View source for Brains (Thunderbirds)

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Brains (''Thunderbirds'')}}
{{Infobox character
| name        = Brains
| series      = [[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]
| image       = [[File:Brains1.jpg]]
| caption     = The classic puppet character
| first       = "[[Trapped in the Sky]]"<br />(30 September 1965)
| creator     = [[Gerry Anderson|Gerry]] and [[Sylvia Anderson]]
| designer    = Mary Turner<br>(puppet sculptor)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Filmed in Supermarionation|first1=Stephen|last1=La Rivière|author1-link=Stephen La Rivière|year=2014|edition=2nd|orig-year=2009|publisher=Network Distributing|location=London, UK|isbn=978-0-992-9766-0-6|page=172}}</ref>
| voice       = [[David Graham (actor)|David Graham]]<br>(original puppet character)<br>[[Kayvan Novak]]<br>(remake series)<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/30/thunderbirds-are-go-itv|title=''Thunderbirds Are Go!'' Blends Old and New for Return of Classic Series|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|last1=Plunkett|first1=John|location=London|date=30 September 2013|access-date=26 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012212521/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/30/thunderbirds-are-go-itv|archive-date=12 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
| portrayer   = [[Anthony Edwards (actor)|Anthony Edwards]]<br>(2004 live-action film)
| full_name   = Ray Hackenbacker<br>(2004 film)<br>Hiram K. Hackenbacker<br>(remake series)
| alias       = Hiram K. Hackenbacker (original series)<ref name="Bentley, 92">Bentley 2005, p.&nbsp;92.</ref><br>Mr X<br>(''[[Thunderbird 6]]'')
| occupation  = Engineer, scientist, inventor
| affiliation = International Rescue
| children    = Fermat Hackenbacker<br>(2004 film)
| home        = [[Tracy Island]]
| nationality = American<br>Indian (remake series only)
}}
'''Brains''' is a fictional character introduced in the British mid-1960s [[Supermarionation]] television series ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'', who also appears in the sequel films ''[[Thunderbirds Are Go]]'' (1966) and ''[[Thunderbird 6]]'' (1968) and the 2004 live-action adaptation ''[[Thunderbirds (2004 film)|Thunderbirds]]''. The puppet character was voiced by [[David Graham (actor)|David Graham]] in the TV series and the first two films, while [[Anthony Edwards (actor)|Anthony Edwards]] played the role for the live-action film. Brains is voiced by [[Kayvan Novak]] in the CGI remake series ''[[Thunderbirds Are Go (TV series)|Thunderbirds Are Go]]'', which aired in 2015.<ref name="Guardian"/>
==Conception and development==
According to series co-creator [[Sylvia Anderson]], Brains was conceived as "yet another version of our regular [[boffin]]-type characters who had appeared in all our previous series".<ref name="Anderson, 25"/> She compares the character to Professor Matthew Matic (of ''[[Fireball XL5]]'') and George Lee Sheridan, nicknamed "Phones" (of ''[[Stingray (1964 TV series)|Stingray]]'').<ref name="Anderson, 25"/> Brains has also been viewed as an updated version Dr Beaker (of ''[[Supercar (TV series)|Supercar]]''), an eccentric scientist who similarly stutters.<ref name="Anderson, 25"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Rough Guide to Cult TV: The Good, The Bad and the Strangely Compelling|series=Rough Guides|editor=Simpson, Paul|year=2002|publisher=[[Rough Guides]] / Haymarket Customer Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-1-84353-009-1|page=242}}</ref> The likeness of the [[Supermarionation]] puppet was influenced by the appearance of American actor [[Anthony Perkins]].<ref>La Rivière 2009, p.&nbsp;115.</ref>
