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| Gordon Tracy | |
|---|---|
| Thunderbirds character | |
The classic puppet character
| |
| First appearance | "Trapped in the Sky" (30 September 1965) |
| Created by | Gerry and Sylvia Anderson |
| Designed by | Mary Turner (puppet sculptor)[1] |
| Portrayed by | Ben Torgersen (2004 live-action film) |
| Voiced by | David Graham (original series) David Menkin (remake series) |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | Pilot of Thunderbird 4 Former WASP operative Former Olympic competitor |
| Affiliation | International Rescue |
| Family |
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| Relatives | Grant Tracy (grandfather) Grandma Tracy (grandmother) |
| Home | Tracy Island |
| Nationality | American |
Gordon Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds, the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 as well as the remake TV series Thunderbirds Are Go. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds.[2]
Born on 14 February 2004 or 2043, Gordon Tracy revels in all aquatic sports, from skin-diving to water-skiing. Named after astronaut Gordon Cooper, he is a highly trained aquanaut, with stints in the Submarine Service and the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, the same organisation that is used in the Stingray (1964 TV series) under his belt. During his time with the WASPs, Gordon commanded a deep-sea bathyscaphe and spent a year beneath the ocean investigating marine farming methods. An expert oceanographer, he is also the designer of a unique underwater breathing apparatus, which he has modified and improved for International Rescue.[3]
Shortly before International Rescue began operating, Gordon was involved in a hydrofoil speedboat crash when his vessel capsized at 400 knots. The craft was completely shattered and Gordon spent four months in a hospital bed. Now, as the pilot of Thunderbird 4, he commands the world's most advanced and versatile one-man submarine. Good-natured and high-spirited, he possesses a strength and tenacity that make him a respected leader and commander. He is also one of the world's fastest freestyle swimmers and is a past Olympic champion at the butterfly stroke.[4]
In addition to being the pilot of Thunderbird 4, Gordon is also the co-pilot of Thunderbird 2, and thus often accompanies Virgil.
Of all the family, Gordon is the funny one, which gives him a tendency to get into trouble with Jeff over his flippant sense of humour. For example, in "Day of Disaster", somebody has taken Grandma's personal edible transmitter, and Gordon proves his innocence when he says he'd know if he'd taken a transmitter, but Jeff gets annoyed. Gordon's favourite pastimes are playing chess (often with Scott or Brains), going fishing and playing the guitar.
Ben Torgersen plays Gordon in the 2004 live action film, which focuses on Alan Tracy; as such, not much is known about this version of the character. According to Alex Pang's Thunderbirds: X-Ray Cross Sections, he is 18, and a recent graduate from Wharton Academy, the school that Alan attends at the start of the film. He is noted to still be training on the Thunderbirds craft, with a year remaining until he is permitted to fly solo.[5]
David Menkin plays Gordon in the 2015 CGI redux of Thunderbirds, entitled Thunderbirds Are Go!.[6] He is now a blonde, instead of being a redhead (he and John have traded hair colours, as have Scott and Virgil). As well as piloting Thunderbird 4, he also pilots various devices flown around by Thunderbird 2, such as the new Elevator Cars in "Fireflash". Again, he's the funny one, and is also described as having a loud voice, dwarfed only by his clothing tastes. His IR outfit now has a scuba-diving mouthpiece attached to his now-yellow sash (it was orange in the original series).
Similar to his older brother John he seems to have been given a romantic interest in the reboot - in Gordon's case Lady Penelope.
Carolyn Percy of the Wales Arts Review comments that whereas the 1960s puppet character was one of the least developed Tracy brothers, this version of Gordon is characterised as a "light-hearted joker".[7]
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