Thunderbirds was simply the coolest thing imaginable for kids in the 60s. We are talking pre CGI here. The people (British) who made it were completely nuts, their attention to detail and the amount of money they spent on each episode was crazy.
It's one of those things that was reborn to a new life, partially due to the baby boomer/retro phase and also just because the thing is so darn crazy to look at. The puppets are nothing short of creepy.
It spawned one of the greatest catchphrases ever: "F - A - B". I still use it to this day although 99% of the people who hear it have no idea what the hell it means. Sort of like saying "I must be in the front rooowww".
The South Park guys weren't big fans of the show or anything, but at some point realized they could do a whole bunch of sick stuff with puppets and thus Team America was made.
The nostalgia for the show was so great that they recently made a new sequel. It was done with CGI instead of puppets. It sucks. Some things cannot be recreated. I have all of the originals on my computer and like to watch one once in a while, great stuff.
As far as a pinball I don't know, but it would be a cool theme IMO.