Voice actor [[David Graham (actor)|David Graham]] did not base Brains' tones on any person in real life.<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20848769|title=''Thunderbirds'' Creator Gerry Anderson 'A Creative Genius'|date=27 December 2012|work=[[BBC News Online]]|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905190214/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20848769|archive-date=5 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> He explains that Brains' [[stutter]] – which he devised himself, without direction from the Andersons or scripts<ref name="BBC"/> – was a natural evolution of his characterisation: "It seems that with clever people the mind works faster than the mouth can speak."<ref name="Bentley, 26">Bentley 2005, p.&nbsp;26.</ref><ref name="La Rivière, 110"/> It is likened by Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn, writers of ''What Made ''Thunderbirds'' Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson'', to [[logical positivism]], whereby "the mind recognises only unquestionable facts and often appears to work faster than the voice."<ref name="Archer and Hearn, 116">Archer and Hearn 2002, p.&nbsp;116.</ref> Graham also interpreted the character as being "innocent and unsophisticated", and possessing qualities of "absent-mindedness" and "vagueness".<ref name="Archer and Hearn, 117">Archer and Hearn 2002, p.&nbsp;117.</ref> Anderson expresses similar views, describing the role as that of "a young man pre-occupied and confident with his work and experiments, yet socially unsure of himself".<ref name="Anderson, 25">{{Cite book|title=Yes, M'Lady|author=Anderson, Sylvia|author-link=Sylvia Anderson|year=1991|publisher=Smith Gryphon|location=London|isbn=978-1-856850-11-7|page=25}}</ref>
A negative effect of the character's delivery was the impact on the pacing of episodes: Anderson remembers that the stutter slowed the action, which potential distributors wanted to "move along fast", despite "bearing in mind that puppet action was slow enough without any speech impediments".<ref name="Anderson, 25"/> She concludes that while all concerned were impressed by Graham's "original interpretation", the stammer proved to be "one of those experiments that worked better in the recording studio than on the screen".<ref name="Anderson, 25"/> The scriptwriters solved the problem by abbreviating or cutting Brains' lines and limiting the character's appearances,<ref name="Anderson, 25"/> to the extent that by the end of Series Two, his speech impediment had been eliminated.<ref name="La Rivière, 110"/> With [[Aloysius Parker|Parker]], Brains was Graham's joint favourite voice role for series.<ref name="Marriott, 124">Marriott 1993, p.&nbsp;124.</ref>
In the mid-1980s, [[Gerry Anderson]] proposed to develop a ''Thunderbirds'' re-make, ''T-Force''.<ref name="Bentley, 120">Bentley 2005, p.&nbsp;120.</ref> As part of the updating of characters, vehicles and settings, Brains' [[myopia]] and stutter were to have been removed, and the character re-imagined as an eloquent [[computer scientist]].<ref name="Bentley, 120"/><ref>{{Cite book | last1 = Archer | first1 = Simon | title = Gerry Anderson's FAB Facts: Behind the Scenes of TV's Famous Adventures in the 21st Century | year = 2004 | orig-year = 1993 | publisher = [[HarperCollins]] | location = London | isbn = 978-0-00-638247-8 | page = [https://archive.org/details/gerryandersonsfa00arch/page/64 64] | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/gerryandersonsfa00arch/page/64 }}</ref> In the late 1990s, before [[Jonathan Frakes]] replaced [[Peter Hewitt (film director)|Peter Hewitt]] as director of the then-undeveloped [[Thunderbirds (2004 film)|live-action film adaptation]], co-producer [[Tim Bevan]] approached comedian [[Rowan Atkinson]] with a view to offering him the role of Brains.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made|author=Hughes, David|year=2001|publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]]|location=[[Illinois]]|isbn=978-1-55652-449-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/greatestscifimov0000hugh/page/216 216]|url=https://archive.org/details/greatestscifimov0000hugh/page/216}}</ref>
