The latest Thunderbirds are Go episode, Extraction, written by Matt Wayne appears to be a little Anti-Fracking propaganda , as it speculates on the' pitfalls' of searching for gases underground.
Robert Williams and his son, Aiden chance upon an automated illegal Sonic Injection Platform used by Energy Poachers to steal hydro -methane from deep beneath the Earth's surface.
As Robert is a warden for the area, Dunsley Field, he takes no time in boarding the platform with Aiden with the intension of shutting it down. However, after he's duped into thinking he's called the Dept. of Energy, the platform begins to start piledriving, causing a massive Earthquake. Time to send for International Rescue.
Fans of the original Thunderbirds will no doubt pick up on the obvious reference to the episode Cry Wolf which takes place in the Australian outback. One of the young boys in the story who 'cried wolf ' is Bob Williams, and his father works at a satellite moniting station, Dunsley Tracker!
This is Virgil and Gordon story, with some nice animation of Thunderbird 4 underwater. Like the original Cry Wolf episode the tension is provided by precarious rock falls.
There's quite a few interesting points in this story. The fact that details of the Thunderbird craft appear on the internet ("so much for keeping that secret") which, again draws similarities to Cry Wolf, as, like Aiden, Bob and his friend Tony have plenty of information about International Rescue. During this rescue,Gordon is also reminded of dad, Jeff. The missing father has been getting a few mentions lately. Could this be a prelude to an answer to his absence - your guess is as good as mine.
I really struggle with 'Thunderbirds Are Go' as a child of the sixties I grew up with the original and it should be left well alone.
ReplyDeleteCGI can never replace the talents of the special effects folks of the day with explosions, jet blasts and really superb models.