Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy | |
---|---|
Thunderbird 3 Astronaut Racing driver | |
Affiliation | International Rescue |
Family |
|
Significant other | Tin-Tin Kyrano |
Relatives | Grant Tracy (grandfather) Grandma Tracy (grandmother) |
Home | Tracy Island |
Nationality | American |
Alan Tracy is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, its film sequels Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), as well as the TV remake Thunderbirds Are Go. The character also appeared in the 2004 live-action film adaptation, Thunderbirds.
Thunderbirds (1965-1966)
Background
The face of the Alan Tracy puppet was modelled on actor Robert Reed.[2] Matt Zimmerman voiced the character for all but one of his 1960s appearances; since Zimmerman was a late addition to the cast, Ray Barrett provided Alan's voice for his debut appearance in the series opener, "Trapped in the Sky".[3]
Zimmerman was recommended to producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson by David Holliday, the voice of Virgil Tracy.[3] In an interview, Zimmerman remembered of his casting: "They were having great difficulty in casting the part of Alan Tracy as they wanted a certain sound for him ...As I walked in [Sylvia Anderson] looked at me and said, 'Don't talk! Oh, my god, you've got those big eyes and the cleft in the chin and the cheek bones, and if you were blond you'd look very much like Alan.' She said, 'Now, sit down. What's your name again?' And I said, 'My name is Matt Zimmerman and I'm from Detroit, Michigan,' and she said, 'That's the voice!' And that's how I got the job."[3]
Character biography
The fifth and youngest son of
The episode "
Reception
Zimmerman has spoken warmly of Alan's conception and development, commenting that "Alan was the one character that showed emotion. He used to get upset if he couldn't go on a mission, he got jealous if
Thunderbirds (2004 film)
Alan Tracy | |
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Portrayed by | Brady Corbet |
In-universe information | |
Occupation | Boarding school student |
Significant other | Tin-Tin Kyrano |
In the live-action Thunderbirds, Alan is again demonstrated to be attracted to Tin-Tin; he was portrayed by Brady Corbet. In this film, Alan is 14 years old and attends a boarding school in the United States.
Reception
Graeme Clark, in a negative review of the 2004 film for the website The Spinning Image, writes that Brady Corbet's Alan is the only Tracy brother to be given a distinct personality; by contrast, his siblings are "totally interchangeable".[11] A retrospective on Den of Geek draws parallels between the new Alan and the protagonist of the Harry Potter novel and film series, alluding to a reversal of the story concept "of a boy at home thrust into an adventurous world".[12]
Thunderbirds Are Go (2015-2020)
Alan Tracy | |
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Voiced by | Thunderbird 3 |
Like previous series, Alan is still the pilot of Thunderbird 3. Similar to his 2004 counterpart, he is once again a teenager and is sometimes treated like a kid by his brothers. On some occasions, he, is joined on board Thunderbird 3 by Scott or Kayo (the series' counterpart of Tin-Tin). Alan's equipment includes an orbital conveyance platform which lets him get closer to things such as the Sat-Mine machine in episode 3 "Space Race".
Alan's immaturity is shown by his near-constant need to play some sort of zombie apocalypse computer game (shown in the episode "Slingshot") in Thunderbird 3, and a constant addiction to sleep. However, he appears younger than Kayo and as such does not show a lot of attraction to her, in fact he sees her more as a sister. It appears as though Scott may have some attraction to her, though this is debatable as Kayo and Alan gave each other looks in the episode "Home on the Range". Over the course of the series he becomes more mature on missions and continue being help for his brothers and allies.
References
- ISBN 978-0-992-9766-0-6.
- ^ Thunderbirds characters
- ^ a b c d Marcus, Laurence; Webb, Paul; Hulse, Stephen R. (2001). "Interview: Matt Zimmerman". televisionheaven.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ a b c Peel 1993, p. 154.
- ^ Thunderbird 3: Century 21 Tech Talk. 6 April 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ Thunderbirds Legends: The Tracy Sons & The Disaster. 21 March 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ Peel 1993, p. 245.
- ^ Anderson, Martin (15 July 2009). "Top 75 Spaceships in Movies and TV: Part 2". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-857200-51-8.
- ISBN 978-0-970760-40-1.
- ^ Clark, Graeme. "Thunderbirds Review (2004)". The Spinning Image. Archived from the original on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ Tibbetts, Philip (10 October 2013). "Looking Back at the 2004 Thunderbirds Movie". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-86369-728-9.