[[Anthony Edwards (actor)|Anthony Edwards]], who portrayed Brains in the completed 2004 film, enjoyed the role primarily on account of the character's stutter.<ref name="Starburst1">''Starburst Special'' 2004, p.&nbsp;27.</ref> In an interview for ''[[Starburst (magazine)|Starburst]]'' magazine, Edwards stated that his children "made me be absolutely true to the original Brains – it was very important to them."<ref name="Starburst1"/> Marit Annen, the film's [[costume designer]], pictured the character as "the kind of archetypal [[Absent-minded professor|forgetful scientist]]; the only thing that's hi-tech about him is his shoes".<ref name="Starburst2">''Starburst Special'' 2004, p.&nbsp;39.</ref> The glasses that the live-action Brains wears, while intended to be reminiscent of the original "pebble lenses", were made as smaller and "slightly more modern" half-frame spectacles.<ref name="Starburst2"/>
==Character biography==
[[File:National Media Museum, Bradford - Brains.png|thumb|130px|Replica Brains puppet in the [[National Media Museum]], UK]]
Born on 14 November 2001 or 2040 in [[Michigan]], United States, Brains was orphaned at the age of 12 when his family was killed in a hurricane. He was eventually adopted by a professor at the [[University of Cambridge]], and discovered later on by [[Jeff Tracy]], founder of International Rescue, while he was lecturing in Paris.<ref name="Bentley, 58">Bentley 2005, p.&nbsp;58.</ref><ref name="Marriott, 125">Marriott 1993, p.&nbsp;125.</ref>
Brains is a highly-intelligent [[mechanical engineering|mechanical]] and [[aerospace engineering|aerospace]] engineer who is considered to be fifty years ahead of his time, and the world's greatest aircraft designer.<ref>[[Thunderbird 6]], 1968; approx 00:30.</ref> A highly valued if somewhat absent-minded and socially maladroit member of IR, he designed the [[Thunderbirds machines|''Thunderbird'' machines]] and other vehicles and facilities used by the organisation and its agents – indeed, much of the hardware and infrastructure. He is also known to invent in his spare time; he once built a chess-playing robot called Braman (which fortuitously serves as an auxiliary computer in the episode "[[Sun Probe]]"). Brains' technical expertise is sometimes required in the field, in which case he usually accompanies the Tracy brothers in ''[[Thunderbird 2]]''.<ref name="Bentley, 58"/>
It has been mentioned a number of times, in at least ''Thunderbirds are go'', that Brains has a tendency to overengineer his inventions to ensure reliability and an ability to work in unexpected situations. As such, it is rare that the Thunderbird vehicles cannot handle the rescues they are assigned.
Brains has occasionally designed vehicles for organisations outside International Rescue as a freelance engineer. These include ''[[Thunderbirds machines#Skythrust|Skythrust]]'' (in the episode "[[Alias Mr. Hackenbacker]]") and ''[[Thunderbirds machines#Skyship One|Skyship One]]'' (in the film ''[[Thunderbird 6]]''). Such commissions are built under strict security to maintain the secrecy of IR.
The character's birth name is not revealed in the series; while working on external projects, Brains uses a [[pseudonym]] to protect his identity.<ref name="Bentley, 58" /> For example, he uses the alias "Hiram K. Hackenbacker" while working on the ''Skythrust'' project, and the board that commissions ''Skyship One'' knows him only as "Mr X".<ref name="Bentley, 58" />
=== Original series appearances ===
{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}
* "[[Trapped in the Sky]]"
* "[[Pit of Peril]]"
* "[[Terror in New York City]]"
* "[[Edge of Impact]]"
* "[[Day of Disaster]]"
* "[[30 Minutes After Noon]]"
* "[[Desperate Intruder]]"
* "[[End of the Road (Thunderbirds)|End of the Road]]"
* "[[The Uninvited (Thunderbirds)|The Uninvited]]"
* "[[Sun Probe]]"
* "[[Operation Crash-Dive]]"
* "[[Vault of Death (Thunderbirds episode)|Vault of Death]]"
* "[[The Mighty Atom (Thunderbirds)|The Mighty Atom]]"
* "[[City of Fire (Thunderbirds)|City of Fire]]"
* "[[The Man from MI.5]]"
* "[[Cry Wolf (Thunderbirds)|Cry Wolf]]"
* "[[Danger at Ocean Deep]]"
* "[[Move{{snd}}and You're Dead]]"
* "[[Brink of Disaster (Thunderbirds episode)|Brink of Disaster]]"
* "[[Attack of the Alligators!]]"
