In early March 2015 Fanderson was invited to ITV’s offices in Gray’s Inn Road, London to interview the voice cast of Thunderbirds Are Go.
The series is now in full swing with episode three Space Race airing on ITV on 11th April. Now we bring you the last of three full-length interviews with the series voice cast. We speak to three of the leading ladies in Thunderbirds brave new world :
- Angel Coulby (Kayo) – AC
- Sandra Dickinson (Grandma Tracy) – SD
- Adjoa Andoh (Col. Casey) – AA
Questions:
Please could you tell us about your characters in the series.
How familiar were you with the original show?
Why do you think these new characters have been introduced to the series?
The original series was so iconic – was there a part of you that was a bit worried about being involved in a remake?
Did you get to see what your characters would look like before you started recording?
Does Granmda still make apple pie?
How does it feel to know that Thunderbirds has so much fan baggage?
Did you do much research into the series before you started recording?
Were you at all worried that some of that charm of the original might be lost in the remake?
Can you tell us about any of the locations around the world that the Thunderbirds go to?
How were the voice recordings organised? Were you all together in a group?
Did you voice multiple characters in some scenes, and have conversations with yourself?
What kind of shows did you watch when you were children?
Did you manage to get a Button Moon reference into Thunderbirds?
So your characters have all survived?
Please could you tell us about your characters in the series.
SD:
Well, I’m Sandra Dickinson, and I play Grandma Tracy – the matriarch of Tracy Island.
AA:
I’m Adjoa Andoh and I play Colonel Casey. I don’t think she has a first name – she’s just Colonel! She’s a new character and she’s the head of the Global Defence Force. She was a friend of the family, of the father, and she’s the world’s good guy leader on a military front. When she has stuff that can’t be done in a military way, that needs sneaky innovation, she gets in touch with International Rescue and they will do it for her. Or, she will back them up when they’ve gone in, and sometimes she has to rescue them, though generally it’s the other way around.
AC:
I’m Angel Coulby and I play Kayo, another new character. She has kind of been adopted by the Tracy family. She’s Head of Security at International Rescue, so she’s pretty tough, and sometimes she has to consult the Global Defence Force when she wants to go in and get the bad guys. However, she hates doing that and would rather just go in by herself rather than following the rules and regulations. She feels that she knows how to sort the situation on her own.
How familiar were you with the original show?
AC:
I’d heard of it and seen a few episodes but wasn’t that familiar with it.
AA:
I’m of a vintage that meant I was familiar with the original show, and watched it as a kid, though I loved Captain Scarlet – that was my favourite.
SD:
I’m of an even older vintage so I was familiar with it as well. I came to the UK in 1969, so I was watched the repeats.
“We’re a racially diverse group – we’re of different ages, so we’re ticking all those boxes as well”
– Adjoa Andoh
Why do you think these new characters have been introduced to the series?
AA:
Because we’re living in the 21st century and women do stuff, and that needs to be reflected in the stories, because girls will be watching as well. And boys will be watching and will be interested in what the girls are doing – I hope! Also, we’re a racially diverse group – we’re of different ages, so we’re ticking all those boxes as well. You want an audience to be as engaged as possible on all fronts. And the audience will be global, of all ages and both genders hopefully.
And what do you think of the new show?
AA:
I saw a screening at the BFI in the main cinema, and I was absolutely gob-smacked. Before this we’d seen little clips that were half-done, but on the big screen – oh my goodness. Giles, the executive producer, had said that he wanted the ear to lead the eye, so the sound is fantastic, and it’s a totally immersive experience to watch this. It was much more impressive than I imagined it would be. I was really excited. I thought it all worked really well. Obviously there’s a young market that it’s catering for, but I sat there very happily engaged, wondering what was coming next – and not in a patronising ‘oh, children will love this’ kind of way.
AC:
It genuinely is really gripping. I was kind of watching it on the edge of my seat. They’ve really managed to create that sense of drama and jeopardy within the show, and I think people will love it.
The original series was so iconic – was there a part of you that was a bit worried about being involved in a remake?
SD:
Well, we’ve had such great back up. The effects are done by the people who did The Hobbit in New Zealand, and they’re the best. We’ve got elements of the original show in David Graham, amongst others, and I think it’s done with such love of the original that the fans won’t feel that we’re treading on anybody’s toes. I think they’ll embrace it the way we have. It’s really exciting to move it into the future more, away from the marionettes. I think it’s going to appeal to more than just the kids. I’ve only seen previews in a small screening room so far, but the sound of it is just extraordinary. The characters are much more life-like now because they’re not moving like that (imitating a puppet – ed). It’s just delightful, what everyone has put into it.
