Gordon Tracy

Gordon Tracy
	Thunderbirds character
First appearance	"Trapped in the Sky"
Created by	Gerry Anderson
Portrayed by	Ben Torgersen (2004 film)
Voiced by	David Graham (1965–1966, 1968); David Menkin (2015–2020)
In-universe information
Occupation	Aquanaut; Underwater search and rescue; Olympic athlete ; Former WASP operative
Family	Jeff Tracy (father) ; Scott Tracy (brother); John Tracy (brother); Virgil Tracy (brother); Alan Tracy (brother); Grandma Tracy (grandmother)
Nationality	American

Gordon Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry 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.[1]

Thunderbirds (1965-66)

Born on 14 February 2004 or 2043, Gordon Tracy revels in all aquatic sports, from skin-diving to water-skiing. Named after astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper, he is a highly trained aquanaut, with stints in the Submarine Service and the World Aquanaut Security Patrol 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.

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.

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.

Thunderbirds (2004)

Ben Torgeson plays Gordon in the live-action adaptation of Thunderbirds.[2] However, since the movie entirely focuses on a 14-year-old version of Alan, nothing is known of this Gordon.[3]

Thunderbirds Are Go! (2015)

David Menkin plays Gordon in the 2015 CGI redux of Thunderbirds, entitled Thunderbirds Are Go!.[4] 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".[5]

References

Mansour, David (June 2011). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century - David Mansour - Google Books. ISBN 9780740793073. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
Minns2003-01-31T00:00:00+00:00, Adam. "Paxton cast as Thunderbirds patriarch". Screen.
Ebert, Roger (5 February 2013). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 9780740792199 – via Google Books.
Eames, Tom (15 January 2015). "Thunderbirds: Not so FAB? Twitter reactions". Digital Spy.
Percy, Carolyn (13 October 2017). "Thunderbirds Are Go: A Fan's Comparison". Wales Arts Review. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2020.

External links

Thunderbirds Characters

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[1] Mansour, David (June 2011). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century - David Mansour - Google Books. ISBN 9780740793073. Retrieved 10 August 2015.

[2] Minns2003-01-31T00:00:00+00:00, Adam. "Paxton cast as Thunderbirds patriarch". Screen.

[3] Ebert, Roger (5 February 2013). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 9780740792199 – via Google Books.

[4] Eames, Tom (15 January 2015). "Thunderbirds: Not so FAB? Twitter reactions". Digital Spy.

[5] Percy, Carolyn (13 October 2017). "Thunderbirds Are Go: A Fan's Comparison". Wales Arts Review. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2020.