* "[[The Cham-Cham]]"
* "[[Security Hazard]]"
* "[[Atlantic Inferno]]"
* "[[Path of Destruction (Thunderbirds)|Path of Destruction]]"
* "[[Alias Mr. Hackenbacker]]"
* "[[Lord Parker's 'Oliday]]"
* "[[Ricochet (Thunderbirds)|Ricochet]]"
* "[[Give or Take a Million]]"
* ''[[Thunderbirds Are Go]]'' (film)
* ''[[Thunderbird 6]]'' (film)
{{div col end}}
== Adaptations ==
In the 2004 film, his actual name is Ray Hackenbacker. He is said to have met antagonist Transom at an international conference on nanotechnology. According to Alex Pang's ''Thunderbirds: X-Ray Cross Sections,'' Jeff recruited Brains to International Rescue after he invented the 'Gravitron' [[artificial gravity]] plate for use in NASA's spacecraft.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pang |first=Alex |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56436621 |title=Thunderbirds : The Movie : X-Ray Cross-Sections |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-911249-5 |location=Oxford |pages=20 |oclc=56436621}}</ref> He also designed the "Hackenbacker series 3000 [[Fusion power|fusion reactor]]" for use in all Thunderbird craft (sans Thunderbird 4),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pang |first=Alex |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56436621 |title=Thunderbirds : The Movie : X-Ray Cross-Sections |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-911249-5 |location=Oxford |pages=14 |oclc=56436621}}</ref> the "Hackenbacker [[VTOL]] engine" for use in Thunderbirds 1 and 2,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pang |first=Alex |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56436621 |title=Thunderbirds : The Movie : X-Ray Cross-Sections |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-911249-5 |location=Oxford |pages=10 |oclc=56436621}}</ref> and the "Hackenbacker inchworm engine", named after [[Inchworm|his favourite insect]], for use in Thunderbird 4.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pang |first=Alex |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56436621 |title=Thunderbirds : The Movie : X-Ray Cross-Sections |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-911249-5 |location=Oxford |pages=23 |oclc=56436621}}</ref>
''Thunderbirds Are Go!'', the 2015 reboot series, uses Hiram K. Hackenbacker as Brains' real name.
==Reception==
Brains is widely considered to be one of the best-known characters devised for an Anderson series,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20846964|title=In Pictures: ''Thunderbirds'' Creator Gerry Anderson|date=26 December 2012|work=BBC News Online|publisher=BBC|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313032212/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20846964|archive-date=13 March 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Collins Telly Guide|author1=Sangster, Jim |author2=Condon, Paul |year=2005|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-007190-99-7|page=727}}</ref> and is described by Daniel Sperling of the entertainment website [[Digital Spy]] as one of a few ''Thunderbirds'' characters to "have almost become as beloved as the show".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/tubetalk/a383553/thunderbirds-tube-talk-gold.html|title=''Thunderbirds'': Tube Talk Gold|author=Sperling, Daniel|date=26 May 2012|work=[[Digital Spy]]|publisher=[[Hearst Magazines UK]]|location=London|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621013951/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/tubetalk/a383553/thunderbirds-tube-talk-gold.html|archive-date=21 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Stephen La Rivière, writer of ''Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future'', argues that Brains is the series' "third iconic character" after [[Lady Penelope]] and [[Aloysius Parker|Parker]], and is distinctive for his "big, blue-rimmed glasses and stuttering American accent".<ref name="La Rivière, 110">La Rivière 2009, p.&nbsp;110.</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a505472/sooty-kermit-edd-the-duck-31-tv-puppets-we-still-love.html|title=Sooty, Kermit, Edd the Duck: 31 TV Puppets We Still Love|author=Eames, Tom|date=9 August 2013|work=Digital Spy|publisher=Hearst Magazines UK|location=London|access-date=26 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825090927/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a505472/sooty-kermit-edd-the-duck-31-tv-puppets-we-still-love.html|archive-date=25 August 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
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 [[stereotype]]s inherent in the series' writing.<ref>{{Cite magazine|magazine=[[TV Zone]]|issue=120|date=November 1999|publisher=[[Visual Imagination]]|location=London|author=Abbott, Jon|editor=Vincent-Rudzki, Jan|issn=0957-3844|oclc=226121852|page=66|title=Fantasy Flashback: Thunderbirds: 'Trapped in the Sky'}}</ref> David Ryan of the website [[DVD Verdict]] is bemused by the stutter, arguing that it "comes off as slight [[Intellectual disability|retardation]], or possibly [[brain damage]]. (Maybe he's an early version of [[Rain Man]]?)."<ref name="DVDVerdict">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/thunderbirds40th.php|title=DVD Verdict Review – ''Thunderbirds'': 40th Anniversary Collector's Megaset|author=Ryan, David|date=28 January 2008|work=[[DVD Verdict]]|publisher=Verdict Partners|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116083039/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/thunderbirds40th.php|archive-date=16 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
