Thunderbird 6
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| Thunderbird 6 | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | David Lane |
| Produced by | Gerry Anderson Sylvia Anderson |
| Written by | Gerry Anderson Sylvia Anderson |
| Starring | Matt Zimmerman Shane Rimmer David Graham Sylvia Anderson Gary Files John Carson Christine Finn |
| Music by | Barry Gray |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | 29 July 1968 (UK premiere) |
| Running time | 89 minutes |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Thunderbird 6 was a British science fiction-adventure motion picture released in 1968. It was the second film based on the popular supermarionation television series Thunderbirds.
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[edit] Plot
At a meeting of the World Aircraft Corporation, who have assembled to hear about a new aircraft design by Brains, they are amused to hear that in the age of speed, Brains thinks it would be a good idea to build a 21st Century airship. The committee laughs at his plan.
Back on Tracy Island, Jeff Tracy requests Brains to design a new rescue vehicle to complement the other Thunderbird rescue vehicles, although he admits to not knowing what is required. Brains, after the World Aircraft Corporation meeting is disconcerted because of the lack of a specification, although Jeff reminds him that even though they laughed, they still built the airship. The airship is called "Skyship One".
Alan Tracy, Tin-Tin, Lady Penelope and Parker will be the first guests aboard the luxury new airship on an epic round-the-world trip. Brains is unable to travel because Jeff requires the new Thunderbird, although when pressed he is unable to specify the nature of requirement. Alan has purchased an old de Havilland Tiger Moth bi-plane to fly to the launch in England. Despite being forbidden, TinTin goes with him in the aeroplane. Meanwhile, Brains works hard repeatedly on successive new inventions, but all of his innovations fall short of Jeff Tracy's expectations for the new craft.
Before the launch, the intended crew of Skyship One are massacred by conspirators of "The Black Phantom" (the Hood with a wig), led by Captain Foster. Because the ship is automated, the crew are only there for emergencies, so their lack of knowledge goes unnoticed. Their intention is to record Lady Penelope's speech to make up a recording of a distress call to Jeff, which will then send International Rescue to the Hood's lair at an old airbase, where he can capture their aircraft.
During the flight, Alan and the other guests become suspicious that the crew are not as knowledgable as they ought to be, although Lady Penelope is very taken with the dashing Captain Foster. Finally, after discovering bugging devices in many of the rooms, they inform Jeff, who orders the Thunderbirds to destroy the Hood's base. Meanwhile, Alan confronts the crew, leading to an engine room shootout. A bullet hits part of the gravity compensator, meaning that the ship begins slowly descending towards a huge military missile base in Dover.
After the ship crashes onto a radio transmission mast, International Rescue must hold the ship in place to prevent it falling on the base before the ship, and the base below, are evacuated. Due to the balance of Skyship One on the tower, a light weight aircraft is required, and they send Brains to land on the top deck of Skyship One using the vintage Tiger Moth. However, the crew are holding the passengers at gunpoint, and Captain Foster commandeers the plane. Once it has taken off, a midair shootout occurs, killing Captain Foster, who is in the pilot's seat and the other conspirators. Lady Penelope is forced to take the controls, with instructions from Alan. This results in a number of near misses, including almost landing on an unfinished motorway and narrowly missing a chimney.
Meanwhile, the tower holding Skyship One collapses, and it crashes spectacularly on the missile base below. Alan attempts to land the bi-plane, although it runs out of fuel and crashes into some woods. The crew are all fine, although they initially think they left Parker on the airship (he is actually stuck in a tree).
Back at Tracy Island, Brains proudly unveils the new Thunderbird 6, which turns out to be the vintage Tiger Moth, which has certainly proven its worth.
[edit] Trivia
- By the time production of this film began, Gerry Anderson had refined his Supermarionation technique into more realistically proportioned puppets for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Anderson chose to return to the old style puppets for Thunderbird 6 in order to maintain continuity, although many of the puppets were re-made for the two "Thunderbirds" movies to a noticeably higher standard than their television counterparts. A number of Captain Scarlet-style puppets were used in background shots.
- Barry Gray considered the musical score for the film superior to Thunderbirds Are GO because the world travel allowed for a large variety of musical themes.[citation needed] The soundtrack was released in a limited edition in 2005.
- Lady Penelope's Rolls-Royce FAB-1 was in the cargo hold during the round the world trip, so was presumably destroyed with the crash of Skyship One.
- The "Black Phantom" has a striking resemblance to the arch villain The Hood who supposedly died in the first feature film Thunderbirds are Go.
- It remains a mystery why Jeff Tracy ever wanted a "Thunderbird 6" to start with, as he could not give any practical reason for it in the first part of the film. It is also unclear who he intended to pilot it, as the only possibilities are Tin-Tin, Brains, and himself.
[edit] See also
- Thunderbirds Are GO, the first Thunderbirds film.
[edit] External links
| Gerry Anderson |
|---|
| Television |
| The Adventures of Twizzle | Torchy the Battery Boy | Four Feather Falls | Supercar | Fireball XL5 | Stingray | Thunderbirds | Captain Scarlet | Joe 90 | The Secret Service | UFO | The Protectors | Space: 1999 | Terrahawks | Dick Spanner, P.I. | Space Precinct | Lavender Castle | New Captain Scarlet |
| Feature Films |
| Crossroads to Crime | Thunderbirds Are GO | Thunderbird 6 | Doppelgänger |
| Companies/Techniques |
| AP Films | Century 21 Productions | Supermarionation |
| Notable Collaborators |
| Sylvia Anderson | David Lane | Barry Gray | Reg Hill | Derek Meddings | John Read | Shane Rimmer |
