Thunderbirds (TV series) by ITV, Sylvia Anderson and the estate of Gerry Anderson. "Thunderbirds" has influenced TV programmes, films and various other media. The puppet comedy of the film "" was directly inspired by the idiosyncrasies of "Thunderbirds"-era Supermarionation techniques. Allusion and homage are also evident in "Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave", "" and "Spaced", as well as the character design of "". The BBC sketch comedy "Not Only... But Also" included a segment titled "Superthunderstingcar" – a parody of "Thunderbirds", "Supercar" and "Stingray". IR's life-saving mission inspired the founding of the volunteer International Rescue Corps, originally made up of a group
Gerry Anderson near the Poland–Russia border and settled in London; his name was changed to "Abrahams" by an immigration official upon his arrival in 1895. Anderson's Jewish mother Deborah changed the family name to "Anderson" in 1939. At the start of the Second World War, Gerry Anderson's elder brother, Lionel, volunteered for service in the Royal Air Force; he was stationed in the United States for advanced training. Lionel often wrote letters to his family, and in one letter described a US Army Air Forces air base called Thunderbird Field, the name of which stayed in his younger brother's memory. On 16