accent". Tom Eames of Digital Spy judges Brains to be among the most memorable puppet characters in television, writing that unlike some other series regulars, he is "somebody who everyone remembers. If you were going to bring a small group of TV characters on a rocket to start a new world, Brains should be high on the list." Jon Abbott of TV Zone magazine is critical of Brains' status as "the stammering, bespectacled genius", judging it to be one of a number of dated stereotypes inherent in the series' writing. David Ryan of the website DVD Verdict is bemused by the stutter, arguing that it "comes off as slight retardation, or possibly brain damage. (Maybe he's an early version of Rain Man?)." Daniel O'Brien comments on the close relationship between Brains and the Tracy family, judging the former to be Jeff's "surrogate sixth son". Ryan suggests that Brains is to the Tracys as music producer George Martin was to The Beatles. James Gray of the website The Digital Fix considers Brains to be "easily the highlight" of film sequel Thunderbird 6 (1968), praising the "amusing" and "entertaining" scenes in which he destroys rejected prototypes of the eponymous, proposed new vehicle (displaying "a side of him we haven't seen before"), as well as the character's major role in the rescue of the Skyship One passengers. Critical response to Anthony Edwards' live-action portrayal has generally been negative. Gray is mildly complimentary, arguing that the character is spoiled only by his "silly haircut", which is considered "too mannered to be convincing". Although he questions the wisdom of giving the re-imagined Brains a son (Fermat Hackenbacker, played by Soren Fulton), he states that the scenes in which parent and child interact are "nicely done, and provide some rare warmth to proceedings". Ian Freer of Empire magazine judges Edwards' performance "uncomfortable", while Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk suggests that Brains and Fermat's "'funny' stutters" are poor substitutes for "real character traits". Ira Zimmerman of Minnesota State University, Mankato, in a study of film characters with stammers, states that Edwards' Brains "comes off like a wimp – an object of ridicule" and is less "heroic" than the "more interesting" Fermat. Popular culture La Rivière considers the character of Brains to occupy a special place in popular culture. The Independent observes that the name "has entered the English language for any high-foreheaded geek with over-sized specs", adding