Thunderbirds (TV series)/Characters

Jeff Tracy

• Big Good
• Cool Old Guy
• Expy: of Ben Cartwright
• Fiction 500 - Big time. All of International Rescue - the island, the vehicles, the world-wide spy network - was funded by his past exploits as an astronaut.
• Mission Control
• Non-Action Guy
• Overprotective Dad - A strange example for a man who routinely sends his kids into danger. Explored in Atlantic Inferno, when he goes on vacation and temporarily hands leadership over to Scott. Scott does well enough, but he can't stop himself from constantly worrying and meddling.
• Retired Badass
• Rich Idiot With No Day Job
• Team Dad

Scott Tracy - Principal pilot of Thunderbird 1

• The Ace
• Aloof Big Brother
• Badass
• Bash Brothers - With Virgil. A literal example.
• The Captain - While Dad is in overall charge, Scott takes the place of field leader.
• Captain Obvious - Occasionally. He is always first on the scene and has to bring his brothers up to speed, pointing out every obvious detail.
• The Comically Serious
• Determinator
• Mr. Exposition

John Tracy - Operator of Thunderbird 5

• A Day in the Limelight - He gets into action in a grand total of one episode: Danger At Ocean Deep. Even then, he didn't do much.
• The Generic Guy
• The Unfavorite - To Gerry Anderson, no less.

Virgil Tracy - Principal pilot of Thunderbird 2

• Badass
• Bash Brothers - With Scott
• The Big Guy - Not so much his character, as his plane: TB2 was the powerhouse of IR.
• Friend to All Children
• Hidden Depths - Likes literature, painting and playing piano.
• The Other Darrin - His VA was replaced after season one.

Gordon Tracy - Principal pilot of Thunderbird 4

• Deadpan Snarker - His "thing" was being a bit more mouthy than the other brothers.
• Hot-Blooded - Usually lighthearted, he tends to get pretty exited in action compared to his brothers. For instance, when TB2 is grounded for repairs during an emergency, Gordon seriously proposes piloting TB4 on a trans-oceanic trip and the rest of the family have to gang up on him to make him realize that idea is dangerous and completely impractical.
• Redheaded Hero
• Talking to Himself - While this was all over the place in the series, Gordon is the most obious example, as he basically sounds like Brains without the stammer. His VA, David Graham, also did Kyrano, Parker and many one-off characters.
• This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman - As the underwater craft and smallest Thunderbird, TB4 was used only occasionally. He takes turns with Alan and Brains for backup on TB2.

Alan Tracy - Principal pilot of Thunderbird 3

• Bishounen
• Dogged Nice Guy - He has a crush on Tin-Tin, especially evident in End Of The Road. The romance never really takes off, as the series had other things on its mind.
• Kid Appeal Character
• This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman - Suffers from this even more than Gordon, as TB3 is the most rarely-seen Thunderbird. He gets compensation as he comes along with Virgil more often.

Brains

• Badass Bookworm - As the series progresses, he comes along with the brothers more often, and proves to be as competent and fearless as they are. He eventually becomes the pilot of Thunderbird 6.
• Gadgeteer Genius
• Mr. Exposition
• Smart People Wear Glasses
• Speech Impediment - Ah, ah, speaks with ah, ah, a bit of ah, ah, a s-s-stammer
• Techno Babble
• Techno Wizard
• The Smart Guy

Kyrano

• The Butler Did It
• Extreme Doormat
• The Mole - The Hood is his half-brother, and has psychic influence over him.
• Old Retainer
• Yes-Man - To Jeff Tracy
• Zombie Infectee - He never cares to tell anyone about his connection to The Hood. As the series was Too Good to Last, the plotline never got resolved.

Tin-Tin Kyrano

• Brainy Brunette
• The Chick
• Damsel in Distress - From day one.
• Faux Action Girl - She is a full-blown member of IR and even has a uniform (seen twice). Even then, she usually ends up in need of rescue.
• Master of the Mixed Message - To Alan.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward

• Action Girl
• Big Fancy House
• Blue Blood
• Christmas Cake
• Drives Like Crazy - At first. She gets better.
• English Rose
• Lady of Adventure
• The Main Characters Do Everything: Is invariably called out to every mission, no matter where in the world, despite specifically being the London agent. See the episode The Imposters for a good example of this.
• Master of Disguise
• Non-Idle Rich
• Not So Stoic - Stays calm in the face of danger. Loses it in the presence of mice.
• Rich Idiot With No Day Job
• Stiff Upper Lip
• Socialite
• Spot of Tea

Aloysius "Nosey" Parker

• The Atoner
• Badass
• Battle Butler
• British Accents - Speaks in a thick Cockney accent. Hilarity Ensues when he tries to sound posh.
• Butt Monkey - On the rare ocaasions the series needed one.
• Cool Old Guy
• Punch Clock Hero - His days as a burglar aren't quite behind him.
• The Rat - Still has many connections with the underworld that come in handy.
• Real Men Drive Pink Cars
• Token Evil Teammate - A mild example.
• Weaponized Car
• Yes-Man - To Lady P.

The Hood

• Bald of Evil
• Big Bad
• Big Ol' Eyebrows
• Glowing Eyes of Doom
• Greed - The very first words in the series, as spoken by him: "International Rescue... If only I knew their secrets, I would be the wealthiest man in the world!"
• Large Ham
• Latex Perfection - Disguises himself perfectly, using rubber masks. To his credit, it must be a lot easier to pass off as a convincing puppet than as a human this way.
• Master of Disguise
• Mr. Exposition - By way of his constant monologuing to himself.
• Psychic Link - To Kyrano
• Thinking Out Loud - Constantly. This guy just won't shut up to himself. He peppers it up with Evil Laughter and the occasional Incredibly Lame Pun.