The Cham Cham

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Today is the 50th Anniversary of Thunderbirds. Happy Anniverstime, Birds! When I was a wee little thing being about 30cm tall, it was my favourite programme to watch. When you're that age, massive rockets and big explosions are the most exciting thing ever. ...Wait a minute, they still are. And a bald puppet with eyes that lit up when he was angry was the scariest thing in the world. And he was always angry.

To a lot of people, it will forever be that show where the puppets couldn't walk properly and you could see the strings. For a great many others, though, it was inspiration to become designers, engineers, rocketeers, and scientists. Someone even became an astronaut. The special effects crew went on to work in Hollywood, bringing the craft they developed in a studio in Slough to a worldwide industry. For me, one of its biggest influences was the music. Barry Gray's score commands character and evokes drama in a way no-one else managed in television at the time. The short themes, ranging from sombre, melodramatic, energetic, and humorous, taught me very early on how to use music to identify elements of continuity, story, and character within a piece.

I so want that fast music to be the North Haverbrook live intro tape...

One of the things that I find fascinating now is that Thunderbirds portrays a dystopian future, where a world, albeit united internationally, is plagued by constant terrorist actions, natural resources have surrendered to industry and development, everyone carries weapons, and a car park is manned by a watchtower armed with submachine guns to shoot whoever doesn't pay upon leaving. It's a cold view of the 1960s' technological ambition, wreckless and gutsy, knowing that the risks of human endeavour can come at the cost of great disaster.

It's a brilliant concept, proven by its successful return in two forms this year, with a new series combining the traditional model works with CGI animation, and three episodes being made in the original 1965 style. Its legacy has been assured and it's still bloody good fun, whether you appreciate the technical details and style, or just giggle at the wobbly heads. Also, Team America - 'nuff said.

And if Richard Branson isn't establishing International Rescue with his spaceships and his private islands and millions of wealth, I'm going to be a very disappointed boy indeed.