David Huckvale identifies Wagnerian homage in both the theme music and the series ' premise . Noting that the theme 's opening string ostinato is similar in effect to a recurring motif in Ride of the Valkyries , he also likens the Thunderbird machines to Valkyries themselves : " Their function is more benevolent than those warrior maidens , but they do hover over danger , death and destruction . " Kevin J. Donnelly of the University of Southampton acknowledges the series ' " big @-@ sounding orchestral score " , which he compares to that of a live @-@ action film . He also suggests that the music serves partly to draw attention away from the physical imperfections of the puppets .