This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page will answer many of the questions that we’re regularly asked about Fanderson and the way in which the club operates. With one notable exception this page isn’t designed to answer questions about Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s productions, as you’ll find answers to many of those on our Productions, Locations and Biographies pages.
So, firstly, our most received question:
What does ‘FAB’ stand for?
Nothing! Despite appearances, as used by International Rescue in Thunderbirds “FAB” is not an acronym – it’s simply a call sign like ‘Roger’ or ‘Ten-Four’ to acknowledge received instructions. In the 1960s, when Thunderbirds was in production, the term ‘fab’ was in common parlance as a shortened form of ‘fabulous’ which, of course, everything was. The phrase has enjoyed resurgence in recent years and ‘FAB’ itself entered the Collins English Dictionary in 2002: “‘FAB [interjection British informal] an expression of agreement to, or acknowledgement of, a command [from British television series, Thunderbirds].”