AA:
Tray Island is still filmed in New Zealand the way it was originally. The island is probably four times the size of this table (it was big table! – ed) in a huge aircraft hangar. They’ve got cameras everywhere. I was one of the voices in Captain Pugwash when that came back and I was in Doctor Who for three series – these things can come back and have a new life, and speak to new audiences in a new way. But not disrespectful to the old ways.
SD:
Oh yeah, I don’t think there’s any question of this. It has been done with reverence to the original, and I think that will come across.
AA:
But it’s darker and it’s faster, and it’s the 21st century.
“Grandma Tracy still has quite a lot the elements of the original.”
– Sandra Dickinson
Did you get to see what your characters would look like before you started recording?
AC:
We’d only seen pictures of what they would look like. They weren’t fully finished, so it was very much up to us as to how we interpreted those characters, and then they animated what we did. So we felt very involved and lucky – it originates from you.
AA:
But when we first started the writer, Rob Hoegee, who is sort of the driving force in terms of the narratives – although David Baddiel has written an episode – Rob came over from LA. When we had our first big read-through we talked about our characters and what they looked like, we talked about what Rob had in his mind when he was writing them. It was quite collaborative. And then we saw a little bit of the early animation so we could see how they would move.
SD:
They had based the boys pretty much on the look of the previous ones, and Grandma Tracy still has quite a lot the elements of the original.
Does she still make apple pie?
SD:
She’s still a very bad cook!
She used to be a good cook!
SD:
Oh really? Well, she’s not a good cook now! At least the boys don’t think so. I brought an element of my own to it, in that she wears a bum bag now, which is very fashionable… or not! But practical. I’m delighted. –I popped in this morning to do a bit of voicing before I came here, because I had to change a word or something, and they’ve given here white eyebrows, which I have myself, so I was a little excited about that. It’s really exciting to be a part of this – the whole thing. In this 50th anniversary, this recreation of this wonderful beast.
AC:
Everyone who I’ve told that I’m doing this show has said ‘brilliant’ and been really excited. No one has been saying ‘oh no, I’m not sure about a remake…’ People are really looking forward to it. I think it has been done before, so it’s not like the first time…
SD:
But this was given the blessing of the creator of the original.
AA:
And Sylvia does one of the voices in the David Baddiel episode, so it’s got the absolute blessing.
“I think it’s more exciting to be a part of the remake, rather than scary. You can’t fear everything you do.”
– Sandra Dickinson
How does it feel to know that Thunderbirds has so much fan baggage?
AA:
I don’t think you can worry about that.
AC:
No, because otherwise it will just get in the way.
AA:
You just want it, and your performance, to be as good as it can be.
AC:
Also, because there are new characters we’re not so worried about how it was done before.
AA:
We hope that it will be accepted.
SD:
I think it’s more exciting to be a part of the remake, rather than scary. You can’t fear everything you do.
Can you tell us if any of the storylines from the original series have been recreated or reworked for the remake?
AA:
I don’t know if we can say, really… There are elements, and there are jeopardies, and there’s the dynamics between the brothers, and Angel’s character has some stuff going on.
AC:
Yes, a bit of a dark secret that obviously we can’t talk about!
Did you do much research into the series before you started recording?
AC:
I didn’t even think of watching the original when I got the part. I had a familiarity with it in my head already as to what it was, but I was just more interested in the new scripts and how I was going to interpret this role, so it didn’t really occur to me to watch the originals. I think that would be the case with any other gig, I wouldn’t want to go back and watch the originals.
SD:
It’s not something as an actor that you ever really want to do, to see what someone else has done.
AA:
Yeah, you avoid it like the plague. You don’t want to be thinking at any moment: ‘Am I mimicking someone else?’
Were you at all worried that because the original is so iconic, some of that charm might be lost?
AA:
When you see those rockets launch, it’s fantastic, and you really get the sense of the originals. So I think it’s a really clever mix actually. When I went to the screening I was thinking ‘Yikes, what is this going to be like…?’ but I just think that the blend is really fantastic.
SD:
I agree. I think it’s been done with huge reverence and fondness for the original. It’s not in any way trying to make you forget about the original, it’s really embracing it.
