The Impostors (Thunderbirds episode)
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| “The Imposters” | |
|---|---|
| Thunderbirds episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 16 |
| Written by | Dennis Spooner |
| Directed by | Desmond Saunders |
| Original airdate | 13 January 1966 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "City of Fire" | "The Man From MI.5" |
| List of Thunderbirds episodes | |
"The Impostors" is the 16th episode of the first series of the Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds. It was the 19th episode to be produced. Its original air date on ATV Midlands in the United Kingdom was 13 January 1966. It was written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Desmond Saunders.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Framed for the theft of top-secret military plans, International Rescue cannot function while a global search is conducted to apprehend them for a crime that they did not commit. As the Tracys risk their freedom to rescue a technician in space, will Lady Penelope, with the help of fellow International Rescue agent, Jeremiah Tuttle, track down the criminal impostors before their organisation is found first?
[edit] Plot
A World TV helijet carrying news reporter Eddie Kerr is descending to the site of a rescue operation. Landing beside a strange craft with International Rescue markings, parked next to an Aeronautical Research Station, Kerr explains to his viewers that International Rescue is in the process of saving a man trapped following the collapse of an underground well. The reporter and his cameraman push their way through to the front of the crowd just as a man in International Rescue attire emerges from the shaft, sheltering the victim. He reacts angrily to the media presence and reveals himself not to be one of the Tracy brothers. A man in the crowd covertly takes his photograph.
On Tracy Island, the real International Rescue team are baffled when the story and picture are published in the newspapers. Jeff tries to mask his concerns by reminding them that the impersonators managed to save a life. However, unknown to them all, the “rescue” was nothing but a front for breaking into the secret vaults of the Aeronautical Research Station and stealing the plans of the AL4, a revolutionary strategic fighter. General Lambert of Satellite HQ believes that the AL4 design is worth considerably more than the International Rescue craft, and proposes to instigate a worldwide manhunt for the treacherous organisation.
While Navy vessels, tanks, radar trucks, helijets and even Air-Sea Rescue planes scour the planet, Jeff announces that International Rescue will remain inoperative, despite possible emergencies, until its name is cleared. In order to uncover the impostors, he places all International Rescue agents on alert for unusual activity and orders Lady Penelope to interview eyewitnesses of the fake rescue. Penelope and Parker make their way to London Airport in FAB1 and take off in the Fireflash, bound for the United States.
In a forest in Arizona, hillbilly Jeremiah Tuttle guns down an animal for his supper and oddly notices aircraft tyre tracks in the mud. Returning to his hovel, he calls Tracy Island, being an International Rescue agent, to convey his suspicions to Alan. Meanwhile, having found nothing dubious about the island, a detachment of the search force is seen off by Jeff. Alan informs his father of Jeremiah’s information, but Jeff is confident that the tracks are the result of a forced aircraft landing. However, the impostors, Jenkins and Carela, are hiding out in a disused mine near Jeremiah’s home.
The first global search has not yielded results but Lambert is determined to continue the operation. Meanwhile, astronauts Hale and Elliott, monitoring the South Pacific region from search satellite Space Observatory 3, detect a crippling fault in tracking device DKO. Onboard Thunderbird 5, John intercepts radio transmissions and realises that a rescue operation could now be launched from Tracy Island, but Jeff is not sure that it could be completed in the four hours required to repair the fault. Elliott dons a space suit and leaves the space station via the airlock. Spacewalking to the tracking antennae, he prepares to fix DKO from the outside.
Penelope poses as a reporter for a British magazine and interviews Eddie Kerr at the World TV Building. He claims that the impostors were travelling in an EJ2 jet and flew from the scene in a south-south-west direction. Notified by Penelope, the International Rescue team deduce that, due to the EJ2’s limited range, it must have landed in the territory of Jeremiah Tuttle. Realising that there was more to the tyre tracks than first seemed, Jeff arranges for Penelope to rendezvous with Jeremiah.
Elliott concludes external repairs on Space Observatory 3, but Hale’s internal maintenance will take a further two hours to finish. Elliott disconnects the lines attaching him to the satellite and proceeds to the airlock, but accidentally presses an incorrect button on his booster pack and yells as he surges off into outer space. Meanwhile, on the ground, Jeremiah and Ma Tuttle are driving to the rendezvous with Penelope in their ancient car. Behind time, Jeremiah operates the supercharger, overtaking a flashy hot rod and dismaying its proud owner.
