Tin-Tin Kyrano is a fictional character introduced in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds. A resident of Tracy Island, she works as a laboratory assistant to Brains and occasionally joins the Tracy brothers on rescue missions. In the original TV series and its film sequels, Tin-Tin is voiced by Christine Finn, while in the 2004 live-action film, the character was played by Vanessa Hudgens. In the remake series, she was reimagined as "Kayo" Kyrano and voiced by Angel Coulby.
Original series
Development Sylvia Anderson, Thunderbirds co-producer and character co-creator, wrote that Tin-Tin was conceived mainly to "redress the balance" of the "male-dominated" main puppet cast. She regretted that little of the backstory she had devised for Tin-Tin and her father progressed from script to screen, and that the pair's visibility was limited, in her view, to a number of cameo appearances. The character's name is derived from the Malaysian term for "sweet". The puppet was sculpted by Christine Glanville.
Character biography Born on 20 June 2004 or 2043, Tin-Tin is the daughter of Kyrano – an old friend of, and manservant to, International Rescue founder Jeff Tracy. She joins the organisation shortly after it begins operations, having inadvertently become involved in its first mission when the maiden flight of Fireflash, in which she is travelling from London to Tokyo, is sabotaged by her villainous half-uncle the Hood ("Trapped in the Sky"). Her further education, specialising in mathematics and engineering, was fully paid for by Jeff in gratitude for her father's service to him ("Trapped in the Sky"). Tin-Tin performs a variety of roles on Tracy Island, International Rescue's base of operations. They range from a secretary to Jeff ("Terror in New York City"), to a laboratory assistant to scientist and engineer Brains ("City of Fire"; "Danger at Ocean Deep") to active participation in missions, most notably the rescue of the Sun Probe spacecraft ("Sun Probe"). She is also known to accompany Lady Penelope on espionage missions ("The Cham-Cham") and is a qualified pilot. Tin-Tin is romantically involved with Alan Tracy, although their relationship is briefly strained when Eddie Houseman, Tin-Tin's ex-boyfriend, visits the island ("End of the Road").
Reception Sylvia Anderson remembered the character as "mostly housebound" and less of an adventurer than Lady Penelope, although she "had her followers" and served as a "decorative sidekick to her macho boss". Commentators are divided on Tin-Tin's importance to the story. Jack Hagerty and Jon C. Rogers believe that prior to her major role in Thunderbird 6, and despite her status as a series regular, the character was "usually nothing more than window dressing, with her actual contributions being a bit vague". David Ryan of website DVD Verdict characterised Tin-Tin as "part hanger-around-the-house, part local-squeeze-for-Alan's-pleasure, and 99 per cent useless". Stephen La Rivière is less critical, writing that over the course of the series the character moved away "from being the submissive hired help to a more assertive, independent role". However, he concedes that her development was overshadowed by Penelope's. John Peel offers a similar assessment, criticising the character's appearance in the first episode, "Trapped in the Sky" ("a helpless-female-to-be-rescued role"), but praising her contributions in "Sun Probe" and "The Cham-Cham" (stating that in the latter she "really comes into her own", emerging as Penelope's "sidekick"). He argues that compared to other Anderson series, Thunderbirds gave its minority of female characters more opportunities to prove their worth. Daniel O'Brien describes Tin-Tin, as well as Penelope and Grandma Tracy, as "intelligent" and "independent-minded", praising Thunderbirds for its progressive attitude to characterisation. The Star Observer describes Tin-Tin as a "kooky icon of 60s Orientalism". Nicholas J. Cull cites the character's Malaysian nationality and status as a "positive non-white character" as examples of the series' rejection of ethnonational stereotyping. This contrasts with her relative, the Hood, whose Eastern appearance and manner were intrinsic to his villainy. Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk presents an opposing view, arguing that while Thunderbirds often resorted to stereotypes, it employed them "with some sensitivity – all except for Tin-Tin", whom he negatively characterises as a "literal China doll". Kate Hunt of the University of Glasgow, who studied the series' presentation of tobacco smoking, note that unlike prolific smokers such as Penelope, Tin-Tin was seen "incongruously" and "inconsistently" with a cigarette in just one episode ("End of the Road"). She also writes that the character fills a socially ambiguous position on Tracy Island, appearing variously as an "adopted daughter, secretary, and occasional member of the International Rescue team".
2004 film
In the 2004 live-action film, Tin-Tin is portrayed by Vanessa Hudgens and plays a major role in the plot. She is the 15-year-old daughter of Kyrano and his wife Onaha, and lives with them on Tracy Island. As well as being younger than the TV version, she is no longer Malaysian but depicted as being of Indian descent. She possesses telekinesis and mind control powers similar to those of her half-uncle, the Hood (and, similarly, weakens momentarily as a side effect of their use).
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