Thunderbirds is a 1960s British science-fiction television series which was produced using a mixed method of marionette puppetry and scale-model special effects termed "Supermarionation". The series is set in the 21st century and follows the exploits of International Rescue, a secret organization formed to save people in mortal danger with the help of technologically advanced land, sea, air and space vehicles and equipment, launched from a hidden base on Tracy Island in the South Pacific Ocean.
Episodes
Trapped in the Sky
The Fireflash, on its maiden flight from London to Tokyo, is sabotaged by the Hood, a criminal who has learned of the formation of International Rescue, and is unable to land. The Hood's attack is intended to draw out International Rescue so he can record secrets of its machinery for sale to the highest bidder, an attempt thwarted by the intervention of the organization's London Agent.
Pit of Peril
A 500-ton U.S. Army walker, Sidewinder, falls into a pit during testing and International Rescue are called to save the crew trapped inside.
The Perils of Penelope
Lady Penelope goes on the trail of a kidnapped scientist, only to find herself in mortal danger at the hands of a megalomaniac determined to exploit the expert's work to his advantage.
Terror in New York City
While returning from a mission, Thunderbird 2 is seriously damaged when it comes under attack from a new, high-speed U.S. Navy strike vessel, the U.S.N. Sentinel. After an operation to move the Empire State Building disastrously ends in the tower's complete collapse, Jeff asks that Thunderbird 4 be transported onboard the same ship to the mouth of an underground river to reach a reporter and his cameraman who are trapped beneath the wreckage.
Edge of Impact
The Hood sabotages the Red Arrow aircraft programme. One of the planes crashes into the TV Tower in England during a brutal rain storm, and International Rescue is summoned to save the engineers inside the tower before it collapses; making their job trickier apart from the driving rain and winds at the site is that the Red Arrow's director, a long time friend of Jeff, is fired from the project and stays at Tracy Island, forcing the Tracys to draw him away and thus remain oblivious to International Rescue's existence.
Day of Disaster
The Allington Bridge collapses while a space rocket is being transported over it, trapping the rocket on the riverbed and inadvertently initiating its automatic countdown. International Rescue is called upon to save the crew before the rocket launches.
30 Minutes After Noon
The Erdman Gang has developed an ingenious technique of having their work carried out – an explosive bracelet that can be removed only at the designated target. A secret agent's attempt to infiltrate the organisation backfires as he is left trapped in a plutonium store. International Rescue face a race against time to prevent a massive nuclear explosion.
Desperate Intruder
Brains and Tin-Tin set off on an expedition to retrieve sunken treasure from Lake Anasta. The Hood has also set his sights on the riches and plans to put both Brains and Tin-Tin in grave peril.
End of the Road
International Rescue's security is jeopardised when Tin-Tin's close friend Eddie Houseman, who recently visited Tracy Island, takes drastic action to save his road-construction company's threatened contract by planting explosives to tear open a jungle mountainside, and the ensuing chaos leaves him trapped on a cliffside in a truck with another case of explosives on board.
The Uninvited
While returning to base, Scott is attacked by mysterious fighter aircraft and shot down over the Sahara. He is discovered by two archaeologists, who send him on his way, only to find themselves entombed within the lost Pyramid of Khamandides.
Sun Probe
The Sun Probe rocket and its crew are locked in a collision course with the Sun, prompting the launching of Thunderbird 3 – but International Rescue itself requires saving when Thunderbird 3 is unable to escape the Sun's gravitational pull.
Operation Crash-Dive
A series of unexplained Fireflash airliner disappearances sees Thunderbird 4 being called to rescue a crew stranded on the ocean floor. International Rescue then volunteer its services in helping to diagnose the cause of the mechanical fault.
Vault of Death
During the installation of a new, airtight security vault at the Bank of England, one of the employees is accidentally locked inside, and International Rescue must come to his rescue before the air is extracted.
