Thunderbird 6

Infobox_Film
name = Thunderbird 6

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caption = Region-4 DVD cover
tagline =
imdb_id = 0063694
writer = Gerry Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
starring = Matt Zimmerman
Shane Rimmer
David Graham
Sylvia Anderson
Gary Files
John Carson
Christine Finn
director = David Lane
producer = Gerry Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
distributor = United Artists
released = 29 July, 1968 (UK premiere)
music = Barry Gray
runtime = 89 minutes
language = English
preceded_by = "Thunderbirds Are Go"
followed_by =

"Thunderbird 6" is a British science fiction-adventure motion picture released in 1968. It was the second film based on Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's popular Supermarionation television series "Thunderbirds".

Plot

Having given Brains, inventor of International Rescue's Thunderbird machines, an open brief to design their latest project, executives of the World Aircraft Corporation attend a meeting to hear his proposals. They are astonished to hear that in an age of high technology and speed, he thinks it would be a good idea to build a 21st Century airship. The committee room descends into hysterical laughter at his suggestion.

Some time later, back on Tracy Island, Brains is informed by Jeff Tracy that a new rescue vehicle is desperately needed to complement the other Thunderbirds, although he admits he does not know what form this new craft should take. Brains is reluctant to work without a specification, after his bad experience at the World Aircraft Corporation meeting. However Jeff reminds him that while the company management had laughed at the idea, they had then proceeded to build the airship.

Alan Tracy, Tin-Tin, Lady Penelope and Parker are to be guests aboard the luxury new airship "Skyship One" as representatives of International rescue on its epic maiden voyage around the world. Brains is unable to travel because of Jeff's insistence that a new Thunderbird 6 be operational as soon as possible. Alan has purchased an old de Havilland Tiger Moth bi-plane in which he and Tin-Tin fly to England to join Penelope and Parker for the airship launch. Meanwhile, Brains continues to produce concepts for the new rescue vehicle but all are rejected by Jeff.

Before the launch, the intended crew of "Skyship One" are murdered by associates of "The Black Phantom" (resembling the Hood wearing a wig), led by Captain Foster. Because the ship is automated, the crew are only there for emergencies, so the impostors' lack of knowledge goes unnoticed. Their intention is to record Lady Penelope speaking during the trip and splice the recording together to make a false distress call to Jeff, sending International Rescue to the Phantom'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 knowledgeable 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 of their suspicions, who orders Thunderbirds 1 and 2 to destroy the Phantom's base. Meanwhile, Alan confronts the crew, leading to a shoot-out in the engine room. A stray bullet hits the gravity compensator, causing the ship to slowly descend towards a huge 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, can be evacuated. As "Skyship One" is balanced precariously on the tower, a light-weight aircraft is required for the rescue, so Brains flies the vintage Tiger Moth onto the top deck of the airship. However, the crew are holding the passengers at gunpoint, and Captain Foster commandeers the plane. Once in the air, a shoot-out occurs, in which Foster, who is in the pilot's seat and the other conspirators are killed. Lady Penelope is forced to take the controls, following instructions from Alan. This results in a number of near misses, including almost landing on an unfinished motorway (which was actually the unopened M40 between London and Oxford) and narrowly missing a chimney.

Meanwhile, the tower holding "Skyship One" collapses, causing it to crash spectacularly onto the missile base below. Alan attempts to land the bi-plane, but it runs out of fuel and crashes into some woods. The crew are unharmed, although they initially think they left Parker on the airship, they find him stuck in a tree having fallen from the plane just before it crashed.

Safely back at Tracy Island, Brains proudly reveals the new Thunderbird 6, which turns out to be the Tiger Moth, which Jeff and the others agree has certainly proven its worth.

Production

By the time production of this film began, the Supermarionation technique had been refined, permitting the construction of 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 with the previous "Thunderbirds" film and TV series, 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. (CD Liner Notes) The soundtrack was released in a limited edition in 2005.

Place in the Gerry Anderson canon

Lady Penelope's Rolls-Royce FAB1 was in the cargo hold during the round the world trip, so was presumably destroyed along with Skyship One.

The "Black Phantom" bears a striking resemblance to arch villain The Hood who supposedly died in the first feature film "Thunderbirds Are Go". It is unclear if the Phantom is actually The Hood, a relation, or a completely different character, although on the DVD commentary, Sylvia Anderson states that Black Phantom is not The Hood.

It remains a mystery why Jeff Tracy ever wanted a "Thunderbird 6" to start with or why it was needed so urgently, 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 were Tin-Tin, Brains, and himself.

ee also

*"Thunderbirds", the original television series.
*"Thunderbirds Are Go", the first "Thunderbirds" film.

External links

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* [http://www.fanderson.org.uk/prodguides/movies.html#Film%20Three "Thunderbird 6" at Fanderson]