

In the 2004 live action movie, it wasn't in a pod, but was stored in another compartment of Thunderbird 2. Gordon, named for astronaut Gordon Cooper, is an Olympic swimming champion and used to race speedboats. Before joining his father's International rescue he also had stints in the Submarine Service and the World Aquanaut Security Patrol.

Answer: Brains

Sometimes referred to as Hiram Hackenbacker, his real name is unknown. Brains was an orphan but was raised by a professor from Cambridge who say the genius in him. When Jeff hears him lecturing, he approaches him with an idea for a worldwide rescue organization and agrees to help him.

It is Brains' designs that become the Thunderbirds machines. The upkeep of the machines is done by Brains and Tin-Tin who we will meet a little later. Brains has a slight stutter in the series which was overdone to Porky Pig proportions in the movie.

Answer: Alan

Alan is named after astronaut Alan Shepard. Alan is the youngest brother and is a practical joker. He likes to race cars and hates to man Thunderbird 5 and tries to get out of it by asking to go on rescues right before he rotates up. He is always being admonished by John "Don't be late this time."

Answer: Virgil

Virgil is named after astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom. The series was filmed in 1964 so the fate of astronaut Grissom in the 1967 Apollo 1 fire was of course unknown. Thunderbird 2, known as a fan favorite, transports the necessary equipment to the rescue site using one of several pods that fit in the middle of and become part of Thunderbird 2.

The pods are deployed after Thunderbird 2 lands and then releases the pod as the rest of it raises up on four hydraulic legs. Pod 4 can be dropped while in the air, since this is the pod that holds Thunderbird 4.

They apparently have the various pods outfitted for specific scenarios because loading of the pods is rarely shown. He is also an excellent pianist and a painter.

Answer: Kyrano and Tin-Tin

Some back stories have Kyrano being saved by Jeff during a cave in. Others say they met at NASA where Kyrano was a chef. In any case, Jeff trusted him enough to hire him to be chef and servant at the base. His daughter, Tin-tin is introduced in the 1st episode, "Trapped in the Sky" and has just graduated from college in Europe (most people believe it was Paris) and ironically is scheduled to fly on the maiden voyage of the Fireflash airliner. Little did anyone know that the Thunderbabe would be one of the first people rescued by International Rescue.

She is often seen acting as Jeff's secretary but having degrees in mathematics, advanced technical theory and engineering she also does maintenance on the machines. On the other hand she designs her own clothes.

As the only young female in constant contact with the brothers, she is given constant attention, although she appears to fancy Alan most who is closest to her age. Virgil has made a play for her as well and Brains made a move too. Fermat is the name given to Brains' son in the "Thunderbirds" movie. Brains never had a son (or daughter) in the series.

Although entertaining, the movie was very un-"Thunderbirds"-ish. It was more like "Spy Kids on Thunderbirds Island".

Answer: The Hood

The Hood wants to get his hands on the plans for the Thunderbirds so he can sell them and become the richest man ever. One story has it that prior to International Rescue, Jeff was involved in a mine collapse rescue and had to leave The Hood for dead. Whether this was in "Thunderbirds" comics that came out in later years or based on popular fan fiction no one is sure.

He is the half brother of Jeff's servant, Kryano. Using a strange power over him, the Hood tries to get classified information from Kyrano.

He gets his name for penchant as a master of disguise. The rest of the names are various Thunderbird machines. The Mole was for underground rescues. It could drill a hole through the ground to a rescue site and then back out the way it came in and can carry victims back to the surface inside.

The firefly is a firefighting machine. It has a large plow-like device for moving debris and can spray water or other firefighting materials as needed. It also has a cannon for blowing up debris in the way.

The Domo was used to hold up walls and similar structures on the verge of collapse using 3 elevated arms with what appear to be suction cups.