‘THUNDERBIRD 6’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Thunderbird 6 and Skyship One
I enjoyed this second ‘Thunderbirds’ movie!
After enjoying ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’, I was keen to watch another ‘Thunderbirds’ movie-like adventure. On the double-bill VHS video of ‘Thunderbirds’ movies in the 1990s, I was able to enjoy ‘Thunderbird 6’, the second and the last of the two films. It was a lovely experience to remember. 😀
I have fond memories watching this movie as a kid. I don’t think it’s as great and epic as ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’, but it’s still great entertainment and a fun adventure. Years later in 2001, I purchased ‘Thunderbird 6’ on DVD. I’m pleased I can still enjoy these ‘Thunderbirds’ films in 2021.
‘Thunderbird 6’ was made in 1968. It’s particularly exciting as indicated from the film’s title. In this movie, we get to see a new Thunderbirds vehicle – Thunderbird 6. We of course have had Thunderbird 1, Thunderbird 2, Thunderbird 3, Thunderbird 4 and Thunderbird 5 from the TV show. 🙂
Now we are introduced to a new Thunderbirds machine! And it’s a yellow Tiger plane. I had a yellow toy plane once as a kid. Although it wasn’t really Thunderbird 6, I believed it was. I wish I had Thunderbird 6 toy. It’s a shame that there doesn’t seem to be more stories featuring Thunderbird 6.
In this movie, Brains invents a new airship. Although his idea gets laughed at (and those laughing faces of them puppets in the New World Aircraft Corporation board room meeting are terrifying to watch), the airship is built and it’s named Skyship One. Amazing how they built it immediately after!
Meanwhile, Jeff Tracy decides that Brains needs to come up with a Thunderbird 6. As Alan, Tin-Tin, Lady Penelope and Parker board Skyship One on its maiden voyage, a gang of criminals jeopardise the voyage, resulting in the ship to crash. Will a yellow Tiger plane with Brains aboard save the day?
Unlike the first film where it took a while to see the Thunderbirds characters, we get to see more of them early on in ‘Thunderbird 6’. We first see Brains proposing the airship idea to the New World Aircraft Corporation, led by its president James Glenn (voiced by Geoffrey Keen), before we get to Jeff demanding for Brains to come up with a Thunderbird 6. 😀
We also get to see Lady Penelope, Parker, Alan and Tin-Tin having adventures on Skyship One. They hope to enjoy their holiday before they end up in danger. Brains does get to have a major part in the film when he’s inventing many versions of Thunderbird 6 and getting to pilot the Tiger plane himself.
I found it funny when Brains kept up coming up with models of Thunderbird 6 for Jeff Tracy to see and approve. He always gets turned down however. In his lab, Brains becomes upset and angry that he smashes his Thunderbird 6 models onto the floor. All of that good work being smashed to pieces.
It’s surprisingly amusing to see Brains lose his temper in this film as we didn’t see him do that often in the TV series. Brains does get to wear an International Rescue uniform in the rescue mission when flying in the yellow Tiger plane, which was great to see as it makes Brains the pilot of Thunderbird 6.
The ‘Thunderbirds’ cast returns, including Jeff Tracy (voiced by Peter Dyneley); Scott Tracy (voiced by Shame Rimmer); Virgil Tracy (voiced by Jeremy Wilkin); Alan Tracy (voiced by Matt Zimmerman) and Gordon Tracy (by David Graham). Sadly, Ray Barrett didn’t return to voice John Tracy in this movie. 😦
John Tracy is now voiced by Keith Alexander. Ray Barrett must have unavailable to voice John in this film. Brains (voiced by David Graham) returns as well as Lady Penelope (voiced by Sylvia Anderson), Parker (voiced by David Graham) and Tin-Tin (voiced by Christine Finn)! It’s really lovely to see them.
The ‘Thunderbird 6’ cast includes a gang of criminals masquerading as the crew aboard Skyship One. They’re led by the suave and villainously fake Captain Foster (voiced by John Carson). I’ve seen John Carson appear in a 1972 BBC TV production of ‘Emma’ and the ‘Doctor Who’ TV story ‘Snakedance’.
I’ve also met John Carson at the ‘celebrate 50 – The Peter Davison Years’ event once. There’s also the ‘Black Phantom’ (voiced by Gary Files), a character who may possibly be the son of the Hood. Or he may be the actual Hood. It’s not very clear and I wish the film made it clear that he was the Hood.
I liked the scenes where the yellow Tiger plane flown by Alan and Tin-Tin left Tracy Island and also when they arrived at Lady Penelope’s Creighton-Ward mansion. I found it funny when Parker became scared out of his wits once a trick was played upon him when Tin-Tin piloted the Tiger plane.
I also enjoyed the escort scene where FAB 1 and the Tiger plane were escorted by Thunderbirds 1 and 2 on their way to the airport to embark on Skyship One. The incidental music provided by Barry Gray adds to the exciting feel of FAB 1, the Tiger plane, and Thunderbirds 1 and 2 travelling together.