The Mighty Atom
The Hood plans to corner the Thunderbirds vehicles by drawing them out to an emergency at an atomic irrigation plant in the Sahara, then photographing them with a miniature camera disguised as a mouse.
City of Fire
The world's tallest tower catches fire following an explosion in the car park and International Rescue are called to rescue a family trapped in the basement, which they can accomplish only with an experimental cutting gas ("Oxyhydnite") that previously rendered Scott and Virgil Tracy unconscious during testing.
The Imposters
A gang of criminals masquerade as International Rescue to conceal their theft of top-secret military plans. The ensuing worldwide manhunt for International Rescue leaves the organisation powerless to operate in a rescue situation until its name is vindicated, just as a member of a manned reconnaissance satellite is suddenly trapped in space while trying to repair the station.
The Man from M.I.5
A criminal organisation steals classified plans. Working in conjunction with a British Secret Service agent, Lady Penelope must recover the material to save the world from total destruction.
Cry Wolf
Two Australian boys are playing their favourite game — "International Rescue" — when their "distress" call is picked up by John Tracy on Thunderbird 5. After a tour of Tracy Island, and a warning not to use their radio again, the brothers are returned home. The Hood then tricks the boys into an old mine shaft before stealing secret photographs from their government agent father. This time the brothers' SOS is real, but International Rescue refuses to believe them.
Danger at Ocean Deep
When the Ocean Pioneer tanker inexplicably explodes, Brains investigates the cause. With some help from Lady Penelope, he discovers it to be a chemical reaction between the cargo of liquid Alsterene and OD60, which is found in the sea. International Rescue set out to save the crew of the ill-fated Ocean Pioneer II.
Move – And You're Dead
After Alan Tracy returns to motor-racing, his rivals decide to remove the competition by rigging a bridge with a movement-sensitive bomb, which will explode the moment that Alan and Grandma Tracy try to escape. (Some of this episode is narrated in flashback.)
The Duchess Assignment
The Duchess of Royston has fallen on hard times, leading her friend Lady Penelope to enlist Jeff's help. The Duchess and her one asset – the painting Portrait of a Gazelle, by Braquasso – fall into criminal hands and it is up to International Rescue to save both.
Brink of Disaster
An unscrupulous investor attempts to recruit Lady Penelope into funding his automated, cross-country monorail building project. Jeff volunteers to ride the prototype, but he, Brains, and Tin-Tin find themselves trapped onboard, and with no possibility of escape, when it is discovered that the monorail train is speeding towards a stricken bridge.
Attack of the Alligators!
When a new growth hormone is accidentally released into a South American river, a house is besieged by alligators – now many times their normal size. International Rescue must subdue the reptiles and save the house's occupants.
Martian Invasion
The Hood arranges for a mishap with explosives during a film shoot, leaving two of the actors sealed inside a cave. When International Rescue arrive the ensuing rescue is surreptitiously recorded by the Hood, and when the Tracys realize they've been set up a tense chase through the nearby desert ensues.
The Cham-Cham
When aircraft are shot down during live broadcasts of a hit song, International Rescue suspects foul play. Tin-Tin and Lady Penelope (posing as the singer Wanda Lamour) investigate, but are left in mortal danger when a ski lift is sabotaged and speeds out of control down a mammoth mountain slide in the Alps.
Security Hazard
Clip show episode: the Tracy family cannot help but reminisce about their many successful missions after a young boy infiltrates the island. They are nevertheless burdened by the problem that the boy knows their identity and the location of their base – until Jeff realises that they can use the boy's dreams to their own advantage. Includes clips from "End of the Road", "Sun Probe", "Trapped in the Sky" and "Day of Disaster".
Top Cast
Peter Dyneley
Jeff Tracy
Matt Zimmerman
Alan Tracy (voice)
Shane Rimmer
Scott Tracy
Ray Barrett
John Tracy
Sylvia Anderson
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
David Holliday
Virgil Tracy (voice)
David Graham
Gordon Tracy / Brains (voice)
Christine Finn
Tin-Tin Kyrano (voice)
