Path of Destruction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Path of Destruction (disambiguation).
“Path of Destruction”
Thunderbirds episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 2
Written by Donald Robertson
Directed by David Elliott
Original airdate 9 October 1966
Episode chronology
← Previous Next →
"Atlantic Inferno" "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker"
List of Thunderbirds episodes

"Path of Destruction" is the 2nd episode of the second series of the Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds. It was originally broadcast on ATV Midlands in the United Kingdom on 9 October 1966. It was written by Donald Robertson and directed by David Elliott.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

|

Crablogger 1
Crablogger 1

Crablogger 1, a huge tree-felling machine, arrives at base camp in South America in preparation for its first mission. The Base commander, Janson takes the crew for a meal at a local restaurant in nearby San Martino and all but Jansen has the 'special'. The next morning, when the Crablogger sets off from the camp, both of the two-men crew collapse because of food poisoning, heading straight for San Martino. To make matters worse, the vehicle has to be constantly relieved of the supplies of the wood pulp that it produces while in motion, for if the machinery jams the resulting explosion of the Superon-fuelled atomic reactor would lay waste to everything within 50-mile radius. The one way to stop the huge machine is to active the secret reactor shutdown procedure from inside the control cabin, which can be accessed only through the roof on the vehicle. Jansen calls International Rescue and Scott sets off in Thunderbird 1, while Jeff apprises Lady Penelope of the situation.

San Martino is evacuated just as the Crablogger ploughs through the village, destroying everything in its path. Scott arrives at the base camp and learns that they have just forty-two minutes to break into the control cabin and shut down the reactor. Thunderbird 2 reaches the danger zone, and Virgil and Brains set off in pursuit of the crabblogger in a Mobile Crane driven by Scott. At Robotics International in England, Lady Penelope is unable to persuade the security guard to let her have the address of Jim Lucas, inventor of the Crablogger, so Parker uses a hypnotic ray on the guard while Lady Penelope plunders the personnel files. They race to Lucas's house but are delayed en route by a road accident. Stealing into Lucas's bedroom, Lady Penelope wakes Lucas and puts a gun to his head. She tells him that it is vital that he reveal the Crabblogger shut-down procedure, but time prevents her from explaining further.

Lady Penelope transmits Lucas' information to Brains, who with Virgil, has gained access to the Crablogger control cabin by cutting through the roof. The vehicle is heading straight for the San Martino Dam along a narrow mountain track as Brains activates the reactor shutdown. However, there is a three minute time lag before the machine will actually come to a halt and they must drain the tanks of the explosive Superon fuel. Scott brings up a fuel truck and Virgil and Brains attach siphons to the fuel outlets. The Crablogger finally stop. Virgil and Brains leap clear with their hover packs as the Crablogger tumbles from the cliff road. In the end the Dam was saved and Lucas got a nasty surprise when he reads the morning newspaper.

[edit] The Cast

[edit] Guest Voice Cast

[edit] Trivia

  • Base-camp operative Simms previously appeared as Dave Clayton in "Day of Disaster".
  • Dam site manager Manuel was previously seen as General Bron in "Edge of Impact".

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/a/t/Path_of_Destruction_e6e2.html"