The optimistic, life-saving adventures of International Rescue always come with an inescapable sense of petrifying disaster. So often throughout Thunderbirds, helpless victims face impossible odds that demand the fantastic efforts of International Rescue to save them from certain disaster. Some of Thunderbirds‘ most perilous moments are hardwired with a deadly sense of inescapable fear.
This Thunderbirds Thursday, which just so happens to fall on the spookiest day of the year, we’re counting down Thunderbirds’ scariest moments!
5. The alligators attack (Attack of the Alligators!)
Enlarged and ferocious alligators threaten to entomb Scott Tracy and the residents of Dr. Orchard’s research hub on the isolated Ambro River. These fearsome creatures provide Thunderbirds with one of its most violently memorable adventures with its use of real alligators. The use of animals in Supermarionation productions had rarely stretched any further than marionette creatures themselves – Supercar‘s Mitch the monkey, Fireball XL5‘s Zoonie the Lazoon, and Stingray‘s Oink the seal. It’s surreal to think that these alligators are technically Thunderbirds‘ equivalent! The carnage caused by the alligators whilst the house’s occupants remain helplessly trapped inside is dread-inducing, making these scenes some of the most electrifyingly freaky scenes Thunderbirds ever conjured up.
4. Alan and Grandma are trapped (Move – and You’re Dead)
Villainous rivals of Alan from his sports racing days turn to drastic measures to steal his super-powered race car. Gomez and Gillespie lay a diabolical scheme to entrap Alan and Grandma Tracy atop the newly built suspension bridge over the San Miguel River. A motion-detecting bomb placed under the bridge ensures that the pair remain trapped there while the two crooks make their getaway with Alan’s car. The gruesome implications of what might happen should Alan or Grandma succumb to the scorching sun are unnerving to contemplate, resulting in one of Thunderbirds‘ most breathless and tricky rescues.
3. Thunderbirds 2 is shot down by the US Navy (Terror in New York City)
The Tracy brothers face danger with every mission, but it’s rare that they should nearly succumb to mortality as Virgil does during the events of Terror in New York City. Returning from a successful rescue, Thunderbird 2 is mistakenly identified by the US Navy as a potential enemy craft and is shot down. Barely returning to Tracy Island in one piece, the stricken Thunderbird 2 and injured Virgil gives Thunderbirds some of its visually shocking sequences when the Navy missiles make contact with the craft. The sight of Virgil rendered unconscious as Thunderbird 2 plummets to the oceans, all escalating engine roars and cockpit ablaze, presents us with the frightening thought that the members of International Rescue are as vulnerable as any of us.
2. The Martian Rock Snakes attack the MEV (Thunderbirds Are Go)
Aliens have a curious presence in Thunderbirds. They’re entirely absent from the original TV series and only acknowledged by the presence of the Martian Space Probe rocket from Day of Disaster. Their only onscreen appearance remains a dramatically memorable one in Thunderbirds Are Go. Seeking to explore the mysteries of our neighbouring Red Planet, the mighty Zero X spacecraft unwittingly awakens the fury of Mars’ Rock Snakes. With their gruesomely weird design and frightening powers, the Rock Snakes prove unstoppable in their droves and deadly in their pyrotechnic abilities. Whole armadas of them encircle the mountainous terrain of Mars, making their attack on the unsuspecting MEV a short but memorably brutal one.
1. The Hood sabotages the Lake Anasta Expedition (Desperate Intruder)
The Hood’s taste for menacing theatrics through his many disguises gives him a certain comical flamboyancy, but make no mistake – he’s in deadly form in Desperate Intruder. The Hood’s efforts to disrupt International Rescue’s efforts to uncover the hidden secrets of Lake Anasta is a rare targeted assault against specific I.R. members, including burying poor Brains up to his neck in the harsh desert sands! The image of the dehydrated Brains, with its mournful Barry Gray music, is one of Thunderbirds‘ startlingly drastic moments, showcasing how callous the Hood is when driven by greed and his burning hatred of International Rescue. The Hood’s taunting of the helpless Brains remains a peak example of how unexpectedly terrifying Thunderbirds is capable of being.
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