The holiday scenes of the Skyship One’s voyage were immensely enjoyable. Alan, Tin-Tin, Penelope and Parker get to visit many places around the world. They include New York, India, Africa and Switzerland. I really enjoyed the sequence where our heroes were enjoying their time in Switzerland.
Lady Penelope and Parker ride in FAB 1 with Captain Foster. FAB 1 goes on actual skis! Alan and Tin-Tin follow behind them on their skis. There’s also the steam train restaurant they go to which gave me joy to see it since I love steam trains from my ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ days as a very little kid. 🙂
During their holidaying aboard Skyship One however, our four heroes Penelope, Parker, Alan and Tin-Tin discover the crew aren’t what they seem. What’s more, Penelope discovers that she’s being bugged. Her voice is recorded and her words edited into a message by Foster and his gang of crooks.
They send this message to International Rescue and this happens to be part of a trap to lure Thunderbirds 1 and 2 to a place of rendezvous. Thankfully, Lady Penelope is able to warn Jeff in time about this trap. I’m not entirely sure what the criminals’ motives are in the film. It’s never explained.
Once Foster and his gang of criminals have been found out, Alan and the others try to apprehend them and a gun fight ensues. This results in Skyship One’s engines getting damaged. The airship soon loses height before it approaches a radio mast above a missile base. This is close to Dover in England.
Things become desperate when Thunderbirds 1 and 2 try to hold Skyship One steady on the crumbling radio mast whilst an evacuation takes place on the ground from the missile base. I recall how tense those scenes were when I watched the film as a kid in that VHS collection from years ago.
In order to rescue Penelope, Alan, Tin-Tin, Parker and the others, the Thunderbirds team come up with a way to save by using a light aircraft. This turns out to be the yellow Tiger plane that Brains pilots to land safely on the top of Skyship One. I’m glad they were able to get the Tiger plane for this.
It gets pretty tense when Foster and his men threaten Brains and the others in order to get on board the Tiger plane. Fortunately, through a bitter confrontation, the heroes manage to overthrow the villains and get away, escaping aboard the Tiger plane. It’s pretty ‘touch and go’ in those moments. 🙂
The Tiger plane gets away in time before Thunderbirds 1 and 2 let go of Skyship One and it falls to the ground. The destruction scenes of Skyship One are truly spectacular. I did find they did last a long time in their two separate segments with an intercutting cute of the Tiger plane in the movie. 🙂
Then again, with a missile base to fall down upon, it’s bound to get pretty fiery and for the airship to cause so much damage once the place has been evacuated. I’m amazed Scott in Thunderbird 1 and Virgil in Thunderbird 2 were able to keep the Skyship One up high long enough before it collapsed. 🙂
The Tiger plane sequences featuring Lady Penelope, Alan, Tin-Tin, Brains and Parker are truly exciting. This is especially with all the ‘Thunderbirds’ incidental music from the TV show in the background. It becomes pretty tense when Penelope has trouble flying the plane on a motorway. 😀
Alan tries to get into cockpit of the plane after they get rid of the dead Foster who had been shot. It was funny when Parker was underneath the plane and he got his face mucky once flying through a smoking chimney. It was also amusing when the plane made an emergency landing through a tree. 🙂
The film finishes on a satisfactory note with Brains presenting his new Thunderbird 6 machine to Jeff Tracy and the others. And of course it turns out to be…the Tiger plane. I pleased Jeff approved the new Thunderbird 6 saying, “It has been built and it sure has been tested!” Brains must be pleased! 🙂
As I indicated before, I would have loved to have seen more of Thunderbird 6 in action. It’s such a shame that the TV series ended in the 1960s when it did, as I love ‘Thunderbirds’ so much. I can’t say the same enthusiasm with later incarnations as the original ‘Thunderbirds’ series was truly the best.
On the original DVD for ‘Thunderbird 6’, there’s the original theatrical trailer for the film. There’s also an audio commentary with Sylvia Anderson and director David Lane. There are also photo galleries of the promotional artwork and behind-the-scenes of ‘Thunderbird 6’.
On Blu-ray, as well as the original theatrical trailer for the film and the audio commentary with Sylvia Anderson and director David Lane, there are special features like ‘Lady Penelope’, ‘Building Better Puppets’, ‘Tiger Moth’, a photo montage, ‘A Call From Stanley Kubrick’, ‘A Television Tribute’ and an isolated score track by Barry Gray.
I greatly enjoyed ‘Thunderbird 6’ as an action-packed adventure romp. It’s not as great as ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’, but I enjoyed watching Alan, Tin-Tin, Lady Penelope and Parker in their Skyship One adventures and being rescued by Brains in the Tiger plane that becomes Thunderbird 6.
This film is a decent way to close off the original 1960s ‘Thunderbirds’ TV series. It’s a shame not more ‘Thunderbirds’ episodes and movies were made after this. The original ‘Thunderbirds’ TV series and their two films are classics. You should definitely check them out and enjoy their true worthiness! 😀
By the way, did FAB 1 get destroyed in the destruction of Skyship One in the movie? So sad! 😦
‘Thunderbird 6’ rating – 8/10
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