THUNDERBIRDS: SET 3

By: BRIAN THOMAS
Review Date: Saturday, July 20, 2002

A&E continues the series with two more volumes of episodes of this 1960s sci-fi series packaged together as a slipcased set. Since the series was filmed using marionettes and miniatures, International Rescue's action packed exploits emphasized explosions and the Thunderbird vehicles, while avoiding elements like fisticuffs. This may present a welcome break for those weary of the current trend, in which every other new movie since THE MATRIX features martial arts.

The first episode in set 3, volume 5, "Terror in New York City," once again brings a disaster uncomfortably similar to the 9-11 attack. A huge project attempting to move the now ancient Empire State Building to a different Manhattan location goes horribly wrong when engineers neglect to find an underground stream and the building comes crashing down. But no one is too concerned for the monument while a TV reporter and cameraman are trapped under the rubble. With Thunderbird 2 mistakenly damaged by Navy missiles, the race against time to rescue the pair becomes even more desperate.

In "End of the Road," International Rescue must launch Operation Cover-up when Jeff Tracy's old pal Eddie Houseman drops in on the island for a visit, and there's even more turmoil when the dashing road engineer sweeps Tin Tin off her feet. But Eddie's rash actions at a monsoon-plagued construction site puts him into grave danger. Can the IR team save him without revealing their secret identities?

"Day of Disaster" takes place for the most part around the control centre of a suspension bridge over the Arlington River. A worker thinks they should do more tests before reopening the bridge to traffic, but his boss thinks he's being overcautious. When a transport bearing the Mars Probe Rocket causes the bridge to collapse, and the rocket is jarred into a countdown that can't be stopped, the same worker wants to call International Rescue, but his boss thinks they can handle it on their own. Luckily, Brains is on the scene and manages to surreptitiously guide the rescue operation from the tower. The workers think Brains is some kind of nut. Meanwhile, Lady Penelope blows up nearby buildings to distract gawkers.

The Tracy family's faithful servant Kyrano is featured on the cover of volume 6, making it sure to be a collectors' item. "Edge of Impact" recycles a couple of ideas from earlier episodes. The Hood is up to his old tricks again, using a remote control device to sabotage the experimental Red Arrow jet fighter. The unexplained failure of the test flight has Colonel Tim Casey thrown off the project, and he visits his old friend Jeff Tracey for some R & R. The second test of Red Arrow crashes into a television tower, and just as in "End of the Road," Operation Cover-up is launched to keep Casey from noticing as the Thunderbirds thunder into action.


"Desperate Intruder" also features an appearance by the Hood. Exercising his half-forgotten hypnotic control of his half-brother Kyrano (amusingly illustrated by the villain's glowing eyes), he learns of how Brains and Tin-Tin are joining a treasure hunting expedition to an Egyptian lake. Exploring an underwater temple gives us another chance to see Tin-Tin's wild diving outfit from the previous episode, and we get to see Brains without his glasses. The Hood shows up with a mini submarine to steal the treasure, using his hypno power to capture the expedition. International Rescue goes to look for them, falling into the Hood's evil trap.

"30 Minutes After Noon" establishes a memorable suspense scenario before the stars even put in an appearance. A gang of thieves force a man to plant a bomb in his office by attaching it to his wrist. The resulting explosion traps the man at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a burning building. Lucky International Rescue gets to try out their new fire fighting equipment. But all this excitement is only to set up a massive plutonium heist.

A&E's DVD presentation on this set is another great job, the depth of detail in the image allowing viewers to see every marionette string as well as a provocative pin-up inside a taxi during "Desperate Intruder." The remastered soundtracks are so rich they're almost an annoyance. Keeping the volume steady for dialogue scenes means getting blasted out of your chair for every explosion and roaring rocket. A "photo gallery" presents a collection of still frames from each episode.

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