|
The maiden flight of a new airship designed by Brains is coming up, but Jeff decides that they need
a sixth Thunderbird, and sets Brains to task designing it. This means that he can't go on the flight
that will tour the world, so Alan, TinTin, Lady Penelope and Parker go in his place, and are the
only guests. It is well known throughout the crew that the foursome are members of International
Rescue.
However, the ship is hijacked before take-off, and the crew are killed and replaced with a group of
criminals working for the Hood. They spend the voyage recording Lady Penelope's voice in order to
send International Rescue a message luring them to an airfield where they will be ambushed.
Back on Tracy Island, Brains is still designing model Thunderbirds, but Jeff is not inspired by any
of the designs. Brains is getting more and more frustrated by Jeff's dismissal of his ideas.
Back on the Skyship, the phony crew manage to get their message together, but the bugs in Lady
Penelope's rooms and the communal areas are discovered. Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are sent to the airfield
at 'Lady Penelope's' request, but when they get there, they fire on the Hood's hideout, not giving
him a chance to steal the crafts.
When the plot is uncovered on the Skyship, a gunfight ensues on the flight deck, and the generators
that keep the Skyship airborne are damaged. The ship begins to loose altitude and crashes into a
pylon above a nuclear power station. The power station and the surrounding area are evacuated, but
as the gravity compensators fail, the ship becomes heavier and heavier, and the pylon cannot take
the full weight of the ship. The passengers and crew are trapped!
Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are dispatched, but rescue looks hopeless as the Thunderbirds' engines cause
the ship to become unbalanced, and any rescue equipment that they have is too heavy. Whilst
Thunderbird 1 attaches a supporting line to the skyship, Thunderbird 2 leaves to find a safe place
to land. It lifts up to reveal an old biplane belonging to Alan in the pod! The plane is light
enough to land on the deck of the Skyship, but when Brains makes an approach, he finds that the deck
is not long enough for an old-fashioned landing, and skids off the end. On his second approach,
however, Scott uses a burst from Thunderbird 1's engines to slow down the plane. The tiny aircraft
is only large enough for one passenger, but the crooks insist that everyone get on. The plane is
overloaded but manages to stay in the air, until a gunfight breaks out between Alan and the captain
of the phony crew. A stray bullet pierces the fuel tank, and the plane crashes through a copse of
trees and finally to the ground.
The phony crew are all dead, but it seems that Parker has also been lost in the course of events.
However, he is soon found hanging from a tree - he had been sat on the wheels of the plane!
When everyone returns to the island, Brains gathers the family, and announces that he has found his
Thunderbird Six. Before Jeff can object, he reveals the craft - the old biplane, that has already
been tested in the field!
Back to Episode Guide
|