Thunderbird 6

• UK • 1968 • 89m •

• Directed by: David Lane. • Starring: Peter Dyneley, Sylvia Anderson, Shane Rimmer, Jeremy Wilkin, Matt Zimmerman, David Graham, Keith Alexander, Gary Files, Christine Finn, John Carson, Geoffrey Keen. • Music by: Barry Gray.

The International Rescue team is faced with one of its toughest challenges yet, as the revolutionary lighter-than-air craft Skyship One is hijacked while on her maiden voyage around the world. Against backdrops including the Statue of Liberty and the Sphinx, Lady Penelope, Parker, Alan and Tin-Tin fight the hijackers from on-board, while the rest of the team tries to stop the airship crashing into a missile silo.

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1:58

Review:

Having just completed on working as an expert contractor on the production of "Airship One" -' a revolutionary new airship -' with a private airline company, Brains is tasked with performing his day job. Despite the thunderbirds generally able to cope with the problems facing them, and no other siblings to drive the bloody thing, Jeff Tracy decides he needs a new ship -' Thunderbird 6. While Brains tries to design something without Tracy giving him even a hint of a spec to work from, Lady Penelope, Alan, Tin Tin and Parker are guests of honour on the maiden voyage of Airship One.

I could criticise it on the basis of plot but that would be akin to clubbing a baby seal because, despite howlers in logic and such the story pretty much does what it is required to do in setting up various adventures for the Thunderbirds to get into. It has elements of bigger themes but seems happy just to stick to the basics and doesn't do anything that interesting and lacks any real excitement or tension. Of course this has something to do with the delivery which is, obviously, quite wooden. To fans though this is all part of the appeal and those that enjoy the series will find more of the same here and will enjoy it as such. Casual viewers will be distracted by it for its novelty value but (like me) may struggle to care enough to stick with it.

The puppets are just what you expect and the models are good for their period -' we're not talking Star Wars here but it has an unique feel that is unmistakably Gerry Anderson. Again it is not really fair to criticise it simply for being what I knew it would be so it did look good for what it was. The voice cast are solid enough but Finn (Tin-Tin) is the weakest of the lot, making her young woman sounds like some old woman in the post office.

Overall though, you know what you are getting when you start this. It is a solid and dated affair which won't win over too many children nowadays but fans will enjoy it because it does just what the series did -' if you liked that then you should like this.

Review by bob the moo from the Internet Movie Database.

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