MUSINGS OF A SCI-FI FANATIC: Thunderbirds S1 E10: Martian Invasion

"This is International Rescue. Now I'm requesting you to stop and hand over the film of the rescue operation.
Now do as I ask, please!
If you don't hand over the film now I'm going to have to use more persuasive methods."

-Scott Tracy (voiced by Shame Rimmer)-

Yes, it's FAB FRIDAY! And the latest heavenly creation from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.
Martian Invasion has little to do with actual real Martians or aliens. It's almost refreshing when you consider UFO (1970-1973) and Space:1999 (1975-1977) as Anderson productions. The Martians here are simply part of a science fiction film production. The film being produced features Martians attacking two police officers. With the set sabotaged by the sinister Hood two of the actors lives are jeopardized and International Rescue is called in to save the day.

Earlier The Hood reaches through to his brother, Kyrano, with a mind link and manipulates his brother, a man servant to the Tracy family on Tracy island, to disable the automatic camera detector within Thunderbird 1 to allow the evil Hood to further his quest to film International Rescue gear in action at the behest of a powerful employer.

Without question Thunderbirds, Series One, Episode 10, Martian Invasion proves yet again to be an endlessly entertaining kids' show loaded with fantastic equipment for the big kid inside all of us. If you're a kid at heart you just never tire of the model and effects work compliments of Derek Meddings and Brian Johncock.

Meddings to remind everyone offered significant modelling contributions to some of my personally favorite James Bond films in the Roger Moore years. Live And Let Die (1973), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979) and For Your Eyes Only. All feature the late craftsman's handiwork. He even worked on the Pierce Brosnan incarnation of the 007 franchise with Goldeneye (1995). He worked on The Land That Time Forgot (1975), which also featured Shane Rimmer (the voice of Scott Tracy), and provided major contributions to Superman (1978) and Batman (1989) before he passed away in 1995.

Brian Johncock, here, later Brian Johnson, was THE man on Space:1999, and notably Alien (1979) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are spotlighted here complemented by Pod 5 and the Excavator on display here to shine.

As always the special vehicles of Thunderbirds have their moments in the sun. To date we've enjoyed the Elevator Cars (S1 E1 Trapped In The Sky), Recovery Vehicles (S1 E2 Pit Of Peril), The Firefly (S1 E3 City Of Fire), the Transmitter Truck (S1 E4 Sun Probe), The Mole (in some of the aforementioned episodes), and now finally the Excavator, the most exciting pod vehicle since those aforementioned. The machine digs, grinds and essentially spits out the powdered by-product through its ass end rear pipes until it inevitably reaches the water where the two trapped men are minutes away from drowning. Always a thrill.

Now a few questions. How is it the brother, Kyrano, of one of the world's great villains manages to receive employ with International Rescue? After all the Tracy family is a staunch advocate to the absolute secrecy of their organization. They have money. Were background checks even performed? Is the diabolical Hood really that ingenious? I understand The Hood is a mystery and the Tracy family are nice people. Scott Tracy even pleads with the bad guy using the word "please." My how times have changed.

The remainder of the episode sees Scott and Virgil in their respective rescue vehicles working to reclaim and hunt down the film taken of their rescue mission. Can you imagine the nightmare these people would have in age of the modern handheld camera phones? Even if the automatic camera detector disabler wasn't working you would have difficulty trying to collect every device in the area to be sure.

In the end The Hood crashes and Scott Tracy simply assumes the film could never survive the crash. Is this really good practice by an elite, top secret group, crossing their proverbial 'T's and dotting their "I"s? I think not.

Still, Thunderbirds is infinitely entertaining and colorful. The magic of Supermarionation just pulls us in to their mesmerizing world as if even viewers are led by strings. That fab world is compliments of Gerry And Sylvia Anderson and it is on full display here for yet another fantastic FAB FRIDAY!