to pursue due to a lack of funding. Development resumed in 1993, when it was decided to produce the series, now titled GFI, using cel animation. However, Anderson was disappointed with the results and the production was abandoned. In 2005, Anderson re-affirmed his wish to remake Thunderbirds but stated that he had been unable to secure the necessary rights from Granada Ventures. His negotiations with Granada and its successor, ITV plc, continued for the next few years. In 2008, he expressed his commitment to creating an "updated" version, ideally using CGI; three years later, he announced that work on the new series had commenced. Following Anderson's death in December 2012, it was confirmed that ITV Studios and Pūkeko Pictures had struck a deal to remake Thunderbirds using a combination of CGI and live-action model sets. The new series, Thunderbirds Are Go, premiered in 2015. Later that year, to mark the series' 50th anniversary, ITV commissioned Pod 4 Films to produce a mini-series of new Thunderbirds episodes based on three of the 1960s audio plays. Funding was obtained through Kickstarter and the mini-series had its premiere screening at the BFI Southbank in 2016. Titled The Anniversary Episodes, it was released on BritBox in 2020 alongside all 32 episodes of the original Thunderbirds. Audio In April 2021, Big Finish Productions announced the launch of a new series of audiobooks based on the Anderson productions. The first of these, Thunderbirds: Terror from the Stars (an adaptation of the 1966 tie-in novel Thunderbirds by John Theydon) was released in May 2021. Produced by Anderson Entertainment, the audiobooks feature Jon Culshaw as the voices of Jeff Tracy and Parker, with Genevieve Gaunt as Lady Penelope. Influence Thunderbirds has influenced TV, cinema and other media. The 1960s sketch comedy Not Only... But Also included a segment called "Superthunderstingcar" — a parody of Thunderbirds, Supercar and Stingray. The puppet comedy of Team America: World Police was directly inspired by the idiosyncrasies of the Thunderbirds marionettes. Allusion and homage are also evident in the Wallace and Gromit short film A Close Shave, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Spaced, as well as the character design of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. International Rescue was the inspiration for the International Rescue Corps, a volunteer organisation started by a group of British firemen who contributed to the humanitarian effort following the 1980 Irpinia earthquake. Virgin Group used the