Hale calls Lambert to report Elliott’s accident and estimates that he will run out of air in three hours. Knowing that a rescue rocket could not reach their sector in time, Lambert resolves that the astronaut must be sacrificed for the success of the mission. Furious at Hale’s suggestion of striking a deal with International Rescue to save Elliott, Lambert orders him to resume his internal repairs.
Having monitored communications, John reports the incident to Tracy Island. Jeff is initially unwilling to risk International Rescue’s liberty to save one man, but eventually changes his mind and sends out Alan and Scott in Thunderbird 3, even though the Space Observatory will soon be on air again.
Meanwhile, Jeremiah and Ma have escorted Penelope and Parker back to their home. Jeremiah believes that the mine could function as an excellent hideaway for crooks, but Penelope is determined to make a solitary effort to apprehend the impostors. Parker tries to drive FAB1 but it quickly becomes bogged down in the mud. Penelope resolves that they must proceed to the mine on foot.
Equipment at Satellite HQ picks up signs of an unauthorised rocket launch and Hale sights Thunderbird 3 from the Space Observatory, but the fault means that he cannot locate the launch site. Incredulous that International Rescue have decided to save Elliott, Lambert orders Hale to have the tracking device repaired for the craft’s return so that it can be monitored during its descent. Onboard Thunderbird 3, Alan and Scott detect Elliott on radar and move along the appropriate bearing. Eventually spotting the astronaut on their visual scanners, they move in for the recovery.
While Jenkins and Carela prepare to leave the mine and sell the stolen AL4 plans, Penelope and Parker arrive at the entrance after an arduous journey in the mud. Penelope wants to challenge the impostors and tries to fire a warning shot, only to find her gun clogged up with dirt. Hearing her cries of despair, Jenkins and Carela arm themselves with rifles and investigate. Jenkins prepares to open fire on the trespassers but is startled when Jeremiah, who has quietly followed Penelope and Parker with Ma, shoots at him. Jeremiah then hurls a tin of Ma’s explosive beans into the mine, forcing the crooks to surrender.
Having received an urgent call from the White House, Lambert abandons the search and orders Hale to give International Rescue full cooperation. While Thunderbird 3 comes in to dock with the Space Observatory, the rescued Elliott congratulates Alan and Scott for having their name cleared.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Regular Voice Cast
- Jeff Tracy — Peter Dyneley
- Scott Tracy — Shane Rimmer
- Virgil Tracy — David Holliday
- Alan Tracy — Matt Zimmerman
- Gordon Tracy — David Graham
- John Tracy — Ray Barrett
- Tin-Tin Kyrano — Christine Finn
- Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward — Sylvia Anderson
- Aloysius "Nosey" Parker — David Graham
[edit] Guest Voice Cast
- Eddie Kerr — Matt Zimmerman
- Helijet Pilot — David Graham
- Jenkins — Ray Barrett
- Carela — David Graham
- General Lambert — Ray Barrett
- Colonel — Ray Barrett
- Jack — David Graham
- Search Control — David Graham
- Air Force Officer — Peter Dyneley
- Air Force Lieutenant — Peter Dyneley
- Captain Hanson — David Graham
- Fireflash Co-Pilot — Ray Barrett
- Fireflash Stewardess — Sylvia Anderson
- Jeremiah Tuttle — Peter Dyneley
- Ma Tuttle — Sylvia Anderson
- Hale — Ray Barrett
- Elliott — David Graham
- Wakefield — Matt Zimmerman
- Speed Merchant — Matt Zimmerman
[edit] Main Equipment
The vehicles and equipment featured in this episode are:
- Thunderbird 3
- Thunderbird 5
- FAB1
- Fireflash
- EJ2 Jet
- Helijet
[edit] Goofs
- Alan’s clothing changes between boarding Thunderbird 3 and ascending in the lift to the control room. This error also occurs in "The Uninvited".
- Scott also changes his clothes in Thunderbird 3: initially he is wearing a yellow jacket and orange shirt, but shortly before the spacecraft blasts off he has donned his usual checked jacket and blue roll-neck sweater.
- While Thunderbird 3 docks with the Space Observatory in the final scene, Elliott remarks that it is great that International Rescue has been exonerated. Scott replies “You can say that again,” without moving his lips.
[edit] Notes
- In the opening scene, Blanche Carter from "City of Fire" can be seen in the crowd thronging around the bogus rescue.
- The man who photographs the impostors in the opening scene previously appears as Colonel Tim Casey in "Edge of Impact".
- A statue in Eddie Kerr’s World TV office previously decorates Dr Korda’s office in "Day of Disaster", although it is usually seen in the Hood’s temple.
- This is the only episode in the series in which Thunderbird 2 does not appear.
