:03:01
And here's John Beard.
:03:07
In this title sequence,
we also wanted to establish Alan,
:03:10
who you just saw being dropped off at school,
:03:13
as a loner, not a member of the team.
:03:15
So there were a number
of important bits of information,
:03:19
tonally and thematically,
that we wanted to get across.
:03:24
The primary purpose - no pun intended -
:03:27
was to let the audience know
that this is a family action adventure fantasy.
:03:35
Of course, it's directed by -
look at that - Jonathan Frakes.
:03:44
Here we are at the Wharton Academy,
Massachusetts -
:03:47
actually Bushey Studios, North London.
:03:52
This opening sequence replaced
what was in the original script
:03:58
which was a motorbike chase
featuring these two guys, Alan and Fermat.
:04:05
Again, through testing,
:04:08
we discovered that not only
was the motorbike chase
:04:11
not establishing him as a loner
and not a member of the team
:04:15
and someone who wanted to be a Thunderbird,
:04:19
it established him as, perhaps,
the coolest kid in school on the fastest bike.
:04:24
So it defeated the purpose
of what we wanted to do for the next two hours.
:04:29
Hence, this opening,
:04:33
where he fantasises about being a Thunderbird,
:04:36
he hears about the missions
his family are participating in
:04:40
and he's stuck at school.
:04:45
Nice toupee on the headmaster. Beautifully cast.
:04:51
The teacher sets us up with just the right tone
at the beginning of the picture,
:04:56
you can tell that it's going to be a fun film