AA:
It’s the opposite of naff, you know what I mean? It’s classy!
Can you tell us about any of the locations around the world that the Thunderbirds go to?
AC:
They go to lots of hot places, like Mexico, I think…? They go all over the place, dealing with global situations.
AA:
I don’t really remember it in terms of ‘now we’re in Rio…hey it’s the Arctic!’ but there’s all sorts of geographical locations – underwater and in the sky.
“Sometimes they would alter the script if something felt slightly awkward, they might change some words around, but in terms of ad-libbing…not really.”
– Angel Coulby
How were the voice recordings organised? Were you all together in a group?
SD:
We were always together when we had scenes together, so it was very much a repertory feel. We’re very much a team. It does give you a sense of actually being in the moment, in the scenes.
AA:
And also, it’s part of the family-ness of the series – you’ve got grandma and you’ve got the boys… I kind of think of The Waltons meets The Dukes of Hazzard! You’ve got all those family dynamic s going on. And then you’ve got Kayo, who like an adjunct, adopted by the family, and these other elements – you’ve got this militaristic thing with my character, and then quirky Parker and Lady Penelope.
SD:
They’re often recorded separately though, because they’re off in their Rolls Royce. But there’s a real ensemble feel to working on the series, because there’s usually these five mics lined up in a row.
Did you voice multiple characters in some scenes, and have conversations with yourself?
SD:
I’ve only done Grandma Tracy for the moment.
AA:
I haven’t done other characters, but I’ve done other bits and pieces – crowds, stuff like that. They would sometimes get other actors to come in and do other voices.
Was there any ad-libbing in the performances?
SD:
There was a great deal of laughter – after which we’d have to do that again.
AC:
Sometimes they would alter the script if something felt slightly awkward, they might change some words around, but in terms of ad-libbing… not really.
AA:
Yes, just a bit of tweaking for the smoothness of the dialogue.
SD:
Yes, and Rob Hoegee, if he hadn’t travelled to be with us from LA, he’d be on Skype, and then they’d ask him whether he was ok about them changing something slightly.
AA:
But it’s pretty tightly scripted.
What kind of shows did you watch when you were children?
AA:
I watched things like The Double Deckers. I’d think, ‘if only I could get to that London (because I lived in the West country) I could go on a double decker and have adventures!’ I loved adventure stuff- things like Doctor Who, Captain Scarlet – that was big, the Jackson Five cartoon…I’ll stop there!
SD:
My childhood was spent in America and my brother was very fond of Howdy Doody, which was a marionette show, and my brother had his own Howdy Doody doll. And we watched The Mickey Mouse Club and American cartoons… it was a very different upbringing from you ladies!
AA:
Well, we had a lot of cowboy shows – we had Champion the Wonder Horse.
SD: Later on, in my later youth, I watched ‘I love Lucy’.
AC:
I used to love a show called Round the Twist, and I’d also watch re-runs of things like Genie, older things like Willo the Wisp and The Magic Roundabout. A real mix of different eras of things.
SD:
When I came to England I loved The Clangers –
AA:
And there was Noggin the Nog. In the sixties when I was a kid you would have all the holiday programmes, The Flashing Blade, White Horses and Robinson Crusoe – they were nearly all dubbed. And there was Button Moon…
AC:
I remember seeing the live show of Button Moon.
SD:
I sang the theme song!
AC/AA:
Did you?!
SD:
I’ll give you my autograph later! My ex-husband (Peter Davison – ed.) and I created it and sang it.
Did you manage to get a Button Moon reference into Thunderbirds?
SD:
Sadly not yet, but you never know. You haven’t seen the last of Thunderbirds!
Yes, it’s been re-commissioned, hasn’t it?
SD:
So I hear – it’s been announced.
Have you had discussions about being involved in the 2nd series?
AA:
Yes, we’re all on board. They’re writing the scripts at the moment, but I’m not sure when filming will happen.
So your characters have all survived?
AA:
So far they have!
SD:
You know, I think the women characters go from strength to strength, from what I hear.
AC:
We started recording this ages ago – it’s taken a long time to animate.
SD:
When we first started they said it would be ready in 2015. In my experience it was quite stiff competition to become a part of it. My husband is a good deal younger than me and he said ‘Oh my god, this is going to be huge! He’s a geek from way back. ‘They’ll be selling merchandise too – I’m going to buy the merchandise!’