Daniel O'Brien comments on the close relationship between Brains and the Tracy family, judging the former to be [[Jeff Tracy|Jeff]]'s "surrogate sixth son".<ref>{{Cite book|title=SF:UK: How British Science Fiction Changed the World|author=O'Brien, Daniel|year=2000|publisher=Reynolds & Hearn|location=London|isbn=978-1-903111-16-1|page=83}}</ref> Ryan suggests that Brains is to the Tracys as music producer [[George Martin]] was to [[The Beatles]].<ref name="DVDVerdict"/> 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 ''[[Thunderbirds machines#Skyship One|Skyship One]]'' passengers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://film.thedigitalfix.com/content/id/11802/thunderbirds-are-gothunderbird-6-box-set.html|title=''Thunderbirds Are Go''/''Thunderbird 6'' Box Set DVD Video Review|author=Gray, James|date=12 June 2004|work=The Digital Fix|publisher=Poisonous Monkey|location=London|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303214010/http://film.thedigitalfix.com/content/id/11802/thunderbirds-are-gothunderbird-6-box-set.html|archive-date=3 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
Critical response to [[Anthony Edwards (actor)|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".<ref name="TheDigitalFix">{{Cite web|url=http://film.thedigitalfix.com/content/id/12263/thunderbirds.html|title=''Thunderbirds'' Cinema Review|date=26 July 2004|work=The Digital Fix|publisher=Poisonous Monkey|location=London|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221052719/http://film.thedigitalfix.com/content/id/12263/thunderbirds.html|archive-date=21 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> 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".<ref name="TheDigitalFix"/> [[Ian Freer]] of ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine judges Edwards' performance "uncomfortable",<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=9784|title=''Thunderbirds'' Movie Review|author=Freer, Ian|author-link=Ian Freer|year=2004|magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]|publisher=[[Bauer Consumer Media]]|location=[[Peterborough]], UK|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303214850/http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=9784|archive-date=3 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> while [[Glenn Erickson]] of [[DVD Talk]] suggests that Brains and Fermat's "'funny' stutters" are poor substitutes for "real character traits".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1465thun.html|title=DVD Savant Review: ''Thunderbirds''|author=Erickson, Glenn|author-link=Glenn Erickson|date=30 December 2004|work=DVD Talk|publisher=[[Internet Brands]]|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417164235/http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1465thun.html|archive-date=17 April 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/media/movietext.html|title=Movies That Portray Stuttering|author=Zimmerman, Ira|date=9 September 2013|publisher=[[Minnesota State University, Mankato]]|access-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121228180306/http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/media/movietext.html|archive-date=28 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Popular culture===
La Rivière considers the character of Brains to occupy a special place in [[popular culture]].<ref name="La Rivière, 110"/> ''[[The Independent]]'' observes that the name "has entered the English language for any high-foreheaded [[geek]] with over-sized specs", adding that the character was "representative of a type. He was the backroom [[boffin]], diffident in speech and uncomfortable (my, those eyes used to roll about) in taking the foreground".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/boffins-on-the-box-1074719.html|title=Boffins on the Box|date=18 January 1999|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|publisher=Independent Print|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226000341/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/boffins-on-the-box-1074719.html|archive-date=26 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alastair Campbell]], press secretary to former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, [[Tony Blair]], nicknamed Labour politician [[David Miliband]] "Brains" after the ''Thunderbirds'' character.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/2475236/Profile-of-Foreign-Secretary-David-Miliband.html|title=Profile of Foreign Secretary David Miliband|author=Pierce, Andrew|author-link=Andrew Pierce|date=30 July 2008|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216150816/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/2475236/Profile-of-Foreign-Secretary-David-Miliband.html|archive-date=16 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| url = http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,815389,00.htm| title = Heir to Blair?| newspaper = [[The Observer]]| publisher = Guardian Media Group| date = 20 October 2002| access-date = 18 July 2007| location=London| author=Rawnsley, Andrew| author-link=Andrew Rawnsley| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090629074108/http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2002/oct/20/schools.labour| archive-date = 29 June 2009| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/david-miliband-mp-you-ask-the-questions-434098.html|title=David Miliband MP: You Ask The Questions|date=29 January 2007|newspaper=The Independent|publisher=Independent Print|location=London|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140304005334/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/david-miliband-mp-you-ask-the-questions-434098.html|archive-date=4 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2004, news magazine ''[[The Economist]]'' used Brains' image as part of a [[billboard]] advertising campaign.