For those of you that don’t know, every week I have been writing in-depth reviews of each episode of the original Thunderbirds series. During these reviews I have been closely studying what appears on screen and highlighting bits and pieces which point to how the episode was produced, and which parts worked well or didn’t work so well. Part of that process has involved analysing one aspect in particular which relates to the first eleven episodes to go into production.
Author Archives: Jack Knoll
Thunderbirds – 11. Brink of Disaster
There’s a general stereotype about Thunderbirds that the word ‘automatic’ should translate to the word ‘lethal’ by default. Brink of Disaster is the prime candidate for that being true. This episode brings us high stakes, with members of International Rescue in danger once again, and some enjoyable characters in the form of Warren Grafton and his crooked gang of businessmen. But there’s also something rather unremarkable about this episode which I want to try and pin down over the course of this review…
Joe 90 – WIN’s Top Agents
Over the course of the Joe 90 series, WIN is engaged in espionage-cracking missions all over the world. Their Most Special Agent, 9 year-old Joe 90, is on the case in every episode but the World Intelligence Network also has a number of other operatives who work on various assignments. Here’s a list of all of WIN’s personnel that appeared throughout the series.
Thunderbirds – 10. Martian Invasion
Martian Invasion is a bizarre mix of a fairly ordinary rescue of two film actors trapped in a cave combined with what could have been one of the most important moments in the series – International Rescue’s capture of The Hood. How does this exciting opportunity play out? Let’s take a look.
All Puppet Creatures Great and Small
A celebration of all the creatures which had to be made by the puppet workshop at AP Films to stand alongside their human co-stars without looking too odd.
Thunderbirds – 9. Move – And You’re Dead
Alan’s off to the races this week in an episode full of high-speed action and a very unusual plot structure. All this and the ability for a puppet to stand still is pushed to the limit!
UFO: A Soap Opera with Aliens?
Having shaken off what he considered to be the curse of making puppet shows, Gerry Anderson was keen to make UFO as appealing to adults as he possibly could while also appealing to children so that the show could generate some money through merchandising. The result is a series full of cool machinery, aliens, and action but also very ‘grown-up’ themes like violence, sex, adultery, broken families, the death of family members, drug-use and even rape.
Thunderbirds – 8. Operation Crash-Dive
A sequel to Trapped in the Sky has to be good, right? Operation Crash-Dive is certainly an unusual episode but it’s packed with some epic Fireflash and Thunderbird 4 action!
The Toys Are Back In Town: A Twizzle and Torchy Cosplay
Those of you that attended Andercon 2015 may recall too nutty people walking around looking very perculiar indeed.
Thunderbirds – 7. Vault of Death
It looks like we’re in for a Parker-heavy episode. If you think about it, we’ve barely seen Parker in the episodes he’s previously appeared, so this ought to be something a bit different.
Security Hazard 