It may be an isolated and trying winter. If you’ve exhausted all the traditional streaming options, I’d suggest the following two shows for mindless distractions and drinking games with more triggers than Ghost Adventures.
The two shows, available on Amazon Prime, are Thunderbirds and Stingray. Both are marionette puppetry series filmed in the 1960s but set in the 2060s. I know it sounds hokey, but the hokeyness is a good part of its allure, along with the cool little models and gratuitous explosions.
Thunderbirds is about International Rescue, a secret organization formed to help other puppets and toy models in trouble. Jeff Tracy runs the show while his five sons man a space station and also pilot a submarine and three different aircraft. Of course, all their vehicles are “atomic” powered and travel at supersonic speeds. The International Rescue team is often aided on land by Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her trusty butler and driver, Aloysius Parker.
Stingray is a show about the WASP (World Aquanaut Security Patrol) organization that operates the Stingray submarine. Of course, Stingray is also atomic powered. Commander Shore and Atlanta (his sultry daughter) run the Marineville headquarters while Captain Troy Tempest and Lieutenant George Lee Sheridan (Phones) battle evil underwater civilizations from the Stingray. In episode two, Marina (an underwater alien cutie) joins the crew.
Here’s a brief comparison of the two shows:
I think the Thunderbird models are much better while Stingray has better plot lines—there’s no rivaling the love triangle between Troy, Atlanta and Marina. Thunderbirds is a sentimental favorite because Lady Penelope stole this eight-year-old’s heart and has held it ever since. She’s a regal vision. I don’t know why they make such a big deal about Marina in Stingray. I just don’t see it.
The biggest drawback to Thunderbirds is the giant uniform sashes. C’mon guys, big-ass sashes are sooooo 50s. Another problem with Thunderbirds is Alan’s overacting. I know he’s the youngest on the team, but if you wear the sash, you should conduct yourself in an appropriate manner. But then again, the evil undersea creatures of Stingray can be over-the-top emotive at times too. All the puppets should take cool lessons from Stingray’s dashing Captain Tempest and the even more unflappable Phones.
Stingray wins for soundtrack. When they start their dramatic bongo playing to launch the Stingray, I want to dive in the ocean myself and kick some alien ass. Stingray also wins on the “blow it up” factor. It doesn’t take much for Commander Shore to launch the jet fighters and start bombing the snot out of a hollowed-out volcano or any other alien lair.
Other than that, the shows are very similar. Both use sets overly equipped with large buttons and colorful spinning objects. The command centers and cockpits look like a baby busy box factory vomited on a Radio Shack clearance rack. They have puppets with eyebrows that look like caterpillars on steroids. The shows also use trite plotlines and dated dialogue—they actually used the word “dunderhead.” But all that ludicrousness makes them beautiful.
So, for a trip back to a time when the good guys always won, the bad guys lost after revealing their secret plans in a poorly timed, superfluous monologue, and men didn’t feel awkward in sashes, search for these two time capsule watches.
Please share your playlist recommends, this may be a long winter.