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3746752.stm|title=Ad Breakdown: Too Brainy By Half?|author=Wilson, Giles|date=19 October 2004|magazine=[[BBC News Magazine]]|publisher=BBC|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501100321/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3746752.stm|archive-date=1 May 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2008, a new TV advertisement for [[Britvic]]'s Drench spring water was launched; it featured a puppet Brains dancing to the [[Snap!]] song "[[Rhythm Is a Dancer]]", with the slogan "Brains work best when hydrated".<ref name="BBCAdBreakdown">{{Cite magazine|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7417366.stm|title=Ad Breakdown: Water on the Brains|author=Wilson, Giles|date=28 May 2008|magazine=BBC News Magazine|publisher=BBC|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111222208/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7417366.stm|archive-date=11 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The official video proved to be popular on [[YouTube]], where it inspired various [[remix]]es.<ref name="BBCAdBreakdown"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1994889/Thunderbird-Brains-advert-is-YouTube-hit.html|title=''Thunderbird'' Brains Advert Is YouTube Hit|author=Alleyne, Richard|date=20 May 2008|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|publisher=Telegraph Media Group|location=London|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111212015545/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1994889/Thunderbird-Brains-advert-is-YouTube-hit.html|archive-date=12 December 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Giles Wilson, writing for ''[[BBC News Magazine]]'', praised the film's production values and suggested that it was "destined to be the memorable advert of this year", comparing it favourably to [[Cadbury]]'s "[[Gorilla (advertisement)|Gorilla]]" promotions of 2007.<ref name="BBCAdBreakdown"/> [[BBC Radio 1]] DJ [[Jo Whiley]] considered the advert "amazing";<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jowhiley/2008/05/hip_hop_thunderbirds.shtml|title=Hip Hop ''Thunderbirds''&nbsp;...|author=Whiley, Jo|author-link=Jo Whiley|date=22 May 2008|work=[[BBC Online]]|publisher=BBC|access-date=4 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304004158/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jowhiley/2008/05/hip_hop_thunderbirds.shtml|archive-date=4 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Gerry Anderson]] deemed it "brilliant" and remarked that the writer should have been awarded for his joke "Good for Brains".<ref>{{Cite news|title=Talking Shop: Gerry Anderson|work=BBC News Online|date=7 October 2008|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7655589.stm|access-date=7 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012094942/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7655589.stm|archive-date=12 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The advert re-appeared in re-cut form, featuring the new slogan "Dehydrated brains don't perform well", in January 2009.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Brains from ''Thunderbirds'' to Help People Combat Post-New Year's Eve Hangovers |first=Urmee |last=Khan |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3920576/Brains-from-Thunderbirds-to-help-people-combat-post-New-Years-eve-hangovers.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=24 December 2008 |access-date=4 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113121459/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3920576/Brains-from-Thunderbirds-to-help-people-combat-post-New-Years-eve-hangovers.html |archive-date=13 January 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{Refbegin}}
*{{Cite book | last1 = Archer | first1 = Simon |author1-link=Simon Archer (author) | last2 = Hearn | first2 = Marcus | title=What Made ''Thunderbirds'' Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson | year = 2002 | publisher = [[BBC Books]] | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-0-563-53481-5}}
*{{Cite book | last1 = Bentley | first1 = Chris | title = The Complete Book of Thunderbirds | publisher = [[Carlton Books]] | year = 2005 | orig-year = 2000 | edition = 2nd | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-1-84442-454-2}}
*{{Cite book | last1 = La Rivière |first1 = Stephen |author1-link=Stephen La Rivière | title = Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future | year = 2009 | publisher = [[Hermes Press]] | location = Neshannock, Pennsylvania | isbn = 978-1-932563-23-8 }}
*{{Cite book | last1 = Marriott | first1 = John | others = Rogers, Dave; Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme | title = Supermarionation Classics: Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons | year = 1993 | publisher = [[Macmillan Publishers|Boxtree]] | location = London, UK | isbn = 978-1-85283-900-0 }}
*{{Cite magazine | magazine=Starburst Special | issue=65 | date=August 2004 | publisher=[[Visual Imagination]] | location=London, UK | editor=Payne, Stephen | issn=0955-114X | oclc=79615651 |title=''Thunderbirds''}}
{{Refend}}
==External links==
*[http://www.fab1.co.nz/characters/brains.htm ''Thunderbirds'' characters]
{{Thunderbirds}}
[[Category:Adoptee characters in television]]
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